Canary oTutu

I''d like Gary Johnson of Bristol City. Good track record of having success whilst playing good football with both City and Yeovil. Nobody seems to have mentioned him.

Steve Bruce. My brother-in-law, who knows nothing about football, delivers turf and gardening supplies to Colney and it was the talk of the place this morning apparantly. The Turners have identified him as the man they want to trust with their transfer funds, and part of Grant''s reason for leaving was that they didn''t trust him. The only way they would invest majorly was to have a manager of their chosing in place, and so funds will now be made available. Apparantly hat was why he was at Loftus Road the other night, and why he is already making noises about leaving Birmingham. We live in interesting times hopefully.

I went yesterday. The positives were that nobody really had a bad game, and that defensively we looked solid-ish. Marshall is clearly having an effect on confidence levels at the back. The negatives were that we offered little in terms of chances or attacking cohesiveness. Plus we played against a poor team and they were better than us. The 4-1-2-1-2 didn''t quite work yesterday. Brellier is very comfortable with it though and his presence in front of the defence was another steadying factor. Lappin too, looked happy with his role. Russell wasn''t sure whether he was playing wide right or centrally though and in effect ended up playing neither. On the positive side though he worked very hard, battled well and played well despite being positionally confused. Chadwick however, didn''t have a scooby what he was supposed to be doing. I got the impression that he''d been told to play wherever he liked as you would usually be able to do with Hucks, and so Chadwick resorted to type and hung around near to the right of midfield with the odd dash across the park. Again, didn''t do much wrong when he had the ball but didn''t really know what his role was supposed to be. Brown and Dublin worked hard to muscle themselves into the game, but Mawene had things taped at the back and didn''t give them much of a chance. They also didn''t get close enough together for either to be much use when the other won any of the long balls that were being pumped up. Likewise, Chadwick wasn''t near to being close enough as a support player to offer a passing option most of the time. I think at home, the formation may prove more useful. Otsemobor and Drury will probably be able to push on more and on the odd occasion that they did yesterday, we looked at our most dangerous (although that wasn''t saying much). All in all, to play a new formation with umpteen new players, away from home, and to keep a clean sheet, is an adequate start to the season. Only because Preston were so poor in the final third does it seem like two points dropped. We weren''t great, or even very good, but there are signs that we are learning and improving tactically. My only worry is that so much seems to depend on Brellier. One injury could change the entire season. 

I wonder if he may be considering: Marshall Otsemobor DEFENDER Shackell Lappin Brellier Chadwick Etuhu Safri Cureton Huckerby   This would let Hucks off the leash to link up with Cureton.

1) Celia''s on the case. 2) Interesting point, which I hadn''t considered. Possibly a sign of the general desperation of fans to see new players come in. Generally speaking, Cureton''s goalscoring record at Championship level is better. Can''t help feeling that he needs a big striker to play-off as well though. Hucks and Cureton are unlikely to be prolific in the air! 3) In terms of using the Earnshaw money, I''m happy to back Grant''s judgement pre-season and let him live or die by the consequences. If we struggle before Xmas then January represents his last chance, but if his signings do gel, he may not need to spend millions to achieve the confidence and success we need. If we spend nothing between now and February and we are out of the play-off situation then I will change my tune, but Grant needs time and support. 4) Boadicea sat on wood. If it''s good enough for her...!!!

[quote user="Cluck "][quote user="Smudger"][quote user="nobbyg"] mmm averaging 5 posts a day, all negative, for the last 9 months. Thanks for all your help and support but really if you are that unhappy why don''t you turn away.  Everybody has a choice in everything they do in life. You do realise that at one minute per post you have spent 21 hours of the last 9 months replying negatively - let alone the hours spent reading and no doubt fuming. I have lived three and a half thousand miles away for the last year on a sub-tropical island but cannot wait for the day I return for a nil-nil draw on a Tuesday night against a far flung Lancashire club on a rainy february night.  Because your footballing CV got beyond under 15''s doesn''t give you the right to slate anybody elses footballing "knowledge".  In the same way my CV does not give me the right to tell you that you know nothing about financial accounts, business acumen or grounded discussion using a grown up sense of perspective. I trust you do not react in this manner when you ahve a family/work/friends issue. If you would like to post your points, in a bullet point format, about why the board are "scum" and have "lied to us" then City Angel, new season ticket bloke and I will respond. [/quote] I do not want them to respond thanks... they can support this club in to oblivion... Me and amny others however are sick and tired of the way this club is being ran and are set to demand changes... Quite simple really... so you can shove your bullet-points where the sun don''t shine as some people are just blind to the facts!!! [/quote] Smudger...the sad thing is that others cannot perceive your passion because they don''t have any themselves. They may have their dreams and they may have their fantasies...but bottle they do not. It''s a whole new animal out there nowadays...and will remain so until the "new age" luvvies find another hobby...or football declines once more as it surely will with so little substance to back the money. The battle is lost as far as trying to rally the "fans" to fight for something better...because remember you are dealing with "computer characters" on here, not real ones....and the main body of supporters in the real world have either had enough of this farce....or simply will not stump up the crazy price as the la de das seem happy to do (for now).  I''m looking at many outsiders from Londonville and beyond who have hijacked our once proud county club...and in doing so have created something different. Rather like the villages full of second homes....they destroy the integrity so they can dally with it at their leisure and right now we are being "dallied with" from the boardroom through to the trendy "spectators" in the ground. They deserve each other for the time being....and as I''ve said before...when they''ve done and moved on.....the grass roots fans will begin to come back. Until then....let the children play and go watch some honest football being played on the parks around the county. That''s where I''ll be anyway....far away from the spin of Norwich City Smith style........ They aren''t worth your energy mate. [/quote] There there, pay no attention to the nasty men Smudger, you really are very clever indeed, it must be so as Uncle Cluck says so. Now anyone who isn''t a rabid protestor is an out-of-towner, apologist, newly-found football fan. You''re funnier than you realise.

