labibs

Some good comments here. We were unbelievable second half, absolutely battered them. If Leicester are amongst the best the NPC has to offer, bring it on. A pacy striker would have changed the game, A new forward would be welcome. Schmeichel made 3 class saves in the 2nd half, kept them in it. Leicester basically had 4-5 decent attacks and scored 3, Adkins needs to have a word. Seaborne acutally looked decent apart from goals, but I would still take a brute CB Fox's delivery was great when he came on, he must start against Forest. Was speaking to a Derby fan on the train home, he thinks they are garbage. After today, I really think this division is there for the takinf. I honestly think us and Brighton have what it takes to go up. Final word, Lallana was outrageous. He get's better every time I see him. If prem scouts were watching today, I would fear January

Bit of a weird thread, but criticism of Belgium's team is laughable. Lukaku, Hazard, Vermaelen amongst the best players in Europe.

Agree that Johnny's in Shirley has massive fish. The large cod is a monster. With the cost of cod going up all the time, it's nice to be able to feel like you're getting a decent portion. He used to have a shop on Burgess Rd, but sold up and moved to here,.

For what it's worth, I asked my Bristol City supporting mate for his views on the deal (and whether he was a ball playing CB like Rio, or a brute CB like Vidic). Comments below: "He was quality when he first signed and I was expecting great things from him. Has not really kicked on though so probably needs a fresh start. Could come good for you so I think the deal is good for all concerned… More of a Rio than a Vidic. He plays better with a thug alongside him. He was outstanding in our play-off season, good pace, positioning and not bad distribution. He is left footed and can play at left back if needed so has a bit of versatility. One thing I have got on him is that he tends to back off too much when defending…invites too many shots! He hasn’t really improved for a while though (infact he seems to be at fault for quite a few goals) so I can understand his departure. At 25 he can still improve but I am delighted with £800k as our defence needs an overhaul…" Seems like a player who has lost his way a bit, but is still young enough to come good. Not a Jaidi replacement, but someone who is more comfortable on the ball. Very much an Adkins type signing. Seems a decent move to me, certainly willing to give him a chance if he does come here.

Cannot wait for this game, first away match of the season. Horrible feeling Leicester may suddenly click and we'll get turned over. It's the pessimist in me...

Definitely Boersma. His kids went to my school and my brother was good friends with his son as they were in the same year.

Barring Bayern, I would be surprised if any of the big German clubs have deals better than the big English clubs (E.g. Liverpool £20m a year from standard chartered). Terrestrial coverage is relatively insignificant when compared to overseas markets.

It's a shame, but if the figures being talked about are true, it's probably the best situation all round. I don't agree with people now coming out and saying we won't miss him, or that he wouldn't get into our side. He is a class player and we will miss him, but it's not a catastrophe. I would be absolutely distraught if we were losing Lallana, who for me is far and away our best and most important player. The signing of De Ridder as a replacement for less than a £1m looks genius now, no chance of us being held to ransom. If AOC and Puncheon are both gone though, we could possibly do with another player who can play wide (unless Holmes is going to miraculously not get injured) Let him go and move on. It's a bloody good time to be Saints fan at the moment and there's a real sense of optimism around the club. Let's not anything ruin that.

I was wondering when we would see the 'let's sign Barton thread'. Words fail me.

Live in Camden, the market attracts the crowds and will get very busy, but is definitely worth checking out. Loads of pubs in the area, most of which are okay and not really tourist focused. If the weather is nice, the Edinburgh castle just off Parkway has a very decent beer garden. Probably worth sticking your head in the Hawley Arms, but always found it a bit prentetious myself. There will be a lot of pubs in the area playing live music, but its often hit and miss as to what kind of stuff they are playing and whether they are any good or not. If you're on a little session, maybe ask the daytime bar staff what the evening bands would be like. A bit further up Haverstock Hill, the Sir Richard Steele is decent for a few beers.

Only taking a chance on 2 today: 14:35 Harlestone Times won here twice before, including a win over Beachfire who went on to win well at Royal Ascot. 7/1 with Hills. 15:45 big field, but going to give FATHSTA a chance here, ran well to place last week and bottom weight, 25/1 looks a big price. Good luck everyone.

Exactly, particularly with the White House shut down now.

