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Deep down I think we all knew a result like that one was coming, although most of us would have probably hoped for it to happen with a bit less of a whimper. A tough game to watch and a harsh lesson for all of us, but it's still very early days and Grayson needs all the support he can get.

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On 21/08/2017 at 4:15 PM, Michael* said:

Deep down I think we all knew a result like that one was coming, although most of us would have probably hoped for it to happen with a bit less of a whimper. A tough game to watch and a harsh lesson for all of us, but it's still very early days and Grayson needs all the support he can get.

Haven't seen them yet this season but Sunderland's start seems typified by Aiden McGeady, the definition of an 'on his day' player. I suspect Grayson would take bouncing around the 9th to 14th bracket for the next few months, unenthralling as that may sound to a fan travelling back from a shellacking at Barnsley, before finding a better groove. Regarding the assumed arrival of McCormack: such is the might of the all-too-real Villa curse that I wouldn't be too surprised if he ended up being a bit good again in different colours (notwithstanding a terrible loan spell to Forest last season).

 

As for us, no major surprises except the delightful emergence of Keinan Davis. Played quite well against Norwich but have otherwise bored/mildly disgraced our way to the international break. In no way convinced by Bruce, now, tomorrow or yesterday nor Terry, who's been rubbish so far. Elmohamady exists only to answer the question 'what if Alan Hutton were Egyptian?'

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On 8/27/2017 at 10:51 AM, Frederick said:

Haven't seen them yet this season but Sunderland's start seems typified by Aiden McGeady, the definition of an 'on his day' player. I suspect Grayson would take bouncing around the 9th to 14th bracket for the next few months, unenthralling as that may sound to a fan travelling back from a shellacking at Barnsley, before finding a better groove. Regarding the assumed arrival of McCormack: such is the might of the all-too-real Villa curse that I wouldn't be too surprised if he ended up being a bit good again in different colours (notwithstanding a terrible loan spell to Forest last season).

 

As for us, no major surprises except the delightful emergence of Keinan Davis. Played quite well against Norwich but have otherwise bored/mildly disgraced our way to the international break. In no way convinced by Bruce, now, tomorrow or yesterday nor Terry, who's been rubbish so far. Elmohamady exists only to answer the question 'what if Alan Hutton were Egyptian?'

 

I don't know if half-watching as Newcastle helped themselves to the title last season had convinced everybody that the Championship would prove similarly breezy for us this year, but it does seem like our expectations of this division are a factor in our current malaise. It's been a long time since we were last here, a lot has changed and we can't expect to beat battle-hardened sides like Leeds and Barnsley by playing off the cuff, particularly with half a squad still accustomed to treating 17th-place finishes as cause for celebration. Let Grayson get on with the job, I say, even if it has to get worse before it gets better.

 

My reservation about the likes of Terry is always how difficult it is to imagine them being motivated for an away trip to Burton or Bristol City in the same way they would have been for a Premier League game. Even if he's physically capable, which is up for debate as well, there can't have been many players who managed to maintain the same levels of intensity after only ever knowing the so-called 'big time'.

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23 hours ago, Michael* said:

My reservation about the likes of Terry is always how difficult it is to imagine them being motivated for an away trip to Burton or Bristol City in the same way they would have been for a Premier League game. Even if he's physically capable, which is up for debate as well, there can't have been many players who managed to maintain the same levels of intensity after only ever knowing the so-called 'big time'.

He still shouts and swears at refs, stamps the ground when he doesn't get a decision and generally acts like a goon so in that respect, the man we all knew and loved for all those years is still with us. He did well to not have three or four penalties given against him at Bristol City, so thank you to the presumably star struck ref for that. Bruce also madly decided to throw Samba, who looks even more punch drunk than JT, into the mix for that game and it was an absolute shambles that was predictably discarded almost immediately.  

