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Reply | St Oke Methodist Church Away Match Fred
at 19:36 17 Jan 2026
Totally agree. We don't have players who are good enough to play the inverted wide players' role, Chair excepted, for the reason you have given.
It's sometimes easy to blame your forwards, but if you have wingers who are too easily dispossesed and have no interest in trying to get themselves into positions to deliver telling crosses, then you aren't going to create many scoring opportunities.
It won't happen with Stephan, but Smyth/Saito should primarily play on the right and Dembele/Vale/Poku on the left. Otherwise, their failings will continue to hamper us when it comes to creating chances., especially away from home. [Post edited 17 Jan 19:40]
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Reply | A cold, wet Saturday afternoon in Stoke – Preview
at 10:10 17 Jan 2026
I like the fact that we are striving to attain Cat 1 status, but does that in itself automatically equate to high(er) standards? I'm not sure.
Charlton have had a much better youth system that has produced players of first team calibre, for them as well as some being poached by other clubs, for a number of years. Millwall's youth team of a few years ago reached the FA youth cup semi-final. A far greater achievement than the cup victory of our development squad last season, as all teams take that youth competition seriously.
The Bees have done very well without having Cat 1 status. Next season will be their 6th successive at the top table.
It will be interesting to see how it unfolds in years to come.
You're bang on about us needing to become more comfortable in possession if we have any pretensions of rising further up the table and seriously contest for play-off/top two places. [Post edited 17 Jan 11:53]
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Reply | Alfie Lloyd recalled
at 07:33 17 Jan 2026
Sadly, one good finish virtually a year ago, does not a striker make.
Clearly Richie Wellens saw enough at Leyton Orient to reach the conclusion that there are better striker loan options available for the remainder of the season rather than persisting with Lloyd. [Post edited 17 Jan 7:39]
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Reply | Alfie Lloyd recalled
at 19:48 16 Jan 2026
Yeah, Richie Wellens is no slouch. [Post edited 16 Jan 19:48]
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Reply | Alfie Lloyd recalled
at 18:43 16 Jan 2026
The O's have two strikers who are far superior to Lloyd I'm afraid: Connolly, currently injured, and Ballard. Scoring goals isn't a problem for them, the issues are defensively.
I suspect that he will be sent out on loan elsewhere, as he's not championship level. However Dom Ballard, signed from Southampton, is definitely a serious prospect. [Post edited 17 Jan 7:55]
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Reply | Stoke breaking scary new ground under Robins – Oppo Profile
at 08:07 16 Jan 2026
Couldn't agree more. If my poor memory serves me correctly, he has been discussed on here ever since the time we played Boreham Wood in a pre-season friendly quite a few years ago, before he was then signed by Huddersfield!
Credit to Thomas for scaling the many rungs of the football ladder to now becoming one of the best players in the championship. What I like about his game is that he is genuinely two-footed and can play on either flank. If he has managed to master that skill from non-league beginnings, then there are no excuses for the majority of our wide players to be so deficient in this area.
By all accounts, Stoke paid no more than £2m for his signature. Wow. [Post edited 16 Jan 8:17]
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Reply | Murphy
at 21:25 12 Jan 2026
The lad playing wide on the left for Barnsley looks very capable. Should have been awarded a penalty when he was fouled in the scouser's penalty area. [Post edited 12 Jan 21:30]
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Reply | Dunne
at 17:08 12 Jan 2026
Sometimes goals can be scored without blame being apportioned to a player or players from the opposition. That piece of skill from Sommeville was a moment of premier league brilliance, which was executed at lightning speed and culminated in a precise cross being delivered too.
It would have wrong-footed many a defender and I cannot find fault with any of our defenders for that goal. [Post edited 12 Jan 17:12]
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Reply | Kolli
at 10:55 12 Jan 2026
Good to see that you being the all-knowing one, know more about Kone than he does himself, including his age it would appear. Perhaps you can enlighten him in this regard, omniscient one!
 [Post edited 12 Jan 11:02]
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Reply | January transfer rumours
at 15:58 9 Jan 2026
Two of whom are better and are more reliable central defensive midfielders than Varane. If they want him now, I'd take £3m and count our blessings, as he has been dire this season. |
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Reply | Ronnie Edwards
at 16:12 8 Jan 2026
High praise indeed and I'm inclined to agree.
Here's hoping that he can deliver more of the same from a year ago. I don't expect it to happen immediately, it didn't last season, but he will find that high level of consistent performance again. [Post edited 8 Jan 16:17]
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Reply | Daniel Bennie
at 11:44 8 Jan 2026
Here's hoping that this doesn't restrict Kolli's minutes on the pitch, as he is a much better player than Bennie. [Post edited 8 Jan 12:10]
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Reply | rip
at 23:32 7 Jan 2026
There should be no need to apologise at all. [Post edited 7 Jan 23:35]
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Reply | Rest of the Championship thread 25/26
at 07:55 7 Jan 2026
Has hardly featured for Pompey and has now moved to top of the table Coventry. Methinks that they may just be starting to panic a bit. It could start to become a three team race for the two automatic spots.
7 point gap between Coventry and Ipswich, who have a game in hand, is nothing at this stage. |
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Reply | Frey on the move?
at 14:58 2 Jan 2026
Nine league goals in 51 appearances. Yet some are writing Burrell and Kone off! Burrell already has the same number of goals and I'm in no doubt that Kone will match that number in significantly fewer games too.
They are both upgrades on Frey and will get better, which for me bodes well for the future.
I appreciate what Frey did for us last season but if that means more game time for Kolli, another potential talent, then it's the correct decision. [Post edited 2 Jan 15:38]
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Reply | Kone
at 13:58 2 Jan 2026
Bang on. |
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Reply | Kone
at 13:17 2 Jan 2026
I get what you are saying, but 8 goals in 18 and 10 in 23 in Les' formative years, are not what I would use as proof of someone struggling to find the net. Especially when playing at Premier League level.
I think that both Kone and Burrell have done well to date in scoring 9 and 5 respectively in the league, as our service to them and poor standard of passing and ball-retention is hardly helping. They themselves aren't blameless in this regard too.
If our wide players, Chair excepted, cannot use their weaker foot very well, can we please just play them on the correct flank. Yesterday, Smyth should have started on the right and Dembele on the left along with full-backs overlapping on occasions. Dembele v Preston and Saito delivering the cross when he found himself on the right v Brum are some examples of players delivering crosses in open play on their stronger side to telling effect.
When watching football highlights, most goals scored from crosses in open play stem from what I would call the conventional route and rarely from inverted wide players cutting back onto their stronger foot and delivering into areas where defenders are facing away from their goal and the threat posed is minimal. [Post edited 2 Jan 13:53]
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Reply | Smyth
at 12:11 1 Jan 2026
He's only started in 7 games to date and has played for a mere 600 minutes in total this season. Meanwhile Saito has started in 14 out of the 18 games, when available for selection, and been on the field for over 1000 minutes.
Smyth has managed to score 3 goals and 1 assist in that short period. He should have been afforded much more playing minutes this season, but instead we've chosen to persist with the ineffectual pair of Saito and Dembele. Dembele having been given nearly 1200 minutes' playing time.
Go figure! It's beyond me. [Post edited 1 Jan 12:41]
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