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Post by davem on May 15, 2023 19:37:35 GMT
For anyone interested in tactics n the championship play offs this might be of interest. www.youtube.com/watch?v=LyfTTqNZeLUThis kid is only 19, is he the next Patrick Vieira? Watch the link in the tweet. |
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Post by shevii on May 17, 2023 20:42:08 GMT
For anyone interested in tactics n the championship play offs this might be of interest. www.youtube.com/watch?v=LyfTTqNZeLUThis kid is only 19, is he the next Patrick Vieira? Watch the link in the tweet. According to the Guardian live feed last night Luton were unplayable because they operated with TWO strikers which apparently has never been tried in modern times :-) Probably some on here are old enough to recall 5 strikers in every team! c-a-r-f-r-e-w 's Coventry team are 10 minutes from playing Luton in the final. |
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Post by c-a-r-f-r-e-w on May 17, 2023 21:02:03 GMT
For anyone interested in tactics n the championship play offs this might be of interest. www.youtube.com/watch?v=LyfTTqNZeLUThis kid is only 19, is he the next Patrick Vieira? Watch the link in the tweet. According to the Guardian live feed last night Luton were unplayable because they operated with TWO strikers which apparently has never been tried in modern times :-) Probably some on here are old enough to recall 5 strikers in every team! c-a-r-f-r-e-w 's Coventry team are 10 minutes from playing Luton in the final. With nine minutes added time at the end!! Our opponents had 68% possession too. Was a bit worried playing them away since they held us to a draw in the first leg, still all’s well that ends well etc. PUSB!! |
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Post by leftieliberal on May 20, 2023 18:50:54 GMT
And Forest will be in the Premier League next season. Well done making the City Ground a fortress. Now we are down to two out of three to go down.
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Post by leftieliberal on May 22, 2023 21:22:05 GMT
It's boiling up to an incredible last day of the season to decide who goes down from the Premier League. Everton equalling the better of Leeds and Leicester's final day result is guaranteed to keep them up. Leicester have to win to have any chance of staying up. Leeds not only have to win but if Everton draw and Leicester draw or lose they have to win by 3 clear goals to stay up on goals scored (their goal difference being the same as Everton's in this case). Had Leicester snatched the winner at the death against Newcastle tonight their fate would have been in their own hands.
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Post by johntel on May 23, 2023 16:59:38 GMT
It's boiling up to an incredible last day of the season to decide who goes down from the Premier League. Everton equalling the better of Leeds and Leicester's final day result is guaranteed to keep them up. Leicester have to win to have any chance of staying up. Leeds not only have to win but if Everton draw and Leicester draw or lose they have to win by 3 clear goals to stay up on goals scored (their goal difference being the same as Everton's in this case). Had Leicester snatched the winner at the death against Newcastle tonight their fate would have been in their own hands. As a Forest supporter I hope Everton don't go down - they'll probably be just as weak next season and will likely have a points deduction too. The teams coming up don't look particularly strong either, so there's every hope that Forest will be able to kick on and join Villa up in the top half next season. |
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Post by leftieliberal on May 23, 2023 21:21:35 GMT
It's boiling up to an incredible last day of the season to decide who goes down from the Premier League. Everton equalling the better of Leeds and Leicester's final day result is guaranteed to keep them up. Leicester have to win to have any chance of staying up. Leeds not only have to win but if Everton draw and Leicester draw or lose they have to win by 3 clear goals to stay up on goals scored (their goal difference being the same as Everton's in this case). Had Leicester snatched the winner at the death against Newcastle tonight their fate would have been in their own hands. As a Forest supporter I hope Everton don't go down - they'll probably be just as weak next season and will likely have a points deduction too. The teams coming up don't look particularly strong either, so there's every hope that Forest will be able to kick on and join Villa up in the top half next season. There's going to be plenty of competition for top-half places in the Premier League next season: I expect all the top four this season to be there, plus Liverpool, Brighton, Villa, Spurs (they surely cannot be as spursy next season unless Kane goes), Chelsea (under Pochettino), & Brentford. Second season is always difficult so I think a finish near mid-table would be good for Forest. They just need to improve their results away from home. Whilst it is difficult to look past Man City for the title next year, I expect Arsenal to continue to improve as their team matures and the top five as a whole to be much closer together than this season. It will be interesting to see what Unai Emery can do with a full season (and a pre-season), but I think that Villa will struggle to do better than 6th (not that I would ever complain about a Europa League place). They just don't have the spending power with a stadium capacity just over 42,000, though the expansion will take them up to 50,000 by 2025. |
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Post by Deleted on May 24, 2023 22:46:08 GMT
A very enjoyable evening at Taunton, with reigning T20 champions Hampshire Hawks blown away by Somerset. The Hampshire innings of 74 was their lowest ever T20 score (by 11 runs). Craig Overton's 3-8 and two wonder catches was stunning. He can fall short of expectations on occasion, but his bowling tonight was top drawer.
