benjii

I think Jay Rod would suit this system wonderfully but sadly he still seems way off being able to compete regularly. Austin is working really hard and is a decent option but, being honest, he lacks the agility to play the way Puel seems to want and better defenders will crowd him out quite easily like they did with Lambert. Likewise, Long lacks the close control to be really effective in a passing team over a long-period. I don't think we would have signed Austin in Jan last year if we knew Koeman was going to be off.

It's not just numbers either. We should have signed another forward because Long and Austin aren't that good and Redmond isn't a reliable goalscorer.

Clearly the squad is short of goal-scorers. Long is a middling-at-best Premier League player and Jay Rod is crocked. That leaves Austin who is not exactly dynamic and is also probably, middling-at-best over any sort of prolonged period. The weakest areas of our squad are striker and right back, so it's quite sensible that people want to sign a striker.

Really? Where did you find that train? Looks like it's at least five hours from anything I can find.

Dave Benson Phillips.

How odd.

Exactly.

I'm not sure that is down to a loss of interest. Probably more to do with people finding cheaper "unconventional" ways of watching matches online. Going back to the atmosphere point, it's partly an increase in interest by people who want a Premier League experience but don't want to sing that contributes to a flat atmosphere. I also agree with Nordic Saint - the SMS acoustics are not great. It's loud when everyone joins in but the Northam can't hear the Itchen very well (or the away support, for that matter) and vice-versa. One big signing section behind the goal with the away fans to the side would definitely be preferable.

The airline is still responsible for providing food and drink, accommodation, travel to/from airport etc. even if a strike is the cause of the delay. So, effectively, "expenses" are still their responsibility. What they don't need to do, if the delay is caused by a strike, is pay additional compensation.

So, basically, her life has been ruined and she has to move to Australia to escape losers and bullies because the police / CPS decided to pursue an offence against a person that the person wasn't even bothered about. Very odd situation indeed.

This is useful, thanks. I guess the point is that it doesn't follow that non-guaranteed services will necessarily be disrupted. It's still not clear exactly who is striking.

Maybe it's Virgil's turn to have a rest and it will be Fonte and Yoshi. I'm pretty sure Virgil will have a host of glamorous European matches during his career.

Milan really isn't a good city for a day on the ****, I am afraid.

Basically they haven't got a clue.

But it really isn't an important match. That's the point. To my mind, that means it can't possibly be massive. Anyway, who cares - it's all good!

Indeed. The JPT semi-final and finals were bigger matches than this. A lot of people are just a bit over-excited, really.

That's a ridiculous position to take. I've been that drunk before. It doesn't mean everything that happened thereafter rendered me a mere victim of circumstance and I had no role in it. You still make conscious choices even if you can't remember events fully afterwards. Thankfully the law doesn't seem to be taking such a stupid view as yours.

He was excellent yesterday but it was quite a nice game to get thrown into. On the ball and going forwards he is clearly good enough but, as others have said, the test will be when we play a team with better attacking players than Burnley.

The Sunday thing is a killer for away fans. I would have done Leicester and Man City away if they were on Saturday but I won't do them on a Sunday.

So team for Sunday presumably: -------------------Forster----------------- Martina-----Fonte----VVD--------Targett --------------------Romeu---------------- ---------Hojbjerg-----------Davis--------- ----Redmond-------Tadic------Austin---- Only doubt is whether he actually prefers McQueen to Targett. Subs: McCarthy Yoshida McQueen JWP Classie Jay Rod Hesketh / Olomula / Boufal Expect to see Jay-Rod and Boufal involved against Inter (along with Yoshi etc.).

You seem a bit confused about how football teams work.

I watched the matches and saw him pointing, talking, encouraging, calming etc. There is no doubt he played an important organisational role, despite Pepe having more caps. Pepe is a loose cannon. Fonte is a calm head.

Sounds like maybe a few lower-profile regional services might be affected then but shouldn't cause a problem for international flights or major inter-city travel (I hope!).

Is that true though, really? None of them are the best player at their club - Alli and Kane (if fit) arguably the closest to that. The current crop of England players is very average. None are as good as any of: Ashley Cole, Sol Campbell, Rio Ferdinand, John Terry, Gary Nev, Lampard, Scholes, Beckham, Gerrard, Owen, Shearer.... we simply haven't got any players even close to being world class any more. The likes of Robbie Fowler, Kevin Phillips, Les Ferdinand, Ian Wright, Matt Le Tiss, Andy Cole could hardly get a start for England in a big game but all would improve the current squad. Average players, lacking in intelligence, spirit, mentality and basic human qualities coupled with weak leadership; it's no wonder we've been crap for over 10 years. The thing is, as has been demonstrated numerous times on the international stage, you only need some decent organisation and a coherent game plan to have a decent crack at a tournament so with the resources the FA has available to it, our failure to get the basics right before all the recent tournaments is pretty shameful. We could still do fairly well, despite those players, if the powers that be actually got a hold on things.