Viking Supporters Co-operative
Viking Chat => Viking Chat => Topic started by: In the box on June 30, 2025, 12:09:01 pm
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Surely the heat in Spain isn’t a benefit to training but the exact opposite. With 40° heat predicted there has to be very good reason to risk so much for so little out comes .
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According to Ricky Charlesworth, it’s forecast to be in the 30’s all week!
Anybody checked to see who’s not there?
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Surely the heat in Spain isn’t a benefit to training but the exact opposite. With 40° heat predicted there has to be very good reason to risk so much for so little out comes .
Inthebox with negative post shocker. Stop the presses!
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I would imagine our professional management team and professional medical team have considered all this before committing considerable expense and planning to the trip.
We literally did the same thing last season and won the league!
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Has anyone spotted Hurst?
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I've not spotted Billy
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I assume that they will be training early and then using the other time for team bonding and tactical work. I assume the latter two elements are actually the main purpose.
Won’t do morale any harm either.
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Billy got off the bus so he’s there
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Remember talking to Alfie May a couple of years ago and he thought the hot weather training set him up for the year
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Could have done the same thing at Cantley this year if this weather carries on, and played golf at Wheatley.
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I very much doubt the training camp was booked at the end of last week, also one of the best ways for team bonding and welcoming the new players is to spend 5 or 6 days together, training,socialising etc
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Billy got off the bus so he’s there
Bus to Spain?
Did he get off it with Hank Marvin and Melvyn Hayes?
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Fingers crossed there is a nice berth for Charlie Crew there, there is still a lot of internet chatter about his return to Rovers.
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Billy got off the bus so he’s there
Bus to Spain?
Did he get off it with Hank Marvin and Melvyn Hayes?
Who lol
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Surely the heat in Spain isn’t a benefit to training but the exact opposite. With 40° heat predicted there has to be very good reason to risk so much for so little out comes .
Inthebox with negative post shocker. Stop the presses!
Im upset that YOU didn’t mention it before with regards to the heat in Spain ..
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Has anyone spotted Hurst?
He's the one I couldn't see on the video, Westbrooke and Close both there I think. Think his days are numbered with us.
Ajayi looks decent, as does Middleton, at first glance. Boys look fit and ready to say it's hot and their first days back at it.
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A video just been put on YouTube and I'm sure I have just spotted him
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZ2brkNrty8
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Didn't spot jay mcgrath?,or Hurst?
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Didn't spot jay mcgrath?,or Hurst?
+ Faulkner
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Didn't spot jay mcgrath?,or Hurst?
Gone or going ?
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Or out of shot..?
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Didn't spot jay mcgrath?,or Hurst?
Jay is there.
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Surely the heat in Spain isn’t a benefit to training but the exact opposite. With 40° heat predicted there has to be very good reason to risk so much for so little out comes .
Ever heard of team bonding??
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Didn't spot jay mcgrath?,or Hurst?
+ Faulkner
Faulkner definitely not gone
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Was this not flagged up from the start as a hot weather training camp? Hot weather in Spain surely not a surprise, then
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Training in the heat builds endurance as long as you are well hydrated .
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I haven't seen the latest videos but both McGrath and Hurst were in the arrival video getting off the bus.
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There was a player I didn't recognise. Looked like a young version of GM.
Gotts?
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Jay will likely have picked up an injury, he’s defo there.
I suspect Bobby and hurst have taken up trials else where to try sort out a good loan for them?
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There was a player I didn't recognise. Looked like a young version of GM.
Gotts?
That's most likely Glen Middleton as I was thinking the same.
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There was a player I didn't recognise. Looked like a young version of GM.
Gotts?
That's most likely Glen Middleton as I was thinking the same.
Glen looks like a younger version of him, has the same initials and also supports Rangers like Grant.
No wonder he’s wanted him for so long! :lol:
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I didn't see Faulkner.
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I didn't see Faulkner.
he is still at home
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I didn't see Faulkner.
he is still at home
Oh, how come?
Sorry, didn't see your post on page 1
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Jay will likely have picked up an injury, he’s defo there.
