| Tall Paul / Dom Ballard 12:25 - Feb 28 with 2724 views | PatfromPoole | I think if selected, Tall Paul has to start producing tomorrow night. If he can’t come up with the goods against a League 2 side, we are going to have to start to look elsewhere. I would give him the first-half tomorrow, and if he hasn’t had any joy, sub him off for Dom Ballard. |  |
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| Tall Paul / Dom Ballard on 12:48 - Feb 28 with 2691 views | 1885_SFC | You'd like to think that we would start with a couple of the talented youngsters, Ballard especially, against a League 2 team (no disrespect to Grimsby). For the record; we are never going to win the FA Cup, so we've nothing to lose other than yet further embarrassment this season. In this disastrous season where even our kids can't get an opportunity to show what they can do & are asking to leave, you'd like to think tomorrow night would present a good chance for a couple of them to step up for a cup game. I'm not asking for Selles to flood the team with kids, just give a couple of them a chance. Otherwise, it's Walcott, Diallo, Djenepo, Mara, Adam Armstrong, Lord Lucan Orsic... Zzzzzz.... |  |
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| Tall Paul / Dom Ballard on 13:08 - Feb 28 with 2659 views | SaintNick | So let me get this right, after many people on this website and across social media complaining about signing youngsters and not experienced players being the root cause of our problems, the actual solution to this problem is to bring in another youngster 17 year old Dom Ballard, who has played exactly zero minutes in the Premier League and just 15 minutes in total in the first team that being against Cambridge in an earlier round of the cup, yes he got a goal , but aside from that what other evidence do we have . ? He does have a decent record in the Premier League 2 but that is far from being the standard of even the Championship. I have watched him play several times for the B Team this season at Totton, he is a talent, but he is probably not ready for the First team yet, aside from as at Cambridge the odd run out of the bench when there is no pressure on. If Ballard came on at half time and had a poor game and failed to score then the crowd would be on his back and people would be moaning about youngsters again as they have been all season. The problem for Tall Paul has been a lack of service so far |  |
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| Tall Paul / Dom Ballard on 13:23 - Feb 28 with 2628 views | PatfromPoole |
| Tall Paul / Dom Ballard on 13:08 - Feb 28 by SaintNick | So let me get this right, after many people on this website and across social media complaining about signing youngsters and not experienced players being the root cause of our problems, the actual solution to this problem is to bring in another youngster 17 year old Dom Ballard, who has played exactly zero minutes in the Premier League and just 15 minutes in total in the first team that being against Cambridge in an earlier round of the cup, yes he got a goal , but aside from that what other evidence do we have . ? He does have a decent record in the Premier League 2 but that is far from being the standard of even the Championship. I have watched him play several times for the B Team this season at Totton, he is a talent, but he is probably not ready for the First team yet, aside from as at Cambridge the odd run out of the bench when there is no pressure on. If Ballard came on at half time and had a poor game and failed to score then the crowd would be on his back and people would be moaning about youngsters again as they have been all season. The problem for Tall Paul has been a lack of service so far |
I don’t think the crowd would be on Ballard’s back if he put a lot of effort in and looked really lively. The fans have had a gutful of players who don’t put in a proper shift and just coast through games. We simply have too many of these players. We also lack players who have the ability to excite and get fans off their seat. Sulemana showed initial signs of promise in this area, but has already started to tail off. Nick has separately written about the low crowd for tomorrow night. I am going, but I get why people aren’t. We simply do not provide entertainment. |  |
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| Tall Paul / Dom Ballard on 15:01 - Feb 28 with 2564 views | SaintNick |
| Tall Paul / Dom Ballard on 13:23 - Feb 28 by PatfromPoole | I don’t think the crowd would be on Ballard’s back if he put a lot of effort in and looked really lively. The fans have had a gutful of players who don’t put in a proper shift and just coast through games. We simply have too many of these players. We also lack players who have the ability to excite and get fans off their seat. Sulemana showed initial signs of promise in this area, but has already started to tail off. Nick has separately written about the low crowd for tomorrow night. I am going, but I get why people aren’t. We simply do not provide entertainment. |
