pj owl

I’ve also just finished Bright’s which was really interesting to read about his early life and family background. Also hadn’t heard anywhere that he was close to joining us under Wilkinson. also agree with the Dave Jones book that I read a few years ago - interesting and painful what he went through - but didn’t endear me to him. Viv Anderson’s was good, Bullen’s ok and Ron Atkinson’s a decent read. Carlton Palmers was not as bad as I feared (his ghostwriter must’ve been good - lol)

Murphy didn’t disgrace himself - far from it - but was forced to do more defensive work than he would have hoped

Like most I can’t believe that Fessi was the one to come off - Fletcher was an obvious option to try and hold things up - but you could see the work rate of the two it had to be De Cruz who was hooked. Another bizarre decision for me.

See they’ve gone for a strong bench for when they need it!!!

Hammer to Fall was a good one after we beat West Ham in the cup. Was with a West Ham supporting mate which made it even funnier.

Absolutely we did - however it was Monk that set us up with a four man midfield who have no defensive responsibility whatsoever. Murphy and Harris are not the type of wide men who naturally track back or smell danger. Lee and Bannan were non-existent in that 30 mins. Bannan just wants to play the fancy balls and has no presence and Lee just kept drifting out of the centre meaning Derby had a free run at our back 4. Their numbers 38 and 41 had a field day with Rooney pulling the strings behind them.

Before anyone jumps to any conclusion I am not advocating sacking the manager on the back of a run of poor results. However ..... let’s go back in history. Managers who cannot handle senior ‘influential’ players do not have a particularly good shelf life. And I’m not talking about just at S6. We haven’t exactly pulled up trees all season before these ‘bust ups’ the squad was united and we were in or around the play offs. Sometimes you need to know when to pull rank and when to back down after an initial stance. From the outside it seems as if Monk has got it wrong and/or isn’t being supported by his own staff or upstairs. So here we go again - life as a Wednesday fan.

If we were that flippin good at time wasting we would probably be a lot closer to the top 2 and not have thrown away so many points in the last few minutes of games.

Everything has to go through him as we lack any other really credible creative force who can pick a killer pass.

Time is a great healer for some, but others are unable to let go of negativity in the past. I’m glad I can forget the bad bits and remember fondly Di Canios time at Wednesday. I feel somewhat sorry for those that are unable to close their eyes and hear ‘Paolo Di-Canio....’ echoing around Hillsborough and picture those pulled up shorts as he went on another mazy run. it appears good old Paolo maybe has also moved on from the bitterness he felt - rightly or wrongly - at the time and for years after. My biggest fear is that I’ll never see anyone like him, Carbone, Waddle, Sheridan, Nilsson or Hirst at our great club again in my lifetime.

Had a bad week - thought it was continuing - then BANG ..... all forgotten in one sweet moment

Looked good for 15/20 mins when playing with the other senior players. Wanted ball and was positive in tying to move it forward. When the youngsters and academy players came on he seemed to not be as involved.

What kind of reception will he get from the players - especially the ones he has just brought in. will he be in the dugout on Saturday - and if so, more interestingly, what reaction will he get from the fans!

Was brilliant with my young un when he was a mascot - genuinely a nice guy.

Waddle (for us) - his single handed demolition of West Ham and David Burrows will never be beaten. Gascoigne will be the greatest English player of my lifetime - absolute genious.