[theo_luddite]

3 games we've scored first, 3 games we've not scored again and paid for it. When is the clown gonna realise 1 isn't enough?

[jjamez]

Probably same time we realise he's not good enough

[theo_luddite]

We already did, someone at the club needs to wake up and realise what we already know.

---

Finally, the words "Nicholls needs a shoulder operation" and "we need to bring in a new keeper" have been spoken.

[Lord Snooty]

Very frustrating!

Listening to the match whilst traveling over to deepest, darkest Lancashire while the match was on. Kept turning itself on to the Billy Bantam's channel.

By the time we'd reached our destination, we'd totally lost commentary. So much for digital radio being better. We could get Radio Leeds for miles more than this with 92.4FM.

And then to top it all, they go and let an equaliser in, in the 8th minute of injury time.

[Baggiebob(BBB)]

7. Mohamed Diamé

[Lord Snooty]

---

Hull Anagrams: Well done, team. You got them all.

1. Perky Afro Throb (Boothferry Park)
   
2. Retro Dylan (Terry Dolan)
   
3. Miracle Willow Fibre (William Wilberforce)
   
4. Anne Marie Plum (Maureen Lipman)
   
5. Rest Eight (The Tigers)
   
6. Cashmere Jets (James Chester)
   
7. Homemade Maid (Mohamed Diamé)
   
8. Everest Cub (Steve Bruce)
   
9. Israeli Moron (Liam Rosenior)
   
10. Elvis Kurt Longhorns (Hull Kingston Rovers)
    

[Devongone]

There are so many parallels between your position and Chesterfield's slither into ever deeper obscurity a few years ago I hardly dare compare Lee Nicholls shoulder injury with Tommy Lee, who at the time was the best keeper in Division One. He had an operation, was out for ages and never truly recovered. He later played on injected up to the eyeballs. Shoulder is a terrible injury for a keeper. Apart from the Guardiola aspects it impacts on every other part of goalkeeping ..... and pain damages your concentration too. You make shit decisions and a lot of goalkeeping is about decision-making.

We didn't come near to replacing Lee even temporarily, and we suffered every week. You need to aim to get a good keeper who could be permanent. Otherwise you'll never have a stable defence and you might as well surrender to relegation now. Whenever you get ahead you'll all simply be waiting for the mistake to kick in and the equaliser to appear. If you were getting the equivalent of Waghorn as a keeper that wouldn't be bad. He seems to be doing a good job of keeping the ball out of the net ..........

[theo_luddite]

Kind of says a lot if we we aren't trying to bring Schoffer back from his exile in Jockland. The young Aussie has played, what 3 games now, 1 last season and 2 this and not embarrassed himself or us. Nicholls wouldn't have saved any of the 3 at Both Ends or the goal yesterday. The defence seem OK with Bilo behind them, which is far more than they ever were with the flapping, slapping piss poor decision making Schoffer. Appearances for Hibs this season - as many as he'd have got for us had he not gone on loan. Zip, nil, nadda, sod all. Give the lad a chance. We don't need an old fart in every position for crying out loud.

[jjamez]

I think with the keeper situation, if it was bilo or Daniels or some other over the hill keeper in this division, I'd go with bilo and accept mistakes.

If it was a choice of bilo or one of darlow, smithies or even Heaton (I know well into his 30s) then I'd be inclined to go with the experienced head. As we saw last year, a good goalkeeper wins you points

[Devongone]

If your keeper is young or old makes sod all difference. If he is making good clear decisions and gives confidence to his defence then that is vital.

The sad fact is that, brought up under the current back pass rule and always play-out from the back theory even if you have to nutmeg Lionel Messi, there are very few really good young keepers to be found. How many young keepers do you see, whose first thought is to catch the ball like Emi Martinez? Proto-Pickford's are ten-a-penny, but a good safe sound keeper ....... there aren't many young ones to be had. Last season you had a reserve keeper who could have covered, but he's at Exeter now. I've not seen this young lad, but we all know Australia's apparently leading keeper wasn't a high flyer at the World Cup and is marooned in Scotland, land of no-keepers-ever.

The trouble is if you don't cover yourself with some genuine experience (and I'm not talking broken-down old sod) now, the window will close just as you are waking up to the need for experience, because it turns out Nicholls will be out until next season ..... Giving the lad his chance is fine, he could be physically and mentally ready. But doing it as part of a penny-pinching exercise is likely to lead to a decision you later regret. What's the worst that can happen with signing an experienced keeper - the young lad keeps him out of the team? That sounds like a positive to me and a confidence-booster to the youngster!