Badger

That’s not true though is it ? There’s a difference between paying them “their worth” and paying them what they think they’re worth. For JJM we weren’t going to match silly money for a teenager reported at the time that he’d been offered at Chelsea. Gomes is a shame he left but at the time I read that one of his gripes was limited prospects of a pathway to the first team and not being involved or around the first team often. Perhaps mismanagement or perhaps someone at SFC at the time didn’t think he was that advanced.

Good one. Used to be good listening and entertaining on the way home from a match. Immediately switch off in recent years when we had Sutton and Savage trying to fabricate a discussion. Even ‘Call me David’ Mellor was an improvement on those two.

I’m a bit surprised that the Irish team can decide who they shake hands with before the game and just declare they’re not engaging in this prematch ritual. Irrespective of their stance on Israel and whether right or wrong, this isn’t the making of individual players. I’d have expected UEFA to react to this but no doubt they’ll choose the easy option and ignore it. The bowing of the heads looked pretty pointless. Perhaps England should do this at the next WC if playing Argentina and showing respect to opponents and their national anthem is optional.

Outside of Ireland - and wider British media - and Israel their actions are unlikely to have been registered.

It doesn’t take Einstein to suggest that demoted to L2 even they’ll start the season with a bigger and better squad than Cheltenham, Exeter, Gillingham and the like.

For what purpose? So that someone else can qualify for the 2018/19 Champions League, for example ?

This is a good thread here, Swedish Dave, (or David in Sweden). Raises some interesting points (in your inimitable style) but has gone overlooked as a) there are fewer old sods to read it, and b) most are understandably caught up in the FA/Spygate affair. Mention of Derek Reeves. His career was came to an end before I was interested, although older relatives rated him. I didn’t understand your comment re record club goal scorer as Channon and MLT would in my lifetime both overtaken him. But on reading about him realise you must have meant in a season, when he scored 39. Big Ron got close once but ‘only’ managed 37 or 38. Other things about Reeves, reading he scored four away at Man City in the FACup, and five v Leeds at home in the League Cup. Both 1960. Has anyone scored four in an FA Cup match for us since ? I’ve thought of myself as fortunate to have seen Davies, Paine (et al from the ‘Alehouse’),Channon, Keegan, Ball, MLT and Lambert play for Saints (although Big Ron and Paine past their peak). If you’ve seen Reeves, Big Ron at his prime, (and George O’Brien - another name from the older ones) play then that seems a pretty charmed time to have followed Saints.

I can’t really get caught up in the hysteria about Man City. It doesn’t come as any surprise when you look at the ownership of some of the clubs that there are ‘dodgy’ dealings. My concern over this is the timing and how it might influence our outcome. Will the FA be swayed by the outcry and the masses baying for blood to dish out a heavier penalty to Tonda, just to put them on a moral high ground and being seen to “clean the game up” type of bollocks ?

I read somewhere that if their deduction was pro rata with Leicester's financial failings then it would be about 1,000 point deduction.

Another bearded hipster type appointment. Accept that Plymouth beat a weakened Liverpool in the Cup but apart from that his lasting achievement there was his YouTube video and table thumping team talk. Good job ‘Ted Talk’ Ankersen won’t be involved in the selection.

But what about the bloke who laid the foundations at Luton for him ?

Hasn’t Rasmus now gone from the club, and his influence with it ? He was named as the ‘link’ before.

Luton, Sheff Weds spring to mind. Skates ?

Top for me: proper striped shirts. Most of Monk’s list are from the 1990’s. For me I’d like to see the following brought back : FA Cup draw - Monday lunchtime by the FA, not a past player or celebrity in sight. All previous round matches to be completed before the draw (weather and postponements aside) Replays until Quarter Final stage. Third Round Saturday. Majority of games ko at 3pm on that day. Only a handful moved for tv. Plus: Internationals midweek not cancelling a full round of fixtures on the Saturday. Non playing; Like the idea of Shoot magazine, having bought the first edition in 1969. When my boys were growing up in early 2000’s didn’t seem to be anything comparable. Finslly for the youngsters, the reintroduction of the orange Wembley Trophy football. No playground used to be without one (or several).

Agree in theory, but both would be regarded unPC in today’s climate. Greaves would be banned, and Baddeil seems to have joined Lineker and the woke luvvies. Wouldn’t work.