kevinhectoring

Have to say I don’t think he or Burns are solid enough. 
Crawley looking in great nick
Will be fascinating to see whether we’ve picked the right bowlers. Axar already looking threatening 

We combine threads where possible, but if it’s not done quick enough merging two multi page threads can cause issues with posts not following there natural sequence if you get me.  Locking threads can upset some too.
One of the mods found this out recently, no names mentioned.
But, sometimes there’s an argument for why they're separate.
 

Nice to see the images the ICC took of the second test pitch

 
 

Yes Underwood bowled at around 70mph like a gentle medium pacer. He had a lovely action and was very accurate. He would have hit those rough spots. 
England will have to choose the batting lineup most likely to go big. Sad to abandon Lawrence so early but I think he and Burns will lose out to Crawley and Bairstow. Stokes needs to play at his tempo and not try to become Sibley mark two.

Think Bess has to play. Not sure Root has the stamina as a bowler esp playing in a teapot.
Interesting to hear the experts saying that part of the problem is our spinners don’t bowl quickly enough to capitalise on these conditions (and Root is the quickest I think). 

Any chance of a frozen pitch??

Only 2?
I've got 1) the stumping that was ON the line, not behind it, given not out... 2) the catch off the glove that was reviewed but the 3rd umpire chose to look at a non-existent LBW instead.... 3) the hiding of the bat behind the pad being considered to be a legitimate shot ... that's 3 howlers!

You’re know you’re in trouble if you’re in India and your best spinner is Root. They need to get Pant early tomorrow or they could lose by an innings 

You’re know you’re in trouble if you’re in India and your best spinner is Root. They need to get Pant early tomorrow or they could lose by an innings 

That look just screams ‘Do you know who I am? That couldn’t possibly have been out.’

Yes fingers crossed for Foakes. In most eras he’d have a hatful of caps by now. Just possible they play Stone and the Indians hurriedly prepare a pitch that plays into his hands. Anything could happen 

As you say Jimmy gets a rest. Cant wait for this one.
This rotation policy seems like self harm. Scary going without Buttler and Bairstow - you can normally rely on one of them for a score and they both have good (albeit white ball) experience in India. Our top order still unreliable and if Root fails we could be in a right pickle. 
So a lot rests on Moeem. Lots of press saying it’s harsh to drop Bess after his 4 wkts haul but he was gifted a few and in the second he was pretty poor. Big qn is whether our spinners are good enough to win this series 
Massive toss to win - and will India be able to manufacture a pitch that better suits them... ?

As you say Jimmy gets a rest. Cant wait for this one.
This rotation policy seems like self harm. Scary going without Buttler and Bairstow - you can normally rely on one of them for a score and they both have good (albeit white ball) experience in India. Our top order still unreliable and if Root fails we could be in a right pickle. 
So a lot rests on Moeem. Lots of press saying it’s harsh to drop Bess after his 4 wkts haul but he was gifted a few and in the second he was pretty poor. Big qn is whether our spinners are good enough to win this series 
Massive toss to win - and will India be able to manufacture a pitch that better suits them... ?

Liked your post 
You include Sibley if you want more balance. You leave him out if you want more experience. WR has gone for the latter. Might be the better call in this league especially given our position. It’s working pretty well. 
 

You’ve gotta think his next managerial job will be a big step down - don’t think he’s in a great position 

Err yes I agree! That's why my post started with the words "the other difference being"...
I'm not denying Keogh was at least partly responsible for his injury. I'm simply saying sacking him was a completely disproportionate response, especially as Bennett and Lawrence weren't sacked. How can the club maintain the ludicrous double-think - it's a sackable offence unless you accept a much reduced contract in which case, hey presto, it isn't. Clearly nothing more than blatant opportunism - no wonder he won the case!
If any of us went out one night, had a few too many beers and injured ourselves to the extent that we were unable to work for 6 months, how many of us would resign from our jobs on the spot, even though we knew our contract entitled us to full sick pay, just because we felt it was somehow 'only fair' to our employers? That's what some posters are effectively saying Keogh should have done!
Stuff happens! When it does it's your opportunity to treat people decently. Like Clough did with Barker. Treating Keogh the way Derby did was short-sighted in the extreme. He's back playing championship football now and, if he's even close to being the player he was, he's significantly better than what we've got. And as the Ryan Conway article recently revealed, his sacking had a deleterious effect on the morale of the rest of the squad because they apparently felt it was totally unfair and he was a popular figure in the dressing room.
 

It’s not disability discrimination more of a frustration of contract due to sickness in relation to not being able to do his contracted job of employment ( attempt to play football) I am sure that if he had been injured cutting the grass he wouldn’t have been dismissed from his job, yet he was due to his own contributory negligence under the influence of a substance and as a very senior employee he should have known what he was doing.
Derby have very recent history of looking after players, employees, when there are not under obligation to do so - Shaun Barker, contract extension when it was known he wouldn’t be fit during that extension. Keogh problem was his own contribution to the episode and Derby generously offered him another paid role which he declined I believe to help him during his recovery. They paid him to play football and represent the club appropriately.  

Of course it's relevant. Employment law applies across the board as does the 2010 Equalities Act. Anyway with Keogh we're talking about an employee who was already under contract, not someone applying for a job. Keogh, Keogh, Keogh!

I'm guessing that opinion would have come from a specialist in knee injuries. I'm sure talk at the time was at least 18 months out due to the severity. With that duration matching the length of his contract, the professional opinion was that he wouldn't be able to fulfil his contract due to his own negligence. 
If it was 18 months out due to an injury in training, in a match or just a freak accident, he wouldn't have been sacked.

His clever lawyers would have had a field day over the inconsistency. 
They might also have said: when you sacked him you thought he might never play again. So it’s disability discrimination 

Richard III

I really can't see it happening. Too many bridges burn't. And he's probably passed it.

Can this be moved to Ex-Rams please

I want him back. In a cape. 

fascinating post thank you    I must admit I thought they would do better this season    Man U was a shocker for them    
Bielsa - like Klopp - has the ability to motivate players to cover the yards and execute that gegen press. Many managers (including PC) just can't energise their squad in this way, whatever the plan. It's a big part of the job. 
Bielsa has not under-performed. His squad is not a strong PL squad - this reflects that the owner (if I have it right) has about what MM has and it's not enough these days to get to the top.   Their dominance in the Championship before promotion reflected Bielsa's class. All teams have slumps and eventually he won promotion after strong showings in consecutive seasons. And hasn't he been offered bigger jobs than Leeds? I thought so but may be wrong there. The spirit of CLough was with us on the return leg - I didn't think at the time that Bielsa was to blame I thought it had more to do with their goalkeeper (but maybe I need to watch it again). 
Love the crouching thing. Sure he has a bucket and now a little chair to help him but half the time he just squats like a Chinese lady at a railway station. Not sure even Pep could do that. 
And his reluctance to speak English on English TV, bless him...
I like him and rate him even if he hides in hedges sometimes