Ghost of Clough

Michael Duff was the manager when they sold him - a manager with a very different style of play to their previous managers.

Collins has already had a run for 5 games this season (2 of which against L2 opposition), yet we're still waiting for him to do something. If he was a teenager, you'd be saying he needs a loan to L2 (or lower) too.

Even Springett had PL experience before joining us on loan - it means very little. Ozoh has shown he has areas he needs to improve on if he's to be a Championship DM as he's been partially to blame for half of our goals conceded so far. Chirewa hasn't done anything to show he's a Championship level AM/W yet either. I'd say most youngsters in their breakthrough season need a run of 10 games to settle. The likes of Ozoh, Chirewa AND Brown will fall into that camp IMO. The only difference is two of those players will be allowed to have that run of games, despite making mistakes, whilst the other will continue to sit on the bench in league games.

I know it was a joke, but we can only dream of beating Blackburn, and scoring 6 goals in 2 games

He's poor in the air. Whilst Swindon didn't set up to press from the front, Barrow did when he was there the previous season and he did a reasonable job if it

A really odd one. On the fridges of L2 Bradford in 22/23. Then got a loan for the 2nd half of the season at Barrow (0 goals) The a good half season at Swindon (16 goals and 4 assists), before going back to Bradford and only getting 243 minutes. Now only 24 mins this season in the cup. He's obviously available to a willing buyer, but a risky one given he's done little outside of 5 months in Swindon in League 2. I'm surprised a L1 club hasn't taken a punt on him. He was also rumoured to be on the verge of a move to Fleetwood (also L2) just a couple of days ago.

Can't see them selling him. He started their 3 league games, and scored a goal in their draw vs Cardiff. Also scored off the bench in the first round of the cup.

Robbie Keane had a very good first season in management with Tel-Aviv, winning the league and cup. Rory Delap was part of his coaching team there as well. Favoring a 433 possession based approach. Last season, his side would look for quick breaks but were also patient if those breaks weren't available. In possession, the fullbacks tuck inside, similar to how Rosenior was setting us up (setting up as 2 CBs and 3 DMs) ensuring passing options are always available, but also making it easier to win the ball back quickly. Gary Bowyer would do a steady job. Style of play is lacking, but is used to a tight budget, will have knowledge of the Scottish leagues (a market we should be looking at). He has a very good talent for managing young players and improveing them. Someone to potentially move into a Sporting Director role too.

Collins vs Barrow Thompson was our only midfielder to touch the ball in the box (once), with only three starters had more touches in the box (Collins, Barkhuizen and Forsyth with 2 each). Mendez-Laing had 6 and Jackson had 4.

Only Brown and Robinson if given the game time over the last 2 seasons to develop would be part of the first team squad. However, back in 2020, Cocu thought very highly of the likes of Solomon and Ibrahim. Rooney draft Cybulski in for a few games in the first team. Even last season, Weston and Fapetu played well when given a shot in the first team only to be missing from the squad the game after. Football is about opportunities and can make a big difference in a players future. At the very least, minutes to the academy players lightens the workload for the senior players, whilst also creating a better image of our academy to potential recruits.

Forced to play Buchanan RWB and a lightweight midfield 4 of Bird, Holmes, Knight and Sibley. Marriott was the only semi-fit CF at the club. The bench contained Ravas, Solomon, Whittaker and Shonibare

Minutes given to academy players (excluding games vs U21 sides) since Warne has been manager: Brown - 130 Cybulski - 90 Robinson - 45 Oduroh - 44 Aghatise - 14 Bardell - 14 Radcliffe - 11 Fapetu - 9 Weston - 6 It doesn't make for great reading when Ozoh has already played more for our first team after 5 games (387 mins), than all of our academy players combined (363 mins) in just under 2 years of Warne as manager. John-Jules (375 mins) and Harvey White (539 mins) also played more for our first team. It shouldn't be surprising though. Even Yates struggled to get in the side at Rotherham with just 2060 minutes across his time there. After being a frindge player for 2 seasons, he went out on loan for the next two seasons to L2 sides. Blackpool then snapped him up for just £200k and he finished the season with 23 goals and 9 assists in all competitions.