I suspect Bobby and hurst have taken up trials else where to try sort out a good loan for them?
They have both got contracts so why would they be on trial anywhere. If other clubs want them for permanent or loan surely wouldn’t be a trial. Wouldn’t be good for confidence if they went on trial for a loan or permanent and didn’t get it. So I don’t believe they would be on trial. Anyway people have said they have seen Hurst on one of the videos
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I thought I saw Hurst clearly I was wrong.
Free press have confirmed that Hurst, Bobby and young Sam haven't travelled Im guessing that's because teams have asked about them so grant has given them the opportunity to get loans or in hursts case a transfer arranged.
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Probably makes sense in Hurst's case, but can't see it being good for morale of the other two not being involved with the others at the start of the time back together. If Bobby and Sm are loanded out it will be pointless it being at too low a level.
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Jay will likely have picked up an injury, he’s defo there.
I suspect Bobby and hurst have taken up trials else where to try sort out a good loan for them?
They have both got contracts so why would they be on trial anywhere. If other clubs want them for permanent or loan surely wouldn’t be a trial. Wouldn’t be good for confidence if they went on trial for a loan or permanent and didn’t get it. So I don’t believe they would be on trial. Anyway people have said they have seen Hurst on one of the videos
It would make sense though, like when we have done numerous times in the past, try before you buy.
If hurst and Bobby aren’t in our long term plans it makes sense to give them the best chance to go out and impress so we can likely get something in return.
They both only have 1 year deals remaining
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Free Press saying Hurst, Faulkner, Bryant & Straughn Brown have not travelled
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Probably helped the players feel special, at the end of the day they are employees, keeping them happy with perks is beneficial.who wouldn’t want an all expenses trip paid for by your company?
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Straughn Brown going on loan to Peterborough Sports.
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Grant took Bobby to one side and had a word with him. He said
"Bobby I wanted to take you to Spain for hot weather training, but to be fair to the other lads I don't want to affect their mental health chasing you in all that heat".
Bobby said " OK gaffer I will try and find someone to give me a race over here"
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Good interview with David Rennie out there. Amongst other things, he said they'd love to achieve another championship medal with 18 months of continuity behind them and the bar being raised on performance standards.
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Agreed DBR, what a great interview with Dave Rennie.
He really gives a fascinating insight into the physical conditioning he has put in place for the players, and how the training is all geared towards specific goals.
It sounds very much like a professional structure we have in place now at the club.
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Grant took Bobby to one side and had a word with him. He said
"Bobby I wanted to take you to Spain for hot weather training, but to be fair to the other lads I don't want to affect their mental health chasing you in all that heat".
Bobby said " OK gaffer I will try and find someone to give me a race over here"
Nothing like blowing your own trumpet Selby whatever happens to Bobby whether it’s with us or elsewhere he has to prove himself. To climb up the ladder he’s no diff to any good young football player. But unfortunately in your eyes he stand top of the pile already let’s keep quipping at the club aswell.
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Grant took Bobby to one side and had a word with him. He said
"Bobby I wanted to take you to Spain for hot weather training, but to be fair to the other lads I don't want to affect their mental health chasing you in all that heat".
Bobby said " OK gaffer I will try and find someone to give me a race over here"
Nothing like blowing your own trumpet Selby whatever happens to Bobby whether it’s with us or elsewhere he has to prove himself. To climb up the ladder he’s no diff to any good young football player. But unfortunately in your eyes he stand top of the pile already let’s keep quipping at the club aswell.
Think Selbys comment was intended as tongue-in-cheek whilst having a joke.
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Grant took Bobby to one side and had a word with him. He said
"Bobby I wanted to take you to Spain for hot weather training, but to be fair to the other lads I don't want to affect their mental health chasing you in all that heat".
Bobby said " OK gaffer I will try and find someone to give me a race over here"
Nothing like blowing your own trumpet Selby whatever happens to Bobby whether it’s with us or elsewhere he has to prove himself. To climb up the ladder he’s no diff to any good young football player. But unfortunately in your eyes he stand top of the pile already let’s keep quipping at the club aswell.
