coalman

Meanwhile in Middlesborough as the news was being received.

Only from protecting his near post. He'd now be retiring from keeping the other parts of the goal as well.

The opposing team can't shoot if they don't have the ball. Baz is a necessary component in the quest for 100% possession. Shot stopping isn't necessary in a modern football team.

If history has taught us anything it is that the lesson he has learned will be that he should have commited more fully to his philosophy. Or to put it in Martin terms - he wasn't brave enough.

We should stop being the final pay day for former players at the end of their careers. JWP said he was only going to a top team and went to.... West Ham where he couldn't even get in the team that was relegated.

I'd say it's more like the ex who used to tell you it was all your fault, never took the blame and said the only reason you were upset was because you were too stupid to understand how brilliant they are. Though the truth is that watching Martin's dogmatic approach meet reality head on again with increasingly poor outcomes is incredible car crash telly.

Mixed feelings. He was one of the signings I was most excited about last summer (more so than Scienza at the time). On the one hand he does stretch play and get crosses in. At the start of the season Still was, inexplicably, playing him as a wing back with the pint sized Armstrong as a focal point so peppering the box with crosses to a centre forward who doesn't score headers didn't play to his strengths at all. Since Tonda came in he's been playing higher up the pitch with Larin/Stewart in the middle which is better but his confidence seems to be lacking a bit. The big downsides I see are his tendency to easily get knocked off the ball in dangerous areas and lack of composure when shooting. I'm an Edozie fan and think he would have created more from 38 games than Fellows has. Matsuki looked more of a threat when played out on the right and he's not really a winger who is going to get to the byline. If we're not going to commit to giving Edozie a run in the team then either Fellows needs to get his mojo back or we could use an upgrade.

Or they could decide to make an example of him since he's not at one of the bigger clubs and it's currently fashionable to put the boot into Southampton. We also thought the EFL panel were going to be less brutal but they took every opportunity to look at every part of the case in the worst possible light.

I'm sure that will go smoothly. The Krasnodar president is renowned for his calm head during these kinds of transfer negotiations.

It is almost the ideal Russell Martin appointment. A side with resources far beyond the rest of the division. Scar tissue from multiple seasons of underachievement. Chance to lay the foundations of a culture that will affect the club far beyond his tenure. Players that just need a hug that are ripe for the kind of total Rusball philoshopy that makes them fall in love with football again. I would go as far as saying that if Leicester can't get promoted with Rusty at the helm then nobody could get a tune out of those players.

Don't forget the low lighting kitchen interview with Leicester's favourite son, Gary Lineker. After which, Lineker proclaimed him a future England manager and he promptly chose Rangers over Leicester.

Just makes it more imperative for us to be promoted next season. Don't think we want to be facing a buoyant Martin led Leicester after they come up.

I can imagine a number of their players are talking to their agents right now to talk about moves to Leicester.... "For fuck sake don't listen to any offers from Leicester now that twat is in charge"

He wasn't match fit when he joined us and got noticeably fitter as the season came to a close. I'm excited to see what he's like having had a full pre season with us.

It's been dyed red as well.