Lord Duckhunter

Like he was for Hull last season , how did his " efforts" there go?

Just watched Catch up & saw Andrew Neil take this neuclear subs using conventional weapons guff apart in an interview with Posh Emily Thornbury . She then became the third shadow cabinet minister ( according to him ) to invite him to contribute to a " review" . Every time he gets them in a muddle they resort to this " review" of a particular policy line .

The Corbynistas need to understand this simple fact . To gain a majority they need to win Tory seats . Racking up votes and increasing support in Islington & other leftie enclaves won't win them 1 extra seat , well maybe Brighton Pavilon , but thats it . They do remind me of the famous Michael Foot story , he refused to believe opinion polls because everywhere he went he was mobbed, praised & cheered to the rafters . Jezza has engaged thousands of people , but NONE of them voted Tory at the last election .

I maybe a boring twt but this has always fascinated me . The transition from player to manager and how good you have to be . One of the biggest surprises in my football watching life is George Graham's Arsenal , anyone who saw George as a player would find it hard to equate that classy skilful player with the way he managed his sides . I always think managers that felt they underachieved as a player ( whether through injury or lack of ability ) have the drive that makes them s great manager . Cloughie being the real example as he had his career cut short . Maybe lawrie felt the same , as even to play at the semi professional level he played , you need to be decent . I never saw him play , but my Fulham supporting grandad said Bobby Robson was a really good player . As for saints , Bally was a great player as was Souness & Koeman . Personally , I think Souness was the best player , but Bally was a Saints player whereas the other 2 weren't. I still miss the guy , what a player , and what a guy . Legend

100% in agreement. It would be mad to tie him to a new deal , especially before Ron signs one . Another manager might not fancy him and any new deal will be for a large wedge . In some ways his situation is similar to Rickies and it maybe time to cash in . It certainly won't be " meltdown " if we do

I thought Ryan B had a fantastic game. When I saw the side I assumed he'd play left mid in front of Matty T , but the way Ron set them up worked perfectly against their front 2 . Pleased for Targett , played well particularly first half , still a long way to go for the lad but he really did look the part . Agree with the comments about Big Vic being left but against WBA , itll be interesting to see what Ron does about it . Pelles slightly different he could change formation & play Pelle & Long or even drop Mane for Pelle , but to break up the Classie,Davis, OR midfield would be really disappointing

Lol

Could be a Bompey v skate cup game

The Blair/ Brown years were pure smoke & mirrors . PFI, minimum wage so low as to be meaningless , ridiculous spread of tax credits , devolution without addressing the west lothian question , overspending during a boom . Their chickens have well and truly came home to roost. I'm not saying this lot are any better as they're also shying away from the fundamental reforms needed , whilst pretending they are doing so. The public would not vote for a returning Blair anymore than they'd vote for Jeremy Steptoe .

I can't see Levy making it as easy to buy him out of his contract as Cortese did with his Saints contract . I'm sure he'll be tied down quite tightly & it'll cost them a few quid . Not that they're lacking money , but are they really going to battle/ cough up for a rookie ( never managed in champions league , never won anything ) . They also won't chuck Giggs overboard and Poch seems to have a gang of buddies he carries with him . The massive clubs will want to see how he handles superstars before they employ him. He's done a pretty decent job at Spurs & with us ,but managing that level of player ,is a long way from managing players that are more important to the club than the manager himself .

There is absolutely no doubt that Ron will expect players to leave when champions league clubs come calling and will factor that in when managing a club like ours . Only an idiot would think we could keep hold of these players . I thought one of the reasons we went Dutch was because their managers are used to losing their best players season in season out. I'm not convinced by Ron , so I'm unsure of this deal . We weren't as good as we thought last year , but aren't as poor as some make out on here. Not being a professional or close to the club it's hard to comment , but the side and individuals don't look as well coached as before . Unlike some I like the flexibility he shows tactically , although he does get it wrong sometimes . I have thought for a while that out style relied too much on Pelle and that shows when he's off colour or missing . That said , he seems like a calm stright sort of guy that will nring a bit of stability . He does need to move on or sign a new deal in the summer but I'd be happier if it was for 3 rather than 5 years

I don't think for one minute that he's been let down , lied to or misled about our spending , players sales or wages . Personally, I've no doubt that the board outlined our approach when speaking to him initially and he accepted them . I refuse to believe that they told him nobody would be leaving , or he was promised a certain amount and that's not been forthcoming . If anyone has moved the goal posts it's likely to have been Ron now he's under a bit of pressure . Perhaps the spending by other " also rans" has surprised him and he now feels that we should push the boat out a bit more . Equally I'm sure he had every intention of agreeing to our pathway regarding youth , but maybe they're not as good as he was led to believe.

The thing that his supporters don't seem to get is the complete incompetence of the man . Forget the fact that to win an election he needs to win Tory /Lab marginals , he's made balls up after balls up . Abandoned principle after principle & generally set the Labour Party back years . At least Foot was a serious political figure , even Livingstone was competent but wrong , this chump is just a student politician that never grew up . Anyone who thinks he'll do the lefts cause any good is deluded .

