aliando

Saddened to hear the loss of one the nicest guys you could ever wish to meet. Would help anyone, new or old. I'll list myself under the uncountable people here, who he took time out to help. Condolences to Suzy. Another sad day.

Gutted. Not here very often these days but always attached. I know I'm not the only one with similar feelings but have many, many good memories from the meet-ups and met lots of like-minded lunatics on here! All of it was the result of Paul's hard-work and he went out of his way to look after everyone. His place was the only home I've ever been into where I was on a running machine at whatever time in the morning - a JD in one hand and a tree in the other ? Thought we would get a chance to have another meet up, shocked to see he was taken so soon. Few people will leave as many positive memories with so many others. Have raised a JD, with the Mighty Townsend. ? RIP mate.

? I just need a magic hat....

Really struggling to see beyond a Norwich/Brighton double being decent value. 2 sides who should be fighting out for play off places, if not automatic spots, playing home against two clubs in decline. My club Cardiff, look set for a looonnng season. Despite the signing of Ricky Lambert, we look painfully shy up front and dodgy at the back. Brentford have struggled on the road already this season. With promotion hopes, both teams should be looking for comfortable home victories after losses, last time out.

The best always start off steady. Its a marathon, not a sprint. Repeat the cliches after me....

Yep, good English manager but unlikley to be considered for the national job for another 5 years at least. I think it would take a good start from Burnley coupled with a sacking from a better team not owned by a stupidly-rich foreign owner for him to step up to a bigger team this season and would then have to build from there. He would have to be frustrated with being unable to add to the squad, which is clearly needed - otherwise, he's got too much loyalty to the current group and not showing enough ambition himself. If they don't start well, their odds for a second quick return will plummet. Incidently, Williams has officially left Swansea, therefore Burnley's chances have definitely increased imo. It's not just his ability that will be missed but the leadership also. If he's not replaced with quality by Sept 1st, Swansea's odds to go town may be too tempting...

3 potentials for me, with evens or better odds. Leicester showed no signs of a team that feel they've completed the job, in the defeat againt Man Utd. Despite losing the little big man in Kante, they've held the squad together (for now, at least) and made a few interesting signings. Hull look nothing short of a disaster, with no proper manager and poor squad riddled with injuries. It would be difficult to understand how any of the players could start this game with confidence. Agree with Palace. I like Pardew but he cannot get his teams out of a slump easily and they died a long death last season. The summer break will give Palace new impetus but I'm still thinking they look a little blunt up front and really need a targetman. That said, West Brom havent exactly improved their squad and, even with Pulis, they'll struggle this term unless they bring in reinforcements quickly. And I think Burnley could be being overlooked. New teams to the prem will always feel the need to start quickly and get points on the board, before the smaller squads get stretched. Sean Dyche has done a great job with Burnley, on little budgets, he has the experience from last time and has his players behind him. The whole club will be buzzing for this game. On the other hand, Swansea seem to be losing influential players at a crucial time and new players aren't going to have a great deal of settling in time. If Williams does leave, this could be a long, hard season for the Jacks.

Peek-a-boo! Manager: Alex Drohan Team Name: WeGounongbePromoted Forum Username: Aliando

I'm sure I can be learnt how to do it!

Any news on an app update for lazy welshmen who have become accustomed to simply tapping a button to open a site, rather than putting in usernames and passwords...?

Seems quiet in here with under a week to go... wolves27 - you look set to sign Adam Le Fondre from us (Cardiff). He never really had a chance to play for us, given the fact that we had about 75 professional, thanks to OGS's "buy everyone now" plan! He wasn't a signing that exited me at the time, but he's reasonable at this level, not a 25-goal man, but decent enough. For anyone looking at Cardiff, I'd have to advise caution and avoidance!! A very brief overview: Manager Russell Slade has the almost impossible task of keeping the fans and the chairman happy, last year, he only managed to please the chairman. People who never moan about the team, were moaning about the team, the way we played and the lack of tactics and entertainment. His remit last season appears to be to have been to minimise costs and rebuild, following Solsjaer's abysmal reign. Whilst pre-season has been ok, it really wouldn't suprise me to see a new man in charge, come May. If he doesn't start well, keep an eye on the sack market... Team David Marshall has been heavily linked with WBA, beyond him, I'm not convinced that we have a keeper that would justify a promotion push. It's reasonable to expect that, if Marshall does move, we'll get someone else in, but I'm not sure Slade has the pulling power to get a quality replacement. The squad continues to be trimmed, and re-shaped, although there is a fear that he's building a quality League 1 team, rather than a Championship team. There is strength in depth throughout the squad but, imo, we could benefit from a smaller squad with better quality, rather than a large squad of decent/reasonable players. If the squad remains the same, then I'd say that we could cope better with a large injury list than most other teams, I wouldn't simply bet against us on the basis of us having injuries. The pre-season games have seen a markedly improved unity from the players, tbf to Slade, this isn't something we've seen since Malky had us in the prem. Again, unless we start well and get the crowd back behind the team, expect us to be more backable away from home and layable when in Wales. Off the pitch Tan has taken a little more of a back seat, possibly through his invovlement in buying other clubs around the world, however, his impact on the team should not be completely forgotten. He has won some fans back with the return to blue but the relationship remains fragile, and is unlikely to improve dramatically. The other distraction to be aware of is the old Sam Hammam story. His involvement with the group who loaned money to the city for the new stadium remains unknown and is heading to the courts. Whilst I'd like to think that this won't have an impact, it continues to rumble on without any sign of being resolved. All in all, I'd expect a top 10 finish, as things stand. We have a decent enough squad, we have the capability to buy, if required. The manager still has't convinced. At best, I'd say we could target the play offs.

