Essjayess

Been reading recent reports from Israel about a "small number, in the tens" of people, mostly under age 30, suffering from Myocarditis (heart inflammation condition) amongst the 5 million doses of the Pfizer vax given there. Once again, as with other vaccines and certain medical conditions, there is no definite link that this vaccine brought on this condition or whether its just a natural number one would expect to find in such a situation, as with the AZ vaccine and blood clotting issues. Just hope this is not a case of the Pfizer vaccine getting a somewhat blown up out of all proportion bad response as what happened to AZ. Surely by now its been shown that all vaccines by far have a very positive and safe role in helping to combat the spread of Covid.

15th away win of the season for City, thats just crazy...anyone good with stat records?..would this be our best away record in a season in any division for City?

The UK vaccination program has been tremendous and continues apace despite quite a few warnings in the past couple months about vax shortages...heck, even 1st dose numbers continue to rise by around 100k a day despite the 2nd dose now being the main centre of action. I wait each day to see any evidence of a definite rise in new case numbers due to the lockdown easing and / or the new Indian variant but right now the opposite is happening...still a slow decrease despite the UK now being at low numbers catching Covid. Globally thou Covid is still increasing even after more than a year...yesterday 892k new cases reported...another new record...due mainly to the huge numbers from India...but of note to that in the past few weeks quite a few Asian nations have seen either new daily highs or just a steady increase day on day of new cases. Has to be said to..after more than a year so many third world nations are still really only testing for Covid in small amounts so in those nations the number of affected with Covid being missed has run into millions...no doubting that.

So although the 6 have withdrawn form the Super League, presumably they have to re apply again to join the ECA and hence Uefa, etc?...if so, begs the question...for newly registered clubs again into the ECA etc, surely its crazy to just allow them to waltz straight back into their EPL positions as if nothing at all had ever happened?

So, apparently, having signed legally binding contracts to the SL (its not the ESL) and already having left the ECA and hence no longer belonging to FIFA, UEFA etc, these 12 clubs will play their virtual closed shop Mickey Mouse league with money coming in mostly from Asia and America. A dream come true here at home to get rid of the big 6 who long ago forgot or could not care about the forming roots of most of these clubs a century or more ago...good riddance. Of course its a wrench for true fans at home of these clubs, but honestly, theyve had countless years to see this coming. Yes there is going to be a big mess coming as regards the playing staff of these clubs and likely much court proceedings, but end of the day the beautiful game will survive and hopefully become a better model than what has been this last decade or two. They have virtually expelled themselves from the EPL so, make West Ham the Prem winners and promote the top 6 Champs clubs. So, Real Madrid alone have lost 400 million thru the global pandemic...my heart bleeds for them...not. The first and only good thing Covid has ever done...forced the hand of these egotistical money mad owners to upstakes and leave the real beautiful game behind...and just maybe...maybe..force the governing organisations of the game to get back to a more practical level. Our club..always going against the surging tide of foreign owned mega rich oligarchs...thru the happenings of the past 3 or 4 years...are now better placed than ever to ride out this Covid / SL storm and show the rest of this land how it should really be run. Delia and Michael, never caving in, have been the true shining beacons these past 20 years or more..being a fan of our home club feels even more special right now.

Was the end of a decent unbeaten run with wins that gives us promotion, we lost a player thru a red card, the opposition had at least one, maybe two, dubious goals when on another day they could have been flagged offside...these kinds of things happen to all teams and happens both for and against us at times, City are no different, we both benefit and suffer such things to...its what makes football unpredictable and constantly changing. Bournemouth are on a great run themselves, their team is stuffed with Premier league experience, i absolutely expected this result, but its one game in a season of 46...and that is the magic number...46. We have done better than Bournemouth, will end as Champions for a second successive season when playing this division...stupendous and a wonderful feeling. OTBC.

Swansea and Brentford both look nailed down to win their games tomorrow so i can see the Champers being put on ice for 1 more week. 4 draws and 1 defeat to equal exact stats of 2 years ago..long shot but could happen considering who we play. But eventually Swansea, Brentford, Watford and Bournemouth all have games coming up , just like us, where they have to play other teams in the top 6, so promotion is still just a matter of time. Pure guess like the rest on here, but a draw for me or a narrow defeat..for once i sense we could lose, but would not be disasterous.

Absolutely, and even more important, the man himself..he loves our football club, he loves the area, the people. If it was a job just about more money im sure he could have left many times before now to some club offering higher earnings but in life , sometimes, a guy will appreciate what he currently has, the responsibility placed upon him, what oppurtunities and goals lay in front of him in his current job, alongside his personal standards like not breaking contracts. He will leave when its time to, right now its not the time.