Absolutely. He'd walk into our starting 11. He was in their first 3 matchday squads, scoring and assisting in the Cup game vs Stevenage, so I didn't expect him to be avaiable.However, he's been excluded from the last 2 matches so may now be open to a loan.

Pearce is given a budget and tries to sign the players (identified by others) within that budget. I'm struggling to put any blame at his door. It's either: a) the scouting/analysis team(s) not identifying any suitable players (in terms of ability and fitting within our budget). In which case, we need new people in the scouting/analysis departments. I'm convinced after 1 day on the job with the tools our club has avaiable I could come up with a 20 man shortlist in every position. As such, I doubt this is where the problem lies. b) the management team for disregarding the good targets which were identified. In which case, action needs to be taken such that they aren't the ones choosing the players to sign I thin in an ideal world Adams would have been starting. However, he was struggling with an ankle injury at the start of the season, which meant Ozoh started. It's something which can be coached, so I'm not too worried at this moment in time.

Then we need to loan him out and not let him sit on the bench for every league game. His level as a regular starter is L1 right now - but we aren't even willing to start him against L2 opposition. Last season: 1 minute against Notts County, 45 vs Wolves U21s, 17 mins vs Blackpool, 13 mins vs Northampton, 1 min vs Leyton Orient This seasonL 69 mins vs Chesterfield, 29 mins vs Barrow However, as I constantly try to remind people, there's a difference between being a regular starter and being a squad player. Brown is ready to be a squad player for us. Young players need to be trusted and they learn quickly in the first team. Brown's the sort of player who needs to be played to feel like he belongs at this level - we'll then reap the rewards for putting the faith in him. Games like those against Barrow are the ones we need to be starting him to ensure he adapts to our team as quickly as possible - just like we should have in cup games vs Crewe, Notts County (more than 1 minute), Bradford and Fleetwood last season. Even in the league games when he was named on the bench, he should have been brought on much sooner. He was a last minute sub bs Leyton Orient despite being 2 up after 47 mins and 3-0 after 79 mins. 4-0 up after 49 mins vs Northampton and he got just 13 minutes.

You're right, in that there are a lot of players in the world, and that it isn't just down to Warne and his staff to get them in. However, he has a massive say in the type of player he wants, whether he wants an international player or not, and will have the final say on who to go for. There's not a doubt in my mind that Warne has shut the door on a very large talent pool because of his own requirements - many of those options would be affordable and improve our starting 11. The door just needs to be opened to allow the scouting team to identify those options.

Almost 2 years on. 1. The football is still awful 2. Knight, Bird, Sibley gone. He's not onlu failed to integrate a single player from the academy, he also failed to give any of them more than 1.5 90s (135 minutes) on the pitch. How long will Cashin and Thompson stay for? Brown must be scratching his head wondering why other players get chance after chance when playing badly. 3. Increased last season as is standard during a promotion season. We'll see how attendances go as this season progresses - I don't have a good feeling as things stand. 4. The feel good factor picked up at the end of last season, but already seems to be on a fast decline.

They could be finding the best ever players for a Championship club, but if someone else says he'd rather chase Michael Smith, then they'll be crossed off the shortlist.

Warne: Not great in the first half and no threat in behind [and he expected Collins to offer that?] Didn't control possession well enough Goudmijn and Thompson were feeling a bit tight (calves?). We need a few new faces in 😱 Need an extra "2 or 3" Confirmed Chirewa is mainly an 8 but can also play on the wing, with us using him as a "narrow 7" tonight.

More like: Rates = £1.5m Utilities = £4m Insurance = £400k Paramedics, police, stewards = £1.2m Security = £700k Maintenance = £800k Cleaning = £600k VAT = £1.5m Total for everything so far is £15.2m.

What about the Chesterfield game?

0-0 and we leave our last attacking subs on the bench and bring a defensive full back on instead. If we have no intention of playing Washington, as appears to be the case, just name a youngster on the bench instead.

'Warneball'

Funny that. Imagine leaving someone on the bench who wants to break the defensive line every time we're on ball, and starting someone who drifts out of position instead.

Can't you pause the Sky stream until it does line up?