Friday, March 12, 2010
Kightly is ‘off the pace’
Wednesday 25th November 2009, 11:30AM GMT.
Michael Kightly is set for a further ‘time-out’ to bring the Wolves winger up to full throttle for the Premier League.
The conclusion of a heart to heart chat between Kightly and boss Mick McCarthy on Monday is likely to see the former England Under-21 international striving for his full sharpness away from the glare of first team football.
Kightly looked lively as he played the full game of the reserves’ 2-0 defeat against Fulham at Molineux last night.
But McCarthy believes the 23-year-old is still operating below his best and is still plagued by injury niggles, despite being over surgery on his foot and hip.
“I would love to think he could have an impact in these two home games we’ve got now, but I still don’t think he’s ready for that yet,” said McCarthy.
“He’s not up to the pace of the Premier League yet.I put him on in the second half against Chelsea really just to give him a game and see him in action.
“But we had a discussion on Monday and he agrees with me and feels the same as I do about it.
“He needs games, nothing else. His hip and his toe are alright, but I have to be honest, he’s still got a niggle in his knees. His knees get sore at times and they have been bothering him a little bit, but it’s not a major concern and won’t stop him playing.”
Kightly missed the Championship title run-in after undergoing surgery on his foot and hip iafter getting injured in March.
He returned for pre-season and completed virtually the entire programme only to struggle to get over the final fitness hurdle , missing the first five weeks of the season.
Kightly made his comeback in the win against Fulham on September 20, one of five sub’s appearances he has made in the Premier League.
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Last night was a discrace. A near 1st team squad and played like a League 2 team. Not very optimistic for the rest of the season il tell ya!!!!!
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I foolishley went to watch the reserves last night. thankfully it was free. Kightly looked off the pace but along with Milijas they were our best players. As for Elokobi and Keogh (who missed at least three clear cut chances) they were awful.
Kightly should at least be on the bench for sun ever if he is half fit. Its worrying that our best players from last year have not made the grade so far.
I also went to chelsea and fear confidence is rock bottom in the squad, another reason why Fulham’s reserves beat us last night.
Anything less than a draw on Sun and Mick’s got to go. The majority of players he’s brought in are not good enough. He’s sepnt nearly £20M yet we are no better off then the last time we came up – identical points in fact.
Anything less than 7 points and he should go. I would like Curbishley, if only just to consolidate our premier league status for 5 years and not be a yo yo club, which it looks like we’re becoming. Its clear the current squad are not quite good enough.
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I am concerned that we lost 2-0 to a Fulham reserve side last night when we put out supposedly a very strong team full of first teamers….
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Great!!!!
We could have really done with him in the next two games.
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Although he needs games for confidence etc. I think a little rest will help him. Maybe the same for Ebanks?
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At last….even El supremo’Mccarthy has picked up that Kightly is not up to Premiership pace, and may never will be able to make the cut,
Now Mick, what about doing something about the other eight in the team that can’t cope either ?
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A bit of honesty is good from the lad. I understand that with his ability he was keen to get going in the Prem but he has looked 75% of the Kites we all know and love. Get yourself better mate and with a fit Michael Kightly he will cause many full backs in the premier league problems. All the best Kites. WE ARE WOLVES.
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Ridiculous Mick..!!
The boy isn’t ‘up to speed’ and will never be unless you give him an extended run in the first team.
If he isn’t performing after 4 or 5 games then drop him!
How is he ever gonna adjust to the speed of the Premier League with five minutes here and ten minutes there.
Yet again – more evidence of poor decision making i’m afraid.
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Great.
That’s all we need.
I’m sure Halford can do the job, though.
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no2: Keogh in open goal miss shock?! I bet he ran himself into the ground to get there though, and no other striker would have carved out those chances due to such selfless running? Time to give the Hoff a run I say. He hasn’t had a chance yet!
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He is not off the pace he doesnt isnt good enough for the premiership end of!
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Kights has to be on the bench if he isnt starting, you cant tell me he isnt worth a punt for the last 30 minutes against anyone?