Think Selbys comment was intended as tongue-in-cheek whilst having a joke.
A slight dig at the club on Bobbys behalf
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Just a joke really, looks like its over some heads touchy touchy.
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Agreed DBR, what a great interview with Dave Rennie.
He really gives a fascinating insight into the physical conditioning he has put in place for the players, and how the training is all geared towards specific goals.
It sounds very much like a professional structure we have in place now at the club.
Think he may prove to be one of Grants best signings
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https://youtu.be/9D5LmanwF7E?si=7Lpe60WVBlnNsq9V
Day two of training.
McGrath looks a way off fitness. Think we’ll see a bit of Bailey at centre half in the friendlies if Bobby is going out on loan.
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https://youtu.be/9D5LmanwF7E?si=7Lpe60WVBlnNsq9V
Day two of training.
McGrath looks a way off fitness. Think we’ll see a bit of Bailey at centre half in the friendlies if Bobby is going out on loan.
I’ve heard Jay has a groin operation booked in and will miss the start of the season.
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Agreed DBR, what a great interview with Dave Rennie.
He really gives a fascinating insight into the physical conditioning he has put in place for the players, and how the training is all geared towards specific goals.
It sounds very much like a professional structure we have in place now at the club.
Think he may prove to be one of Grants best signings
Did Grant bring him in or the club?
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Whoever did we seem to be more professional
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https://youtu.be/9D5LmanwF7E?si=7Lpe60WVBlnNsq9V
Day two of training.
McGrath looks a way off fitness. Think we’ll see a bit of Bailey at centre half in the friendlies if Bobby is going out on loan.
I’ve heard Jay has a groin operation booked in and will miss the start of the season.
Probably the reason why we brought in Connor O'Riordon.
Just a couple of observations from the training so far.
Ajayi. Looks a very good finisher.
Hanlon. Doesn't look very quick and maybe a similar type of centre forward as Ironside.
Maxwell. Looked to be getting treatment on his foot. Hope this is precautionary.
Pearson. Looks a very solid specimen and I'm guessing he'll be the primary centre half heading into the season with Jay seemingly injured.
Hard to come to any real judgements this early but, as a squad they should be hitting the ground running as we move towards actual games with the effort going in, but impossible to know whether we'll score more than we concede as this stage.
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https://youtu.be/9D5LmanwF7E?si=7Lpe60WVBlnNsq9V
Day two of training.
McGrath looks a way off fitness. Think we’ll see a bit of Bailey at centre half in the friendlies if Bobby is going out on loan.
I’ve heard Jay has a groin operation booked in and will miss the start of the season.
Probably the reason why we brought in Connor O'Riordon.
Just a couple of observations from the training so far.
Ajayi. Looks a very good finisher.
Hanlon. Doesn't look very quick and maybe a similar type of centre forward as Ironside.
Maxwell. Looked to be getting treatment on his foot. Hope this is precautionary.
Pearson. Looks a very solid specimen and I'm guessing he'll be the primary centre half heading into the season with Jay seemingly injured.
Hard to come to any real judgements this early but, as a squad they should be hitting the ground running as we move towards actual games with the effort going in, but impossible to know whether we'll score more than we concede as this stage.
Hanlan is known for his pace. I spotted in one of those training games that he was playing on the left while Ironside was in the middle.
If you look at his stats, he wins less headers than Ironside too so he will definitely be different to him.
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Agreed DBR, what a great interview with Dave Rennie.
He really gives a fascinating insight into the physical conditioning he has put in place for the players, and how the training is all geared towards specific goals.
It sounds very much like a professional structure we have in place now at the club.
Think he may prove to be one of Grants best signings
Did Grant bring him in or the club?
Well I did send the job advert to his wife as I knew he was without a club. Might be coincidence but can I take the credit
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Not sure what Hurst had done wrong. He’s a decent player. Some serious talent there I feel.
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Take a bow Scooter
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Not sure what Hurst had done wrong. He’s a decent player. Some serious talent there I feel.
