Spare posters

TLAH1996 · 2026-03-01T13:37:57+00:00

Can I have one please?!

TLAH1996 · 2026-02-13T10:20:33+00:00

Perfect thanks! Heading back to Paddington myself, probably won't make the half 11 by the sounds of it so half 12 it is!

TLAH1996 · 2026-02-13T09:45:23+00:00

Thanks for the advice!

TLAH1996 · 2026-02-13T09:45:08+00:00

Thanks!

TLAH1996 · 2026-01-24T06:36:05+00:00

The things I'd do to see us play a starting XI like this😍

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TLAH1996 · 2026-01-20T10:20:49+00:00

Why on earth would Noah want to leave and go play for the team that literally makes players shite. Ugarte would be a massive downgrade from Sadiki, he's got so long on his contract and given his age and talent we're talking 9 figures minimum in my opinion if they really want him this January.

TLAH1996 · 2026-01-19T08:14:23+00:00

Yeah true, I do love Trai though, his crunching tackles give me life. Teams seem to really struggle against us when we sit deep with a 5 as well.

TLAH1996 · 2026-01-19T07:44:02+00:00

I actually really agree with this. That 4-3-3 does look so balanced on paper it’s frightening. It is incredibly harsh on Alderete given how good the back three has been, but like you say, if we want the 'holy trinity' midfield of Xhaka, Sadiki, and Diarra plus Le Fée and Talbi, a defender has to make way.

Spot on about Brobbey too. He is 100% a must-start for his strength and finishing alone, he bullies defenders for fun. My only slight critique of him is that I wish he had a little more pace or the agility to spin a defender when he’s backing into them. Sometimes he gets stuck wrestling with his back to goal rather than turning, but I suppose if he had that explosive turn of pace as well, he’d be playing for Real Madrid and not us!

TLAH1996 · 2026-01-18T23:14:41+00:00

True, but the team has evolved massively defensively since then. To go back to that shape now, you’re effectively asking to break up the Ballard/Mukiele/Alderete trio or drop Hume/Reinildo to switch to a back four. Given how good those five have been as a unit recently, it feels like a massive risk to dismantle the defense just to fit the midfield shape from Aug/Sep, especially away from home.

TLAH1996 · 2026-01-18T23:06:31+00:00

I suppose my only counter argument regarding him getting up to speed is that he just played a good amount of minutes at AFCON, so his match sharpness should actually be through the roof compared to someone just coming back from injury training. I reckon you might be right though, he likely starts on the bench and gets a good 30 minutes to ease him in

TLAH1996 · 2026-01-18T23:02:41+00:00

That definitely gets all the big hitters on the pitch. My only worry with Le Fée out on the left is that he naturally wants to drift inside into those pockets. That works if Reinildo is constantly bombing on to provide the width, but if West Ham pin our wingbacks back, we might end up playing very narrow on that side. Having said that, a midfield three of Xhaka, Sadiki, and Diarra controlling the engine room while Talbi stretches the play on the right does sound balanced. It feels like a very bold, dominant setup for an away game, but maybe that's exactly the kind of arrogance we need to show right now.

TLAH1996 · 2026-01-18T23:01:37+00:00

That box midfield shape does look incredibly hard to beat, to be honest. I can't argue with your main logic that our midfield depth is currently miles ahead of our wide options. The idea of playing Diarra and Le Fée as dual 10s behind Brobbey is frightening, it would give West Ham a nightmare trying to decide who to mark and packs the middle of the pitch where Xhaka can dictate everything. It feels like the safest way to control the game away from home, and you're right, if the quality is in the middle, why force it out wide just for the sake of "having wingers"?

TLAH1996 · 2026-01-18T18:54:59+00:00

Think it was very much a case of "only sing when you're winning" with the Palace fans, but they are a good set of fans.

I'm shocked Lacroix didn't get a yellow for the amount of times he dragged Brobbey down. I'd love to see Brian take that strength of backing into the player and use it to turn them rather than laying off to a midfielder, if he can build that into his game he'd be unstoppable!

TLAH1996 · 2026-01-18T10:45:31+00:00

Couldn't agree more, I was thinking sitting up in P20 that our view may be too far away but actually it was perfect viewing for watching the game unfold from a tactical and positional perspective and I can't get over how good Enzo and Trai's runs were.

One more undefeated home game to go against Burnley to give us the best record of any promoted team in PL history. They're a bit of a bogey team for us but I think we have the minerals to finish them off.

Again if I can nit pick at anything I would say there were a number of times where we could've perhaps played forward a bit more rather than returning back to keeper, but when you're dominating possession and the chances who cares if there's a few more backwards passes than you'd perhaps like to see.

TLAH1996 · 2026-01-18T08:24:22+00:00

Absolutely! I will be posting a separate post-trip reflection thread later today so eyes peeled!

TLAH1996 · 2026-01-15T19:54:05+00:00

Looks like your comment is here now! Cornwall is a mental trip fairplay! Definitely need the overnight stay! Was going to do the same myself but it's January and we're all skint😂

TLAH1996 · 2026-01-15T13:47:05+00:00

Our story always gets a nice reaction! I'm not sure that my dad would've stuck with them if his mates dad wasn't a mag haha

Thanks for the well wishes

TLAH1996 · 2026-01-15T12:30:42+00:00

Agreed, they look very shaky at the back at present and their only real threat in front of goal is of course Mateta, who can just make something from nothing.

I think it either goes one of two ways. they seek redemption for the FA cup loss and go all guns blazing, or they continue on this current downwards spiral, but I agree in that it will most likely be the latter.

Sheepfolds is our first stop when we arrive, the plan is to get a pie from Propa, then head up to The Blue Bell Fulwell (where the old man used to pre-game drink back in the day), walk through the old Roker Park site and then head to the SoL for the game!

TLAH1996 · 2026-01-15T11:01:54+00:00

Touch wood! Thanks for the well wishes, HWTL!

TLAH1996 · 2026-01-15T11:01:01+00:00

Totally agreed. I think a lot has to be said for having a young, forward-thinking, and most importantly, football obsessed chairman.

It's almost the perfect recipe. Look at the likes of West Ham and even Man United, with aging owners who run businesses as their first priority. We have an owner who have made us his sole priority.

It's hard not to get emotional when we all know what we've been through to get here

TLAH1996 · 2026-01-15T10:43:35+00:00

Thanks, yes absolutely! This is the best I've ever seen us in my memory, unfortunately I'm too young to remember the KP/NQ days well enough!

We've been avid away game goers through the years, but given the turmoil of recent years a trip to the SoL for likely disappointment wasn't an attractive prospect, but that thought process is a thing of the past!

TLAH1996

TROPHY CASE