[Devongone]

"Good afternoon.

This morning I spoke to a number of players regarding their future at our club.

Clearly, changes need to be made as we have not won enough points and to be honest, I'm fed up of hearing we played well and that it was a good performance, only to draw.

Kyel Reid, Marc-Antoine Fortune and Zavon Hines all live down in London and it's best for them and for us to find clubs in the London area. I am not going into further details as to why I've had to make this decision.

Shwan Jalal has been made available for loan. Now he's fit and well, he needs to be out playing first-team football.

Joe Anyon is already available on a free transfer or loan.

Michael Nelson has also been made available on a free transfer or loan.

Now Robbie Weir is fit following his injury, he's also available on a free transfer or loan.

We need to strengthen this team and we will.

Take care,
Martin"


Brave move especially in the run up to playing Salford (is snow forecast?) but, I don't understand why Zavon and Lee Shaw never appear in the same team and twist and turn the opposition a bit, why we signed Kyel Reid and Fortune if they didn't really want to be part of things, why Jalal isn't playing, or on the bench if he is fit ...........

I just think the importance of the position is in the name, and GOAL KEEPER, says it all - he is absolutely central. We haven't had one since Tommy Lee got injured before Bradford away, and we made the dopey decision to release Aaron Chapman and play an injured Tommy one more time. Fulton can't find a game in Scotland, Ramsdale did quite well, showed promise, but he didn't have the authority of being OUR keeper, and Burton is decent too, but suffers the same identity problem. Your keeper has to be a big presence. I thought that was what the very experienced Jalal was about, but he's hardly played ............ We need a keeper for our defence to rely upon, like you'd get a driving midfielder to organise the push forward and protect the defence too, like you'd want your centre forward to direct your attack once you get the ball up there.

Dear Martin - sign us a proper dominant fckin goalie and start from there. You're releasing one of your most consistently threatening players in Zavon Hines, you know that don't you? I'd suggest you try Dover for a swap, and we get Mitch Brundle in return. Add to your list of ditched players loanee Hayden Hollis and sign Ryan Astles from Southport the very second Tranmere knock them out of the cup. And if you've a contract free do whatever you need to do to bring in Matty Kosylo from Halifax, who wants to play higher, but is never going to do that at The Shay, which looks more like Desolation Row than ever. And you might even get Ricky German back. He's scored 18 goals while he was away and he missed two of the last three games, was only sub on Saturday, but got an assist.

[SaltergateBorn]

Interesting stuff. I wonder what`s going on behind the scenes and how much pressure MA is under from above. It`s the old story; where does the dividing line lie between ‘decisive action’ and ‘panic’? It can be a very blurred line at times.

I`m not really with you, Dev, on the ‘keeper business. Burton is playing okay, Jalal is a useful back-up and defensively I don`t think we have that much of a problem. We aren`t shipping an inordinate number of goals at the moment; it`s at ‘t other end where the problems lie and it`s noticeable that most of the players to be shipped out – apart from those already on the list – are from that end. Long term, you may be right about having a dominant ‘keeper but I really do think that in the short term we have more pressing priorities elsewhere.

Sorry, but I don`t agree at all about Hines being ‘one of our most consistently threatening players’. If he could learn to play more with his head up, so was more aware of what his team-mates are doing and where they`re doing it, he might well be; but he just doesn`t. He plays with his head down, so runs into blind alleys, jinks backwards and forwards, all looks very intricate, but generally goes nowhere and by the time he finally releases the ball the defence are all back in position. In truth, he creates very little; much less than Kiwomya or Shaw, to my thinking. He`s frustrated the hell out of me all season.

As I say, we don`t know what`s going on behind closed doors. MA probably wants to strengthen but can`t until he makes room on the payroll. The fact that Fortuné is deemed to be surplus to requirements comes as no surprise to me – he`s done bugger all all season – but slightly surprised at Reid; he seems to have been getting a bit more effective of late.

Anyway, one more roll of the dice. Whether it works depends, as always, on the quality that we bring and whether they gel together; the current team certainly isn`t.

[Dancingwilldoit]

Your right SGB, Hines for all his experience flatters to deceive. He doesn't know when to pass and most of his runs go nowhere.
Burton is a solid keeper but have felt a shiver down my back when I have seen Anyon's name on the bench as back up. I assume something has happened with Jalal but in all honesty he hasn't looked solid when I have seen him play.
In all honesty though anybody that takes any of our released players on would have to be truly desperate so I cant see them going anywhere.

[Devongone]

I just think a club without its own keeper isn't a club. And if a defence isn't improved by its keeper then he isn't doing his job.

Burton is an okay keeper. I wouldn't say he really commands his six-yard box though ...... and I'm not sure, as I'm never at pitchside, what he brings to the table in terms of communication. I reckon on and off the field a steady, competent keeper is absolutely central to a team.

Signing the best keeper from last season's National League was a good idea - it's just that everyone bar MA and the selection panel knew it wasn't Shwan Jalal. (And if we tried I rackon Lincoln would unload Grant Smith, who was the best keeper, to us. They were VERY keen to loan him out though ...... which does make me wonder if he was unhappy further north.)

[spireitematt]

Zavon Hines has left the club by mutual consent.

[Dancingwilldoit]

Dear Santa,
I know you are a subject of some contention but I for one have never doubted your existence. Every year without fail you manage to deliver exactly what I have asked for without question.
The fact I seem to spend the rest of the year paying for it or paying in kind doesn't really matter to me, I am sure you do your best but it must be a very expensive time of the year for you and I fully understand that.

