Jourdan

If we go up, surely recruitment would have to be considered a success as we will have completed a key objective? Being overly critical of recruitment seems harsh when no club gets every move right. Warne, Thomas and the club have made mistakes, there’s no denying that. The signings of John Jules and Embleton were always a huge risk and never looked likely to pay off, for example. But on the whole, they have got plenty right. Adams, Wilson and Nelson have become important first team players and each of them is playing a key role in a promotion push. Gayle and Nyambe have shown their class and surely would have contributed more if not for injuries. Even signings that have clearly not lived up to expectations have still contributed across the season to a winning team. Ward, Bradley, Waghorn, Washington and Elder have all played a role and contributed to the team earning important results at one time or another. There are even signings that have disappointed so far - CBT and Fornah - who may benefit from a clean slate in pre season with the hope of there being more to come.

I think League 1 will be a difficult market for us to shop in. There are players impressing in this league currently (such as Maghoma at Bolton and Dembélé at Blackpool) who are only on loan and we’ll be competing with other Championship clubs for further loan moves if they become available. Then there are players at clubs who have been competing for promotion, players who have established themselves as top players at League 1 level but not yet proven themselves in the Championship. Brannagan is one name that has cropped up a lot. If we were interested in such a player, surely Oxford would want serious money for him? £1 million, maybe more? Can we afford that? Azeez is another one. He’s seemingly out of contract in the summer with Reading. But how much compensation would that require? I think we will have to get creative.

As previously said, the midfield will need rebuilding as a priority. It’ll be interesting to see how we approach it. Will we offer Smith a new deal given recent form? Will we offer new deals to Sibley, Thompson and Robinson? Will we integrate Allen and Fapetu into the first team? Will we have significant funds to invest? Until we know that, it’s hard to know what steps we will take and what’s achievable. However it wouldn’t surprise me to see us push for Adams on a permanent deal and sign someone such as Matthew James or Romaine Sawyers on a free to give us some control and balance in midfield.

Derby 2-1 Carlisle NML

I can’t believe ‘the best footballing side in the division’ have rested 6-7 players and effectively given up on automatic promotion when it’s still a mathematical possibility.

Saturday can’t come soon enough. I am driving my wife crazy… Me: I have something to tell you. Wife: What is it? Me: It’s important. It’s big. It’s life changing. Wife: Tell me. Me: Promise me you won’t be angry or upset. Wife: OK. Tell me. Me: Are you sure? Wife: You’ve lost your job? Me: No. Wife: You want a divorce? Me: No. Wife: You’ve been having an affair? Me: No. Wife: Well, what is it? Me: RAMS ARE GOING UP, OLE OLE! 🎵 😂

Wildsmith Wilson - Nelson - Cashin - Sibley Adams - Bird - Smith NML - Collins - CBT

All set here in sunny Cornwall, ready for some Sonny Bradley heroics.

It could be a good warm up for the following year when Warne masterminds promotion to the PL.

Why not? The club has a loud enough PA system to get messages across to the fans. Also the LED boards… Teams who finish second in League 1 get a ‘promotion trophy’.

The club just have to be prepared for it and allow it in a controlled way. I think it’s fine to let the fans invade the pitch and soak in the moment, before returning to their seats so the players can do their lap of honour and celebrate and lift the trophy with fans who have stayed behind.

The club should just encourage fans to do it in a respectful way, being respectful to players, coaches, officials, and visiting fans. To warn people of criminal proceedings strikes me as mean-spirited. The fans have been on the PP pitch before. Southampton and Brighton at home in the play-offs, and during the victory parade after Wembley in 2007, for instance. If it’s done in the right spirit, it’s a natural way to celebrate and release those emotions.

I don’t think there’ll be a pitch invasion at Cambridge. You can imagine though that there will be some kind of overspill if we score, especially in front of our own fans. Similar to the scenes at Port Vale. If we go into the Carlisle game needing a result and we get one, I am 99% sure there will be a pitch invasion. Is it the right thing to do? Personally I think it depends on how you behave yourself. If people do it respectfully, I think it can be a joyous moment and let’s face it, these moments are few and far between. I certainly fondly remember dancing on the pitch in the rain after Southampton at home in the play-offs singing Que Sera Que Sera.

They should have given us a bigger allocation really.

Cambridge 1-1 Derby Mendez Laing