Tamworthram

I guess it depends on how the EFL define “full strength team”. My suspicion is either they don’t have a definition, it’s a bit vague or it just stipulates x number of players that have featured in the match day squad during the season.

The fact that he is going is irrelevant. We should be playing the best team available that suits the situation.

Too late for you now but they do seem to be doing more scans at the weekend these days. Not remotely on the same level but I had a CT scan a couple of weeks ago. At first I was offered Friday afternoon but I couldn’t make it that day. Next offer was Saturday but that was a no no due to Derby playing at home so, they offered me Sunday instead. On a slightly separate note, a few years back I was taken in an ambulance to A&E at 7am on a Saturday morning with kidney stone problems. Anyone that’s had kidney stones (my sympathies) will know that often, it’s complete agony for a couple of hours but then sometimes it eases and you generally think you feel OK not long after. I felt OK by lunchtime but my wife (wisely) wouldn’t let me go to Derby. I know I should have been more B4 and just told her I was going but he never met my wife. 🤐

That doesn’t seem to be a very balanced article. Diesel engines are more efficient but diesel is more expensive at the pump. Diesel engines emit less CO2 but a higher level of other air pollution. Whilst not as bad, diesel engines are still noisier (I think) and whilst diesel engines may be need less maintenance I believe the cost of such maintenance is higher for a diesel. Another article I found seems to suggest the “best” type of fuel may depend on the sort of journeys you generally do. Regarding electric cars, the two things that still put me off at the moment, despite improvements, is the purchase cost and the range.

I hope the results irrelevant.

I wouldn't be surprised if their fear on injury and desire to rest key players ahead of the play offs 6 days later might override their drive to secure a psychological advantage, especially if one team (Posh) have zero chance of doing any better than making the play offs.

This.

It would be the EFL docking points not the FA. And I'm not sure Bolton and Peterborough would be best pleased if Mickleover were promoted in our place. 😀

Old news isn't it?

Doesn't this constitute ticket touting and isn't ticket touting illegal? If so, it doesn't sound like a very sensible thing to advertise the fact that you're doing it.

I’m not sure about a business plan but there is definitely a list of criteria teams in the National League have to meet before they are allowed to join the EFL. The list includes floodlights, playing surface, ground capacity and presumably, security of tenure of the ground they play at. Ten years does sound a bit excessive but I would imagine Gateshead have known all along that this was a requirement.

No, it should be renamed “if the unthinkable happens”. Just because we are debating what might happen elsewhere if we do slip up doesn’t mean to say any of us really think it’s likely to happen.

Depends on your definition of “sizeable section of the fan base”. It only takes a dozen or so vocal individuals on social media voicing their opinion (which of course they are entitled to) to make it appear as if their views are reflective of a much larger group. My gut feeling is: a very small majority have total faith in PW’s ability to keep us in the Championship whilst at the same time playing decent football, a small minority want him gone now regardless, some have accepted he is here to stay next season but have already made up their minds that it’s going to be dross, but the overwhelming majority, whilst they may have concerns, think he deserves the chance to prove himself and are trying not to prejudge him.

And how long do you think said “young manager with new coaching ideas to TRY get us out this league” would have lasted before the mob would be calling for his head? How long would we put up with “well at least were playing attractive football”?

That's why it's bad news. Surely we want a good Posh win on Tuesday (maybe by 4 goals) so they make a bit of an effort against Bolton.

I think the difference is because Coventry were already members of the EFL. I assume clubs don't have to reapply every year I sympathise with Gateshead but I think they were already given between November and March to find a solution. If they'd been given until the end of July that could have thrown up all sorts of issues including fixture lists.

It looks like they have to apply in November and confirm they have met all the qualifying criteria, presumably including security of tenure which I agree seems a little over the top, by 1st March. My guess therefore is that their application was accepted SUBJECT TO meeting the criteria which they must have failed to do. If this is true, Gateshead would have known they couldn't gain promotion until they had secured the required tenure. I would imagine the announcement has been made so late because 1) they were trying to negotiate a longer lease and 2) they appealed the decision and therefore an official announcement couldn't be made until the appeal had been heard. The timing is horrible and perhaps, as soon as they had earned their place in the play offs, the club should have gone public on the possible barrier (assuming they didn't). Tamworth will be playing in the National League next season but they will know they can't gain promotion to league 2 as it stands as they play on a 3G artificial turf pitch. So, similarly to Gateshead, they can apply in November but they'll know they'll need to change the pitch if, by some miracle, they finish in the play off places (or above) and want to go up/compete in the play offs. That's my reading of the situation anyway.

Add "bullied by a little brother/cousin as a child" to the list. 😀

Can't it be a testament to all three of them? A testament to the whole defence, in fact the whole team including Wildsmith.

Exactly. Anyone who accuses us of being tinpot because we’re celebrating finishing 2nd in league one (baring a disaster on Sunday) needs to be reminded that it’s more than simply promotion we’ll be celebrating. The club, and its supporters, have been to hell and back over the last couple of years and this will be the first chance we’ve had to celebrate anything. Even the last day survival against Sheffield Wednesday was in the Covid year. OK, so we’ve not won the cup, we’ve not even won the league 1 title so let’s not get too carried away with open bus tours or anything but let’s celebrate the moment. oh, and if you do go on the pitch, can we please find a way to still allow the players and their families to do their lap of appreciation? Although the club probably felt they had to publicly ask supporters to stay off the pitch, if it does happen, perhaps after a short period of time, they could announce that if those on the pitch would return to the stands the players would do their lap (advising the players in advance that this is the plan if there is a pitch invasion)? Such an announcement might encourage those still in the stands to hang around as well.

Which is good right? Which means he played well?

That’s what I was thinking. We don’t want them to roll over against Bolton (like Barnsley did against them last season) just in case we do the unthinkable next weekend.

I suspect @ariotofmyown might just have been joking. 😀

If fans just went on the pitch for 5 minutes (without harassing the other team or the officials) and then returned to the stand in order to allow the players to come back out that would be OK but, something tells me it wouldn’t quite happen like that. Maybe I’m one of the miserable b’stards you’d referring to but I don’t think so. I know I’m not some 12 year old that feels the need jump around on the pitch just because we’ve secured promotion to the Championship.

So you’re not bothered about the majority of fans who choose not to (or aren’t able to) go on the pitch being able to show their appreciation one last time from the stands? You’re not bothered about the players showing their appreciation to the fans by parading around the pitch with their families? I don’t have a problem seeing other Derby fans celebrating but I’d quite like the opportunity to applaud the players, and receive their applause in return (yes, I’m convinced they’re aimed specifically at me 😀) one last time before I put my scarf away for the summer. Nothing sad about that. I fact I think it’s a bit sad that some folk don’t care about the majority of their fellow fans or what the players might want.