I use the villa game as an example, a 75% fit kights got us the penalty dont forget…and if he was ‘off the pace’ then then god help the defenders when he’s 100%.
UTW!!
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I agree with number 6.
It’s not just Kightly who is off the pace! there is only Doyle and Stearman (and maybe Zubar) who looks as if they are good enough to play at this level. We have 3 MUST win games coming up (Blues Bolton Burnley) the others we have this year we will be very lucky to get a point from.
at the beginning of the season i was happy with the business we had done in the summer but it turns out we have not signed the right players for what we need. Milijas is the Serbian Silas!!
Mick needs to seriously think of another 5-6 first team players to come in and turn our season round!! it can be done but these players have got to go straight into the team!! Ledley is a must!!!
Come on Mick Don’t let us down like so many managers have before!!! we’re here now and we NEED to stay here!!!
The Future’s Bright, The Future’s Gold and Black.
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Was at the Chelsea game and thought Kightly was one of the few pluses. Although he did not create anything he was at least putting the boot in and getting stuck in which certainly was not the case with most of the team.
What a pity he is not able to give us 100% as I am sure he would make a difference. Things are going from bad to worse as a strong reserve team can’t beat Fulham juniors- whatever next? PAUL HART may need a job!
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Went last night….too laid back I’m afraid. very low on quality too. Kights looked as sharp as any of our players to me.
I keep hearing how the give it “the works” in training. Well that surely needs to spill into reserve games.
He’s def playing Ward on the left wing on Sunday and Jarvis on the right based on this article and last nights formation.
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Laughingwolf…..
Which fullbacks in particular…?
Kites wont be up to full throttle until after christmas. But thank god Jarvis is starting to pull up trees.
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Fair play to Mick, he gave him a go, but it was pretty obvious he was far from cutting the mustard 2 to 3 games ago. Pity he coulnd’t have thought the same way about Jervis, though his last game merited ’super crossing’ from a n’paper pundit. Maybe he got something right there. Anyway up The Wolves and may lady luck smile generously on them.
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I am worried that a team of our first team players are beaten, without scoring, by Fulham reserves. Burnley have a settled team as do B’ham. We have played well in bursts but we seem to have little resilience to defend and nothing up front. We have barely scored apart from set pieces and no-one can shoot from outside the box. Where are our midfielders standing outside the box to pick up a loose ball and bang it in from distance. How many times has it been done to us.
We may escape the drop in the end but we are not playing anything like we need to. The team has clearly not been strenghthened and the 3M’s need to think on.
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OOOHH here we go again, a full 1st team aginst a Fulham second string and what happens ?? when will you people listen to what I`m saying !! Muppet Mick has to go NOW,this will drag on until the end of the season unless changes are made promptly. Time for you moorons to take off your rose tinted glasses and see the light we are doomed. Bring in Ferguson Jnr he would be a good bet and we would stand a chance of some decent loans from Dad.
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The Manager is second rate and the players he bought, except maybe two, are second rate. We need a top manager who can bring in good players ie.Premiereship quality which means we have to spend big money in January if its not too late already.
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I fear we may have to accept the same fate as our stripey friends. YoYo Club???
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I agree with no 13, the players bought after promotion were no great improvement in quality on the existing squad. If the three M`s were happy to take the plaudits on a fantastic championship winning season, they must take the criticism for our current situation.
I applaud the Blues for making sure they bought the 2 best centre halves from last seasons championship, look at their goals conceeded and league position. Our defence is the same as last year and we leaked goals despite being champions, so no suprise at our current plight.
If Ward coming back is all we have to look forward to, then god help us. In last years league matches with Blues we scored one goal and secured one point, they have a much better squad than last year, we haven`t.
I hope i`m wrong but I can`t see us winning the next 3 home matches, even with the best fans in the country behind us.
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Ward needs more time – I just hope its around May when hes fit and ready, that way, we dont have to have another League one player in the team.
