HolteExile

Unless this is part of the conditions to bring Terry (or AN Other centre half) in, this makes no sense at all.

Doesn't sound plausible to me at all. But Godspeed, sweet ITK.

Aye, unless there has been a fallout, I don't get this one at all. He gives us natural width on the right, has a decent turn of pace and is sound defensively. He could even play on the right side of a back three if required.

Aye, but just because a player started up there (or spent the bulk of his development there like Roberts) doesn't automatically mean he's mince. then there's the likes of Larrson who went there later in his career and then went on to Barcelona and didn't look out of place (he's probably the exception that proves the rule, mind). But we know from first hand experience that Sinclair aint much cop.

They love him up there. But then again Scott Sinclair looks like Rivaldo up there.

Could try to get worked up by this one but it's all a bit meh. He's moved from one two bob outfit to another. One of our strengths last year was that we were solid defensively and that gave us a platform to edge games with a bit of guile or craft. This lad is apparently suspect defensively. He might suit Fulham's style of play (if he ever makes it onto the pitch). But not sure he'd fit in with Bruce's approach. You can understand that teenager they have manning their twitter account getting excited though. Living vicariously through a player moving to the top flight is the closest BCFC will probably ever get to it. It's not just initials those clowns seem to share with the tramps in Bordesley.

Only issue there is Terry won't have had much (any) of a pre season. He normally keeps himself in good nick, unlike bloater Dunne, Richards and some of the other pisstakers who have rinsed the club over the years. I'd like to think he was hedging his bets and waiting for us to sort ourselves out before deciding his next move. But word was a week or two ago that he'd decided to retire and become one of the talking heads on Sky Sports. Retirement's a big call. If he's been mulling that one over all summer it might be hard to go back on it now.

On sensible deals, I'd have no problem with them back at all. I'd still like a bit more pace and guile in central midfield too, mind.

Might be good to read the news. Might be good to see how your club (for the time being) is perceived at the moment. Might be a good idea to do something about it.

That might be how it eventually plays out. And if it does, no doubt Gooseberry Greg Evans will claim some top rank inside info. But the club haven't bothered with the Mail or Birmingham Live or whatever it is called for years. So I can't see how/ why the latest Olbiyun fan charged with stirring the shit is now suddenly inside the circle of trust. Personally I just wish he'd do us all a favour and wedge that crayon between his ears. Hard. It's been clear for some time he can't actually write with the thing.

How do you come to that conclusion when the Times, Telegraph and Daily Mail have all been going big with this story?

Which is all well and good, save that Bruce was apparently told going into the Barnsley away game in September lose that, and it's curtains. And a similar conversation took place in the lead up to Boro away. So as recently as 6/7 weeks ago, his job was on the line. In truth, that probably makes our progress since even more remarkable. And credit to Bruce himself for fighting back in the manner he has. But I'm not convinced that Xia is (or ever really was ) totally sold on Bruce, or sees him as the chief architect for the club's long-term revival. Di Matteo was his choice, Bruce was Wyness's (and Round's) recommendation. He got burned by the former, so bowed to the football knowledge of the latter.

Yes. Despite Bruce's persistent attempts to convert Hogan into a targetman, we are better off with an actual targetman.

Aye. Apart from the size of the two clubs, the resources he'd get and the fact that he has very publicly come out and crtiicised the set up at Fulham ("I have never had to work under these sort of conditions before") I don't see how he could be persuaded at all.

Well he is solely responsible for the emergence of Harry Kane (according to Timbo himself, that is): https://www.joe.co.uk/sport/tim-sherwood-seems-to-have-taken-credit-for-the-rise-of-harry-kane-137799

We've had that with Bruce. His style of play doesn't even look up to it at this level anymore, nevermind push us on should we somehow crack promotion. And it's not as if Jokanovic is an unknown quantity in this league. We are talking about a very recent record of success with two different clubs. Jokanovic's style of play seems more sustainable, at least. His sides seem capable of doing weird things like creating plenty of chances and winning enough games to give is a chance in this division.

That's one way of looking at it. Another way of looking at it is if you do fail, it is easy to spin it that you were working at a basketcase club and sure what else could be done under the circumstances. If you are young enough, if it is your only blemish and if you have the stones to take another big job, it doesn't have to effectively end your career. Conversely- if it is your only major blemish to date but you have shown such ineptitude/ naivety on the job so as to not even be considered for other similar posts - that's on you.

Jokanovic. Has already worked under two crackpot regimes and has secured automatic promotion and a play-off spot in less than favourable conditions. Plus he doesn't sound like a happy camper at present. The bulk of the names in that list above are just dispiriting.

You know that, I know that and I dare say most Villa fans know that. But the wider footballing world possibly won't. So any failure to attain promotion this season is now covered. The narrative will be what chance did Steve Bruce ever have, the poor bloke was expected to get promotion with one arm tied behind his back.

That's fine up to a point. I'm sure most of us after the Lerner debacle wanted a stable club and committed owner first and foremost. But this new flirtation with financial prudence above all else is at odds with his mission statement of making the club masters of the universe or whatever it was within 3-5 years. Direct sponsorship from his own company to get around FFP would, I am sure, be frowned upon. But surely he is connected enough to secure a large sponsorship deal with a third party in the Far East- even if it is on the understanding that his Recon group reciprocates and puts money their way to the same value. Perhaps not immediately, but over a fixed period of time. There is always a way to counter such challenges, I'm just not sure the desire is there. Similar to when Lerner took his ball home when Citeh came on the scene. It's just a bit too convenient. Did RL honestly think he was the only rich playboy switched on enough to buy a Premier League club? The odds were always in favour of at least one other club outside of the usual suspects winning the Billionaire Owner Lottery. It just happened to be Citeh. My concern last year was we were spunking the TV money in advance. The way we have switched tack so effortlessly and so quickly to full-on belt tightening mode now does nothing to dissuade those fears.

Sunderland are different. Most of their players are just shit. Maybe some of their players have waddled into pre season training looking like space hoppers this summer, not sure. But at various stages over the past 12 months we have had Gabby, Richards and McCormack all looking like they have been drinking sausage roll milkshakes.

Aye. Most well run clubs at least in the top two divisions and probably throughout the entire professional structure in England wouldn't persist with half arsed, part-time footballers. That's our job. The world and his wife have known that Gabby and Richards are available for the last 12 months. Yet we haven't exactly been inundated with offers.

Don't have a problem with that. Ask for £8 million, settle for £5-6 million. As opposed to asking for £5-6 million and getting daft loan requests.

That's possibly the best name in world football. After Patrick Funk.

Is Cissokho making his way to Turkey on foot? He's been heading that way since the start of the summer.