It's a strange one, I really rate Hurst - he's one of the most dynamic and creative players, when he's driving forward at pace he's devastating. Much better than Sbarra, and it seemed last pre-season that he'd be a big part of our plans in the no.10 role.
Must be some fall out with Grant for him to disappear without a trace.
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Mentioned it before, in one of his last game at Rovers, Hurst let a player run past him and didn't chase back full pelt right in front Grant. Grant shouted at him.
Hurst did it again and was subbed shortly after, I don't think he really played again after that.
I don't think Grant trusts him.
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Mentioned it before, in one of his last game at Rovers, Hurst let a player run past him and didn't chase back full pelt right in front Grant. Grant shouted at him.
Hurst did it again and was subbed shortly after, I don't think he really played again after that.
I don't think Grant trusts him.
Yes, I think that's the only logical conclusion. They work so hard to prepare the team including defensive positions, so if he has a habit of not being where he should be, then maybe McCanns patience wore thin. We might say Gibson didn't always put the effort in defensively but I think that's a side of his game that did improve as the season came to the run in.
In addition, I think we'll see some dynamism from Middleton which will provide even stiffer competition.
As said, it's a shame though cos Hurst in full flow was a big contributor to our offensive success in the first half of the season.
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The very same thing happened with Gibson. Gibson did start to do what was asked in the end, and the reason he found himself back in favour.
Season 2 for Gibson, this is where we really see if he understands Grants ways, or I feel he will be gone.
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Hursty seems to me to be either unwilling or incapable of pressing. He is the best we've got at running with the ball but it tends to be until he falls over his own feet.
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Hursty seems to me to be either unwilling or incapable of pressing. He is the best we've got at running with the ball but it tends to be until he falls over his own feet.
He was quality at pressing when playing as a #10 in pre-season last year, especially in the Hull game.
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Hursty seems to me to be either unwilling or incapable of pressing. He is the best we've got at running with the ball but it tends to be until he falls over his own feet.
He was quality at pressing when playing as a #10 in pre-season last year, especially in the Hull game.
He neshes the vast majority of physical encounters on the pitch. That’s another problem.
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Something I noticed on training video (either yesterday or monday) not one shot went past TLT, he saved everything. Then it cut to our Lawlor and the others and most went in.
Could have been intentional in the editing but was very noticeable how good TLT looks
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Hursty seems to me to be either unwilling or incapable of pressing. He is the best we've got at running with the ball but it tends to be until he falls over his own feet.
He was quality at pressing when playing as a #10 in pre-season last year, especially in the Hull game.
He must have worn himself out because he never did it again after August. To be fair to him he was superb in the second half away at Bradford after looking like a competition winner in the first half.
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Something I noticed on training video (either yesterday or monday) not one shot went past TLT, he saved everything. Then it cut to our Lawlor and the others and most went in.
Could have been intentional in the editing but was very noticeable how good TLT looks
He just look absolute class. The way he moves and reacts is so athletic and powerful. Hull must have some cracking goalkeepers if they aren't using Timmy.
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…or he is out of favour there.
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No updates from today thought they said they were doing a 11v11 game today maybe don't want to reveal to much or maybe just had a day off to enjoy themselves
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No updates from today thought they said they were doing a 11v11 game today maybe don't want to reveal to much or maybe just had a day off to enjoy themselves
There's yesterday's afternoon session to catch up with too.
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Breakdown in communication? Or just a breakdown of equipment?
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McGrath seems to be walking around in trainers on one video and in the gym by himself. Maybe hes injured?
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https://youtu.be/OdU8awgjhbI?si=Rgb83NVRlvILy8cc
Afternoon session. A good watch. Players having fun and bonding.
You see the one touch session with Copps getting involved and I can't help thinking there can't be many better to encourage the players to play slick passing and express themselves on the pitch.
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From the clips I've seen, including the first day back bleep tests, Ben Close looks to have stepped up a bit. Looked to be leading bleep test and seems to look a bit quicker off the mark. Maybe a run of games has done him good.
In Grant I trust.
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He was quality at pressing when playing as a #10 in pre-season last year, especially in the Hull game.