Why do you think Ballard is the answer though, he has only played 15 minutes in the first team and that against a League One side, you are right some players look like they dont put a shift in, but plenty of them do, why would Ballard be any better than say Edozie who has put in a lot of effort but has produced no end product. Adam Armstrong can't be accused of not trying but the crowd get on his back as he doesn't score. Im not sure we have too many players coasting, I think we just have too many who are too young and inexperienced |  |
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| Tall Paul / Dom Ballard on 15:11 - Feb 28 with 2552 views | 1885_SFC |
| Tall Paul / Dom Ballard on 15:01 - Feb 28 by SaintNick | Why do you think Ballard is the answer though, he has only played 15 minutes in the first team and that against a League One side, you are right some players look like they dont put a shift in, but plenty of them do, why would Ballard be any better than say Edozie who has put in a lot of effort but has produced no end product. Adam Armstrong can't be accused of not trying but the crowd get on his back as he doesn't score. Im not sure we have too many players coasting, I think we just have too many who are too young and inexperienced |
Nick, no one is saying Ballard is the answer. But if you can't stick him on for 20-25 minutes against a League 2 side (again, no disrespect to Grimsby) - when can you? When you've tried the likes of Adams, Adam Armstrong, Mara, Aribo over & over again with no luck and firing blanks, why not change the tune? Selles has said today that he's got one eye on the Leicester game on Saturday & we all know how important that game is. Che Adams is out tomorrow. Ballard should make the bench at the very least. |  |
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| Tall Paul / Dom Ballard on 15:34 - Feb 28 with 2535 views | Number_58 | We've got a Youth Cup QF at Preston on Thursday so it's unlikely Ballard or any of the nippers will play anyway tomorrow, but how anyone can say that a player's 'not ready' when he's not been given a go is baffling, especially when the players he would be replacing have failed miserably to score match after match. Years ago it seemed to be a lot easier for young forwards to break through - squads weren't so big and teams usually played with at least two strikers. I wonder if the likes of Shearer and Steve Moran would get a go in the first team nowadays. |  | |  |
| Tall Paul / Dom Ballard on 15:54 - Feb 28 with 2501 views | PatfromPoole |
| Tall Paul / Dom Ballard on 15:34 - Feb 28 by Number_58 | We've got a Youth Cup QF at Preston on Thursday so it's unlikely Ballard or any of the nippers will play anyway tomorrow, but how anyone can say that a player's 'not ready' when he's not been given a go is baffling, especially when the players he would be replacing have failed miserably to score match after match. Years ago it seemed to be a lot easier for young forwards to break through - squads weren't so big and teams usually played with at least two strikers. I wonder if the likes of Shearer and Steve Moran would get a go in the first team nowadays. |
I remember Nicky Banger from around the time I started watching Saints. Scored a few crucial goals which helped keep us up in Branfoot's second season. I appreciate defences are a whole lot better than they were in the early 90's, and we don't have MLT to lay on passes / crosses etc. But we just need something to give us hope that better days might be around the corner. If Ballard represents a downgrade on Mara, I would be surprised. |  |
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| Tall Paul / Dom Ballard on 16:05 - Feb 28 with 2482 views | PatfromPoole |
| Tall Paul / Dom Ballard on 13:08 - Feb 28 by SaintNick | So let me get this right, after many people on this website and across social media complaining about signing youngsters and not experienced players being the root cause of our problems, the actual solution to this problem is to bring in another youngster 17 year old Dom Ballard, who has played exactly zero minutes in the Premier League and just 15 minutes in total in the first team that being against Cambridge in an earlier round of the cup, yes he got a goal , but aside from that what other evidence do we have . ? He does have a decent record in the Premier League 2 but that is far from being the standard of even the Championship. I have watched him play several times for the B Team this season at Totton, he is a talent, but he is probably not ready for the First team yet, aside from as at Cambridge the odd run out of the bench when there is no pressure on. If Ballard came on at half time and had a poor game and failed to score then the crowd would be on his back and people would be moaning about youngsters again as they have been all season. The problem for Tall Paul has been a lack of service so far |
