trousers

I used to have this problem with supermarket brand cling film... switched to Bacofoil brand and.... oh boy... absolute game changer....!

I guess the argument is, what's the point of getting the former right if we can get the latter right...

Statistically, I don't think there's enough parallel universes in existence for that far-fetched scenario to ever occur...

This has been said a lot today but is it actually true? Personally, I've no idea what the Tories did or didn't do as I've not been following the story closely enough, but I've also read that the Tories were acting on a number of the recommendations. The tweet below, for example* *Yes, I'm fully aware this Emily person I've quoted is an ex-Tory advisor so, of course, her thoughts can be filed under "well, she would say that, wouldn't she" (as with all confirmation-bias 'evidence' on either side of a debate), but is she blatantly lying or is there any substance behind this alternative viewpoint?

Whereas we always play our players in their strongest, most natural positions...

In a parallel universe, my old love buddy Ralph is still at the helm with Dragan's cash to play with, a proper football board structure in place, tearing up the league, and getting ready for another European campaign... 😁 #dreamon #oxfordcomma

*Ahem*

You seem to be implying we have players to whom that statement doesn't apply...?

I'll leave it for @Matthew Le God to point out that this is the first round that PL sides are involved in the FA Cup and, as such, we haven't had a chance of being knocked out yet...

When reminding yourself that such a striker might have been out there, will you also be reminding yourself that they might not...?

Good job we've got a fantastic "recruitment department" then, rather than having to rely upon Saintsweb members who know zilch about such matters (apparently) to convince players to join us...

Bless you

A bit like when we rolled the dice recently and got in a new manager you mean...?

Thinking out loud, I guess the only way loaning in a player now would make sense is if we can get a guarantee to roll the loan over into next season too. That way, we get to bed them in for longer. But, that's not how loans tend to work, unfortunately, so probably best if I stop this thinking out loud malarkey...! 😁

Fair point 👍

Yep, have had a few of those this evening too

Other than 'rules for rules sake' why would the powers-that-be put an arbitrary cap on this? It's not as if a player could move clubs more than 3 times a season (realistically) anyway, given there are only two transfer windows, and it would no doubt be a rare occurrence anyway. What advantage and/or problem are they trying to suppress? (Probably something obvious that I'm missing)

Yeah, quite possibly. My frustrations with the ownership clouding my usual rational thoughts! 😁

I could've sworn Juric was asked in one of his first interviews whether he's been told he could bring new players in during January and his answer was "yes"...? (I'm not saying we should be spaffing money on anyone, just recalling that Juric seemed to think it would/could happen)

If there was ever one sentence that summed up the clowns 'running' this club, that is it. There's amateur then there's these buffoons. What club thinks it's normal to sit around a table to discuss transfer options for the first time 7 days into a window? (Yes, I appreciate that it would have probably happened sooner if Martin had stayed in post, but regardless, surely it could've happened sooner?). Bunch of sleepwalking cretins.

Inevitably, there will be people that compare Jurić's first 16 games in the PL with what Martin achieved in his 16 PL games. However, that wouldn't be comparing like-with-like... Martin's 16 games were preceded by a full pre-season and with an inherent feel-good factor about the place. Jurić isn't starting from the same place. Firstly, as you say, he's got players that aren't "front footed fooball" fit. And, secondly, he's not had any preparation time to instill his way of playing and unprogram the possession-based-football 'automatisms' that are ingrained in the players' minds. It's obviously a tad concerning that after a relatively competitive start versus West Ham, we appear to have taken steps backwards in the following 2 games, but that could just be the consequences of the club trying to change the whole playing philosophy mid-season, which will inevitably lead to disjointed and inconsistent performances. I gave Martin the benefit of the doubt for 10 games this season; I think we need more than that to judge Jurić, given the significant headstart Martin had over him.

Dear Sport Republic.... Given we're already down and out, how about signing this Bishop fella to help send Portsmouth Community FC back down to Divsion 3?

Yeah, in all seriousness, when having to get one's fix of matchday reactions from the likes of Facebook and Twitter at the weekend it actually makes you realise that this place is a veritable sanctuary of rational thought by comparison.... (ok, maybe over-egging it slightly there....! )

By what measure? Before Saturday's game, Brentford had played 9 aways, drawing 2 and losing 7 (0.22 points per game). We had played 10 aways, drawing 2 and losing 8 (0.2 points per game).... Some might also say that Brentford's aways were on the trickier side too.... Liverpool, Man City, Spurs, Man Utd, Fulham, Villa, Chelsea. (they took the lead in 4 of those matches, FWIW)