Jourdan

The trouble you have is that the trains from St. James’ Park are very irregular in the evenings (20:20; 21:50, 22:50) so it all depends on how much additional time there is during the game and bear in mind, the trains will be busier than usual and normally on the branch lines, there are fewer carriages. If you want to get to St. Thomas and you miss that 21:50 train it might be a good idea to get a taxi. Apple Taxis is the local firm. You can also walk back into the city centre and you can get to the St. Thomas area by walking down Fore St (it starts at the end of High St at the junction with North St to the right and South St to the left) and when you reach the roundabout by the river take the road that runs to the right of the retail park with M&S and Next. However this would be a last resort.

It’s unreserved so you can stand where you want. However I would suggest if you want the best view, get to the ground a little earlier before it fills up and people get into position. We got to the ground with very little time to spare last time and we were stood towards one end near the touchline and it does affect your view of other parts of the pitch. We had to move at half time, but luckily we got a great view of McGoldrick’s double in the second half. So all in all it was a very enjoyable experience.

Derby 1-0 Shrewsbury Blackett Taylor

Any luck getting tickets, mate?

See you next Tuesday, folks. 🐏

1361 or thereabouts.

We were fine last year for tickets to both Plymouth and Exeter away. But now we’ve just won away again, we’re second, and the race is on, people may be more inclined to go and get a glimpse of our Gambian superstar.

I work in Exeter but live between Bodmin and Launceston. So if you need any tips on where to eat and drink on the day, give us a shout. I am going with my fiancée. You’ll probably be racing her down the A30.

Tickets are on sale to season ticket holders at the moment. No updates about selling out on the club’s social media channels. If any tickets are left, they go on general sale tomorrow at 10am. I suspect if any are available, it will be standing tickets. I am another Cornwall based Ram with an anxious wait. Fingers crossed for both of us. 🐏

It’s a gorgeous place, but absolutely it’s not a place for every budget. The hot chocolate was delicious and we won, so all’s well. 😁

This always looked like a massive trip hazard, so to grind out a win and keep a clean sheet should be a huge boost to Warne and the lads, especially given the results around us. The line up looked questionable, so credit to Warne after a job well done. It was also great to see some of Warne’s signings being involved in a crucial win after the recruitment came under fire. Hopefully there’s more to come from Bradley, Ward, Adams and Vickers. I was buzzing until my father-in-law took the celebratory drinks too far, ordered a £30 glass of whiskey, and didn’t flinch as I paid the bill. 😆

Have we scored yet? I want to order a celebratory £6 hot chocolate.

Greetings from a wet but wonderful Bath. Almost choked on my £6 single origin Peruvian blend hot chocolate when I saw the line up. I wonder what the thinking is.

I don’t mean in the sense of Clowes has said ‘we must sign X, Y, Z.’ I mean it in the sense of the financial support Clowes has provided. I think he has wanted to back the manager and give him as reasonable a budget as possible. Obviously the strategy is dependent on the business plan. Let’s see how things pan out in the summer where hopefully we’ll have more financial freedom.

Wildsmith Nyambe - Nelson - Cashin - Elder Adams - Bird - Thompson NML - Collins - CBT

I think Clowes is as committed as ever. If he wasn’t, he wouldn’t have sanctioned the move for CBT, for example. £400,000 is £400,000 more than he might have felt necessary. If you look at the signings since he took over the club, I think Clowes has tried to build a competitive team and strike a good balance between ambition and prudence. People want to complain about our transfer business this season, but every season has cases of players not working out. I think people seem to forget that only 11 players can play at any one time and not every signing will work because other players are getting game time and playing well and getting recognition. Last season, there were senior players like Stearman, Davies, Chester and Loach who barely got a kick. There were young players signed like Oduroh who never looked like making an impact. So it happens, not just with Warne signings but there are all kinds of managers get signings wrong.

Charlton 1-1 Derby Mendez Laing

With respect, I am not sure what it is I’ve done to get under your skin so much. At the end of the day, we have different views on the manager and have different ideas of what success for the club looks like and whether the current manager can achieve it or not. I am not sure we are ever likely to agree on this and I am not even sure Warne being sacked in six months would give you the overwhelming validation you seem to need, so all in all, I feel like you are wasting your time and energy with this particular running battle.

4th and dancing on Wembley Way in May.

Would Georgie Kelly improve us? Would he want to sit on our bench? Maybe he has joined Carlisle to play first team football? Chris Martin? Was he ever likely to leave Bristol Rovers where he is scoring goals and playing first team football and obviously enjoying living in the city? He would have come here and had to prove himself to the manager and would have had to work his way into the team. Again, would he have jumped at that chance? Not convinced. It’s easy to say X, Y, Z were available but we have the easy job of sitting on the sofa, not dealing with all types of variables.

Blind to what? We want to improve the squad but all the indicators point to it not being easy or straightforward at this time. If Collins gets injured, it will be a great shame and a huge blow. But we can only wait and see how things develop. You are panicking about a situation that might not even arise. At the end of the day, can the club really win? Sign no-one and people complain, sign someone and they don’t quite click and people complain, sign someone and they get injured and people complain, sign someone and they don’t become our best and most productive player inside 180 minutes and people complain. The sooner the summer is here, the better.

What is the evidence that Bradley and Ward are on good money? There is enough evidence out there to suggest that the budget / restrictions are prohibitive, or did you miss where we were priced out of moves for two back-up strikers from a struggling Championship club and all the other indicators?

In a time-sensitive situation, absolutely. In ordinary circumstances, absolutely not.

Why is it an excuse? Transfer plans sometimes come together and sometimes fall apart. There are failed transfers in every single window. Why get so worked up about this particular one? If we have a business plan that we have to follow rigidly and stick to, then it’s an obvious factor in why other clubs can complete deals more smoothly and why it is more problematic for us. The power is with the EFL and the conditions they have put in place and the clubs who will try to take advantage of such a situation.

It will help the club financially, which is still an important consideration to make whether people like it or not. And perhaps we’ll have more muscle when the transfer window comes around again in the summer.