Cry Wolves (Ooh-ooh-woooh!): The Football League and Beyond, 2013-14

That was the only thing I predicted correctly last season. I'm surprised he hasn't moved on yet.

rip spiralli

Oh thank god it's back.

Straight red for Gary Liddle for cutting Sheffield Utd attacker in half with what I believe they used to refer to in the wrasslin' as a "Big Boot". Otherwise nothing to report

Kevin MacDonald scores for Sheff to match his tally in all competitions from last season. Nice ball from Febian Brandy in the build-up to let in the Utd right back down the flank. But I'm off now, being kicked out the kitchen

phew we're off the bottom

http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3673/9424982428_87d7d216e9_o.gif

lol wow windsor werent wrong

in related news the talk of the town is that we're starting barton and henry tomorrow. togeths.

http://forevercinematic.files.wordpress.com/2011/10/double-team1.jpg

It's 7.45 and I am sitting, hung over and sleep-deprived, at Peckham Rye railway station, setting off for Exeter for the first game of the season. I have no expectations of the game, or the season for that matter, but still I've this nagging sense of excitement. I'm glad I haven't outgrown it.

And now I bother to read this thread and see a sea of Tisdale up there. Good or bad omen? I hope he wears something fetching today.
(Also we're playing Bristol Rovers today and before this fixture I'd often have a quiet word with Martin Skidmore... Funny the times you find yourself missing people. The start of the season often makes me oddly sentimental, as does a hangover. RIP Martin.)

already regretting backing charlton on my accumulator :/

yeah and bolton :/

how fucking slow is david wheater jesus

this was premiership thinking that got me into this mess tbh, the fuck was i thinking backing the vastly superior footballing side

very nice goal. darren pratley yaya-esque

coupon torn up before 3pm, good stuff

barton and henry show confirmed

rob green you joke of a man

BBC website up to its usual high technical standard. Apparently Jackett's elected to play with 10 men.

lol Dale Jennings straight red after about 6 minutes on the pitch for Barnsley

Newport killing it

aaaand Yeovil go 1 up

Leeds with the late winner :/

i'll take a point and a clean sheet at Preston tbh

see you didnt mention the leeds scorer...?

deserved win for us today, although we rode our luck not to lose if that makes sense. hoilett was miraculously in shape and motm, aj looked sharp, faurlin put a great shift in. defence was still shonky and henry (who wasnt awful but hardly any good either) shouldve been punished twice for losing the ball dicking around on the edge of the box or thereabouts. sticks in the craw to see barton playing but he worked hard and many of his deliveries i grudgingly have to admit were a cut above this level

think i may have underestimated blackpool

Found myself standing next to a pair of (respectfully quiet) Gas in our end; turned out that observing their pain as the minutes dragged away substantially enhanced my enjoyment of a deserved but narrow victory.

Simon Peach ‏@SimonPeach 6m
#SWFC boss Dave Jones' post-match rant lasted 17 minutes. He is livid.

ah shit Murphy scored the winner for Leeds? TV was all over the place tbh, the teleprinter was knackered

Oh wonderful, Joey has an alice band.

Imagining an alternate reality where Chris Kirkland managed to stay in one piece in his 20s. He looks to have played a blinder if these highlights are anything to go on.

manish taking advantage of first dibs at the bbc wardrobe i see

Nice biz from Kermorgant there.

charlton defence glued to the floor for both grabban goals

wonder what pratley's fave tv show is

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t58gN2Sdlck

"very big power in the market" says mngmnt dychhhhe of bolton

Dougie Freedman - what's his hing?

EARLY SHIRT ASSESSMENTS: Birmingham's semi-classy, Millwall's awful, not entirely sure what's going on with Boro.

mcdermott looking delighted as usual

ours are the best shirts we've had for... 17 years? (make of that what you will)

clem, dyche and mcdermott make me think i'm still watching midweek reeves & mortimer repeats

ASSOMBALONGA, say it loud say it proud

if this season is to be stultifying mediocrity punctured by incredible feats of chutzpah from a misunderstood French beastman, then so be it. goal of the day is ours, the rest as they say is the dull part

http://i.minus.com/iqOZ4xfwFuPhT.gif

when ibrahimovic did this against france everyone fucking discharged in their pants

Doug Loft. That's a name for a footballer, that is. (Or a feller who plays keyboards with Rush)

dean leacock's hair.