Meant to add: The problem for Tall Paul appears to be that he cannot run, jump or head the ball........ |  |
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| Tall Paul / Dom Ballard on 16:07 - Feb 28 with 2474 views | saints__fan__73 | It's impossible for Ballard to score less goals than Armstrong/Tall Paul/Mara so why not. |  |
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| Tall Paul / Dom Ballard on 18:22 - Feb 28 with 2333 views | 1teeminants |
| Tall Paul / Dom Ballard on 15:11 - Feb 28 by 1885_SFC | Nick, no one is saying Ballard is the answer. But if you can't stick him on for 20-25 minutes against a League 2 side (again, no disrespect to Grimsby) - when can you? When you've tried the likes of Adams, Adam Armstrong, Mara, Aribo over & over again with no luck and firing blanks, why not change the tune? Selles has said today that he's got one eye on the Leicester game on Saturday & we all know how important that game is. Che Adams is out tomorrow. Ballard should make the bench at the very least. |
Spot on. If you don’t try things out you’re not going to know are you ? . As I said before oxlaide chamberlain, Shearer Bale, Shaw , Walcott were all young kids when they were thrown in the first team , it may not be the answer but what have we got to lose ? As you say it’s League 2 Grimsby Town we’re talking about here. The lad could come on and get a hat trick imagine what a huge lift that would give everyone. |  |
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| Tall Paul / Dom Ballard on 19:51 - Feb 28 with 2227 views | felly1 |
| Tall Paul / Dom Ballard on 15:54 - Feb 28 by PatfromPoole | I remember Nicky Banger from around the time I started watching Saints. Scored a few crucial goals which helped keep us up in Branfoot's second season. I appreciate defences are a whole lot better than they were in the early 90's, and we don't have MLT to lay on passes / crosses etc. But we just need something to give us hope that better days might be around the corner. If Ballard represents a downgrade on Mara, I would be surprised. |
My old mate Nicky, I used to sit next to him in Maths back in the Glen Eyre days. I can remember seeing Tony Barton popping into the school to check on his behaviour. Errrm Nicky was obviously a well behaved kid. Funny to think a Champions League winning manager from Aston Vila ended up on the flower Rds checking up on a one the kids!! |  | |  |
| Tall Paul / Dom Ballard on 20:02 - Feb 28 with 2210 views | PatfromPoole |
| Tall Paul / Dom Ballard on 18:22 - Feb 28 by 1teeminants | Spot on. If you don’t try things out you’re not going to know are you ? . As I said before oxlaide chamberlain, Shearer Bale, Shaw , Walcott were all young kids when they were thrown in the first team , it may not be the answer but what have we got to lose ? As you say it’s League 2 Grimsby Town we’re talking about here. The lad could come on and get a hat trick imagine what a huge lift that would give everyone. |
Totally agree, mate. |  |
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| Tall Paul / Dom Ballard on 20:40 - Feb 28 with 2176 views | SaintNick |
| Tall Paul / Dom Ballard on 15:54 - Feb 28 by PatfromPoole | I remember Nicky Banger from around the time I started watching Saints. Scored a few crucial goals which helped keep us up in Branfoot's second season. I appreciate defences are a whole lot better than they were in the early 90's, and we don't have MLT to lay on passes / crosses etc. But we just need something to give us hope that better days might be around the corner. If Ballard represents a downgrade on Mara, I would be surprised. |
I am not against trying some thing new, I’m just questioning what Ballard has done to justify getting a chance if Adam Armstrong a man who scored 28 goals in one season in the championship can’t score goals what makes anyone think that a 17 year old with 15 minutes first team football to his name is the answer. Nicky Banger scored a hat trick on his first team debut against Rochdale august 1990, in that and the next season he played 10 times and didn’t score he broke through in 92/93 and got 6 goals in the league We are clutching at straws when the most that anyone has seen him play is 15 mins |  |
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| Tall Paul / Dom Ballard on 21:15 - Feb 28 with 2149 views | Butty101 |