Also worth noting Cambodia, virtually untouched by Covid for a whole year but in the past few weeks been recording new cases in the 100s each day, low by our standards but a worrying sign there. Also deaths there were mostly 1 or less per month but around 2 a day now...just shows that, as with Eastern Europe during the 1st and 2nd waves that even nations untouched early on still have the possibility of being ravaged by this virus and its variants.

Another interesting stat is teams that have been Champions of the 2nd tier twice in 3 seasons since it started back in 1892..from what i can see its only happened twice before, Middlesbrough back in 1929 and Sunderland in the early 2000s, so if we do go up as Champions again its a very rare thing to happen.

There are now 10 European nations with Covid deaths per mill population worse than the UK (not inc. very small states like San Marino)...Italy, Slovakia, Macedonia, Belgium, Hungary, Montenegro, Czechia, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Slovenia. Some others, like Poland, are closing in fast. Considering we had a home grown Covid variant which swept thru the general population and our situation at the start of the year, the combo of a lengthy lockdown and pro active vaccine program in comparison to the EU has had a very pronounced and hugely needed affect on the numbers with Covid infection and those dying from Covid. Huge effort and enormous hard work for so many medical staff and others connected with all areas of reducing the awful effect of this horrid virus, im grateful to every one of them.

100 points is a big ask with such a high amount of top 6 teams to play still. As ive mentioned before 1 win 4 draws and 1 defeat will give identical stats to 2 seasons ago...27/13/6 and 94 points..it could actually happen given the teams weve to face. I would take that..it would give us Champions again most like. To me the most special factor in the stats Bill mentions is goals conceded...given the amount of goals weve shipped in the last few years and Daniel's almost religious philosophy for his topic of a solid defence then if we have a record breaking fewest goals in a season conceded then that would be an awesome record...not as headlining as 100 points maybe but a stat that would add to DF's status as one of the best City bosses of all time...he's that in my book already anyway.

Brave of you to come on here Tom, but glad you have done. The last sentence of yours sums things up well, for so long a time now City have had the bragging rights over Town, so much so that Town fans have to revert back to their achievements of a few decades previously to remind them that yes, once, they lauded it over the Canaries. I to am a fan that misses the derby days so in that respect i do wish for at the very least our closest neighbours and traditional rivals to see better times than whats been seen these past few years, tribalism is a big part of English football and it takes two to tango to see that tribalism at its best. This new purchase of ITFC does seem a big gamble, but then again, apart from the top 5 or 6 Prem clubs every season is a gamble for us all. Sad that the takeover moves ownership over to the other side of the big pond but these days english clubs owned by overseas guys or corporations is almost standard, making City's model ever more unique. So yea....good luck to Town...they're going to need lots of that...but of course never at the expense of lauding it over us.

Looking at the play offs / Euros you guys are right...no room for extension, but still is pretty bad for Rotherham. In the end i guess its Covid that is the real blame guy but even so, with to many silly international breaks, especially in Autumn time and that crazy League Cup schedule we had at start of the season, its been a season that does not need repeating again.

For poor Rotherham. Fighting like crazy as is their norm in the bottom 3, just viewed their remaining fixtures and after a busy Easter they face 4 games in 8 days next week, away on Saturday followed by home games on the Tueday, Thursday and Sunday. This season has already been congested enough, but the adamant stubborness of the EFL that the season cannot be extended by even a few days for a scenario such as Rotherham have to face is just ludicrous. Really do hope that the next season fixtures get back to a semblance of normality for all teams, be it in the Prem or the EFL.

Us and Watford..absolutely the two best teams in this division and as ever the table does not lie, both on great runs to. Another strange fact...we know our last 5 games or so are a pretty hard ending, but so are Watford's fixtures, they play us, Reading, Brentford and Swansea, with Millwall and Luton thrown in to for their last 6 games. Goes without saying it would be great to finish as Champions, but looking at the bigger picture, in last decade or so weve managed to get promoted in every way, 1st, 2nd and play offs, so only thing to matter is to make sure we get there again, then ponder how the heck we can enjoy more than one straight season up there. Good luck to Watford, hope we stay above them, but theyve proven that hornets are bigger than bees i guess.

Season starting to follow the season 2 years ago...in a strange kind of way..when we had a run of draws towards the end but stayed unbeaten then..and even more strange that we could easy finish with exactly same stats to...W27 D13 L6 Pts 94..now would'nt that be spooky..but i would take that...us as Champs again.