Had a bad day today, no winners at all! Mate is going tomorrow, so had a proper look at the card. Tmw looks a weird one with some very short priced favourite, with form that is difficult to see past, as a result my picks are hardly original! Anyway: 14:00 REDWOOD the obvious pick having won this last year and racing in a lower class race than last 2 runs. DRUNKEN SAILOR has Course and Distance wins and could go well at a bigger price. 14:35 I can't really see past WESTERN ARISTOCRAT whose run behind Strong Suit at Royal Ascot looks a great piece of form now. QUESTIONING is interesting though (available at 10/1 as I write) for the Buick /Gosden combination. 15:10 As we have been discussing on here, GREEN DESTINY looks to be shoo in. Only worry would be getting caught behind the field like happened at Ascot. Personally I am a massive fan of SAGRAMOR. Have backed him on his last 2 wins in big handicaps (LTO at Royal Ascot was v. impressive) and has slipped in here of a small weight as first reserve. Typically finishes strongly and was e/w value earlier in the week at 10/1, but price has been nibbled at now. 15:45 Cannot see past HARBOUR WATCH. Last three races are tougher: 16:20 GLEE won at the course and the 2nd won NTO so favouritism looks deserved. Might also chance WEST LEAK HARE, who looks to have a fair rating and has SDS in the saddle. 16:50 - not touching this one, not got a clue! 17:25 Think ALBANY ROSE offers a bit of value here. Won three in a row in week (!) last month, but last run was tougher against older horses. 9/1 with Hills looks decent and offer some ew value. As ever, good luck to everyone and well done to those of you who had a few winners today!

Only a few for me today: 14:15 BOOGIE SHOES - agree with Frankie at 10's this is a decent bet. 14:45 NOBLE STORM 15:15 FOX HUNT - I said I quite fancied De Sousa's horse in the last yesterday and he popped up with a 2nd. I think he can go 1 better today for Johnston. Not had a chance to look at later races as am pretty busy at work today. Might get a chance later this afternoon. Will prob chuck a few quid on The Real Article in the feature race at Galway as well, looks thrown in after the debacle of his recent ride, where he did everything he could to avoid winning and dodge a penalty.

What a performance from Frankel! He'll never be beaten now, but he's also finished as a betting prospect. 3/10 next run? 2nd for Archfire is a little gutting, would have been 3 winners from my first 3 picks otherwise! Re: Green Destiny. Has the stand out form of the race, considering recent Group 1 win and will likely win as deserved favourite. 4/1 is a decent price! I wouldn't completely rule out Sagramor in the same race for some e/w value though, been on him for his last 2 handicap starts and is around 10/1 at the minute.

Strong Suit won very comfortably as I thought he would to put me in profit for the day, but Warcrown and Slumber were both disappointing. I would give Warcrown another chance though, he got trapped behind a couple of horses and it looked like Fahey had told him not to push him if victory wasn't on. For tmw: 14:35 CHANDLERY to strike again for the Hughes / Hannon combination. Hardly an original pick, but has won at the course and Hughes picking him is good enough for me. 15:10 FRANKEL for me. Want him to win and think he will. 15:45 Going to give ARCHFIRE another go in this one after watching him all season. He ran a stinker on his debut, but by all accounts was very impressive when winning 2nd time out when wearing blinkers. Was actually there to see his last run at Ascot a few weeks ago, where he came from the back of the field late on to grab third behind All Action. He's a quirky one, but think the longer trip for this could bring out more in him. 16:55 LUTINE BELL - was impressed with his 2nd at the same meeting as Archfire at Ascot when coming from a bad draw and think he has been unlucky not to win so far this season, so gambling that this could be the one where it all comes together. 17:30 APACHE GLORY - seems the most obvious pick for me, okay in the weights and 7/1. Do have a sneaky suspicion that the De Sousa mount might do something from the bottom of the weights here though, largely just because the man is in red hot form at the minute. Good luck everyone