| Tall Paul / Dom Ballard on 20:40 - Feb 28 by SaintNick | I am not against trying some thing new, I’m just questioning what Ballard has done to justify getting a chance if Adam Armstrong a man who scored 28 goals in one season in the championship can’t score goals what makes anyone think that a 17 year old with 15 minutes first team football to his name is the answer. Nicky Banger scored a hat trick on his first team debut against Rochdale august 1990, in that and the next season he played 10 times and didn’t score he broke through in 92/93 and got 6 goals in the league We are clutching at straws when the most that anyone has seen him play is 15 mins |
Lets not forget Armstrong played for 75mins against Cambridge and never looked like scoring. Ballard comes on and nets one in his first 15mins, Armstong has had his chance and is just not good enough. His poor finishing cost us a trip to Wembley |  |
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| Tall Paul / Dom Ballard on 21:33 - Feb 28 with 2126 views | felly1 |
| Tall Paul / Dom Ballard on 20:40 - Feb 28 by SaintNick | I am not against trying some thing new, I’m just questioning what Ballard has done to justify getting a chance if Adam Armstrong a man who scored 28 goals in one season in the championship can’t score goals what makes anyone think that a 17 year old with 15 minutes first team football to his name is the answer. Nicky Banger scored a hat trick on his first team debut against Rochdale august 1990, in that and the next season he played 10 times and didn’t score he broke through in 92/93 and got 6 goals in the league We are clutching at straws when the most that anyone has seen him play is 15 mins |
The point is how will we know if Ballard can cut the mustard if he never gets a chance to show what he can do. Mara and Armstrong have so far failed dismally in front of goal. We could have saved 30 million quid and just kept Obafemi as he scored more than those two. |  | |  |
| Tall Paul / Dom Ballard on 21:38 - Feb 28 with 2118 views | PatfromPoole |
| Tall Paul / Dom Ballard on 21:15 - Feb 28 by Butty101 | Lets not forget Armstrong played for 75mins against Cambridge and never looked like scoring. Ballard comes on and nets one in his first 15mins, Armstong has had his chance and is just not good enough. His poor finishing cost us a trip to Wembley |
Absolutely. I am fed up with chances being given to players who are patently not good enough. Adam Armstrong and Sekou Mara are both woefully out of their depth. We have absolutely no chance of staying up if we are going to be relying on them. [Post edited 28 Feb 2023 23:38]
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| Tall Paul / Dom Ballard on 23:16 - Feb 28 with 2019 views | 1885_SFC |
| Tall Paul / Dom Ballard on 20:40 - Feb 28 by SaintNick | I am not against trying some thing new, I’m just questioning what Ballard has done to justify getting a chance if Adam Armstrong a man who scored 28 goals in one season in the championship can’t score goals what makes anyone think that a 17 year old with 15 minutes first team football to his name is the answer. Nicky Banger scored a hat trick on his first team debut against Rochdale august 1990, in that and the next season he played 10 times and didn’t score he broke through in 92/93 and got 6 goals in the league We are clutching at straws when the most that anyone has seen him play is 15 mins |
Young lads come to Saints because we are well known & well respected for giving youth a chance. We could all reel off a list as long as your arm of some of the talent that has passed through our academy and gone on to incredible things in the world of football. When the first team is doing sh1te however, these young lads - the ones with bags of talent & potential - must get fed up with being constantly overlooked. Again, I'm not advocating filling the first team with kids. I'm just puzzled as to why none of the current crop appear to be anywhere near the first team? We've already lost our most talented kid in Jimmy-Jay Morgan who moved to Chelsea. Tyler Dibling made the same move - but luckily (for us) he failed to settle there & came back. How long before the likes of Ballard want out - due to always being overlooked? I keep reading rave reviews about some of our kids. At a time when our first team squad is carrying a lot of deadwood who simply don't give a toss & who couldn't really give a sh1t about putting a shift in, I'm all for seeing their place taken by a talented nipper all too eager & hungry to learn... and who'd love the opportunity & grasp it with both hands. |  |
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| Tall Paul / Dom Ballard on 23:51 - Feb 28 with 1977 views | Bridders2 | I seem to remember Harry Kane doing well in Tottenham 's academy and being ignored by Poch until a huge groundswell from the fans forced Poch to eventually play him. The rest is history. If we're winning against Grimsby I would definitely be giving Ballard a go for the last 20 minutes. |  | |  |
