roboto

Good luck to him. I have a feeling he will possibly move back to a winger as his career progresses with the option that he can do a decent job as a wing back if needed.

I'm not sure why people are getting so angry about this. He obviously felt he needed to move to progress his career the way he wants it to go. Playing for a team in a top flight league in their country will have a better chance at playing in European competitions against higher quality opposition without having to get battered by cloggers and journey men in League 1 or 2. Lausanne finished 6th this season, and next season the Swiss League has 5 spots available in UEFA competitions through it's coefficient ranking. With a small improvement Archie could be playing UEFA cup football in a couple of seasons. Sounds better than trying to get into a team who have just strugggled at the wrong end of the Championship.

Also, not all our best talent is being hoovered up by bigger clubs. We've got plenty of youth team players coming through into the first team and only a small handful have moved that we wanted to stay (Delap, Gordon etc.) The world of youth football is a cruel place and if you choose the wrong path it can be the end of what could be a promising career.

I hope he does well and has a fine career.

Do we reckon they'll be on sale in Sports Direct before the official launch like the home kit was last year?

Jozwiak only plays well when he’s against poor teams. Like Spain…

Well that’s what some on here say anyway.

The guy is given a free pass by some for his perceived charisma and being a “one of the lads” type of player.

The truth is we have plenty more hard working professionals at the club who work harder in training to be considered suitable for selection and if the latter few managers that Marriott has played under have started to leave him out of the team regularly, even when he’s not injured, then people need to see that he isn’t the sort of player they wish he was.

Yeah, he scored THAT goal vs Leeds and looked promising when he first joined, but I don’t think we should be upset that he is leaving.

I like Jozwiak as a player and just think he's not settled well into a team that had all the attacking confidence sapped out of them from the start of last season. He played better when his mate Bielik was fit and has shown glimpses of what he's capable of so far.

I admit, it's been a disappointing return on someone who we thought would be a match winner for us, but if we can get some better attacking options this summer for him to play with and some tactics that play to his strengths (carrying the ball and getting in behind the opposition defense) then I'm sure he will have a much better season next season.

I'm looking forward to seeing him play with some confident and high quality players around him.

9 minutes ago, angieram said:

That's better! Gotta love a new "doom and gloom" thread. 

I reckon it was this thread that made the club publish the retained list today! ? 

Really hope Archie and Festy continue with us. They would provide excellent cover next year if their current progression is a sign of things to come.

Surprised with the Goalkeepers. Not sure how Ravas has done out on loan to be fair, but though he was down the pecking order behind Foster and Idem. Looks like we'll be signing one or two young keepers for the U23 at least.

Not bothered about Marriott at all. He can go, not sure why some on here give him such praise and slag off someone like Lawrence when Lawrence has made himself available, trained to the standard required and played an important part in the team for the last few seasons. Marriott has had a couple of purple patches but hasn't held down a spot in the squad under the last few managers. He needs to go.

Wisdom, Waghorn and Davies. I can see the need for getting the contracts sorted for these after seeing us only having 14 first team players under contract at the end of the month currently.

All in all. The wage bill is being slashed, the youth players are bright and exciting, but we need to bring in some real quality and first team experience to bolster the squad for next season.

1 minute ago, hintonsboots said:

Some posters just can’t Root out the puns.

All we want is some good innings

So, it’s over?

38 minutes ago, jimtastic56 said:

If teams are being quoted £10-12 mill for Joe Worrell why is Wisdom not worth £3mill?

Because his current contract ends in about 3 weeks?

10 minutes ago, Jram said:

I think Bent was a couple of years younger than Sturridge is now and had a better record with injuries. Interesting thought but I think it would be a negligent waste of wages 

Sturridge is 31 now as was Bent when he first joined on loan.

I get the injury concerns, but... Sturridge has had some time away (in which he's lookked like he's kept himself fit) which will have helped him by not putting a regular strain on areas where he's picked up injuries before. A good pre-season would get him up to speed with the rest of the squad.

I don't think it will happen, but I wouldn't write him off if he did join.

I wouldn't mind Sturridge here if the terms were good for the club. He'd be a bit of a gamble, but he's the sort of player that Stretton could learn a lot from - positioning, finishing etc. If he is interested in coming in to be a squad player, help develop some of our younger players and not expect to be the main man then he could be a useful addition. We still got some good performances and goals from Darren Bent who was a similar player at a similar stage in his career when he joined.

He's just a Pascal, Dizzee Pascal...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XugfvhT2ves

1 hour ago, Jimbo Ram said:

Had you peaked ? Crikey ?

I would've thought others might be brimming with puns for this lad.

I heard he could be the next James Milliner... potential to be beret good, but hopefully not a has-beanie.

If he signs and does well for us I'll eat my hat. Perhaps, if we're lucky he'll earn some international caps along the way.

Please forgive me if the puns seem a bit flat. Perhaps I've peaked too soon.

