Stoke team v Sheff Wed: Johansson; Tchamadeu, Lawal, WiImot, Cresswell; Pearson, Baker, Donley; Manhoef, Mubama, Thomas. Subs: Bonham, Mears, Gibson, Phillips, Bocat, Seko, Junho, Fawunmi, Bozenik. #scfc

A badge is just a badge! I am far more bothered that we assemble a decent team to represent us, one which gives us aspirations of promotion & at least finally finishes in the top half of the Championship table. We're doing pretty good on that front this summer from what I can see. #scfc

Stoke team v Derby: Johansson; Tchamadeu, Phillips, Wilmot, Cresswell; Pearson, Lawal, Baker; Manhoef, Mubama, Thomas. Subs: Bonham, Dixon, Bocat, [Gibson/Talovierov], Seko, Fawunmi, Junho, Bozenik, Gallagher.

This week my mind has mainly been on Stoke's potential signing of a Slovakian midfielder & the huge figure of the Surrey groundsman who stood up to that idiot Gambhir. Yes, you could say Rigo-Fortis has set in. #scfc #englandcricket

Looking forward to a fairly full Stoke team, with 4 new signings on display, being tested by a very good BHA side on Wednesday. Will MR mix it up or play strongest team 1st half, squad players 2nd half? #scfc

Lions Test team? Genge, Sheehan, Furlong, Itoje, Beirne, Chessum, Morgan, Conan; Gibson-Park, Russell, Lowe, Aki, Jones, Freeman, Keenan. Some tight calls in a couple of spots, especially back row & centre. I'd have Earl, Curry & Pollock as impact subs. #Lions2025

Robins' favoured back 3 formation seems more possible now: Johansson; Wilmot, Talovierov, Cresswell; Tchamadeu, Lawal, Burger, Bocat; Thomas, Mubama, Manhoef. It puts a bit of strain on the middle 2 CMs, mind. #scfc

We must deal in some freebies & loans, maybe 5/6 altogether. Sales might mean we buy 4/5 more, but if not, we may only have enough cash for 1 more cash buy if we're to stay within the limits of PSR. Who we sell & for how much will dictate the rest of our transfer business. #scfc 1/2

We are quick to criticise the club (and I do NOT like that home shirt), but we all should be as quick to compliment them when they get something right.....and that away shirt & badge is very right! 😍😍😍

Aussies are playing here in B'dos tomorrow v WIndies for the 1st time in 10 years (yeah, thanks for the support, you flaming galahs!). I'm hoping that the home team roughs up their fragile batting unit, even if the guile of Cummins & Co should probably ensure a win. #WIvAUS

Picked these from our garden yesterday. Anyone any idea what these beauties are?

barbadosnationaltrust.com/history-of-s... This might interest the historians amongst you - as it did me, as an adopted Bajan & history buff and, for full disclosure, now calling home the Newcastle Mill, St. John shown towards the end of the article.

A simple question to enable Stoke to raise funds this summer (assuming that it would raise the same amount of profit) - sell 1. Johansson & Burger or 2. Dixon, Sidibe & Lowe? I'm option 2 every day, and twice on Sunday. #scfc

Darling to Naarch, Matty Crisp Pack to Poznan. Other than lazy Walters-themed links to Garcia Mac, any links to a new CB or 2? #scfc

Dixon and Sidibe going would have the least effect on the current 1st team and the greatest impact on PSR. We might not like it, but it makes total sense to me, and probably the club. #scfc

Mateusz Skrzypczak - aka Matty Crisp pack - a great score in Scrabble & a decent international CB who could be ideal for MR's team if we can persuade him to come. Plenty of countrymen in the not too distant area could make him feel right at home. As ever, money could talk. #scfc

Hello, Gareth - are you doing anything right now?

Not a lady ref dig, more an incompetent ref using VAR badly dig. That is a shocking decision, not that we deserve anything from this game, mind. #EngvSen

SCFC XI for 1st game of season 25-26 (I usually get 4 or 5): Johansson; Tchamadeu, Garcia-MacNulty, Wilmot, Bocat; Pearson, Slater, Aasgaard; Thomas, Al-Hamadi, Junho. Sol, Mmaee, Milly & Burger out, with 3/4 more August signings to follow. I'll be back to check my success rate. #scfc

Slightly more hopeful of balancing PSR concerns, whilst rebuilding the squad, if we cash in on Sol (pure profit). Money for a CB and/or striker? Even persuade Burger to stay? Sorba (1.5m buy) for Milly (5m sale) & that's another few mill in the transfer kitty. #scfc

Sorba? 26, a big & fast, direct wide man with decent Championship experience who can whip in a good cross. No more tippy tappy "skill gnomes" who can get sand kicked in their faces in the hurly burly of a fast paced, relentlessly physical league campaign. 1/3

Junho & Milly interviews chalk & cheese. Maybe language differences & types of questions asked affected the answers, but such open talk of a move from a player (Junho) rarely goes down well with fans. #scfc

After 2 flights (11hrs total) & a 6 hour time difference, I was totally zonked today, but it did mean I had the immense privilege of lying horizontal on the sofa all day to watch the best batsman I've ever seen play cricket (was the Don or WG better?) at his truly sublime best. #rooooooooot

Of the 5 we could sell for a profit this summer - Johansson, Burger, Manhoef, Junho & Tchamadeu - if we had to sell 2 to raise funds, which 2 would you choose? #scfc

Right, crap kit reveal done - where are the new signings? Please don't let the "fans" pick them 'n'all!!! 😂🤣🤣😂

New kit - wavy not my favy, but to be honest I have got to the age where I will never wear it, and I am far more bothered about who will line up in it come August, that they represent us in a far superior way than the past 7/8 years. #scfc

If we seriously want to crack even the top half of the table next season, without any sales our summer spending would need to provide for filling these gaps in our starting XI: Johansson; Tchamadeu, NEW RCB, NEW LCB, NEW LB; Burger, NEW DM, Baker; Manhoef, NEW CF, NEW LW. #tallorder #scfc

I like Sunderland - proper support that stuck with the club into League One & thoroughly deserve their one season up with the big boys.