| Tall Paul / Dom Ballard on 08:13 - Mar 1 with 1778 views | SaintNick |
| Tall Paul / Dom Ballard on 23:51 - Feb 28 by Bridders2 | I seem to remember Harry Kane doing well in Tottenham 's academy and being ignored by Poch until a huge groundswell from the fans forced Poch to eventually play him. The rest is history. If we're winning against Grimsby I would definitely be giving Ballard a go for the last 20 minutes. |
What amazes me about this thread is the belief by many that a 17 year old who has played just 15 minutes of football is the saviour, I would suggest that very few on this thread have actually seen him play and those that have just 15 minutes at Cambridge, yet the fact that he notched a goal in a game against a League two side that when he came on where 2-0 down and going through the motions has given him legendary status. Despite the fact that players including Adam Armstrong and Sekou Mara who have both scored not only for Saints but for other teams, Armstrong in particular 28 goals in one season in the Championship are seen as not up to it furthers the case that to throw Ballard in will give us nothing to lose. We have plenty to lose, look at Nathan Tella, he broke into the Saints team in the summer of 2020, a month short of his 20th birthday, he has spent the next two seasons on the fringe of the team starting 17 games plus 16 as sub in the Premier League and scoring just one, even Theo Walcott was ahead of him, yet in 24(7) games at Burnley he has notched 12 goals, nowhere near Armstrongs total for Blackburn. That shows the gap between even the Championship and the Premier League, yet we are expecting Ballard to bridge the gap between the youth team and the Premier League at 17 and barely into double figures in appearances for the B team. Why do you think that he hasn't been tried ? Possibly because those in the academy don't think he is ready, they know that throwing him in now into a struggling side will hinder his development, that the same people who have never seen him play but are demanding his inclusion will very quickly be the same ones who after a few games will be screaming about how the academy doesn't produce any talent anymore. Harry Kane is not a good comparison, in 2014/15 when Spurs fans were calling for his inclusion he was 21 years old, he had spent 3 seasons out on loan with limited & mixed success. In 2013/14 he stayed at Spurs and had some success, 3 goals in 10 games in the Premier League, so when Spurs fans were calling for him they had seen him score the previous season, Kane was not thrown into the Premier League as the great saviour as a teenager, at the start of the 2013 season aged 20 he had played just 1 Premier League game for Spurs plus 1 game in Europe. Kane served his apprenticeship out on loan, perhaps that what we should have done with Tella earlier |  |
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| Tall Paul / Dom Ballard on 08:49 - Mar 1 with 1743 views | PatfromPoole |
| Tall Paul / Dom Ballard on 08:13 - Mar 1 by SaintNick | What amazes me about this thread is the belief by many that a 17 year old who has played just 15 minutes of football is the saviour, I would suggest that very few on this thread have actually seen him play and those that have just 15 minutes at Cambridge, yet the fact that he notched a goal in a game against a League two side that when he came on where 2-0 down and going through the motions has given him legendary status. Despite the fact that players including Adam Armstrong and Sekou Mara who have both scored not only for Saints but for other teams, Armstrong in particular 28 goals in one season in the Championship are seen as not up to it furthers the case that to throw Ballard in will give us nothing to lose. We have plenty to lose, look at Nathan Tella, he broke into the Saints team in the summer of 2020, a month short of his 20th birthday, he has spent the next two seasons on the fringe of the team starting 17 games plus 16 as sub in the Premier League and scoring just one, even Theo Walcott was ahead of him, yet in 24(7) games at Burnley he has notched 12 goals, nowhere near Armstrongs total for Blackburn. That shows the gap between even the Championship and the Premier League, yet we are expecting Ballard to bridge the gap between the youth team and the Premier League at 17 and barely into double figures in appearances for the B team. Why do you think that he hasn't been tried ? Possibly because those in the academy don't think he is ready, they know that throwing him in now into a struggling side will hinder his development, that the same people who have never seen him play but are demanding his inclusion will very