Old Shuck

Yes, this. He'll be bringing in more than, when the time comes, a new head coach. Would expect the data and scouting teams to have a major reboot as well.

Agree-I would still be like a small child if it snowed and, please-please-please, looked as if it would settle. Would just disregard work and look out of the window! Can't even remember any 'proper' frosts last winter-the bright white wash on the lawn, pond frozen solid. that sort of thing. Remember slides in the playground, have some of the present young 'uns never had that pleasure? Winters will be mild temperatures, strong winds and heavy rain from now on. Plus, in Brancaster, the type of storms coming off the sea that push the tides ever higher with the potential to do a lot of damage, certainly in Brancaster Sraithe.

I rather think Alex Neil's play off winning side would tear the current lot a new one with room to spare: it would be like Man Utd vs Man City on Sunday. Cam would enjoy himself no end. But then Worthy's 2003/04 side might just have given them a good game. And so on and so forth. I hope we don't end up lamenting for what we have now in the 2026/27 season!

Not even the best player called Williams to play for us.

I'd happily subscribe to & pay for coverage from the Champs, L1 and L2 plus FA and League Cups. Premier League and Champions League can go their own way. £29.99 pcm for Sky Sports via Now TV at the moment is testing me to the limit, far too many forgettable games that soon see me switching channels as well. Even Man Utd vs Man City yesterday was more of a training exercise for the latter, punctuated by occasional outbreaks of action. But gripping it was not.

The problem is, if the game does change, it will only be to the further detriment of all but the biggest clubs. Note how Rugby League is handing out 'Grade A' status to its leading clubs-a points system based on their respective merits in 'Fandom' (?), Performance, Finances, Stadium and Community. It effectively removes any threat of relegation from the top clubs whilst ends the prospects of promotion for many-so, for example, London Broncos won promotion on merit to Super League last season but, when the 'Grade A' ruling sets in, they'll be, under this new criteria, be dropped back out of Super League, even if they finished in the top 3! You don't think the Premier League isn't keeping a very careful eye on this. What it would mean for football is that clubs such as ourselves, Bournemouth, Luton and Watford (amongst many) would be unable to take a place in the Prem by merit whilst clubs like Leeds, Sunderland and Sheffield Wednesday might end up back in it because they tick the five qualifying boxes better than we all do.

He's done. It's over and it looks as if he knows it. So we scratch a lucky win against Blackburn and then get turned over by Cardiff? Rinse and repeat. The QPR match is assuming rather significant proportions, not so much as a relegation six-pointer but a chance for us to show we are, at least, better than them. I hope. If its Knapper's man, I reckon Jack Wilshere.

Richie Wellens hasn't done too badly and his teams play good football-won the L2 title with Orient last season and has them up to 12th now after a shaky start which, given their size and budget, is quite an achievement.

Whoever it is, I'd like us to go a bit leftfield again-in the manner of Farke, Neil or even, back in the day (and, admittedly, after Phil Neal said "no thanks" only hours after he'd said "yes please") Mike Walker...but, having said that, we'll probably go all Michael Appleton, Gary Rowett or Garry Monk again.

Replacing Walker with Deehan was a rum'un. Guess that was Chase not wanting the possibility of having to pay out for a big name. But we would have been a big draw then, despite the financial issues and am sure if we'd have got someone in who was building a reputation for themselves back then, we might have continued to do well.

I'm looking for a piece I read not long after Knapper's appointment was confirmed where he said, I'm 90% certain, that he knew and had worked with Michael Beale in some capacity previously. Which, not unnaturally, led me to the conclusion that Beale would be 'his man' or certainly an option if and when that scenario came into play. And he's currently unemployed.... However, given Pelach's rising reputation and his own ambitions, I wonder if his coming here included a hint that he'd be considered for the top job if the situation arose. If Wagner leaves, Buhler and maybe Hughes might go with him. But think Pelach is ring fenced.

Yes, a wonderful tribute. Wow.

Nailed it. We're like the folk who stand in the checkout at Sainsbury's as their trolley load of stuff goes through then, when the person at the checkout tells them how much it is, looks shocked that they now has to pay for it all and fumbles their way to the bottom of a bag looking for a buried purse or wallet.....whilst everyone else is standing there, armed and ready, debit card in hand....