Not getting too excited, though. Last year, Hampshire lost their first four T20 games and still ended up with the trophy.
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Post by mercian on May 25, 2023 22:33:47 GMT
As a Forest supporter I hope Everton don't go down - they'll probably be just as weak next season and will likely have a points deduction too. The teams coming up don't look particularly strong either, so there's every hope that Forest will be able to kick on and join Villa up in the top half next season. There's going to be plenty of competition for top-half places in the Premier League next season: I expect all the top four this season to be there, plus Liverpool, Brighton, Villa, Spurs (they surely cannot be as spursy next season unless Kane goes), Chelsea (under Pochettino), & Brentford. Second season is always difficult so I think a finish near mid-table would be good for Forest. They just need to improve their results away from home. Whilst it is difficult to look past Man City for the title next year, I expect Arsenal to continue to improve as their team matures and the top five as a whole to be much closer together than this season. It will be interesting to see what Unai Emery can do with a full season (and a pre-season), but I think that Villa will struggle to do better than 6th (not that I would ever complain about a Europa League place). They just don't have the spending power with a stadium capacity just over 42,000, though the expansion will take them up to 50,000 by 2025. I thought I was in a crowd of over 60,000 at Villa Park in the early 1970s. I thought it was against Sunderland in Div 3 but having checked they were not both there at the same time. It might have been 1975 in Div 2 (57,266). |
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neilj
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Post by neilj on May 26, 2023 8:59:58 GMT
I can't understand why the final game of the Premier league is played at 4.30pm on a Sunday afternoon
Why not 3pm Saturday, gives everyone time to get back fur work after celebrating or drowning their sorrows
Especially true for those with an away game a distance away
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Post by leftieliberal on May 26, 2023 10:40:09 GMT
There's going to be plenty of competition for top-half places in the Premier League next season: I expect all the top four this season to be there, plus Liverpool, Brighton, Villa, Spurs (they surely cannot be as spursy next season unless Kane goes), Chelsea (under Pochettino), & Brentford. Second season is always difficult so I think a finish near mid-table would be good for Forest. They just need to improve their results away from home. Whilst it is difficult to look past Man City for the title next year, I expect Arsenal to continue to improve as their team matures and the top five as a whole to be much closer together than this season. It will be interesting to see what Unai Emery can do with a full season (and a pre-season), but I think that Villa will struggle to do better than 6th (not that I would ever complain about a Europa League place). They just don't have the spending power with a stadium capacity just over 42,000, though the expansion will take them up to 50,000 by 2025. I thought I was in a crowd of over 60,000 at Villa Park in the early 1970s. I thought it was against Sunderland in Div 3 but having checked they were not both there at the same time. It might have been 1975 in Div 2 (57,266). That was in the days of standing. After Hillsborough, the Taylor Report recommended all-seated stadiums which came in at the start of the 1994/95 season in the Premier League. |
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Post by shevii on May 27, 2023 19:19:36 GMT
Poor c-a-r-f-r-e-w. Horrible way to go out but a good season for Coventry considering where they started- not that that is much comfort. There's a twitter meme developing over recent weeks about Luton's ground. Started with someone taking a picture of the entrance to the away end (old home end) which is between terraced houses and a fire escape style stairs to take you to the stadium overlooking the aforesaid houses. Then it developed into people posting pictures of underground subways or ancient Greek ruins all with the same catchphrase "This is the away entrance to the Luton Ground- can you believe this will be a Premier League stadium next year? My favourite one was probably this one (even though half the people replying didn't get the joke): |
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Post by leftieliberal on May 27, 2023 19:30:54 GMT
Poor c-a-r-f-r-e-w . Horrible way to go out but a good season for Coventry considering where they started- not that that is much comfort. There's a twitter meme developing over recent weeks about Luton's ground. Started with someone taking a picture of the entrance to the away end (old home end) which is between terraced houses and a fire escape style stairs to take you to the stadium overlooking the aforesaid houses. Then it developed into people posting pictures of underground subways or ancient Greek ruins all with the same catchphrase "This is the away entrance to the Luton Ground- can you believe this will be a Premier League stadium next year? My favourite one was probably this one (even though half the people replying didn't get the joke): My sympathy to c-a-r-f-r-e-w as well. It's a harsh way to lose by a penalty-shootout, but if it's any consolation Luton were 3rd in the table and well ahead of Coventry during the regular season. Having seen a photo of the real away end entrance at Kenilworth Road, I did find your photo funny. |