quickly be the same ones who after a few games will be screaming about how the academy doesn't produce any talent anymore. Harry Kane is not a good comparison, in 2014/15 when Spurs fans were calling for his inclusion he was 21 years old, he had spent 3 seasons out on loan with limited & mixed success. In 2013/14 he stayed at Spurs and had some success, 3 goals in 10 games in the Premier League, so when Spurs fans were calling for him they had seen him score the previous season, Kane was not thrown into the Premier League as the great saviour as a teenager, at the start of the 2013 season aged 20 he had played just 1 Premier League game for Spurs plus 1 game in Europe. Kane served his apprenticeship out on loan, perhaps that what we should have done with Tella earlier |
Sekou Mara has not scored for Saints. Cup goals don’t count, Nick. When did anybody say that Dom Ballard was the saviour? |  |
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| Tall Paul / Dom Ballard on 09:20 - Mar 1 with 1697 views | felly1 |
| Tall Paul / Dom Ballard on 08:13 - Mar 1 by SaintNick | What amazes me about this thread is the belief by many that a 17 year old who has played just 15 minutes of football is the saviour, I would suggest that very few on this thread have actually seen him play and those that have just 15 minutes at Cambridge, yet the fact that he notched a goal in a game against a League two side that when he came on where 2-0 down and going through the motions has given him legendary status. Despite the fact that players including Adam Armstrong and Sekou Mara who have both scored not only for Saints but for other teams, Armstrong in particular 28 goals in one season in the Championship are seen as not up to it furthers the case that to throw Ballard in will give us nothing to lose. We have plenty to lose, look at Nathan Tella, he broke into the Saints team in the summer of 2020, a month short of his 20th birthday, he has spent the next two seasons on the fringe of the team starting 17 games plus 16 as sub in the Premier League and scoring just one, even Theo Walcott was ahead of him, yet in 24(7) games at Burnley he has notched 12 goals, nowhere near Armstrongs total for Blackburn. That shows the gap between even the Championship and the Premier League, yet we are expecting Ballard to bridge the gap between the youth team and the Premier League at 17 and barely into double figures in appearances for the B team. Why do you think that he hasn't been tried ? Possibly because those in the academy don't think he is ready, they know that throwing him in now into a struggling side will hinder his development, that the same people who have never seen him play but are demanding his inclusion will very quickly be the same ones who after a few games will be screaming about how the academy doesn't produce any talent anymore. Harry Kane is not a good comparison, in 2014/15 when Spurs fans were calling for his inclusion he was 21 years old, he had spent 3 seasons out on loan with limited & mixed success. In 2013/14 he stayed at Spurs and had some success, 3 goals in 10 games in the Premier League, so when Spurs fans were calling for him they had seen him score the previous season, Kane was not thrown into the Premier League as the great saviour as a teenager, at the start of the 2013 season aged 20 he had played just 1 Premier League game for Spurs plus 1 game in Europe. Kane served his apprenticeship out on loan, perhaps that what we should have done with Tella earlier |
Saviour? Who said that? Just worth a punt when the others have failed. Sounds like someone got out of bed the wrong side this morning. |  | |  |
| Tall Paul / Dom Ballard on 22:34 - Mar 1 with 1498 views | Number_58 | After witnessing Mara and Armstrong's pitiful performances tonight against League One opposition, does anyone else on Planet Earth agree with Nick's argument that Ballard isn't ready to play in the team ahead of them? |  | |  |
| Tall Paul / Dom Ballard on 23:18 - Mar 1 with 1446 views | 1885_SFC |
| Tall Paul / Dom Ballard on 22:34 - Mar 1 by Number_58 | After witnessing Mara and Armstrong's pitiful performances tonight against League One opposition, does anyone else on Planet Earth agree with Nick's argument that Ballard isn't ready to play in the team ahead of them? |
Indeed. Mara was utter sh1t tonight - and Armstrong was somehow even sh1tter. Don't anyone tell me Ballard would be a worse choice than either of those two. |  |
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| Tall Paul / Dom Ballard on 00:52 - Mar 2 with 1389 views | sledger | orsic,calleta-car and djenepo played for the b side a few weeks back and they were dog+hit then so grimsby was obviously going to be a step to far for them |  | |  |
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