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The transfer window slams shut (© Sky Sports News) then. Considering Grayson's job description of feeding 5,000 using five loaves of bread and two fish, yesterday wasn't too bad for us. I think we all assumed that the proposed loan deal for McCormack was on the cards, but we have three strikers in the squad with another two still to come back from injury, and have at least rebuilt in a few areas that were seriously lacking. Let's see where we are in January.

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On 01/09/2017 at 2:21 PM, Michael* said:

The transfer window slams shut (© Sky Sports News) then. Considering Grayson's job description of feeding 5,000 using five loaves of bread and two fish, yesterday wasn't too bad for us. I think we all assumed that the proposed loan deal for McCormack was on the cards, but we have three strikers in the squad with another two still to come back from injury, and have at least rebuilt in a few areas that were seriously lacking. Let's see where we are in January.

Seems we pulled the plug on the big Tommy Elphick move, which tells you a lot about the first impressions Terry and Samba have made.

You know Sky are phoning it in when C list blowhards like Joleon 'bum tweet' Lescott and Shay Given are on duty during primetime, it almost made me long for Guillem Balague's phone call from a West London lounge bar purporting to be from Spain! The only outright highlight was when some fans started shouting over one of the Car Park Frankensteins, prompting the usual wobbly apology. Needed much more of that.

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1 hour ago, SympathysSilhouette said:

We qualified after eight games so I should be happy, but I can't say that the football under Bobby Martinez has suggested that all of the ails of the Wilmots era have been cured.

 

So far, I'm unsure what to think about Martinez at international level. He seems to have this Belgian side playing much more direct football, which isn't something I'd usually associate with him.

 

Still, outside of the Spain game, I suppose he hasn't really had to face many major tests yet.

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8 hours ago, Michael* said:

 

So far, I'm unsure what to think about Martinez at international level. He seems to have this Belgian side playing much more direct football, which isn't something I'd usually associate with him.

 

Still, outside of the Spain game, I suppose he hasn't really had to face many major tests yet.

 

We were pretty poor against Greece, which isn't a great team.

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On 9/7/2017 at 0:07 AM, jkjk said:

The France / Lux result seems like it should be impossible.

 

Perhaps Gareth Southgate, after eking out that result against Malta, is a better manager than I gave him credit for. :laugh:

 

Then again, I never really rated Didier Deschamps at the highest level of management either. Such a wealth of attacking talent at his disposal, but seemingly so incapable of setting up a fluid starting eleven.

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Oh the neverending tedious inevitability of it all! Hogan blocked one off the line for them, them!  Lose to Barnsley, which I firmly expect we will, and I expect Bruce will be canned. Even though he's rubbish and will likely always be rubbish, my blood lust is pretty low at the moment because who would we end up with instead? This must be what the David Platt era at Forest felt like.

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12 hours ago, Michael* said:

If they've got any sense, Birmingham will go out and get Harry Redknapp to replace Harry Redknapp. After miraculously avoiding relegation with Spurs in the year they took just two points from their first eight games, this would be a breeze for him.

Haven't checked the betting but surely one to get Moyesy off the golf course? They've still got these eleventy seven new Harry players to bed in so send in a grim Glaswegian pragmatist to organise them (as previously enjoyed during their greatest ever era).  

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8 hours ago, Frederick said:

Haven't checked the betting but surely one to get Moyesy off the golf course? They've still got these eleventy seven new Harry players to bed in so send in a grim Glaswegian pragmatist to organise them (as previously enjoyed during their greatest ever era).  

 

I would expect Redknapp Sr to join the ranks at Sky Sports now in fairly short order, they'll be needing someone to provide analysis on why Harry Kane should win the Ballon D'or.

 

My money is still just about on a middle-order Scottish side being the Chosen One's next destination, although it's hard to rule out the possibility of him convincing some desperate Championship chairman that he was just the guy left holding the parcel when we finally got ourselves relegated. Out of the frying pan and into the fire springs to mind, for all concerned.

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