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Post by c-a-r-f-r-e-w on May 27, 2023 19:31:47 GMT
Poor c-a-r-f-r-e-w . Horrible way to go out but a good season for Coventry considering where they started- not that that is much comfort. There's a twitter meme developing over recent weeks about Luton's ground. Started with someone taking a picture of the entrance to the away end (old home end) which is between terraced houses and a fire escape style stairs to take you to the stadium overlooking the aforesaid houses. Then it developed into people posting pictures of underground subways or ancient Greek ruins all with the same catchphrase "This is the away entrance to the Luton Ground- can you believe this will be a Premier League stadium next year? My favourite one was probably this one (even though half the people replying didn't get the joke): The old City ground was a bit like that, with gates to the ground in between rows of terraced houses. (I know because some of my friends lived just a few doors down from one of the gates). I am positive about City despite the outcome of the playoffs - tbh I’m not sure we were quite ready for the Prem. Looking forward to next season though… |
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Post by Deleted on May 28, 2023 21:56:35 GMT
Three wins from three for Somerset in the T20 blast with Glamorgan defeated by four wickets with five overs to spare at Taunton this evening. Somerset seem to be building up a bit of momentum. Long may it continue! The only downside was sitting literally next to the noisiest, most boorish trio of 'supporters' in the packed ground. Hopefully they won't be there next time. 🤞
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Post by leftieliberal on May 29, 2023 12:57:19 GMT
Pochettino signs on the dotted line for Chelsea: www.theguardian.com/football/2023/may/29/chelsea-confirm-mauricio-pochettino-appointment-head-coachFinally, Boehly & Co have made a good decision. If Chelsea finish above Spurs next season, it might, just, make Levy realise what a mistake he made by sacking Pochettino. The teams that stuck with their managers like West Ham, Bournemouth, and Notts Forest all ended up staying up, while those that chopped and changed went down. All teams can have bad runs; sometimes it's a run of tough fixtures, other times it's a run of injuries to key players, but the best owners stick with their managers through thick and thin (or at least until the managers say they cannot do more). The one manager I feel sorry for is Brendan Rogers, and that is mainly because he was let down by the Leicester owners. Whichever amongst them thought it was a good idea only to offer Kasper Schmeichel a one-year contract because he was 35 didn't understand the difference between midfielders and goalies. Had they kept Schmeichel, Leicester would have stayed up easily. |
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Post by leftieliberal on May 29, 2023 17:25:56 GMT
Owls back in the Championship the hard way www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/65667707 I wonder what odds you could have got on them being promoted when they were 4-0 down to Peterborough after the first leg of the semi-final. |
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Post by leftieliberal on May 31, 2023 22:15:25 GMT
Seville beat Roma 4-1 on penalties after the match finished 1-1 at full-time and after extra-time. No doubt that Mourinho will be suitably disgruntled as this was Roma's last chance this season to qualify for the Champions League. Now on to next Wednesday and the Europa Conference League final and West Ham's last chance to qualify for European competition next season.
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Post by leftieliberal on Jun 2, 2023 15:10:26 GMT
England score over 350 in two sessions. The time was in Test cricket that even scoring 350 in a day would have been seen as over-exuberance. One has to feel sorry for Ireland, though, this is such a one-sided Test match that if the sport were boxing the referee would already have stopped the bout to save them from further punishment.
EDIT Pope hits a 6 to get to his double century and then is stumped next ball. England declare on 524-4.
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pjw1961
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Post by pjw1961 on Jun 2, 2023 19:15:51 GMT
Just watched the highlights of England v Ireland test day 2. Lots of talk about how Duckett had beaten and Pope equalled Don Bradman's record for the fastest 150 at Lords in terms of balls faced. What was not mentioned was that England's 1930 attack of Maurice Tate, Gubby Allen, Jack White, Walter Robins, Wally Hammond and Frank Woolley might just have been a tad stronger than Ireland's was today. Between them those bowlers took 515 test wickets at 30.92.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 2, 2023 23:29:54 GMT
Five wins out of five for Somerset in the T20 South Group at sun-drenched, but chilly, Taunton this evening, with bottom-of-the-league Middlesex despatched by nine wickets with more than six overs to spare.
Confidence must be pretty high at the County Ground now, but Middx looked like a team down on its uppers. Poor fielding and catching cost them runs and wickets, which is what can happen when you're down among the dead men. Somerset sail serenely on, but there is a sterner test to come on Sunday, with Essex visiting Taunton. They invariably do us.
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Post by mercian on Jun 4, 2023 22:00:13 GMT
Any ideas on who will replace Leach for The Ashes? Jacks, Rehan Ahmed, Bess? Maybe even see if Moeen is interested. Possibly just have Root (who's got over 50 test wickets) and pick an extra seamer?
