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Reply | Fantastic win but the Cifuentes Abuse
at 14:17 21 Dec 2025
I am going to make a sweeping generalisation here but something which has struck me before and which I think is relevant in the case of these chants - chants which I consider to be disrespectful and wholly unfair - is that there is a large tranche of fans of this club and indeed all clubs who, while still just as passionate as people on here, don't get involved with fanzines, fans' websites e.g. LFW and the like. They're not interested in the story behind the story and analysing how we play and/or how the club is run.
I reckon to people like them, Marti looks like a charlatan.
Then there will be those fans who just love to have a go at anything related to rival clubs and those who get off on being contrary and/or controversial.
Or something  . Just my two groats worth. |
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Reply | Ashes thread
at 11:08 20 Dec 2025
Good points, although whilst I wouldn't drop Brook, I wouldn't say he is world class just yet.
I do think England batted more sensibly in this test but the series was already very close to being lost, plus, while helpful, that change still doesn't make us truly competitive with this Australian side. Whoever we picked, I think that would still have been the case, sadly.
Perhaps we are trying to be too clever, one of the pundits said that last night. A lot of the fundamentals of the game don't change. As I said above, though, I thought I saw signs of a more measured approach in this test. |
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Reply | Ashes thread
at 10:13 20 Dec 2025
Good points but I wanted to add that, while obviously helpful, massive spin is not the be all and end all for spinners. A top class spinner will have lots of other weapons in their armoury, like change of pace, arm balls, deliveries which turn the other way, flight and bowling to specially positioned fielders. Bishan Bedi was renowned for luring batters into shots straight to fielders, for example.
I think the key issue is simply that Australia are currently better than England in every single department. Terrifying thought: Imagine the England side without Stokes, Root and Archer: They are our only truly world class players. Take those three out - shudder - and we'll be struggling to beat Zimbabwe and the like (no offence intended).
England does need a spin task force, though, we've neglected and mishandled that department for decades. We're missing a trick. Some batters hate facing spin, you have to put all the pace on the ball to get runs, you can get stuck on the crease or do the opposite and put yourself at risk of being stumped, or you can just lose all discipline and start trying to slog the wrong balls.
The England test set-up seems to tolerate a revolving door of substandard seamers but spinners get short shrift. Everyone expected Adelaide to be a turning wicket, Australia duly picked Lyon, but we knew better. I'm not saying having a front line spinner would've saved this test, mind.
If I could ask the England coaches and board a few searching questions, the second or third one would be: "How and when are we ever - ever - going to have another world class spinner? The rate we are going, we never will, unless an England supporting mad scientist manages to get his hands on Wilfred Rhodes' and Graeme Swann's DNA . |
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Reply | Ashes thread
at 14:51 18 Dec 2025
England would never let a part-time bowler lead their seam attack, but when it comes to spin, time and time again, they toss the ball to a non-specialist and hope that they will somehow deliver. Madness.
Adelaide traditionally offers spinners assistance and Australia have selected their team accordingly, but not us, sigh. |
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Reply | Things you don’t hear in football ground anymore
at 14:30 18 Dec 2025
When I was 16 and playing colts cricket, I got hacked off with my club and then, when offered a game by the club my grandad used to play for, jumped at the chance and moved.
They very soon offered me a game with the men's team - something my previous club had never done - and over the moon, I went along for my debut.
It went well and they were a great bunch, but after the game I got a real shock: There were showers but they were for the opposition, the home players were supposed to use the massive, concrete bath  .
I was a shy and callow youth, so the prospect of this weird, communal washing experience was utterly terrifying. The way some of the larger players entered the bath with a belly flop was far from helpful, too. I just had to grit my teeth, try not to dwell on how unhygienic it all was and get on with it.
Someone used to nip off the pitch 20 minutes before the expected end of the match to turn on the bath's gigantic taps. I shudder to think how much it would cost to fill such a thing these days.
All character building, I suppose... |
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Reply | Things you don’t hear in football ground anymore
at 18:43 17 Dec 2025
"Also the big build up when the opposition keeper is kicking it and going "you're sht aaaaa"".
As I recall, this chant has traditionally been one of the Leeds fans' favourites, but I'm not sure they still use it. I shall have to investigate  . |
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Reply | So Cifuentes ?
at 09:58 16 Dec 2025
Maybe every home fan should take their Christmas card list, then, as Marti walks out, showily cross his name off it  .
I don't hold a grudge against him, he did a good job with a thin squad and fluctuating support from the board/ C suite. Like most managers without a strong connection to QPR, he probably wasn't going to stay that long and in any case, he appeared to be forced out at the end.
In JS we trust. |
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Reply | Middlesbrough F.C V Queens Park Rangers Match Thread.
at 16:09 13 Dec 2025
I hear what you're saying but this time, unfortunately, the team we are playing at the end of the three game week is comfortably in second place in the division.
That doesn't mean we should write the game off, but it was always going to be very tough. |
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Reply | World Cup pricing
at 14:26 12 Dec 2025
We'll put you down as a no, then .
All joking aside, the prices are usurious  . |
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Reply | What are people’s thoughts on the Club pulling out all the stops in January ?
at 13:05 12 Dec 2025
I prefer the be patient, build slowly approach, I really do, but my concern is that this club is prone to massive slumps in form, major personnel churn and seismic changes in strategy.
That means that part of me thinks that if - *if* - we do have a chance of going up, we need to seize it, without breaking P&S rules, mind.
As a club, we never seem to be far away from a meltdown plus we have been in this league for a long time without a real sniff of promotion.
A tricky situation, I'm torn. |
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