Oh, is that the Roland Gift-looking dude for Notts County?

Orient's shirt has a gradient!

My highlight of the opening day so far has been the Soccer Saturday reporter who described Wade Elliott as having Shoreditch trustafarian hair.

Davie Weir appears to be mutating into Peter Capaldi. Hopefully he'll embrace this and start doing post-match interviews in the manner of Malcolm Tucker.

Fffffffucking hell that Newport throw-in.

http://www.nottscountyfc.co.uk/cms_images/celebration-2-gallery-sheffield-united-640x48080-964871_478x359.jpg

leacock sort of visible here. i was thinking slick-era gabrielle w/o the eye patch

bugger i missed the throw in, was it challinorial

It was positively Delapesque.

Oysten treats the club like they used to treat those unfortunate Donkey's on the beach.

jesus christ unfit to run a club much?

Weird thing is, looking at the Guardian article about the Championship clubs' collective debt in 2012-13, Blackpool are actually fiscally very healthy by second-tier standards - http://www.theguardian.com/football/2014/may/22/club-by-club-guide-championship-finances-2012-2013. It's just, well... eight players. And no keeper. And their form at the back end of last season was genuinely horrifying. But still, wages at 53% of turnover!

don't you have to have a registered squad of at least 15 players before the beginning of the season tho?

There is no excuse for Blackpool to be in this state because 53% of turnover wages added to all the prem money and parachute payments, means that Oysten is an asset stripper. There was a point where prudence was mentioned, but that has no credibility any more.

that's an open secret

i know. But it is still shocking, even for a leeching parasite custodian of a football club to sit back while a club falls apart this badly.

might be brutally fitting, though. blackpool being maybe the Realest England of all places

still horrifying, obv, and not what anyone deserves

Perhaps also worth remembering that, when they went up, Blackpool's ground did only have three stands. I think during their Premier League stay they also got outbid for Brett Pitman by Bristol City.

https://fbcdn-sphotos-c-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xpa1/t31.0-8/10498522_10152399466574597_4099488838164061114_o.jpg

the glamour of professional football

TEAM: Trialist, Waddington, Trialist, Perkins, McMahon (C), Dunne, Zenjov, Trialist, Trialist, Grant, Trialist.
SUBS: Barkhuizen, Trialist, Highan, Telford, Moulden, Gregory, Trialist.

Blackpool manager Jose Riga calmed immediate concerns about his future by turning up to watch their 4-0 friendly win at non-league Penrith on Saturday.
Riga faced the likelihood of the sack had he failed to appear at the match following a turbulent pre-season.

The club has only eight contracted players because of a transfer stand-off between Riga and chairman Karl Oyston.
Riga is reportedly refusing to sign players until the chairman agrees to bring in three key targets.

Sky Sports News actually had a reporter at that match yesterday, lolled when I saw the score.

Apparently SSN had a reporter at St Johnstone vs York City yesterday, where we played effectively our youth side plus a couple of trialists and first teasers needing game time against what appeared to be York's first team. 0-0, though York should have won by 5 or 6.

yeah they did have one there too, commitment above and beyond

After a very quiet summer in which we missed out on various targets, re-signed Pelts and the keeper from Coventry, now we are being linked with Richie Wellens. Wooo! let's start daring to fucking dream!

Derby's big summer signing George Thorne has done in his cruciate ligament in a friendly and will be out all season. Very harsh on the kid because it is his 2nd cruciate injury in 2 years. I suppose anything that weakens a promotion rival team that are likely to put four past you, should be taken as the cheerless benefit it is.

We signed a player! Conor Coady from Liverpool. The caveat being that we signed him at the expense of Clayton going to the smoggies for a couple of mill, genuinely hope they fail this season, along with about half of the division ●～*