DangerousSausage

I don't think anyone really had them down as contenders this season, so to do the double in such style is all the more amazing. Sadly, they reserved their worst game for the Europa League final. They didn't deal with Atalanta's high pressing at all and were second to every ball. They were down to ten men for the majority of the cup final. With Bayern appointing a manager untested at the highest level, next season may be a chance for Alonso to emulate Klopp and hold onto the title.

This is a good start to the summer's business, and it's also interesting from the point of view that Bradford have replaced him with Baldwin! He sounds very promising, but many Bradford fans have remarked that passing is not his strong suit. I hope we don't expect him to play in a way he's not comfortable with.

This was genuinely bonkers - Düsseldorf won their away leg 3-0 and must have thought they were all but promoted, only to throw it away. Must be so bitter for them.

My gran had a caravan there too, maybe they were neighbours! Great memories of the slot machines and arcades. Surveys like this often say more about the people taking them. Skeggy is a fun little seaside resort that has become fashionable to sneer at. If you want peace a quiet, just don't go to the busy areas. The worst thing about it is that it feels like it takes forever to get there - the next government should pledge to move Skeggy closer to civilisation.

Hmmm... I wonder if they'll be following in FGR's footsteps?

I'm sceptical about rumours like this. Is the club genuinely interested or is his agent trying to drum up some bids? I'd prefer a keeper in the twilight of his career, who's played higher, can organise the defence and give it composure. That doesn't mean a young keeper can't be our man, but as Super Dan says our success rate hasn't been brilliant in that area.

Good luck to him! He'll be linking up with Neil Warnock as well then.

Baldwin was a bit of a strange one, at times he looked outstanding, but as Stallard said he always had a mistake in him, and often an infuriating one too. And he definitely needed new boots! I'm glad he's staying in League Two, but maybe he can gift us a goal or two for old time's sake

I'll keep a closer eye on this thread now - Britain may be a democracy of sorts, but PON isn't and I reserve the right to bring down the jackboot of justice and close the thread if mud starts flying. While you're debating, just be sure to target the other poster's argument without getting personal. While we're on private schools, here's my penn'orth: how exactly is charitable status (and the tax breaks that come with it) justified when a private education is beyond the reach of the vast majority of people in the UK? They should pay their taxes, full stop.

I loved the Pie. At the time, pretty much all writing about the club came from the club or from professional journalists anxious to keep good relations, so any criticism was muted. Fanzines were a breath of fresh air. Ours was very funny and superbly written. If you want some entertainment during the summer, all copies of the Pie can be found here: https://piefanzine.com/

This appointment is totally out of leftfield. Kompany played in the Bundesliga for several years and was well known as a player, but so too were many others. I know they'd been knocked back by many candidates, but I expected them to give someone like Sebastian Hoeness a go, or maybe someone from the merry-go-round like Pocchetino. Good luck to the bloke, but there is zero tolerance of failure at Bayern. Lose two games and your job is on the line. They're becoming more and more like Chelsea.

Is that a drone? I was looking for the selfie stick but couldn't see it! Rodders deserves his success after helping drag us out of the NL. He was always far too good for that level. Hope he can keep on living the dream next season.

I'm still around, kind of. I've just had a bout of German relegation battle panic to deal with (thankfully averted), plus an upcoming job change and other stress. There are one or two things I want to post though!

Thanks for the updates. I'm having a nice, relaxing afternoon not really caring who wins (although I'd prefer Solihull). What a contrast to last season!

We were owned by Albert Scardino after Derek Pavis, he was a prize-winning journalist who'd been based in London. You might remember his henchman Peter Storrie. The funding he was relying on (from GM I think) eventuality fell through and we ended up in administration, so he was only chairman for a matter of months. I remember him talking about the English league system, and the ability to go from the bottom right to the very top, in glowing terms. Many of the current breed in the PL have a different attitude, they'd scrap relegation in a heartbeat if they could get away with it.

I haven't seen this bloke play, but I disagree with your point. We've signed loads of good players from relegated teams in the past, Jeff Hughes springs to mind. Dan Crowley was also relegated with Morecambe. Scott Robertson had been frozen out at Fleetwood, who have since been relegated, was he a poor signing? JOB was relegated out of the Football League with us, I don't think anyone questions his mentality. Going back further, pretty much the whole of Sam Allardyce's championship-winning team had been relegated with us the season before. If he's good enough, he deserves a chance!

I don't really understand the idea behind having mayors in some regions but not others. The cynic in me thinks it's a way to get certain parties elected in regions they wouldn't normally get a chance in by turning local elections into a contest between personalities rather than policies. I would like to see us move towards a federal system that takes power away from Westminster, with devolved regional assemblies presiding over county and district councils. The UK is far too centralised.

Thank you for the kind words. It's been a pleasure and it'd be great to see you all again in August! I'll post a thread nearer the time. I've got to disappoint you @Megan_Elizax, I've decided I'm going to win next season, and I count the points. But maybe second place is up for grabs if you throw @ARLukomski's laptop in a river or something? I've got something for the stattos / sad anoraks among you. I counted the points separately for the second half of the season and this was the result. Apart from our two new entrants, @william1984 was the only player to get more points in the second half of the season than in the first. @Harry Buckley only actually played 18 rounds - over 23 rounds he'd have got about 95 points, putting him in the top four.

In goal is the position where I wouldn't mind us having a player in his thirties. I think we need a cool, experienced head who can organise us at the back. The trouble with having a defender in that category is that they've often lost that bit of pace, and then you've got another Ben Turner who's getting turned around by pacey forwards. So why not the goalkeeper? Bartosz Bialkowski is out of contract at Millwall next month and could fit the bill, provided he's still fit enough to be number one for a full season (he played 14 games this season). Don't know what his stats are like recently, but we know he's a quality keeper.

I think he probably will. He very likely has a minimum fee release clause in his contract, so if a really big bid comes in it would trigger it. And it's a short career. However, it's summer and the market is full of strikers who are proven at a higher level and available on a free transfer. If you look at it that way, why should a Championship club pay a seven-figure fee for a player who's never played higher than League Two? He definitely deserves a stab at playing in a higher division. I just hope it's with us.

I think we need a new forum to accommodate all the "Ricardo Moniz has got a new job" posts. He's the football equivalent of a supply teacher Good luck to the bloke though!

I think that's infuriating as well. Over 700 clubs take part in this competition, yet only a few elite clubs get a say - clubs that see it as a burden. I see FIFA has softened its position against leagues holding matches abroad, and La Liga already intends having a round of matches played abroad at the first opportunity. Since the Premier League clubs are so keen to avoid additional matches, I take it they won't be interested in doing this? Or going on pre-season tours of Saudi Arabia or wherever? Or future Champions League expansions? Or do they suddenly change their minds about their busy calendars the moment they see a gravy train? At the risk of sounding like an old man yelling at a cloud, it is just pure greed.

The mismanagement must be pretty epic to be threatened with administration despite all the money PL clubs get. If they really are delaying going into administration to avoid a points penalty, isn't that a bit problematic? Delaying insolvency proceedings is a criminal offence in some countries. All the same, if they do go into admin, they'll certainly get bought by someone. They're a huge club with a brand new stadium ready to move into. Perfect for a glorious new era.

On what planet is 28 league goals underperforming? He's in a very elite group of strikers to have scored that many for us in a season, and he's done it twice. It's absolutely normal for any player to go through good and bad runs, and nobody will score every chance they get.

The only appropriate reaction to that is uiuiuiuiuiu!