bedwetter2

Agreed. Arnold Aardvark is a shifty b'stard.

Nah. For the sake of accuracy the inflation plus 2% is on the duty element of the price, i.e around ?1, so 5.6p plus 20% of that for the VAT. Let's say 6p for the sake of argument on a ?3.00 pint.

I don't usually comment on games when I was not in attendance. However, as a number of people have commented, seeing the saturday teamsheet just brought home to me the utter stupid pig-headedness of the man. Attendance at games has become a depressing chore to me this season and I'm glad I couldn't go on Saturday. I feel for the supporters who went. Anyway, this game has shown Coyle up for the fool he is. I hope (but I'm not encouraged) that this has finally concentrated the minds of PG and ED to ask searching questions. Not "is everything ok Owen?" but a detailed examination of statistics, independent assessment of dressing room attitudes and coaching effectiveness. If he doesn't walk after that, he would have to be sacked.

That's good then. Obviously matters have improved significantly over the last year or so. Mind, it still concerns me that Phillips, Kelly and Lee are running the show - they don't strike me as necessarily the sharpest knives in the box but perhaps I'm being unfair. The next thing then is to blood more of the output signing professional forms in the first team. People keep quoting Riley but if it wasn't for the full back crisis does anyone honestly think he would have got a league game this season?

Look, I agree that it is all relative. ManU can afford to have disappointments from their youth system, indeed it hasn't mattered to them that they have been quite wasteful. We can't afford to be wasteful. If you don't think that more science/rigorous monitoring should be applied to what happens at our academy, fine. I just happen to think that if each academy player is carefully assessed every month, then it is unlikely that there would be a need for waste because the early developer ones who have reached their limit would be out earlier. The late developers....maybe Fojut falls into that category.

I made the quote for which you were misquoted..... Regarding the use of any old ex-pro as the head of an academy, then I have severe misgivings about their ability to think through their decisions in a clear-headed manner. I was not advocating bringing in a person with no knowledge of football or youth development in football to run an academy but I am a firm believer in making sure that the correct person is selected. This would imply they would also have a knowledge of modern management, goal setting and training. It should be all about outcomes and getting the best return for money invested. We have one or two ex-academy players at the moment (and a few in the academy system at the moment) that we paid significant sums for when they were poached from their original clubs. Are we going to see anything from them? I am not hopeful that Connolly, as an example, will be judged to be good enough for the first team and we paid a bundle to the fake Wanderers for him. What does our academy coaching do to young players who were supposed to be the best thing since sliced bread before they arrived?

Pretty much, yes.

My point was that the players who are "worth" persisting with are few and far between, or have been over the last 10 years. Why keep the dross in the academy just to fill the numbers. Why not be more discerning and only keep kids who keep meeting a pre-set series of goals. Blood them early and regularly and do not keep investing (because it does cost the club even though the fixed costs of running the academy are quite high) if there is insufficient progression. The goal should be to produce footballers who can at least do the business in the Championship so that we can get some money back if they have to be sold. The whole set-up appears to be haphazard and poorly run. As I said, a real business person would not let the current situation continue for long. Sometimes ex-footballers are the worst people to be involved in the running of a club and I would suggest that Jimmy Phillips, et al are good examples of the wrong sort of selection/promotion.

I do say!

I'm obviously mistaken. I thought he moved to Legia Warsaw. My point still holds true - BWFC have had quite a number of young players over the years who have moved on to decent careers for nowt. I am convinced we have a bunch of useless numpties running the club. Most seasoned businessmen would not let things get to the state where investments in potentially valuable assets are allowed to go for no return. What I mean by that is that very regular close and careful monitoring of the investments in the academy should lead to the early release of players who are not meeting a pre-set agreed set of achievements. The ones who do meet the levels required must get some first team exposure - even in the "Barclays Premier League."

Academy, then fringe of first team (signed as professional) and left for Legia Warsaw because he wasn't getting any first team chances. Sounds familiar.

"Count Arthur Strong". An acquired taste, but brilliant nontheless.

Outrageous skill. Will have some of that.

RIP Nat. A great man and as others have said, a true gentleman.

PG's wife was mentioned in the rumours at the time. Think 'Diver is correct.