16 minutes ago, Mostyn6 said:

Messaging Appleby cost me an extra £5-6 on my bill ?

Doesn't he use whatsapp? ? 

5 minutes ago, Dethorn said:

good point on the creation of demand within UFC, by having women and men on the same card in the first place.

and MMA demand versus football demand is hard to judge - certainly if it is 2am on Sunday morning I definitely favour UFC over MLS

There is a whole other argument along side this though and that is the channels

My wife seems to blame me if sport is on BBC and ITV and moving 'her' programs lol

So BT using UFC as a bit of a flagship at 2am on a Sunday - versus BBC cancelling Antiques Roadshow for an FA Cup game - male or female - is a major dilution of my economics argument.

Maybe BBC should have a dedicated sport channel or give up on sport, leave it to SKY and BT

maybe one of SKY's many sports channels should be a womens football channel 

meaning freedom of choice for all

dunno just mulling it over

My own schedule is I watch

Derby and England FC

Gloucester and England RFU (plus any other RFU game)

UFC

F1 qualifying/full race/ Teds notebook

So guess I am a bit annoyed that there is no room in my schedule for me to watch anything else ?

My wife has given up asking me to change the channel if there's sport on TV ?

UFC is on prime time on ESPN in the US, think it's also been on ABC and Fox too which have sports channels, but they had shows on the main channels too. Plus UFC has Fight Pass as a worldwide subscription app. The way that they have gone about their media presence is impressive.

BBC do have a dedicated Sports channel "BBC Sport" it's on the red button or on apps on Smart TVs and viewable via the BBC website. It has lots of different sports coverage and some live stuff too every now and again. However, as an old industry heavyweight, many of the BBC viewers still just watch BBC 1 and 2 and won't realise there's a lot more out there through things like iPlayer and BBC Sounds.

If Sky were serious about supporting women's football they would bid for it and win. The fact that BBC and BT have the WSL rights means that Sky aren't really getting behind the women's game like they have with other sports.

I reckon as we go on, more apps will take over the regular channel based businesses and those sports savvy enough to embrace the latest media will benefit greatly from it.

You do have a full schedule of viewing. I am similar but swap the rugby for cycling (which is literally hours!!!) and I like to stick on random sports channels if there's nothing else on the TV.

10 minutes ago, Dethorn said:

For merit - I think demand

If the demand is there for it to be watched then the programmes should be scheduled as per the other post quoting attendances around the league 1/2 level then I would say equal coverage between those two things.

In my opinion the UFC/MMA has achieved what it has because it is very entertaining and has created its own demand

 

Ok, so it’s hard to judge MMA/boxing demand against football demand.

Women’s MMA and boxing was put on the same card as men’s events so the crowd was there and therefore the women’s matches were put in front of those who might not have paid to watch an all women’s event. This has helped increase the popularity and demand for more women’s matches in UFC etc.

Its not really possible to put on 2 football matches simultaneously in front of the same crowd (due to the length of a match etc.) therefore the best way to increase visibility is for more coverage on TV and in the media. The sports need a different approach, but we need to learn from sports that have successfully integrated women’s sports.

To counter the league 1/2 level attendances. How many people visit youth/reserve games? Yet the top level youth players will earn more than a professional WSL player who plays in front of larger crowds.

Its an important and healthy discussion and I hope some of these posts from both sides helps people in the sport understand how they can do better to build the women’s side of the game.

32 minutes ago, Dethorn said:

This post is very good and it also supports my views which are different and are more in line with some of the earlier posts.

Your MMA/UFC example is a really good case in point for my argument.

My argument is if something is there on merit.

I believe in Economics, if the demand is there then supply it. There is no doubt the male and female contests on UFC are equally exciting - and I watched that particulary fight it was unbeliveable and Ronda is up there on a mixed gender world list for pound for pound fighters. 

What I find slightly annoying is BBC and SKY pushing the supply trying to create the demand. 

The other thing I find annoying is that I get Fooled by SKY News so often - when the ticker along the bottom say Arsenal beat Chelsea 4-0, and I think I thought Chelsea were playing ...... today - next tidbit - Goals from Sarah, Jessica, Claire and Laura

And I am like aha fooled again.

 

As for the punditry - I am sure the BBC insist on having a female on for most games, but i did see some womens football the other day and there were no male pundits

I am all for equality with a capital equal

 

That sounds like a “not all men” or “all lives matter” kind of view. I’m willing to read and listen and understand your viewpoint, but how do you decide what is there on merit?

Are women boxers or MMA fighters on equal billing because they work harder than female footballers or cyclists? No, all top professionals work hard to be the best they can be, it’s the authorities that control the sport (FIFA, UCI in cycling, the FA for WSL) that haven’t done enough to support women participating in that sport.