But are there Spurs supporters still banging on about how Solgado " clearly has talent" or going on about a particular game over & over again . Every club makes expensive mistakes , but I doubt their supporters are as doe eyed as the Gastonettes over these wasters .

**** me , is this the Gastonettes new line ? That somehow he kept us up . He did not make a blind but of difference , did not keep us up and has done absolutely nothing since . A monumental waste of money , one of the worst signings in my 45 years of watching the club .

I don't like the guy , but that's nonsense & Scouse friends of mine who go will tell you it's nonsense .

Spot on . The only " loyal" players at a club our size are ones nobody from a bigger club wants . Some clown on the train sat was banging on about Frannie's loyalty and questioning why our players aren't as loyal now . Only reason he was loyal was because nobody wanted him . Had SAF said " Frannie I want to build my treble wining defence around you , oh & quadruple your money " , he'd been gone quicker than a really quick thing . Matt Le Tiss , I hear you cry . Maybe, but what would he had done had Fergie wanted him instead of Cantona and for him to be the talisman for the class of ' 92 , would he have turned that down ? The only loyalty comes from us lot , end of.

Maybe Moyes with a younger man , with Moyes stepping into Les' shoes in a few years , handing the reins to the younger man .

Don't talk nonsense man . With the injury records of Remy & Austin , coupled with the wages they'd want , I'm glad we're not splashing the cash like that . Ask yourself why Shelvey is available , why Curtis , like Monk & Laudrap before him have had issues with him . If palace sign those 3 they really are entering the madhouse . One maybe worth the risk, but all 3 is lunacy

He didn't " fail miserably " at Burnley . Your post doesn't make sense . If he failed miserably at Burnley what was Monk at Swansea , a roaring sucsess? You put the caveat in that you want to se Monk at another club . Presumably if he got them to the premiership , let's say someone like Boscombe , you'll want him ? Anyway, as you rightly say he's pretty much dug in for the long haul and it'll take a bigger job than ours to get him out of there . Maybe a Spurs or Everton . Personally , I'd want an Adkins type , as in somebody who is not going to be offered a top top job and will see this as a long term thing . Not an introduction to the English game or a short spell to tick a few boxes . People go on about a Vardy , Alli or a Lambert coming from the lower leagues , there has to be a manager in the same boat. Howe would be ideal imo , but there's Robinson at MK or even Dyche at Burnley . This is where Les needs to come into his own . Cortese's signing of Poch was a master stroke that came out of left field , maybe Les can pluck someone with real potential out of the championship

Is Townsend a better play now than the nipper they brought on ? Of course he is , but what was better for the development of the club? I've no doubt Ron picks the best players. Reed isn't getting a look in because others are better . A straight pick between OR & Reed is a no brainer ability wise . But what if Ron trusted Reed , played him instead , coached and devoloped him around the first team. Maybe in 2 years time he'll be a better player than OR. It'll also encourage other nippers & other parents when choosing an academy for their kid. The question for me is whether it's the clubs job to provide players that are good enough for the first team and are then judged purerly on ability against the established pros or whether it is Rons job to take players that are not good enough yet and make them good enough. Surely one of our younger centre halves could have done as well as Caulker or Yoshida this season . Yes they'll make mistakes ( that they'll learn from ) but **** me Caulker & Maya made them anyway. I hate the new trendy word of " project" but that's what it is . We need a manager that buys into it. A manager that will play a nipper who is not as good as a senior pro , but could develop. I go back to my earlier point . Had we signed Alli , he'd have an appearance pattern similar to JWP this season, not heading to the euros .

Almost as depressing as Sat was watching that yesterday . The way Alli & Carroll played , had they signed for us they wouldn't have progressed like that. The way he's made Walker a better player , but the icing on the cake was when we were told that Toby had played every minute this season. Coincidence, maybe or maybe he's fitter . I agree about the sub , was there any way Ron would have put Seager on Sat , no he turned to Gaston who appears to be shipping out.

Laudrap had a great first season at Swansea , even winning a cup . The second season lack of disipline and general drift meant he ended up getting the sack . Look at the fall out between LVG & Ron . LVG was Dof & Ron manager , LVG wrote in his book about Ron being too soft with players and he tried to step in . I'm not saying this is right , but from the general drift of this season , who is to say there's no truth in it . I don't want Ron out , but that could change if we continue like this . Personally I think we'll get a few one off Arsenal type performances to stay safe . However, end of season will be a crossroads . I'm not so sure he's the man for next season , particularly if he doesn't sign an extension

" Brilliant" or lucky to have Morgan , Vic & Jose . My view is he was the perfect manager to manage the meltdown from last summer , cool headed & calm . This season I'm not convinced . Had we signed Alli instead of Spurs , would he be as good . Would he even be playing every week , he'd be in and out and people moaning about lack of ambition by only spending £5mil on an mk Dons player . Can anybody name one player that's shown major improvement under Koeman? It's not a fluke Alli is doing well , they didn't just put him in and he played well . He's been coached and managed fantastically .

My point is that maybe we could identify players of potential and then Koeman could coach them , devolop them & generally make them better . I see no sign that Koeman is making any of our players better and plenty of evidence that Poch does . It's very easy to blame the board , when does the manager take his share .