CBX1985

There is someone who sits in the west stand who literally gets really annoyed by the bad language and has threatened to report all and sundry to the authorities. Much amusement is had watching his annoyance.

Are they giving you day release for the game?

215 by my count. Give it twenty more hours at that rate.

Cashin signed a new deal, with Brighton being interested. He will be being paid Championship (at least!) money. NML the same.

I think it's the voice. He just sounds like him; combined with a dry humour.

It was exactly the same with McGoldrick last year. They still have footballing ability and brain above the level, even if the pace is more akin to where they are playing. Staggering he was left on the shelf to the extent everyone decided not to give him a go seemingly because no one else was.

It's not walk ups, I believe, but non season ticket holders. You can have an all ticket match, but don't think you are able to sell all seats in a ground as season tickets.

I do agree; I have never wanted him to be sacked. Lots did, but I think them delusional if they ever thought it would have happened.

I agree, but I can't see how we could afford to sack a manager that we must have offered strong contractual terms to poach from a side he had managed for six years, and played for for nine! It would have totally destroyed our business plan. Before it is said, LR was never appointed to the top job, just interim, so would not have been a ruinous pay off.

1-0 DCFC 90+5 Barkhuizen.

I know. All that money Clowes has spent and Warne has seen us second from bottom and playing Bolton to stay up. Oh, wait....!

This is true, though there is a lot of playing with the numbers to avoid declaring profit. In any event, should that happy day arrive, Clowes will likely receive part of his interest free loan back.

Controversial take, but they kept us running by hook or by "crook"; a buyer was found. I think they did what was needed of them. It is a tough and thankless job, but I think in the circle of blame at what took place, I'm not even sure they make the cut.

Indeed. The silver lining will be that we probably won't have any CT many years due to loss carry forward

One good player a year (either to break into the first team or to sell on to a club further up the pyramid [I'm loathe to say bigger]) and it pays for itself.

I suspect if we sold out week in week out a solution would be found to add extra. Once or twice a season, the powers that be probably think the cost outweighs the additional seating and likely some will miss out anyway (alongside the kudos of being able to confirm a game an "all ticket sell-out").

Portsmouth have finished 0-0

I watch the PL, but don't really care who wins either. However, the experience of fans in general is much better thanks to those innovations. Pre-SKY, they were treated like s***. The Baseball Ground pitch was a mud patch. Now we (or did) have all seaters, with hospitality. The parallel world you describe exists today. It is practically all those countries that don't have a top league. Why watch Rhyl or Melbourne Utd or Tokyo Allstars when you can watch Man City, or Chelsea etc? The Premier League being that league would not have stopped that process, happening it would have just meant it was some other league that benefited (and their second and third tiers also, by extension). The difference being that we can play Man City and may, with time and luck, be in that division. That gives us a reason to survive and a reason to attract new fans.

Nice sentiment, but we live in a market economy and professional football is one of the most competitive work environments of in the world. The Premier League sells for big money all over the world. The leagues below, for which we belong, are all - in reality - in competition with those clubs (i.e. they can go down and we can go up). Unless you have a wage cap, in which case everyone will want to be paid the cap regardless of ability, halving wages cannot feasibly happen. Teams that want to get into the PL are always going to want to spend to get there. Teams don't have to pay any wages they don't want to; we wouldn't want to become League Two so need to pay a going rate for a short career that may end any given week that of 100 talented footballers, 1 will break through into an established pro. They are highly skilled and require fair remuneration of that fact. Sky TV money is the lifeblood of the game. What some don't like is it's affects on their experience, as they are not the primary consumer: Sky are. i would rather healthy balance sheets but crappy kick offs than the alternative.

I don't know what alleged racist comments he may have made, but my concern is that - from listening to him on Saturday - his level of English is not overly strong (no, before anyone says, nor is my Italian). It may be worth paying interpreters for a head coach, but he would only ever be in a lesser role and not sure it would be worth the cost. Our team is practically all British (albeit some play for exotic countries to be an international). Not sure we have the set up that more international teams have that could accommodate; but if we go up who knows.

I was being slightly facetious. I agree moving fixtures is a nightmare and should be given more time. My point was more that getting away tickets is so difficult these days that for more people than can actually attend. There is a lot of criticism of broadcasters, but they put a lot of money in and they are going to want to have the best slots.

Eye of the beholder. Those of us who can't go can watch the match on Sky and get to get out of the house on Easter Monday. Win win.

Why are Gateshead not playing him? If he isn't good enough to be first team there, what chance here

The Academy was decimated by administration. Their performance has been dreadful. It will take a "footballing" generation (i.e. time from scouting to playing) to get back to 2021/22 levels. It is ok saying "let's get academy payers in", but what if the academy players are realistically only Gateshead Utd level players? If there was someone in the academy today, I put it that Warne would have been having them training with 1sts pretty pronto He hasn't, so he doesn't rate any of them at this stage highly enough - or even at all. What hope does an academy player have? If they are good enough: lots, probably due to circumstances better than elsewhere. If they aren't, do we really want second rate 18 year olds in the team Better off getting some/any 35 year old from any of four top divisions - at least they have experience.

I'm an IFA and have arranged a number of policies for players over the years, but also for professional sports clubs (not DCFC). Players can take out a type of enhanced income protection plan. Clubs can take out plans which pay salary or pay a lump sum. You can insure against known injuries; you could even insure a player that has gone off with an injury. You could even insure Collins. It is called after the event insurance, so costs a hell of a lot - and would have a lead in time. So if doctors said he should be fit in a month, you could insure if he isn't back in two, say. What is to know is that clubs can go to market (i.e. Lloyds of London) and can request any cover they want. The options available to them are far far far more than ordinary Joes, but you have to be willing to pay the Premium. The cost of which is determined by the risk level of something happening against the cost it does. Plans for players are always expensive, due to salary and risk; but not insuring is often more expensive.