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Post by Deleted on Jun 4, 2023 22:20:39 GMT
Terrific entertainment at Cyderabad again this afternoon as Somerset made it six of the best against Essex in the T20 South Group.
For most of the game, I couldn't see beyond a comfortable Essex victory, as Somerset, missing the injured Tom Banton, laboured to just 150 all out in the unrelenting sunshine. It looked 40 or 50 runs short to me.
My view was reinforced when Essex confidently set about their task, with Michael Pepper looking imperious on his way to 63, the highest score of the match. Somerset continued to chip away at the Essex batting line-up, though, and when Pepper was dismissed, the home team started to sense there was a chance. So did the packed crowd, which suddenly found its voice after a pretty quiet couple of hours. The runs required rate started to rise as the Somerset bowling and fielding tightened up. By the time the last Essex pair came together, 12 were needed from the last over. A comical runout off the first ball and that was that.
A most unlikely result, therefore, but very enjoyable as it turned out for the Somerset faithful.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 4, 2023 22:45:50 GMT
Any ideas on who will replace Leach for The Ashes? Jacks, Rehan Ahmed, Bess? Maybe even see if Moeen is interested. Possibly just have Root (who's got over 50 test wickets) and pick an extra seamer? Poor old Jack. He doesn't get the best of luck. Hope he soon recovers. I seem to recall he and Dom Bess vying for the same place in the Somerset line-up a number of years ago, resulting ultimately in Bess' departure to Yorkshire. He's also no mug with the bat. |
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Post by leftieliberal on Jun 5, 2023 11:46:24 GMT
Scottish football politics: www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2023/jun/05/scottish-football-overhaul-celtic-rangers-old-firmA bit of a shock to discover that Celtic's XI for the Scottish Cup final only included two Scots. I can remember when there was almost a conveyor belt of Scottish players making their name in Scotland and then coming South for the big paydays. Perhaps the best thing that the FA could do would be to let Celtic and Rangers play in the Premier League (although my suspicion is that Celtic would be no better than a mid-table Premier League team and Rangers would be quickly relegated to the Championship), which would also have the merit of making the Scottish Premiership more competitive. |
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Post by leftieliberal on Jun 6, 2023 17:31:40 GMT
www.bbc.co.uk/sport/snooker/65641122Snooker match-fixing scandal: Liang Wenbo and Li Hang handed lifetime bans This does not surprise me. Snooker is a sport peculiarly vulnerable to cheating because even players who are not cheating miss shots from time to time. I am particularly sad about Yan and Zhao's involvement because they were players who had won major titles and could have been expected to compete at the highest level. Yan's five-year ban could hit his future chances hard even though he will only be 27 when it ends, because of the lack of match practice opportunities.
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Post by John Chanin on Jun 6, 2023 18:22:47 GMT
Any ideas on who will replace Leach for The Ashes? Jacks, Rehan Ahmed, Bess? Maybe even see if Moeen is interested. Possibly just have Root (who's got over 50 test wickets) and pick an extra seamer? A left arm seamer would be my choice. Sam Curran seems to have turned into a one day player, but would be the obvious choice. Is Reece Topley fit? For some reason there's a shortage of left arm seamers in Britain. |
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Post by mercian on Jun 6, 2023 21:59:54 GMT
Any ideas on who will replace Leach for The Ashes? Jacks, Rehan Ahmed, Bess? Maybe even see if Moeen is interested. Possibly just have Root (who's got over 50 test wickets) and pick an extra seamer? A left arm seamer would be my choice. Sam Curran seems to have turned into a one day player, but would be the obvious choice. Is Reece Topley fit? For some reason there's a shortage of left arm seamers in Britain. Yes, I thought of Curran. He's never let England down as far as I remember and the left-arm stuff adds a bit of variety and he can bat a bit too. I'm assuming that the 3 seamers apart from Stokes will be Anderson Broad and Robinson. Another bowler is required and unfortunately despite his tremendous record in England, Woakes is too similar to the others. Cricinfo seems to think that Moeen is favourite. www.espncricinfo.com/story/england-moeen-ali-ashes-test-comeback-1379969 |
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pjw1961
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Post by pjw1961 on Jun 8, 2023 14:10:24 GMT
Steve Smith - 121 off 268 balls v India. That's 45 runs per 100 balls, an old-fashioned rate of test batting. Labuschagne (26 off 62 balls) was even slower. Question - if, in an alternate reality, they were available for England, would they be selected? - or at least told to get on with it or be dropped! (Context: Labuschagne is the current world no.1 batsman and Smith no.3).
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Post by leftieliberal on Jun 10, 2023 10:48:41 GMT
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