Re: Sky Bet Championship > April 10th & 11th I've purposely avoided betting on/against Cardiff for a long while. To say slade is better than solskjaer is like saying eating cardboard is better than eating glass. There's been media publicity over Leeds refusal to allow Cardiff more than 500 tickets for away fans, when we can often take a couple of thousand and Leeds aren't getting sold out grounds! The board have backed the decision to seems them all back and we won't take any fans! It's disgruntled the club and I think (and hope) it'll add extra fuel to the motivation. There is massive negativity around the club and, what the media haven't said, is that the lack of city fans will probably help our cause. Slade is getting slated from fans and ex-players, the players are being derided as not being good enough, we lost (again) 3-0 at home to Bolton last week and they all have something to prove, as well as playing for their place in next seasons squad. We've not got any major injuries (and a big enough squad to cope anyway!) and we are Leeds bogey team, having not lost in our 13 meetings over the part 10 years. Leeds have also had a season to forget. Cardiff +0 AH is 1.90 on betfair and that looks like value today.

Re: Sky Bet Championship > Saturday August 16th Cardiff played a predominantly 2nd string team in midweek, so, despite the extra day's rest for Huddersfield, we have a big enough squad to cope with any tired legs. I'm gonna go for over 2.5 goals again, as this is available at evens/slightly above. Similar reasoning to last week, I think that we are set up to attack and I've not spoken to many city fans who have faith in Solskjaer's defensive set up. I'd settle for a point at Blackburn, in the opening game but this will be a big crowd today and will expect the team to make home advantage pay, with an added expectation that we can hit 3 or 4, given our attacking depth. Again, I'm not convinced that we will have that many clean sheets this season and I'd not be surprised to find that we keep them against the stronger clubs as I can see Solskjaer trying to out-score the so-called lesser teams. Over 2.5 goals.

Re: Sky Bet Championship > August 8th - 10th Stopped just short with 2 goals. However, both sides managed just 2 shots on target each, in the entire game, which doesn't give a great picture for the keeping aspect. I'd expect (and hope) that solskjaer will be addressing the central defence depth issue for us. Not sure about Blackburn though - hell, if Kenwyn Jones can score past them, they could be worth backing on the goals coupons in coming weeks! :rollin Sent from my GT-I9300 using PL Forum

Re: Sky Bet Championship > August 8th - 10th Blackburn - Cardiff Too early to say how solskjaer's reign will go/end. The expected departures have happened and we are still left with a strong championship squad (many of which were present in the promotion season the year before last) plus several new players brought in. We've also got a handful of youth players who are going to have a chance to prove themselves this year. I don't think Blackburn will be easy to beat this season and could be play of contenders if things fall right for them (although with their owners, this may be more of a possibility than a probability) - they will need to be respected. Our favourites tag will mean many games will be made that much harder. I've read a number of things saying about our defensive "crisis." My take on this is that we have injuries and suspension (along with departures) but there's adequate sort term cover. Hudson is our only recognised first team Centre back at present who is able to play tonight. He is likely to be partnered by connolly - although his main position is full back, he often covered at CB 2 years ago. Elsewhere, we seem fairly strong in all areas, particularly attack, which was am issue last season. For tonight, I think there is a element of dice rolling, if trying to pick from the 1X2 markets. Personally, I'm looking more at the under/over market. I'd have expected around 1.75-1.80 for over 2.5 goals but some sites currently offering evens. I'd struggle to argue for either side to keep a clean sheet here and both have goals in them. Over 2.5 goals.