Duracell

This season wasn't a free hit when we got rid of the free hit manager and replaced him with a League One promotion specialist on a 4-year-deal. We firmly nailed our colours to the mast when we did that.
I think we're witnessing a painful regression to the mean. We were clean and clinical in our run of easier games but it's starting to unravel because our squad is too disjointed. 
I don't agree that we "should" be pushing top 2. Almost every player in our squad wouldn't look out of place in a top 2 side in this league, but our squad is too much of a weird mix of grafters and tidy footballers for us to trouble the more coherent sides. Doesn't help that half the squad is learning how to shave and the other half is eligible for a free bus pass.

This season wasn't a free hit when we got rid of the free hit manager and replaced him with a League One promotion specialist on a 4-year-deal. We firmly nailed our colours to the mast when we did that.
I think we're witnessing a painful regression to the mean. We were clean and clinical in our run of easier games but it's starting to unravel because our squad is too disjointed. 
I don't agree that we "should" be pushing top 2. Almost every player in our squad wouldn't look out of place in a top 2 side in this league, but our squad is too much of a weird mix of grafters and tidy footballers for us to trouble the more coherent sides. Doesn't help that half the squad is learning how to shave and the other half is eligible for a free bus pass.

I wouldn't say any of them were signed for us to pass triangles around the opposition or tikka-takka our way out of the league. 
But to flip the question round, who have we signed to suit us stretching the lines out and passing longer? If that's the way we wanted to play, James Collins makes sense as a target man, but around him you'd want really pacey wingers and box-to-box midfielders around him. Our central midfield players, including the ones we've signed, are largely technically gifted players suited to having the ball. 
Whichever style of play you prefer as a fan, it makes sense to find an identity and stick to it. We've been left behind in the last decade by much smaller clubs who have done that and replaced their managers and players with something similar whenever they've lost them.

I'm glad we've established the obvious link between David Attenborough and austerity this early into the thread.

Many people complaining about a liberal metropolitan elite controlling the media, ignoring the fact that large media organisations with increasingly large links to the political party in charge - in particular, party donors - portray the government favourably, with criticism from employees silenced.
Anyway, enough about the book I'm reading about the Nazi Party's use of the media in their rise to power. Linekar obviously has no idea what he's talking about.

Many people complaining about a liberal metropolitan elite controlling the media, ignoring the fact that large media organisations with increasingly large links to the political party in charge - in particular, party donors - portray the government favourably, with criticism from employees silenced.
Anyway, enough about the book I'm reading about the Nazi Party's use of the media in their rise to power. Linekar obviously has no idea what he's talking about.

After the nightmare of last season, remaining under a transfer/agent fee embargo with only five contracted players at the start of the season, it could have gone horribly wrong. The decline might have proved unstoppable, at least in the short term, with us now heading towards League Two.
Thanks to David Clowes, Liam Rosenior, Paul Warne and many others, we steadied the ship. And with 10 games to go and still a whopping 30 points to play for, we are already safe from relegation! The most anyone in the relegation zone can end the season with is 63 points, when we now have 64. Of course that's unless the EFL find another reason to dedect points. No one would put it past them.
But well done everyone at Derby County! That's a result.

Many people complaining about a liberal metropolitan elite controlling the media, ignoring the fact that large media organisations with increasingly large links to the political party in charge - in particular, party donors - portray the government favourably, with criticism from employees silenced.
Anyway, enough about the book I'm reading about the Nazi Party's use of the media in their rise to power. Linekar obviously has no idea what he's talking about.

Many people complaining about a liberal metropolitan elite controlling the media, ignoring the fact that large media organisations with increasingly large links to the political party in charge - in particular, party donors - portray the government favourably, with criticism from employees silenced.
Anyway, enough about the book I'm reading about the Nazi Party's use of the media in their rise to power. Linekar obviously has no idea what he's talking about.

I'm a Year 6 teacher, so deal with this age group day in, day out.
They fool you into think proper people at that age, but you forget how little they are. They don't know anything about anything. All they've done is get good at tricking adults into thinking they do.
They don't know about boyfriends and girlfriends. I have Muslims in my class who "pray" facing the wrong way. Kids who support Chelsea one week, Man United the next. One week the person they sit next to is public enemy number 1, the next week they're randomly best mates. With absolutely no context. 
"Woke" or whatever is confusing to kids because absolutely everything they interact with at that age is new and confusing. Coordinates. TimesTables. Fronted Adverbials. 
It's not information overload, but it's different to your experience. Just listen is the best advice I think, you don't always need to give advice. She's going to change her mind 129219048209 times on every issue under the sun before she's an adult.
 

Whole team's different with Bird in it. Every single player. They can make riskier runs, can expect a pass into feet if they're a forward, or a ball out wide for full backs and wingers. These players can play their game without having to think.
He doesn't do Hollywood passes that often, but he pulls off those slightly-more-difficult than average passes relentlessly, every time. Very few CMs at this level can do it. It's the marginal gain that separates us from the rest of the league and puts us up there with the best.
That's where the calm comes from with Bird. Having a player like that in the spine of your team makes everything run like clockwork.

