bugenhagen

Just read the text... his stance "could change in the coming days" - a prime example of clickbait, and the need to make money out of nothing. Flogging a dead horse. Just to keep the story alive, even after it's dead in the water. In the next couple of days there will be new "development" in this story to keep the clicks, views and £££££ ticking in.

As a person with English as a second language, I read that as he is another option op front for us, that Johannes wanted, not that we are looking for another striker in addition to him. Might be wrong, but I think it’s just poorly worded.

This is how I interpreted that. He gave assurances that if we would not sell off the team and replace with BBD’s

I think you are spot on here. This combined with the fact that these players think they are so good that they should have been in the Prem by now. They have to start matching that belief with performances again, just like at the end of last season. It doesn't matter what they did last season, they need to start again and back it up with performances.

No, you are absolutely right. The way this guy says it is a little closer to the correct way of saying his name (it will never sound quite right in English). There is supposed to be a little bit of the "u" in Matsuki there. Its not quite right to leave the entire letter/sound of the "u" out when saying his name, but it should be less pronounced than what is normal for the letter "u" in English.

We probably decided against it as we already have BBD who can play in that position. He may not be perfect, but he’s OK

He might also just want a fresh start. Everything about his time here screams treatment rooms and injuries. Could just be a simple as that.

Sure it's not just the weather? 😉

I think with all rules, there are some you never break (or consider breaking) either becuse of your moral, ethics or the severe punishment. Then there are some it's a little more easy to break, or that we sometimes consider breaking. Risk vs. reward and the likelyhood of getting caught. Some people on here would never consider spying on another team, as it is breaking a rule, and their moral compass would say no. Others would say: it's no big deal, "everybody" does it. The people at SFC clearly thought that the reward was bigger than the risk. They would not have done that if they knew that the punishment would be to be thrown out of the playoffs, and a 3 points deduction for every game in the Championship. The problem we face when discussing this topic here is that some of us have respect for this rule, while others of us don't. Anyways, the punishment given in our case will make sure that nobody does this again, even if they respect the rule or not.

“We’re all aboard Ben Garner’s boat”

Maybe they want to anounce it when Tondas ban drops, either to deflect attention or - perhaps the blue one was just a prank, and the real one is this:

I personally don’t think there is any conclusion to be drawn. We all like to speculate, and think there is more going on behind the scenes, but I think it’s just as likely they are trying out how it could work if he gets a touchline ban.

Yeah, I agree - but I was talking about that even in a different situation, where the manager had not, he would still hold some form of responsibility. Not trying to start a discussion on if Tonda did or did not. There are enough of these kind of quarrels going on here. I was just trying to answer a question posed by another poster.

I think it’s more a case of the manager being the one that most reports to and therefore he is responsible even if he didn’t do or order the spying directly himself. I guess they could have argued that it works differently at our club, but since they have interviewed Tonda I’m pretty sure he has taken the responsibility.

I don’t for one second believe that he really wants Downs to get badly injured. It might be poor taste to throw out that comment, but not sinister. Surely you don’t believe that either? When it comes to his IKT status, I have no idea if he’s legit, but I would rather have people dropping snippets they hear here and decide for myself who and what to believe. This place will be a lot less interesting without any of them, both genuine and bullshitters. Every time someone posts something they hear people come out with pitchforks if it doesn’t come off. Just leave it. If they are genuine and got bad info they will keep posting, and if they are full of shit they will stop as nobody reacts.

Very nice! The yellow kit is a beauty! I normally dislike shirts with collars, but have to admit I even like that one. Would love to se the half and half down the line, but I would like the home kit to be traditional stripes for 3 or 4 years, and then every 4th or 5th year we could do someting a bit different. Feels like we are doing something different every other year now. Oh yeah, and no blocks on the backs for numbers!

I don't think so. The only thing I have seen on the matter is in the interwiev with either Blacmoore or House right after the club made the statements (in early june?) where Dragan said something to the effect of "If he gets a lengthy ban, he can't manage, and we obviously would need another manager". It's possible that your dad interpereted what he said as "we will get in a caretaker", but he did not say those words. Tried a quick search for the qoute, but don't have access to the daily echo articles, so couldn't find it.

I thought today was just the end of the appeal period? If no appeals are made the FA now goes away to deliberate the punishment. That this could still take weeks?

I agree with you. The sum of a good CB partnership is often greater than the sum of its parts, and I think that is true for THB and Stephens. I don't rate Stephens too highly on his own, and would like to have seen him be replaced, but the way they played together makes me not want to break them up...

I think Charles will go, we are just in no rush to sell him. If Jander stays, then our starting 11 is not really weakened, but our depth in midfield is. it’s not a given that Bragg will kick on and be better (or even the same) as last season, and even Jander varied a lot last season. He was good, then poor around January, and then very good at the end of the season. So we need to replace Charles when/if we sell. I actually think THB might be the biggest loss, not just the player, but the character and the mentality that he brings. But I love watching Leo and Jander, so I’m glad I don’t have to make the decision 😀

Nah, if so, they should have dropped by now

3 years before turning 21? Something like that 8? But can't remember if that is PL or CL or both. There is also something about being trained at club, but I think that is only CL. That is my recollection from taking Saints into the Champions League on FM24, so I might be both wrong and outdated. Damn. Where is MLG when you need him!

Why does it matter how much he knew? Whatever he knew - we are never going to find out (maybe in a bio in the future), he is saying what the club/lawyers has told him to say. Even if he did or didn't know, or knew a little or whatever, it doesn't really make a difference. Personally, I don't care. The crime he comitted does not bother me at all. It's just a thing because the punishment is so out of proportion (in my eyes). Managers are sacked, and new managers are hired all the time. If he gets a long ban from the FA (and I believe he will just because it is us) then we just have to change the manager. It sucks, but we can't control it - the club has made its descision.