This year I have an unusual request and it covers a number of things.

First of all, I know its a bit early but some goals against Salford on Saturday would kick start my Christmas off with a bang. A win would just be the icing on the cake.
I know before you say anything that you cant perform miracles like the other guy can but I am sure you could do it just for me. Try distracting the Salford players by flying your sleigh low over the Proact a few times, that should do the trick, our players are so dozy they wouldn't even notice you and we can walk the ball into the back of the net which we try and fail nearly every week. Am sure you can think of something.

Next on the list would be if you could intercept the Chesterfield team sheet before its handed in on Sat and let me make sure that non of the transfer listed players are featured and that Maguire and Amantchi are in the starting 11. I can also make sure Muggleton and Denton are on the bench, I will just need about 2 minutes to change it please.

My 3rd and final request would be a lucky punter (doesnt need to be me) walks into one of Dave Allen's casinos and wins £50 million on the tables. To make the final funds to pay him, DA has to sell CFC for £2.million to the fans. Now I know that may have brought a smile to your face but bear with me a minute. There must be somebody out there who wants £50 mill for a Christmas present so this really would be a case of killing 2 birds with 1 stone.

Finally (I know, I cant count) whats the chance of dropping a sack of presents (literally) on Ashley Carsons head when you are whizzing around on Christmas Eve? If you could just make sure it was the heaviest with a few bricks thrown in for good measure that would be great. If you can pin point my chimney so accurately am sure this one's a doddle for a man of your calibre.

So thats about it, I have been a good boy most of the time except that Saturday night in June which I dont want to go into but am sure the odd misdemeanor doesn't count.
Just remember - "I believe"

Yours
Dancingwilldoit

P.S.
Stacey to win Strictly please.

[Devongone]

My hope of unloading Jalal on Maidstone to get Grant Smith doesn't look likely now they have signed Ross Worner from Sutton. He's better than Joe Anyon, but I'm glad we haven't signed him!

We all now want to know about Dancing's Saturday night in June.

Strictly - well Stacey's got a chance. I think Joe will win; women vote, even teenagers want to mother him, and they know he'll cry on his gran' (his tie-dyed partner is his only problem). Faye is the best dancer but may be too good, which also applies to Ashley who is an excellent dancer, but she has a huge mouth (and needs to tone down the lippy) and won't be allowed to win due to xenophobia kickin' in amongst the voters, Laura is a moderate dancer, but seems nice, has only one arm and her over-cute Aussie partner melts most hearts. Charles was a way better dancer than Laura, but being a middle-aged black man from Casualty still flashin' his six-pack wasn't good branding.

Muggleton, wouldn't be on my bench. I just think you either have to say his throw is so good, we'll plan round it and make something of it ......... and decide that overall that outweighs his other deficiencies and makes him more of a threat than most of our current players, OR say he's a poor footballer, who can throw it, but we never look scoring from it, so we'll release him. But Solihull caused a big Blackpool team problems from a long throw nowhere near as good as Muggleton's to players who didn't have a height advantage over the defence. I can't help asking myself with the big players we have available how on earth we manage not even to disturb the opposition with this tactic. Every team we play seems just to stand one player in front of Denton and another behind him ....... and it somehow works. I'd stick a bunch of big lads in together with Denton in the middle. As the Muggle is throwin' a couple of em would peel off leavin' Denton a bit of free space, whilst also causing confusion as defenders attempted to track them.

As for Salford, this may sound like cheating but I'd target two of their players - Wiseman and Piergianni - both are very easy to wind-up and prone to be sent off. If we hustled Piergianni at dead balls and throw-ins and stopped him marking Denton as he wanted he'd soon throw a punch IMO.

I do, however, have to agree that in the current circumstances Santa may indeed be our main hope. He has been extra-ordinarily loyal in his current position, but if he could be persuaded to consider management then he'd be the ideal replacement for MA, though I've no idea how we'd accommodate the reindeer and the elves. And of course we'd never be able to call off a match due to snow again.

[Dancingwilldoit]

Told ya Dev. Stacey deserved it.

On a football note what the hell is going on with COG? He's banging them in at Oldham.
He couldnt hit a cows arse with a banjo playing for us.

[Devongone]

How can the fourth best dancer deserve it? Only on Strictly.

She was good (and I like her!) and as it was a public vote, so it was actually only Stacey versus Joe. If Ashley had been Fred Astaire after gender reassignment she still couldn't have won!

Old Kevin is brilliant at getting partners to the final and massively improving novices and he seems a really attractive choreographer. Then in the final he has a breakdown. Stacey danced it very well, but that show dance was an absolute mess! If Stacey had lost because of it that would have been unfair on her, but winning having been judged on it seems unfair too ...... when everyone else was doing something excellent. And that isn't the first time Kevin has produced his worst dance in the final.

I enjoy Strictly, but not much of it makes sense. Several times now the worst dancer in the final has won - Darren Gough and John Hollin's heavy-legged son to name but two. I'll bet the full public vote completely reversed actual dance performance.

[Dancingwilldoit]

As the board name suggests I have been known to do a bit of dancing when not recovering from a bad back. It takes some effort and commitment for a non dancer to come up with the goods like Stacey and Joe did believe me. The structure of Strictly is unfair when it puts non dancers up against against those with dancing experience. Ashley should never have been there, she was just too good and to make matters worse she is American.
The judges were pushing Fay and Ashley all the way through with some very biased voting. They didn't take into account experience. The public vote took into account the required effort put in overall and I believe it ended with the right result. As you know I don't always agree with the great British public and the way it votes but this time they got it right.