Hard to establish so far how good Zinc could be for us - he did provide a few assists last season but weren't they all in games we were winning? And now he's in a struggling team whose manager surely must be on his way now...
Remind me a little of Forestieri in that he could dominate in the games against awful opposition you can get in the Championship. Rotherham away for Zinc and Reading at home for Fessi come to mind. Sadly we're not going to get many of those in the PL and I don't think he's one for scrapping for every second ball, or taking the game by the scruff of the neck.
Actually, he did provide the assist to our goal at Boro, without which we wouldn't have been promoted when we did (if at all) and might have been sweating going into our final game - so that's something to thank him for! (As well as nice big wins against Bristol City and Rotherham)
Yes, go to 1:20 for the start of the long buildup: Looking back at that BTW, I'm surprised some were complaining about how bad we were that game, looks like we bossed the first half at least.
It was a real shame to see TDB pick up the injury he did. He had come from an early preseason where he had trained extra hard ahead of joining the squad. He was mightily impressive all over midfield. Tackling, passing and popping up in the box. We had found an alternative if needed to Chalobah and Hughes given the paucity of depth at the time in midfield. He is just carrying on from where he left. And it does seem that the awful injury he picked up has not affected him adversely. I fully expect him to be part of our future going forward and to be a more than competent PL midfielder if he carries on the way he is.
Just watching EFL on Quest, a first league win for the season for Donny, 2 good saves from Dahlberg, one 1 on 1 and one at full stretch late on, Cukur came off the bench. Dahlberg lucky not to have given away a penalty mind you! An excellent win for TDB's Reading at Craven Cottage (Quina didn't get off the bench), Pollock marshalled the Cheltenham defence to an impressive 1-0 win against Oxford, Dapo Mebude came off the bench as AFC Wimbledon lost to Plymouth. Zinckernagel didn't feature in the first game of the post-Hughton era at Nottingham Forest
Interesting article on AFC Wimbledon in the Athletic, they have a 'substitution coach', which sounds an interesting concept (and perhaps topical given what happened yesterday at West
Yep, to analyse the effectiveness of subs used. You'd think it would be something the manager could see for himself, but who knows, maybe it has some benefit.
By the sounds of it late subs aren't really a thing for them, and they make sure subs are warmed up properly, which sounds sensible! I like the bit about making them feel wanted, because 'supersubs' who don't often start games can be every bit as important to the squad as the starters!
TDB's Reading facing a possible 9 point deduction for FFP breaches, I wonder how this will affect him there?
Losses for all the League 1 loanees who played today, though Dan Phillips' Gillingham got a draw. More positively, Mebude scored for Wimbledon though
Only highlights, but Dele-Bashiru looked good for Reading today, should have got a goal when one on one, and played a part in their goal (which was a finish Andre Gray would have been proud of!). Looks like they'll be absolutely fine even if they get the 9 points deducted
Dahlberg had an unfortunate last minute - dropped a cross then gave away the penalty which won Plymouth 3 points. Almost saved the first penalty though .
In Cooper's first game at Forest, he used a 3-4-3 system with no proper wingers, Zinckernagel came off the bench, I wonder if he's got much chance of playing regularly there now as it looks like he won't get to play in his preferred position yet again BTW, in true Steve Cooper fashion, Forest rescued a point in the second half with an absolute fluke of a goal lol
Rough night for our loanees: Dahlberg and Cukur got hit for 6 at Ipswich, Pollock for 5 at Sunderland, and Mebude came off the bench in a 3-0 loss to Rotherham...
Seen a few murmurs that Championship clubs are interested in Dahlberg, I wonder if we'll cut the Donny loan short and send him to the Championship in January? Yes, Phillips is injured, and I think he's still out for a couple more weeks
I guess the level is a little less important for a keeper ? The key thing is that he is playing regular league footy. After the last game, there may be less interest in him !
He's certainly not been without a mistake, but overall he's been amazing for Donny (didn't see last night's game so I can't comment, I haven't seen anything to suggest he had a bad game though). Having seen him so far, I can understand why Champo clubs would want him!
I saw one massive howler he made (which I think cost them the points in that game), but other than that I've just seen positive comments about him from the Doncaster fans.
A goal and an assist! Interestingly, on the BBC website at least, he was listed as playing as a striker!
Congratulations to Tiago Cukur who got his first senior goal, and what a time to get it, a late winner for Donny against MK
Dahlberg with some vital saves. He certainly is getting plenty of practice at Doncaster. Another solid game from TDB for Reading. Zinky and TDB back for January.