Whole team's different with Bird in it. Every single player. They can make riskier runs, can expect a pass into feet if they're a forward, or a ball out wide for full backs and wingers. These players can play their game without having to think.
He doesn't do Hollywood passes that often, but he pulls off those slightly-more-difficult than average passes relentlessly, every time. Very few CMs at this level can do it. It's the marginal gain that separates us from the rest of the league and puts us up there with the best.
That's where the calm comes from with Bird. Having a player like that in the spine of your team makes everything run like clockwork.

Whole team's different with Bird in it. Every single player. They can make riskier runs, can expect a pass into feet if they're a forward, or a ball out wide for full backs and wingers. These players can play their game without having to think.
He doesn't do Hollywood passes that often, but he pulls off those slightly-more-difficult than average passes relentlessly, every time. Very few CMs at this level can do it. It's the marginal gain that separates us from the rest of the league and puts us up there with the best.
That's where the calm comes from with Bird. Having a player like that in the spine of your team makes everything run like clockwork.

Flip the question round. If you enjoy releasing energy and swearing in a 30,000 seater stadium, why would you choose to sit in the family stand?

Flip the question round. If you enjoy releasing energy and swearing in a 30,000 seater stadium, why would you choose to sit in the family stand?

Flip the question round. If you enjoy releasing energy and swearing in a 30,000 seater stadium, why would you choose to sit in the family stand?

Whole team's different with Bird in it. Every single player. They can make riskier runs, can expect a pass into feet if they're a forward, or a ball out wide for full backs and wingers. These players can play their game without having to think.
He doesn't do Hollywood passes that often, but he pulls off those slightly-more-difficult than average passes relentlessly, every time. Very few CMs at this level can do it. It's the marginal gain that separates us from the rest of the league and puts us up there with the best.
That's where the calm comes from with Bird. Having a player like that in the spine of your team makes everything run like clockwork.

Whole team's different with Bird in it. Every single player. They can make riskier runs, can expect a pass into feet if they're a forward, or a ball out wide for full backs and wingers. These players can play their game without having to think.
He doesn't do Hollywood passes that often, but he pulls off those slightly-more-difficult than average passes relentlessly, every time. Very few CMs at this level can do it. It's the marginal gain that separates us from the rest of the league and puts us up there with the best.
That's where the calm comes from with Bird. Having a player like that in the spine of your team makes everything run like clockwork.

Whole team's different with Bird in it. Every single player. They can make riskier runs, can expect a pass into feet if they're a forward, or a ball out wide for full backs and wingers. These players can play their game without having to think.
He doesn't do Hollywood passes that often, but he pulls off those slightly-more-difficult than average passes relentlessly, every time. Very few CMs at this level can do it. It's the marginal gain that separates us from the rest of the league and puts us up there with the best.
That's where the calm comes from with Bird. Having a player like that in the spine of your team makes everything run like clockwork.

Whole team's different with Bird in it. Every single player. They can make riskier runs, can expect a pass into feet if they're a forward, or a ball out wide for full backs and wingers. These players can play their game without having to think.
He doesn't do Hollywood passes that often, but he pulls off those slightly-more-difficult than average passes relentlessly, every time. Very few CMs at this level can do it. It's the marginal gain that separates us from the rest of the league and puts us up there with the best.
That's where the calm comes from with Bird. Having a player like that in the spine of your team makes everything run like clockwork.

Whole team's different with Bird in it. Every single player. They can make riskier runs, can expect a pass into feet if they're a forward, or a ball out wide for full backs and wingers. These players can play their game without having to think.
He doesn't do Hollywood passes that often, but he pulls off those slightly-more-difficult than average passes relentlessly, every time. Very few CMs at this level can do it. It's the marginal gain that separates us from the rest of the league and puts us up there with the best.
That's where the calm comes from with Bird. Having a player like that in the spine of your team makes everything run like clockwork.

Whole team's different with Bird in it. Every single player. They can make riskier runs, can expect a pass into feet if they're a forward, or a ball out wide for full backs and wingers. These players can play their game without having to think.
He doesn't do Hollywood passes that often, but he pulls off those slightly-more-difficult than average passes relentlessly, every time. Very few CMs at this level can do it. It's the marginal gain that separates us from the rest of the league and puts us up there with the best.
That's where the calm comes from with Bird. Having a player like that in the spine of your team makes everything run like clockwork.

Whole team's different with Bird in it. Every single player. They can make riskier runs, can expect a pass into feet if they're a forward, or a ball out wide for full backs and wingers. These players can play their game without having to think.
He doesn't do Hollywood passes that often, but he pulls off those slightly-more-difficult than average passes relentlessly, every time. Very few CMs at this level can do it. It's the marginal gain that separates us from the rest of the league and puts us up there with the best.
That's where the calm comes from with Bird. Having a player like that in the spine of your team makes everything run like clockwork.

Making us do February again would have been an appropriate sanction for our FFP breaches.