UEFA have their collective tongues firnly in a dark place by continuing to call their premier competition the 'Champions' League. Perhaps they think no-one has noticed? And they can fumble, fudge and flim-flam the issue all they like, the fact remaims that the likes of Al Nassr et al will be competiting in it by 2028, possibly earlier. And England will announce a friendly match date in Saudi Arabia by the end of this season.

The tail doesn't as much wag the dog in modern football as the flea on the tip of the tail wags it on behalf of the dog. Another shift in the game that might affects the entire pyramid in order to sate the few that are playing in Europe who, apparantly, need the 'support' it will give them as they negotiate the rescheduled and enlarged Champions League. There was talk last season of scrapping the League Cup "...because of the extra games Champions League clubs will have to play". **** right off. **** off. Now. **** off to your European Super League and take your sponsors, corrupt owners and gilded lilies with you. Entertain those billions of TV viewers sat with their half and half scarves across the world getting off on Liverpool vs Paris St Germain for the 5th time in less than a year. **** off and leave the rest of football to the fans.

I guess with Farke, it would be a case of seeing him in his office and saying, "I'm going to train really hard and show you I deserve a place in the team" rather than "I've trained really hard and should be in the team". Managers and coaches put so much emphasis on training now when it comes to team selection. It feels as if performance and effort in training almost comes above form on the pitch, especially if the latter doesn't coincide with the former. Long gone are the days when the great Liverpool, Leeds and Forest sides, amongst others, rolled in at 11, played a bit of 5 a side for an hour or so before heading off for an afternoon of golf or to the races. Maybe that's the secret!

All but the uber elite are selling clubs if the right offer is made. Tottenham didn't want to sell Kane....and, long ago, we didnt want to sell Maurice Norman, Ron Davies or Kevin Reeves. Did Delia sell them as well?

Yes, read and heard it first in Iwan's piece on the homepage here just now.

I'd barely written that before the club announced its new *five year contract* for Sergent. Well shut my mouth! OK. I bet they never offer Rowe a similar deal....waiting....waiting......

I bet we never offer a player a contract of that length again. Five years is extraordinary. The most you hear or read from any club is four. With us there is usually, and will continue to be, the option of another year, usually two plus one. That'll be what, ultimately, Rowe and Sergent are offered. If its below their wishes or they feel they want to move on this summer, we can then be advised how '....we wanted 'x' to stay and offered him a new deal but he has chosen to leave the club', therefore softening the blow, PR wise, and making the player (like, one example, Howson) look the villian.

Yes Vince. Right from the start it was shown that Attanasio wasn't the proverbial 'big spender' where the Brewers were concerned & that his approach to growing the club and business was about much more than that. No surprises there. I think his son will ultimately play a bigger and bigger role with us on a day to day basis and probably get the place on the board that he is 'owed' as a result of his investment. As for Knapper-I've read the posts and opinions of those who claim we bottled it by not headhunting someone who was already a DOF or similar, however, I suspect their disappointment surrounds the fact that they thought, somehow, we'd display some 'ambishun' by appointing Ferran Soriano, Michael Edwards or Julian Ward. Knapper was once thought of as a possible replacement for Edu at Arsenal. If that still remains the case in 2-3 years time, then he will have done a very good job here.

Sara would slot in very well at Fulham or similar. Rowe has a feel of Crystal Palace about him. Doubt either will leave in January. But, as has been said, the summer will spin a very different yarn Plus we'll get someone on a free from Watford to soften the twin blow.

Think we're starting to see the sort of rut we were in at the end of last season. Lots of puffed up chests and grim expressions followed by even more soundbites about 'hurting' and 'letting the fans down'. Optimism for first 15 to 20 minutes of match characterised by sitters, the missing of, Then we concede a soft goal, respond by switching to a 1-1-8 formation and concede another. Rinse and repeat. Cov 2 Narch 0.

Can't see us finishing in the top 2-Leicester will walk away with then title bar something extraordinary happening, whilst Leeds as good a bet as anyone for second. Then its a mad and undignified rush for the next four places with as many runners and riders in it as the Grand National-with lots of fallers and a few surprises along the way and at the end. Sunderland, West Brom, Ipswich, Southampton, Swansea, Middlesbrough, Norwich amongst them. 1. Leicester, 2. Leeds, 3. Sunderland, 4. Ipswich, 5. Norwich, 6. West Brom. A repeat of 1985?

And they'd be right, he won't leave them for Rangers. Kevin Muscat amongst the genuine frontrunners.