Phoenix

Except politics

It's the MOTM poisoned chalice

Holds a "record" that can never be taken away from him, which automatically makes him a legend in my eyes.
Get well soon, Branko.
xxx

One of those signings that could have changed our fortunes at that time, but for a terrible run of injuries. Remember the group of Genk fans who used to come over for our games just to support him? That only happens for players of real character.
Get well soon Branko ?

I agree with this on the whole, fans just need to remember the bigger picture if we pick up a few poor results. Amazing how quickly some folk can turn (not aiming that at anyone in particular).

We might be Championship level. However you can also argue it is a squad that Warne did not pick. I wonder how many of these players would be in the squad had he been here at the end of last season and had money to spend? Don't get me wrong I love the players we currently have under the circumstances, Rosenior worked wonders. But we have to remember they are a band of misfits built from loans and freebies. All brought in to play Rosenior's style of football and had to adapt to Warne's style.
You might think it is a dodgy stat but I think it is very noteworthy under the circumstances

Good watch this.  Next one in 3 weeks if you fancy some pain.

Yeah, I was watching, the Jo’burg bowlers had a shocker in the first innings, giving the batsmen little chance. Poor du Plooy must have been having flashbacks of our T20 quarter final ?

He's done an absolutely outstanding job so far. Slightly slow start but he's really got us firing now. The only thing we don't have an answer for at this stage is how potentially we will fare if we get promoted. It's perhaps understandably a slight reservation amongst some fans that he has not (yet) managed to get a team to stick having got them promoted to the Championship but that may in part be down to resources at his previous club. Who knows, he may take it in his stride but we certainly need to not carry any inferiority complex with us if we end up facing much better sides. If I'm honest I was a little disappointed in the West Ham game as we seemed to show them a lot of respect and never really laid a glove on them. I was hoping that we'd have a right go but it was a bit of a damp squib in the end.

The reality is though that if we get promoted at some stage then there will be teams that we face that will have financial resources that are beyond anything we have due to the obscene size of the parachute payments. Regardless though, these teams were our peers for season after season in recent times and our fans will be expecting us to show no fear and no undue respect.
The big challenge though is not really just about Warnes' ability to carry his philosophy and tactics to a higher level,  but with the EFL millstone around our transfer dealings we are very limited in what we can offer him to upgrade his squad in the event of promotion and that's a bit of a worry for me. It's not really just about Warne himself stepping up, what level of financial support can we give him to back up progress so far ? The negotiations with the EFL will surely be vital in giving Warne the flexibility that he needs to keep shaping the squad. There is only so much you can so with out-of-contract players from the 'surplus to requirement' pile at other clubs. We've done amazingly well in that regard but it's not really a plan for future progress.
Having said all of that, if you'd shown me the current table in the summer I'd have thought you were certifiable ! Hard not to be anything other than chuffed to bits with how it has panned out. Team, Owner and Manager are a credit to the club and themselves at the moment.

Quick note.
Billy Sharp is and always will be, a massive throbber.
As you were.

Thought we had the subject covered from within.?

Nor lost any.

Nor lost any.

Nor lost any.

He’s was 19 when he played for us wasnt he? He’s only just turned 35 according to Wikipedia 

Taribo West?

BIg shout out to Collins, for a striker who hasn't scored in such a long time, to 'earn' a penalty when 2 up and to give it to a teammate for his hat trick, is a fantastic contribution to the team cause.
Poor shout out to around 2,000 Derby fans, who didn't turn up after coming to the 'big' attraction of Bolton. I expected a few less, but 2,000 was quite a large number.

Morecambe have issued a press statement about yesterdays result:-

Can we crowd fund season tickets?
 

A couple of quotes from the Morecambe Forum.
"Ref is giving them everything. We've been pulled back/down a few times and got nothing, but their lads go down, free-kick every time."
Famiiar?
"Yes Derby are excellent, but we're just letting them attack, attack and attack again. Their defence could start a card school to keep them occupied."

I like the resilience and toughness the side shows. For years I’ve felt like we were often too soft or nice, this season there’s something different. I think it’s down to a combination of the management teams approach, the qualities added to the squad in terms of the more seasoned pros, and the battle hardening that last season offered to the younger lads like Cashin, Knight and Bird. I’m really enjoying this season.

and tonight's lottery numbers are...?

The bit that caught my eye was in the Mail, about the Nigerian Billionaire stepping in to save Shef Utd. I'm always wary of the emails I get from Nigerian Billionaires.