bugenhagen

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.

Yeah, what it tells us is that the club are planning for them to stay, and the players have not indicated that they are desperate for a move. Nothing is certain, but this is about as good of an indication we will get.

1) They don’t see it that way. The proses takes the time it does, and if the timing happens to be bad for us, it’s not a mitigation factor. 2) Again, the won’t view his potential loss of earnings, reputation and opportunities as punishment. I think a lot are looking at it from our point of view, but we should be looking at it from their perspective.

We are nothing to them so they will swing the hammer as proportional hard as the EFL did to stay in line with them. What seems on par with being thrown out of the playoffs? Probably a six or twelve month ban. They can never punish the big teams, as it will damage their brand, but punishing us won’t. So this is where they can show their power.

Like you, I never saw him play for Saints, but loved to hear the stories. Allways liked him as a manager for other teams, and hoped he would manage us when he was active as a manager. Allways seemed like a proper fotballer and a good man - one of the greats. RIP

I agree with your thinking that this would be ideal, but not sure how easy it is to sell this to the third striker joining. Larin has probably been told that he would be playing a part with another striker like he did with Stewart last season. If we sign Stewart to play the same role as last year, there is no chance that Lankshear will come to play backup to those two... then it would have to be a player who would fancy himself as also getting gametime as a number 10 or on the wings. I think the best solution is to forget about Stewart. Yes, he would be the best option if he could play the whole season swapping with Larin - but if one of them get injured we have a problem as none of them can play 90 min too often... Lankshear or the the spanish fellow might. We also have to consider the case of Oyekunle... he might be the one we have to rely on to step in if either Larin or Stewart/another is missing. So I think I am saying that it would be Larin and a new signing alternating, with Oyekunle as the backup.

And a mug:

No worries, still an upgrade on Bazunu!

You have just jinxed it: Prepare for the double D show tonight!

The problem is that all of those (including Ramsdale) might not be sold (probably not in my opinion), but end up being loaned out instead.

It's not him saying that... it is the wannabe fabrizios who needs clicks and views, to make it interesting or suspenseful to follow the saga. Same with Charles. Leeds are not out, or considering other options, it's just the natural progression of the story to keep people interested. They have claimed bidding for weeks now. The news of Charles to Leeds are losing interest by people no longer clicking as there is no development. Now they can come back with a new twist as Leeds are back in next week to generate more interest. This no longer has anything to do with clubs and players, it's a dance between "journalists" and the public on social media.

"False nine" it is then 😉

A winning team trumps all in the end, but I agree about having those kind of players - and hopefully we can have both next season! I believe that if Leo is happy to stay, then he will not be sold, and we will reject all bids. But if he is angling for a move, we will probably sell him when the offer reaches a certain value.

Probably, if you want strength, hold up play, movement and decent speed as well… I am happy that we are looking at the type of strikers that will suit our style, and not players like Armstrong. Goals will come from all over the team (bar Fellows 😉) so I think other attributes are more important.

What is the difference between a stupid offer and an acceptable one? In some cases the might be the same, in others, not. I think the case of Elliot Anderson is a stupid offer, others might deem it acceptable. The point is that we won't settle for market value on players one year into a four year deal. We will say no, either untill the money becomes too good, or the player starts kicking up a fuss.