Thanks for the info Ricardo. Really starting to see new infections weekly rate decreasing again, something i did not expect but so good to see. I think whats happening is that some stubborn blue colored area these past few weeks, mainly in a line from North Lincs across South Yorks into Central Lancs and another around The Wash stretching down to Corby, are very slowly decresing now so helping to get the number decreasing again. Deaths and admissions continue to decrease and hopefully the 2nd vax dose program in April really starts to wind up. All still good and getting better.

Ever since UVDL opened her mouth and caused a lot of indecisions concerning the AZ vaccine this past 2 or 3 months, which filtered down thru to their populations and help build this feeling of unease about the AZ vaccine, all its done is help the slowness of vaccine take up in many EU states and beyond. This has been such a sorry saga, its the EU populations right now that are suffering with being so far behind in the vax programs, absolutely many will suffer as it clashes with massive new waves of infections to. I dont get involved with the rhetorics of both media and politicians either side of the Channel or North Sea, we are all Europeans and while im happy with the situation in the UK regarding the low state of Covid infections and deaths and the high uptake and state of the vaccination program, i absolutely feel for the general populations in the EU who will and are suffering thru those indecisions.

3800 cases...wow..and deaths very low to. From what i can see, even it being a weekend day, that is the lowest daily new infections total since mid September. Of course big test ahead when shops etc re open but so far its very encouraging in all areas, be it cases, testings, vaccinations, hospital admissions..even more so when looking the state of things elsewhere in Europe.

I think my heart says the same as your final sentence Lakey and even my head says why would DF want to move away anywhere else now or in the forseeable future. I dont just look at a manager / head coach solely on what division / position we finish at end of each season but at the big picture..his relationship with the players, with the club, the clubs relationship with him..many other factors...all put together i rate DF at the top..yes, better than Walker, Lambert, Saunders...you name it. Cant be over stated how much Daniel loves this club and its fans..and the vast majority of fans have a camaraderie with him to. Of course to he knows each season is a hard slog...be it in the Prem or Champs and that there is always more work ahead..but thats what he loves and what hes here for. In these Covid stricken times, never mind what shape the club was in when DF arrived, he has, along with SW of course, just worked wonders in completely turning the club around in all areas...giving him a new contract goes without saying, simply put, there is no one better out there.

Daily infections for the 7 day rolling rate have increased by 6.4% in the UK...this must be the 1st increase in daily infections since sometime in January, a bit of a sad thing but not unexpected, given last Friday's abnormally low rate. After around 2 months or more of infections decreasing its always sad to see an increase again, but given kids are back to school, quite a few variants around plus the big infection increase across the EU its to be expected. I had sure expected this, had seen the decrease slow to a trickle the last couple weeks, but lets really hope the level out can be kept stable as 5 or 6k cases a day is a vast difference to the daily 68k we had in early January. But it will be a hard call, with businesses expecting a gradual opening up in the near future, its another crossroads time, seeing if we can avert another wave sweeping us.

There was over 6000 cases last Thursday to VW, and that day saw the smallest 7 day rolling decreae in weeks of just 1.2%, i had expected the first increase the next day, but strangely that was saved a lower than normal Friday daily of just 4800. The decrease today is again just at 2% so if tomorrows cases are above 6000 again then itll be the first increase in quite a long time. Even so, 6000 daily new cases has to weighed up against the daily testings of over 1.8 million so new infections are now truly a very small percentage indeed.

I looked closely at nearly all areas of the UK as regards new infections and the 7 day rolling rate. There is now almost a 50/50 split in areas where infections are showing small rises and those showing small decreases, Norfolk is a perfect example of whats happening nationally with small increases in Norwich, Broadland and North Norfolk and small decreases in rest of the county. But nowhere was there any sharp movements in either direction, which suggests as of now that around a 5k a day in new infections is and has been the average for a couple of weeks, albeit with still a very slight decrease. But the two most important areas, deaths and hospital admissions have shown big decreases of course and the decrease amounts are still pretty good. That, more than anything else is the good and positive thing and the testing and vaccination programs are doing their job in stifling the virus, without of course eradicating it. The one big test naturally will come as lockdown slowly eases, that is to come, but for now things still improve.

1.9 million daily tests...thats just incredible. So good to see deaths and hospital admissions still decreasing and even daily infections still showing small decreases on the 7 day rolling data, despite local flare ups in places such as Rotherham. Vaccinations now approaching 28 million on first dose, well over 2 mill on 2nd dose. Everything then still moving in the right direction, such good news.