Was hoping we'd get a thread up on here for this! For what it's worth, I'm on Frankel odds against for the big one on Wednesday. I personally think there could be even more to come from him and as long as he is given a proper ride (I.e. TQ doesn't bolt off for home after 1 bloody furlong) I can't see CC giving him 8lbs and holding him off. Great prospect though. Did okay at Royal Ascot, so probably due an absolute hiding this week. Anyway, for me tmw: 14:35 SLUMBER - Just think that Fiorente is too short and not been massively convinced by Stoute overall this season, hence willingness to take him on. 15:10 STRONG SUIT - lovely run at RA and it looks like the breathing operation has really helped him. Think 11/4 is a big price to be honest. 16:20 WARCROWN - reports are saying that he could be Fahey's best 2 yr old and he has some big race entries later in the season, so obviously well thought of. Price is very short at the mo, but not all bookies have priced it up yet, so may be something decent around in the morning. I would back him if pushed, but 9/4 on a horse who has never raced is tight! 17:25 Not really got a clue about the last 2 tmw if honest, but SUTTON VENY is from the same stable as my horse, so will do my bit and have a punt on her. Good luck everyone

you can carry them on from last year, whoever set up last year's league will just need to log in and then they can renew the league. Or we can just use the new one.

Indeed I was. Stephens can play both right back and CB I think? Supposed to be a very decent young player, I'd like to see him (and Martin) given a few opportunities this season. Dickson will also become more important, being comfortable at left back or left midfield.

This does hurt us, although only in a small way. As someone has said above, it does make versatile players a lot more useful on the bench next season. Good news for Stephens I would have thought and Butterfield. I can definitely see how clubs in L2 would have been struggling to name a match day squad of 18 for every game throughout the season.

Should he though? Say if NC sets a price of £12m and the best offer we get is £10m. Should we just let him run his contract in the reserves and leave for free? Never going to happen, we're rich but not rich enough that we can let a £10m go to waste (whilst paying his wages). It would be nice to be one of the first clubs to take a stand against player power, but I'd prefer a hypothetical £10m to spend on a promotion push if we are not going to benefit from his services to the team. It's disappointing he has come out with this (and he has been very careful not to say anything that could be construed as a formal transfer request, why miss out on the loyalty payment?), although it kind of looks to me more like he has done it to try and generate bids from other clubs, not because he wants out at all costs. I think if he was denied a move this summer, he would knuckle down and still put in performances for us, in hopes of a January move.

It's a little bit of a weird statement isn't it? Noticeable that he doesn't make any mention of pulling out of the deal because he wanted to stay or it would be a wrench to leave Doncaster! Reading between the lines, I think his agent has been whispering in his ear about the wages he could earn if he moved and we weren't offering him anything near that, hence a breakdown. Maybe his agent thought we would come crawling back with a better offer, but we simply shut it down. If he is that interested in chasing money, not sure we would want him anyway. He must be gutted Leicester or West Ham aren't interested. They seem to be the two clubs prepared to chuck money around in the division this year.

Maybe Bristol City would consider keeping Maynard as more important than the £2m they could get for him. The NPC looks to be a very competitive league next season, Maynard could be the difference between staying up and relegation for them. Plus their owner is minted and heavily subsidises the running of the club, that was how they were able to afford Maynard in the first place. They are not absolutely desperate for the cash

Just Deacon Blues for me today then. Some great racing over the wk though, Fame & Glory was great and Frankie's ride on Rewilding was as good as you'll see anywhere. Still prefer jumps if I'm honest though! I actually own a share in a horse due to start running in mid-July. I'll post it up on here if I think it's likely to win money for anyone! Cheers for everyone's tips, always useful to hear what other people are thinking. Cheers Russ

The weather is playing havoc with my selections today! I agree entirely with Frankie on the 16:25, have backed both DEACON BLUES and CHEVETON, the latter should love the mud. Paddy's again paying 5 places for this. 14:30 - I expect MAYBE to win, but the odds are too short for me, so no bet. 15:05 - I've opposed Await The Dawn as the price is too short. Instead gone for POET e/w 15:45 - Crikey what a race. I would have been with Elzaam who is now running, but I have concerns over the ground for him. I got on DEFINIGHTLY before Pricewise took the price away this morning, e/w. I also think Bated breath will run well. 17:00 I'm taking a chance on Sharaayeen in this one. I just think he might be a bit of a plot horse for this, looks like he has been put away for it. 8/1 is a decent price. 17:35 bit random, but I'm taking a chance on NOT TIL MONDAY in this one, e/w. He's reasonable over hurdles and since wearing a visor, has won his last two on the flat. Fallon on board, he will want to make up for missing out on the ride on VEILED earlier in the week. Good luck everyone, I just hope the rain doesn't make it a washout!