I''d like to register my vote as a season ticket holder of 24 years who was part of the Chase-Out demonstrations, and who doesn''t mind standing up and saying when something is wrong. NO Grant needs a chance, and the board are no worse than any other in the country that don''t have a sugar daddy bankrolling them. Smudger and Cluck can do one and I''ll happily turn up to any protest and laugh at their self-important mumblings. Cluck can discuss nothing about the club except the board because as an Ipswich fan stirring, and Smudger is a stay-at-home hero. BORES OUT!!!

Sharp as attack - City employ a 4-5-1 formation with Sharp up front on his own. Shar Pay - City miss out on dog-faced striker due to wage issues Pencil Sharp-ener - Billy loses weight in pre-season training

It''s certainly refreshing. We''ve needed to compete in the transfer market for years. Worthington was always polite, always courteous, and nearly always second best. Grant is proactive and aggressive in targetting who he wants. You get the feeling that even if he gets turned down, he always has a Plan B, whether it be an improved offer or an alternative signing. Much different to last summers "We lost out on Rob Hulse and Steve Howard and they were the only 2 players in the world that could have improved us, so we''ll go with what we''ve got" rubbish. Even if we miss out on Sharp and Eastwood, we can at least say we''ve competed and done our best. I can stomach missing out on good players as long as we''ve given it our best shot. With Worthington efforts were token at best, or non-existant at worst. And Grant has managed it all AND had a holiday as well!

[quote user="Mello Yello"][quote user="gazzathegreat"] McDs and Evil I salute both of you...Mello, watch out. [/quote] "I awoke bright and cheerful this early morn, the rising eastern sun was piercing through my bedroom curtains - like a welder''s oxy acetylene torch slices through steel plate. I gazed at my darling, she was smiling sweetly in her dreams. I delicately kissed her velvet cheek, she momentarily stirred from her deep slumber - and her beautiful smile broadened as she caressed my flowing blonde hair with her long, soft slender fingers. I felt warm, content and such a lucky, lucky man, to be sharing my nights  with my voluptious luscious lover, her crimson full pouting lips were glistening with the redness of a spring rose.......I went to the toilet........then got out of bed".......[:S] See, it''s really easy to write trendy student prose an'' stuff........You don''t have to be a such a clever dicky to write it!........[;)] [/quote]   "I wandered, jealous, of other clowns..."

I''m hoping to get to Preston too EM. A pint and a trip to the Football Hall of Fame beforehand I reckon, Cabbage permitting.

Still view, but rarely post Mate. Haven''t got the time since I changed jobs to get involved as regularly. However, the pc view that we must always tolerate others views no matter how hyperbolic, depressing or wallowing in their own crapulance has annoyed me and I can''t be bothered. I start reading the threads and some draw me in, but increasingly I read the first few posts and then an extremist comes on, and a moderate shouts them down, then another extremist says that you can''t do that because everyones opinions should be respected, etc etc which is rubbish. Why should we have to sit and read drivel and respond like the other person isn''t a tedious wind-up merchant? Why should every decent post get taken over by a few people who have the time to respond every two minutes with convoluted conspiracy theories? Wiz loves a wind-up but I do respect the fact that he starts his own posts, so you can respond if you want or ignore if you want. What he doesn''t do is take over others posts. I don''t agree with a lot of what he says, but he does have courtesy with other peoples threads, and when he does comment, at least he debates over a wide-range of topics concerning the club and football in general. Cluck however used to drive me nuts by jumping onto each and every post and banging on about Delia Smith constantly, which did nothing but encourage others to respond to his usually radical ramblings and turn every thread into a Delia debate. It just got sad and boring. However, when I expressed this view, I inevitably got told "You can''t say that, everyone''s allowed their opinion, do you only respect opinions that coincide with your own etc etc". I miss some of the decent debates with the likes of yourself EM, MBNCFC, McDougalls Perm, Jamie Wright, CityAngel, Dumbledelia is Magic and Sons of Bodecia, not all of whom I always agreed with, but all of whom at least explained their opinions and backed them up with facts. However, not enough has changed for me to bother coming back more regularly. I don''t want to sit here and spend ages debating with people I am never going to agree with. If I go down the pub, I sit with my mates and chat, I don''t go and sit with the pub bore and spend all night trying to bring him round to my way of thinking because we''ve obviously got nothing in common so why waste time and energy? Once I''ve established that I don''t like another persons views there''s no reason I should have to subject myself to their constant interjections. If you were sitting in the pub with fifteen other people around a table and found that one person was irritating in the extreme, do you keep conversing with the irritant, or do you ignore them and talk to the bloke next to you who you find pleasant company? If the irritant keeps following you and interrupting your conversation with their own single viewpoint or topic of conversation, the first few times you might humour them and politely try to track back to the conversation you were originally having. However, eventually you have to say "hang on, you''re just being rude, please don''t do that". The culture on here seems to be that no matter what, you have to tolerate this rudeness and never say if somethings wrong, or else be accused of bullying or whatever the media buzzword of the day is. It''s a shame because there have been some great debates on here at times, and some that have made me question my own opinions because of well-argued points by others with a differing viewpoint. My only stipulation is that to do this the viewpoint has to at least have been rooted in reality and not some fantasy conspiracy dreampt up by someone desperately seeking some kind of attention.

Light blue touch paper, stand back and ... Nice to see people taking themselves as seriously as ever, especially "Comedy" Mello! I see the transfer news is thin on the ground today. Safri to West Brom was all I saw, although the "if Koumas goes to the Premiership" aside probably means it''s rubbish.