So, for me, the blame isn’t with the media pushing women’s sport. They’re doing their part to try and rectify the situation. The problem isn’t with its lack of popularity, it’s already been mentioned that women’s sports have a massively growing audience that surpasses some professional men’s levels of popularity. The problem isn’t necessarily with people’s views on women’s sports. The problem is with the authorities and their poor handling of women’s participation in their sports.

I don’t think I’ve ever been disappointed or mislead by a score line or match report on a website. Maybe people need to think before they click on an article ?

1 minute ago, BaaLocks said:

Good post and some very strong comments - particularly around UFC (you could say the same on boxing and the likes of Katie Taylor and Clarissa Shields are a joy to watch - technically as well as heart). I can't say I feel too comfortable when we get into 'pushing' anything - you could say the same thing about opera, should we have that promoted because people don't follow in the way that some might like? What about rugby league - men's - that isn't a truly national sport so should we be pushing that? Archery? Diving? Table tennis?

All your points are well made but when we start 'pushing' something I'm always conscious there is an agenda behind it. As I've said, I think this one is the Beeb trying to rustle up interest in minority sports because they simply can't keep up with the likes of Sky and Amazon on the flagship ones. 

I agree on your point on some of the comments, obviously many of them are meant in jest but substitute 'woman' for 'African American' in some of them and this thread wouldn't have stayed up for ten minutes (no criticism of the mods on that btw).

When I say push, I don’t mean in the sense that you can’t get away from it, but more in the fact that the sport deserves to be promoted better. This can be via coverage, sponsorship, fan interaction etc.

Womens football is one of the sports, along with pro cycling, that still has a disproportionate gap between the genders in terms of prize money, player salary, sponsorship and TV coverage. There is room for improvement here and the sport needs to push in these areas to level up the difference. The BBC are trying to do this with the WSL, we shouldn’t be against it as it makes little difference to their coverage of the men’s game.

There were some comments I also just noticed about the US women’s team losing to a boys team and how the Williams sisters wouldn’t beat a top 200 male player. I don’t think we should confuse women’s sports with cross gender competition, the physical difference makes that a pointless argument and not the reason for this thread.

Some of the comments in here are the exact reasons why Women's sport needs to be pushed more into the public eye and celebrated.

The women who take part in these sports (not just football) are athletes who train just as hard as the men (probably harder) just to get noticed. And the real kicker is, they won't earn anywhere near as much money, attention or respect as male counterparts who might not be as skilful or work as hard due to the way that sport is historically seen as a male pursuit.

Those that are saying they don't like to see the women's results near the top of the BBC page, why? Can't you scroll down to the content you want easily enough? The BBC has been investing more in the WSL and of course will put stories concerning that league near the top so it can create an engaged audience and improve it's coverage and programming around it.

Those that are saying that women shouldn't play "men's" sports, why? We're all humans that may or may not enjoy being physically active or being engaged in a team of peers with a love for a certain sport. Your gender shouldn't be a reason you can't do something. Why can't women play sports? Do you see them as inferior to men in other aspects of life? It beggars belief that people can hold this point of view in this day and age.

I'm sure I can go on and pick out more awful things already written in this thread - sexism, discussing women footballers based on their attractiveness, women encroaching on the men's game... but I haven't got the time or patience to debunk it all.

Let me sign off my thoughts on this with a recent example in MMA. Dana White famously said years ago that women would never fight in the UFC, he thought that MMA was a male only sport and no place for women. Then some other organisations opened up allowing women to fight, and then Ronda Rousey happened. She came to the UFC and became one of the most popular (male or female) fighters around. She was the box office main eventer. Dana White changed his views on Women's MMA after that and they have equal billing in UFC now and there are various women's headliners throughout the year at no detriment to the sport. In fact the sport is better for their inclusion. Last year, the best fight was between 2 women (Joanna Jedrzejczyk vs Weili Zhang). The women train hard, hone their craft and want to win as much as the men do and have created more equality with their hard work, but also with the organisation of their sport respecting them and providing the platform. Football can learn a lot from this. Dana was wrong, he's admitted it and now the sport has benefitted from inclusion.

55 minutes ago, atherstoneram said:

We don't need the EFL to invoke a 12 point deduction ,we are quite capable of doing that ourselves 6 matches into the season

I wouldn't bet against us doing it in 4...

Any updates that aren't bickering about history and sizes of other clubs?

I think most young players would've seemed to have regressed when playing in a side struggling for results and goals and edging closer to the relegation zone with every match. The whole squad form took a nosedive and no one looked like being able to steer the ship to safety.

Fortunately we fumbled our way through to safety somehow. In a perfect world we would've been safe sooner and we'd be able to have some care free matches where the team could play without the fear of relegation hanging over them.

With a clean slate next season and a full pre-season to work with, I'm sure Rooney can learn more about the squad he has, what he needs and more importantly how to get the young players back on track.

I hope the fans give Rooney and the team a bit of time next season to get back on track. It wouldn't be ideal if there was a chorus of boos for the team or the coaches before we'd even kicked a ball in the 21/22 season.