StarkMallard

I agree with @Robbie and @Chris here, a downvote button would be negative to the climate and vibe of the forum. I've seen it in Reddit too, it makes it much too easy to just downvote something you disagree with and move on. The way things are now, you can only show that you disagree with something by making a post and stating your view, and isn't that what a discussion forum is all about? I want to hear different views (as long as they are stated respectfully of course). Unless they're disagreeing with me of course. In that case it's off to the dungeon!

Redknapp is entitled to his opinion @Robbie, but he's always been very cosy with the media. The man's a windbag. Ultimately, being super patriotic in front of the media won't help you when you've got a football team to motivate and organise. I'm not delighted with the appointment myself. I was hoping that the FA had moved away from their old model of appointing a big-name club manager in the hope of instant success. Gareth Southgate proved that we could be more successful with a coach who had the right attributes for the job, even if that man didn't necessarily have a glittering club career. Instead they've gone down the Capello route again. There's a caveat here - big-name managers have a big name for a reason. They have proven that they can handle the pressure at the very highest level, in a way that Carsley maybe hasn't. It's just a shame that a country with such a large pool of talented footballers seemingly can't produce a single coach deemed worthy of leading the national team.

I feel that Wimbledon's ability to play both underground and overground will give them the edge Our poor record against the better teams held us back last season and seems to be continuing this time as well, so a point at least is a must. Really we could do with a win to maintain our momentum. It'll be tough though, with the Dons only conceding 5 goals in their 8 games so far.

How do you do your predictions? I often use magic, as demonstrated here. Anyway, here are the fixtures for round 12. Kick-off is 3pm, and remember your joker! Blackburn Rovers v Swansea City QPR v Portsmouth Blackpool v Barnsley Lincoln City v Birmingham City Bradford City v Gillingham Port Vale v Fleetwood Town Maidenhead United v Hartlepool United Sutton United v Oldham Athletic

Oh dear, I have a feeling the grandchildren might end up missing out Seriously though, was it 100 years old?

"Overseas" is a vastly bigger talent pool than just the UK, you're inevitably going to find better players and managers because of the sheer numbers. And Premier League clubs are wealthy enough to cherry-pick the best. Whether that's what they SHOULD be doing is a different matter. Of course we need to provide incentives for clubs to promote domestic talent, otherwise PL clubs will just assemble global dream teams and our young players won't get a look-in, hindering their development. The knock-on effect for smaller Scottish clubs is that PL clubs are taking a closer look at young Scottish players and helping themselves.

Ah, the legendary Tesco Trolley Park stand! To be fair to them, loads of non-league clubs are acquiring identikit stands that aren't very different to bus stops. As long as it keeps the rain off...

I think you should appoint Harry Kewell as your manager, things are bound to improve then.

The results: Crawley Town 3-5 Shrewsbury Town Peterborough United 3-3 Rotherham United Barrow 0-1 Morecambe Joker Cheltenham Town 2-3 Swindon Town Doncaster Rovers 1-1 Crewe Alexandra Harrogate Town 1-0 Newport County Salford City 1-2 Grimsby Town Tranmere Rovers 0-2 Bradford City --- Congrats to this round's winner, @Robbie! @JustLikeJuve and @magpiejue came in strong too. --- This is our table overall. @ARLukomski cuts @super_ram's lead slightly while @thommo also joins the chase. Elsewhere, @Robbie jumps eight places but is still below me! --- Saturday's fixtures will be posted tomorrow evening - keep your eyes peeled! Thanks and see you all then!

Seems a bit of a strange appointment to me given his talent for falling out with people. At least no one can accuse the FA of appointing a "yes man" this time! It's also a bit sad that we're having to appoint from abroad again. Have English coaches so little to offer? As coaching the England team is very different from being a club manager, I'd have been happy with a "no name" coach who knows the setup and can organise and inspire the players. Whether Carsley would have been an option I don't know. But of course I hope TT does well!

That brings back memories! When everyone was in their rightful place in accordance with the Natural Order of Things(TM). Wow @Robbie, you must be old!

It seems counter-intuitive but the article makes an important point - as clubs can no longer recruit players aged 16 and 17 from the EU, they're increasingly looking north of the border instead. Some of those young players will no doubt benefit from the superior facilities and coaching on offer, while many more will fall by the wayside. And of course Scottish clubs are finding it more and more difficult to hold on to young talent. All the familiar disadvantages of the academy system - in which the big clubs hold all the cards and can entice youngsters for a relative pittance - come into play, Scottish clubs are just more exposed to it than they were before.

The last thing they need is yet another nostalgia appointment. He'd probably be tempted but should leave his legacy alone.

