Lighthouse

You’ll get situations like players taking a step back at the far post to win a header getting fouled, or someone’s legs getting taken out doing a Cruyff turn or step over at the touch line. Or you’ll get certain situations where it’s better for the keeper to just blatantly rugby tackle an attacker because an indirect free kick is better than the current defensive situation. It’s an unnecessary change to solve a problem that doesn’t really exist. A professional footballer like Shea Charles should be able to mark a man without stepping on his heels. The fact that they were going away from goal just makes it even more unnecessary on his part.

Way too open to interpretation, that’d cause a hundred times more issues than it’d solve. Charles was clumsy, it was a foul in the penalty area. Stonewall penalty as it should be IMO.

Sadly Diamond blew her knee ligaments out filming the last series so she's not been in this one. I wouldn't kick any of them out of bed for eating Pringles though.

After the trip to CR we bemoaned our side getting beaten by a crap team in the relegation zone. With hindsight, that game was basically the start of an absolutely monstrous run of form from them, which would comfortably have them in the playoffs extrapolated over the whole season. Won’t be easy.

Seems like you're making up a conversation to have with yourself, as I've never said or implied that. He should never have been in charge of signing players and neither should Tonda if we get promoted. The players we signed in summer '24 were dreadful and were never going to get close to staying up under any manager.

Yep, you've spotted the point there, I'm glad we agree. If we go up and sign more 'back up' to our current squad we will get annihilated again in the PL, Tonda, Russ or otherwise.

You think Wood, Edwards, Lallana, Fraser, Cornet, Sugawara, Archer and BBD would basically have been fine for any other manager than Martin, even though Juric and Rusk couldn’t do any better with them? Weird how no other PL club came in for them in summer.

A repeat of last season will depend on whether we sign PL quality players or bottom half Championship ones. If we repeat the latter, the manager will be basically irrelevant, as three different people proved last season.

Lordy Lordy… I’m off to mow the lawn. It’s been a pleasure chaps.

F*ck a duck, that could have gone anywhere.

Why? All West Brom did is basically what we’ve done today, arrive with a well drilled plan to stop us playing our game and keep it water tight at the back. You can’t win them all and sometimes you just have to put your hands up and appreciate an opponent did a professional job.

Yes boys!!

Everyone who watches the pair of them training every day seems to disagree. We’ve seen absolutely nothing from NO to suggest he’s ready for regular, first team football.

I guess Coventry are sort of rivals for Villa, it could work.

That’s a big let off, should have scored.