Junho is a great talent, as yet unfulfilled. He may be best suited to a less physically demanding league, but I'd hoped he would stay with us & flourish under what should become a more settled & successful team going forward. If he's set on going (as reports suggest), we must look for at least 5-6m

So has this season finished now? England are starting to play cricket FFS & it's only a month until the longest day. We need to miss football for a while.

That Iversen is set for PNE & Dolan for Boro shows how quickly the best freebies get snapped up. We moved quickly to get our best signing for years in Vik last year, & I hope we can follow on our decisive retained list with "swooping" for 1 or 2 targets early on to lift the mood. #scfc

Sensible squad for start of next season: Iversen, Simkin, Bonham; Tchamadeu, Ng, Bocat, O'Dowda, Wilmot, Dixon, McGuinness, Panzo; Morton, Lawal, Slater, Baker, Pearson, Travis, Sidibe, Colwill; Chong, Dolan, Riis, Gassama, Gallagher, Bundu, Tezgel, Lowe. I'll get maybe half right! #scfc

MR means business it's clear. You could argue Thompson & Gooch could've got new deals, but obviously we're aiming for a full squad rebuild. If they're replaced by better, then all well & good. #scfc

Glad that's over. I had a season ticket when we went down from the top division, only winning 3 games, but for the ability to shoot ourselves in both feet this season tops it. We're an omnishambles of a club right now, with a glimmer of hope brought by MR's common sense approach. #scfc

Make no mistake, & don't let the relief of survival disguise it, this season has been horrendous on so many levels. Our club is verging on a laughing "stoke", with comedy signings & appointments made by men totally ill-suited to make them. We don't need change, we need monumental upheaval. #scfc

Poor half, where we have basically set up to stop them & get the point we need. Very little football being played. Luton 3-1 down eases the pressure, but we need to do the job & secure our own point, not rely on others. Stay up & then reassess the mess of our own creation. #scfc

Baggies beating Luton! Boing, boing.

The Coates now looking for buyers for BET365 makes sense of hiving off Stoke into JC's hands last year. Under new ownership there would be no BET365 security blanket for the club, and even sponsorship arrangements may become less favourable if it's bought by a 3rd party. #scfc

PNE or Hull will be the 3rd relegated team. Derby will win, Luton will at least draw. There you go, Stokies - you can rest easy now!!!

If we survive, like MR said work then has to be done to make sure we're not in this position again any time soon. Champ pros in their prime need to be our focus. We'll have little money so must use it well on solid performers who know this league. It may not be 'sexy' but it's what we need #scfc 1/2

This may come back to bite me, but I cannot see PNE or Hull, both on a bad run, drumming up the form to win at Bristol City & Pompey. At least one of them will lose, shirley? #scfc

We'll probably stay up, as all 4 below us winning is unlikely, but our GD collapse of the last week has left only Luton's worse, which brings the draw into play. You'd still expect one to lose, but being in this postion is a damning indictment of the utter omnishambles of a club we've become. #scfc

Not only are the wheels falling off, but we're not collecting injuries again (no LB, no RB, no DCM), with replacements verging on the totally inept. PNE, Oxford, Derby & Luton win tomorrow (which they all could) & I will really start to worry. We need a Hull win. #tohullandback

So we're back to hoping others do us a favour tomorrow to confirm our safety. Not terrible, but you always felt they had a bit more than us. We aren't close to a top 6 team. Robins knows that too. Just about staying up & starting to rebuild from scratch in the summer (again!). #scfc

Like many others I am sure, I am weary of this season, sick & tired of watching us limp to the conclusion of another campaign, glad for the summer break. Something has to change, to break this cycle of mediocrity & underperformance. #scfc

Start Gally up top, keep JWE in the stands, and go for it. It remains in our hands and we don't want to be going to Derby looking for points next weekend. #scfc

So LB on Friday is Gooch then. 2 other options: switch Junior to LB, Wilmot RB & bring in Gibson at CB (too many changes for me) or go to a back 5, with Gibson LCB & Gooch LWB (not a fan of 5, or Gibson, & it detracts from our attacking options). Go with Gooch & hope for the best. #scfc

I'd play some kids on Monday. Not to give Leeds an easy ride, but to rest a few weary legs & assorted knocks, so that we can go out with a bang at home on Friday. Also I really do believe that the likes of Lowe & Tezgel deserve a chance to see how they'll fare, now that we're pretty much safe. #scfc

Safety all but assured as we climb to the giddy heights of 16th. Not very pretty, a couple of injuries, a bit of sloppy defending which gave them chances, but we were value for the 3pts & heading in the right direction. Time to look to (yet another) summer rebuild. #bensbum #scfc