Alfreton at home it is then! It'll be a good occasion, there'll be a fair few from Alfreton there. A home tie against a non-league team gives us a good chance of progressing in theory, but we all know that these games can be a banana skin. We've made ourselves look like eejits often enough. I think we should throw everything we've got at the FA Cup this season, we're long overdue a run!

These matches kick off at 3pm, don't miss out! @allardyces tash, @Blake, @Chris, @CliftonMagpie, @DonnyNotts, @Harry Buckley, @JIMBO, @Joshua, @JustLikeJuve, @liampie, @NottsLoyal, @NottsTastic, @OoooooTommy, @Robbie, @super_ram, @The Heff, @TheSkipper, @thommo, @upthepies

Players change positions early on in their careers, it's probably quite a common thing. Throwing on defenders up front to win headers, on the other hand, often smacks of desperation and I can't remember it ever having the desired effect. And Jimmy Glass doesn't count because he was a goalkeeper!

Crawley Town 1-1 Shrewsbury Town Peterborough United 2-1 Rotherham United Barrow 2-0 Morecambe (joker) Cheltenham Town 2-1 Swindon Town Doncaster Rovers 2-1 Crewe Alexandra Harrogate Town 0-2 Newport County Salford City 1-1 Grimsby Town Tranmere Rovers 1-3 Bradford City

Hi everyone. Sorry I forgot to post these yesterday as I was swinging through the streets of Gotham village defeating the criminal underworld / sitting on my bum playing computer games (delete as applicable). But here they are. Send your predictions in by 3pm on Saturday, and don't forget your joker! Crawley Town v Shrewsbury Town Peterborough United v Rotherham United Barrow v Morecambe Cheltenham Town v Swindon Town Doncaster Rovers v Crewe Alexandra Harrogate Town v Newport County Salford City v Grimsby Town Tranmere Rovers v Bradford City

The results: Coventry City 1-2 Sheffield Wednesday Watford 2-1 Middlesbrough Mansfield Town 2-0 Blackpool Rotherham United 2-1 Reading Accrington Stanley 2-1 Morecambe Swindon Town 0-0 Harrogate Town Eastleigh 1-3 Forest Green Rovers Halifax Town 3-2 Tamworth --- Congratulations to this round's winner @thommo! Good showings from @Blake and @nottsnutter too. --- Overall, @super_ram continues to lead ahead of @ARLukomski... --- The next round is on Saturday, so the fixtures will be posted tomorrow. Thanks for playing!

It doesn't really say anything about the standard, anyone can have a blackout and do something really stupid. I've seen some amazing own goals this season though. The third division is where it's at anyway

I've just discovered this. When I was at uni I used to work on open days. One of the most fun tasks was doing guided tours of the university - each time about 10 to 15 people would gather, and I'd take them around the campus, giving them crucial information such as where the cheapest beer is and "this is the longest teaching building in Europe". I'd do a bit of small talk with the students and parents, and it was obviously better when they asked questions and got involved rather than standing in bored silence. One day there was a familiar face among the parents - none other than Neil Warnock, who was there with his daughter. He was polite and good-humoured throughout, despite me sending him to the wrong building at one stage. If I recall right he was pretty engaged and asked lots of questions about the uni, although I really wanted to talk about football. He could probably tell I was a bit starstruck

Coventry City 2-1 Sheffield Wednesday Watford 1-1 Middlesbrough Mansfield Town 2-2 Blackpool Rotherham United 1-3 Reading Accrington Stanley 1-1 Morecambe Swindon Town 0-2 Harrogate Town Eastleigh 0-1 Forest Green Rovers (joker) Halifax Town 2-0 Tamworth

I think I know what you're getting at now @Piethagoram. The line between the NL North and South is drawn a long way south, but is it really such a new thing? When the Conference had a single division, the feeder leagues were the Northern Premier League, the Southern League and the Isthmian League (for London and the south east) - two southern leagues and one northern league. So you've already got an imbalance there, albeit better hidden than it is today. Why is this? It could be as simple as population density - there are enough people in Greater London to make a country in its own right, while a big swathe of land north of the M62 is pretty sparsely populated. That's going to impact the non-league football scene too. On top of that, the clubs of the Northern League (for the north east, not to be confused with the Northern Premier League) have often rejected promotion to the wider pyramid as they prefer to stay local, and given the distances involved who can blame them? Spreading wealth and opportunities throughout the country would address the imbalance in many ways (not just in football), but that's a project spanning generations. In the meantime, I think it might be worthwhile splitting the second tier of the National League into three regional divisions. The clubs are mostly semi-pro after all.

"He can't miss" ... well no, because he'd already run into the perfect position to score. Typical Langstaff goal. Good luck to him, hope it's the first of many!

I might be wrong, but I think the white kit commemorated 100 years at Meadow Lane in 2010. A retro kit for that one would have been justified and very cool, but the shirt was very plain and a missed opportunity.