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Reply | Coventry
at 09:10 8 Oct 2025
I guess these are the moments to really savour for them. Their progress over the last 8+ years has been immense. Must be a great ride to be on, winning most weeks carrying that buzz we only get in flashes like at Bristol.
But then what? Promotion comes, and with it the almost compulsory £100m splurge on semi-random Ligue 1/bundesliga + best of champ signings.. £30m gambles who aren’t quite good enough for anyone else in the Prem. They get smacked most weeks, tumble back down, then it’s a race against the clock to bounce back before the squad gets picked apart and the better players drift away. |
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Reply | In The Play Offs.
at 10:24 5 Oct 2025
And if Brizzle had (and should) have scored from 6 yards, or if that Dunne challange was given as a pen... This isnt an exact science, take it as it falls. Enjoy the weekend. |
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Reply | Loans
at 10:22 4 Oct 2025
The challenge for these guys coming through isn’t just being the best in their age group. To break into the 1st team they need to prove they can outshine grown men already playing their position. That’s a brutal step up.
Take Sutton at Morecambe as an example. Is he really going to offer more than someone like Jack Nolan (24 yr old, 100 professional games, 20 goals) even if I’ve never actually seen Nolan play? Hard to say. Then you’ve got players like Kolli or Esquerdina who, despite being raw, are somewhat deemed as Champ-level talents straight out of the gate, while someone like Tuck is plugging away four leagues lower and doing alright.
The reality is, the National League and below is full of ex-academy players who once looked destined for the top but never quite made that final leap. Its a tough gig for these lads. |
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Reply | Loans
at 13:49 2 Oct 2025
Interesting how this plays out as we seem to be signing plenty of them, then loaning out for an early taste of mens 1st team.
Are we expecting them to 'smash it' at that level or at least show some signs of development? And if they struggle its perhaps one more chance then see ya on to the next, a firm deadline at 21yrs old if the're not breaking through? Survival of the fittest..
Judging by the strength of the bench last night, I’d expect Bennie and Pearman will be sent out too, they’re nowhere near 1st team right now. |
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Reply | RND
at 08:44 2 Oct 2025
He’s like a terrier down that flank. Loves a tussle, tidy enough on the ball and can put a decent cross in. Also sometimes the best attacking play a FB can make is a simple overlap run to create space. But you’ve got to know when to do it, and then actually do it, knowing you wont always receive the ball and be okay with that. Top pro. |
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Reply | Oxford Utd Reflection
at 08:33 2 Oct 2025
It was the kind of lineup you'd see in pre-season and think: "Well at least it gives some lads a run-out, but this wont work in a real game".
At his level, a central quadrant of Feld, Hayden, Frey & Kone, limited in both guile and pace was always going to struggle to create much. It left us heavily reliant on the wide men, who were completely nullified in that first half. Probably better suited to a low block in the trenches, 'see this one out lads'.
I get why some changes were made, but the personnel just didn’t fit the task until it was too late. If Smyth cuts that ball back to Kone, it’s job done. |
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Reply | Vale’s goal .
at 18:03 22 Sep 2025
Vale’s a really intriguing case. 3yrs ago he was captaining England U19s to Euro champ victory (alongside Ronnie), picking up Chelsea’s Academy POY and making 1st team debut, no chance in hell we’d have got near signing him then.
Fast forward three years and he’s an R. The lad’s got serious pedigree. Not every top youngster makes it in the men’s game, but he’s cut from a different cloth to what we’ve got. Really looking forward to seeing how he develops under JS and co. |
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Reply | Saito
at 14:26 22 Sep 2025
You can tell they’ve clearly worked on him drifting inside more, even popping up on the right to create overloads. That’s where his shots against Wrexham came from, plus the goal-making run on Sat.
Maybe someone more tactically astute can break down how he’s managing to pop up everywhere, because it’s making us so much more fluid. |
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Reply | Team v Sheff W
at 13:59 22 Sep 2025
I’d go full strength same again and really push for 4 on the bounce. Make subs around the hour, then rotate a few in the more winnable home game midweek. |
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Reply | RND
at 13:24 22 Sep 2025
Steady enough and knows the league. For a Champ LB, positioning and winning duels are key, and he seems to relish that. Both our current FB's are cut from the same solid, no-nonsense, functional mould, which they probably need to be as it offers balance to our attacking front four. They can offer support when needed, but main job is to keep things tight.
Esquerdinha will still get minutes, likely start against Oxford. He’s probably better suited to games where we’re on the front foot, at the moment I’d be a little concerned about his positioning against the stronger sides in the division. Wrexham wasted no time targeting him but every minute will help with that. |
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Reply | Kone Burrel switch
at 12:20 22 Sep 2025
For years we've watched the same lone frontman isolated up top, a huge gap between them and any support. Unless they somehow plucked it out of the sky while fending off two brutes up their arse, it'd be coming straight back down our throat.
This slight but brave tweak, helped by having better personnel has created a genuinely interesting dynamic. Can’t wait to see how it plays out again on the big open spaces at Hillsborough. |
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Reply | Rumarn The Bolt Burrell
at 18:44 14 Sep 2025
Can we get the speed gun out to confirm what mph that was, to see how fast he really is.
Are we talking Van der Ven/Elanga levels (+22.7mph) or just a destroyer of over-the-hill oil tankers (Coady)? |
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