Yeah, and Lewis Guy was fantastic in training.
I always saw Hursty as lightweight and easy to knock off the ball. He was good running with it until someone with a decent physique gave him a nudge, so he could get you hopeful but lost it too often. Scored decent goals coming in late when people had no chance to knock him out of the way. And his lack of all round effort was there for anyone to see. Talent without effort always devalues the former.
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From the clips I've seen, including the first day back bleep tests, Ben Close looks to have stepped up a bit. Looked to be leading bleep test and seems to look a bit quicker off the mark. Maybe a run of games has done him good.
In Grant I trust.
More interested in whether he's learned to pass it forwards and move it at pace.
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https://www.fairplayresort.es/en/football/
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Ryaldinhio, they split up into two groups the fast and slow, good on Close being not the slowest, but worrying for the ones behind him
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Latest interview with McCann says we're trying to find a loan for Hurst this season. Seems to have been on an odd journey with us. Starts in the first team, plays a decent number of games, falls out of favour, goes out on loan but signs a new contract, then goes out on loan again. Very mixed signals. 23 now so you would be hopeful he can find a loan at a decent level.
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Latest interview with McCann says we're trying to find a loan for Hurst this season. Seems to have been on an odd journey with us. Starts in the first team, plays a decent number of games, falls out of favour, goes out on loan but signs a new contract, then goes out on loan again. Very mixed signals. 23 now so you would be hopeful he can find a loan at a decent level.
Strange that he hasn’t been taken to Spain if a loan hasn’t been sorted.
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https://www.fairplayresort.es/en/football/
Looks very nice.
No views of the bar area though.
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Sadly for Hursty he'll never be as good as he thinks he is or his parents tell him he is.
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Agreed I think there is a minimum level of physical and mental strength to be a professional footballer and, whilst he clearly has ability, for me he doesn’t pass that test.
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https://youtu.be/W8X1Ji34Npk?si=N98i5UOebbw1gikJ
Final sessions seemed to be all based around our preferred shape and patterns of play. Getting the new boys integrated into the system. Gotts, Middleton, Ajayi and Hanlon showing us well. The latter looking a strong unit, difficult to knock off the ball.
I'm hoping the new additions will help us be a little more clinical in the final third and be better at set pieces. Of course, alot more difficult to judge defensively.
By contrast, watched the highlights of Bradfords first friendly yesterday, beating FC Utd of Manc 1-0 and, dear or dear, all they do is just lump it into the box at every opportunity. Yes, we know teams can be successful playing the physical game getting the ball into the danger areas and competing for the ball, not caring much about what goes on in the middle of the park, but it's horrible to watch.
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As you well know, DBR, the manager will tell everyone it’s ’all about fitness’ and no one should take any notice of patterns of play and score lines!
However, did Bradford play any different last season? Maybe, for some games, but overall I think they relied on balls into the box or wizardry from Cook (whilst he was playing).
Compare and contrast the above with us:
GM has been fairly rigid in his choice of playing style, but we have seen formation changes and personnel changes to accommodate a different approach.
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If Cook plays then they play to his strengths. If he doesn’t, then they play football.
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They looked much better without him last season. Fingers crossed he stays fit this year!
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They looked much better without him last season. Fingers crossed he stays fit this year!
Their results were much better without him but n the team.
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It looks like Cook will miss the start of the season and then need time to get match fit. Stepping up a league and a year older I don’t think that he will do as well.
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https://youtu.be/W8X1Ji34Npk?si=N98i5UOebbw1gikJ
By contrast, watched the highlights of Bradfords first friendly yesterday, beating FC Utd of Manc 1-0 and, dear or dear, all they do is just lump it into the box at every opportunity.
You’re not missing your football fix by any chance are you DBR?
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https://youtu.be/W8X1Ji34Npk?si=N98i5UOebbw1gikJ
By contrast, watched the highlights of Bradfords first friendly yesterday, beating FC Utd of Manc 1-0 and, dear or dear, all they do is just lump it into the box at every opportunity.
You’re not missing your football fix by any chance are you DBR?
It's amazing what flashes up on YouTube!