Bluesteel

There’s a difference as Taylor played nearly 100 times for Leeds before moving which meant he was moving as an established player rather than someone on the fringes. Not suggesting Penney will never do that. Kiwomya did ok financially but there’s also the unknown of where might he be had he proven himself in a first team somewhere. Penney has a great platform to build his career here in the short term, there are fewer uncertainties with staying as there are in moving and if he is on a first team wage here then that will not be insignificant. There are always exceptions to the rule either way, usually ones who are not good enough such as Mowatt who hasn’t kept it up. But generally speaking these players disappear into a reserve side for a few years, end up on loan in the champ and then back to the championship permanently. Patrick Bamford left Forest and no doubt earnt a few quid but he’s gone around the houses a bit. I think it just depends if maximum earnings is the be all and end all in the short term.

As he will have seen with Hirst and Clare, the grass isn’t always greener, especially when compensation comes into play. He will have also experienced the perils of relying on a loan and waiting in the wings here. A move could be lucrative but it may be back to square one again in terms of really starting a career. Im hopeful that provided we make a good enough offer to be competitive, even if not the best, the draw of playing for his own team for the short term and really kicking on will be enough to get it done. Too many players skip a step and go for the early and easy money (who can blame them) but does it always benefit them career wise and financially in the longer term. Presumably you’d earn more if you moved for a big fee like Brooks, Maddison etc but you could quite easily get lost in the youth system if you don’t do your time. For example, Kiwomya made the move to Chelsea but is now at Donny Rovers.

Some people are forgetting some of the performances he has given us, even that semi final when playing injured was brilliant. However, players seemingly need to curb their behaviour in this side, FF for example doesn’t look as good in my opinion as he did earlier in the season when he wasn’t defending, but the team looks a lot better which is the main thing. Hutchinson plays in a range of positions and surely must be of use. But the question is when does the next injury or two footer cost us!

I still like 4231 joey/Hutch Bannan/Lee joao/Matias FF/Onomah Reach/Preston Plenty of interchangeable players for those positions. Plus Hooper plays effectively between the midfield and attack.

Another one on the derby county plagiarism list

He scored a solid amount of goals for Barnsley and again for Derby. Yet some people think he isn’t good enough for us.

Not sure he’s a one up front player. But his style will suit this team. Be interesting to see where Jos fits him in.

Great news

So far it’s been a fairly odd season in that there hasn’t been a really stand out team that you are certain will go up. WBA have the fire power but as we saw, they don’t dominate. Leeds dominate possession but don’t have a parachute cash funded squad, so injuries and the general tendency for some of their players to hibernate may cost them. Brentford would be my pick of the bunch. Play great stuff and have a lot of goal threat. But now Dean Smith has gone. Blades- their position doesn’t make sense on paper, driven by a good manager and team ethic to get them punching. It’s whethet that can last this time. Villa/Stoke - like WBA they should be up there looking at them. But they just seem to have issues surrounding them. Forest - could be another wolves but it hasn’t clicked into gear in the same way yet. From what we have seen so far we aren’t too far away from any of them and on a par with some others. But better decision making at the back will no doubt be key to us later in the season.

Although I think the bit about development room is true and that it would be cheaper to start from scratch. access from the m1 shouldn’t be the sticking point. That’s what Coventry thought when moving to the Richo from Highfield Road but where are the pubs and amnesty associated with that community. It loses something if you’re not careful

Football is a pressured job and one that takes a great deal of self belief in a cut throat environment. It’s not surprising that feelings of self doubt could trigger something more serious. Whether that be anxiety or worse. It seems many people can be susceptible to it and I generally think people are under pressure in life every which way these days. There are people who struggle to make ends meet, then there are others who might have a decent job but then you’ve got to deliver and continue to do so! Most people don’t get rich without graft and risks. I know it’s not as simple as that and there are other reasons why it happens too. But it seems a lot more prevalent now.

We don’t need to concede for people to highlight something that’s happening that needs to improve.

I think we will need to learn to keep a few clean sheets. But when was the last time we were in the top six? Must’ve been when we were 4th a couple of seasons ago.

Done and fully deserved

Will be a big test given we haven’t been that comfortable dealing with crosses into the box this season. I think Boro will end up in the top six through attirition and they have some good powerful forwards. We are a very unpredictable side to play though and as others have said we have one or two who can mix it with them. Would be brilliant to beat a side in the top six.