Mick needs to DROP HENRY AND EDWARDS with immediate effect and start playing our best players. These two along with Ward , are not
good enough for the premiership, this is why we are bottom of the league.
If Mick continues to be pig headed, then clearly hes not cut out for the premiership and its time for him to go.
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18. You’re wrong mate.
They weren’t Fulham reserves, they were Fulham’s youngsters. I’d say the average age of their side must have been about 19 or 20.
And their strikers had more cutting edge than ours…in fact if we had their 2 up front and they had Keough and the Hoff* we’d have won 2-0.
* Soon to be called the Hoss….as in cart hoss
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Does anyone really think that if we don’t get any points out of the next 2 games Mick will be sacked? I bet you he won’t.
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Does anyone really think that Mick will get the sack if we don’t get any points from the next 2 games? I bet you he won’t.
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25 – he wont be sacked but id say we are as good as relegated if we cant get 1 point from these 2 games……………………
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richwolf64, who are the better players that should replace Henry and Edwards?
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I said when MM was appointed in 2006 that he would get us up but hasn’t got the tactical nous or ability to be a top flight manager and will not take us to the next level. How bloody right i was back then. The worry for me is that the money that has been spent has been wasted apart from Doyle. Kightly hasn’t been right since Paul Robinson did him a couple of seasons ago. He has lost the explosive pace which made him stand out and now is at best, an average performer. What on earth is Halford still doing in the first team? Apart from his throw ins, can somebody tell me what else he offers the team? Why is Matt Hill being overlooked? His one performance this season was good and is better than Elokobi. Why has Ikeme been loaned out? He is our best goalkeeper apart from Murray. Hennessey is another Michael Oakes i’m afraid, a flapper who isn’t fulfilling his promise. Can’t catch a cold and doesn’t command his area enough. MM will still be there next season so anybody on here who thinks he’ll be sacked, forget it. Morgan and Moxey are deluded when it comes to him. End of rant grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.
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Stephen 21 – nice thought mate – but 2 prem seasons in the last 8 don’t even make us a yo yo club.
Right now the chance to come back up in 2 years looks a long shot with MM and co in charge.
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surely then if kites is not up 2 it at the moment then he needs 2 play games an i meen prem games not reserve games or restin him the only way he is gonna get that match sharpness at the level is surely 2 play him in premiership games !!! anything less than a win on sunday i think were doomed !! were going to look bacl on such games as west ham at home hull at home and pompey at home you could even look at the blackburn away games we should have picked up more points than what we did . At the end of the season if we are relegated these games we will look back on !! were not good enough !
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HERE IS WHAT YOU DO MICK,SELL HILL ,ELOKOBI, DARREN WARD,THUS RAISING ENOUGH FUNDS TO BUY A LEFT SIDED DEFENDER LIKE LEE NAYLOR,GET CREATIVE MIDFIELDER IN LIKE KEVIN NOLAN,NICKY BUTT,AND IKEME IS WORTH A PUNT,STILL DONT KNOW WHY WE BOUGHT IN HANNEMAN,THE HOFF AND SEB NEED TO PUT A SHIFT IN NOW,LOOK AT HULL THEY MANAGE TO BRING IN VENNEGOOR OF HESSLING/GHILAS /ZAYATTE,YET WE GET LEFT BEHIND AGAIN,
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Last night reserve match was abysmal.
And if kightly is a few weeks off well the rest are months off in terms of class, fitness and hunger.
Mancienne some good touches to get out of trouble but looked low on confidence & jittery.
Hill nowhere near good enough but at least tried.
Ward did well considering his first match back.
Milijas has some great touches but strolls around the pitch.
Keogh – missed chances – but didnt even chase after 20 minutes.
WHOEVER SAID THE HOFF NEEDS A RUN
Yes round a parks pitch to toughen up,
a kid bossed him last night.
6′7″ player with an 8′7″ EGO
- too true ‘THE HOSS’!!!!!!!!!
And TRUE the fulham team was little more than a youth team.
I cant see anyone from last night threatening the first team if Kightly cant.
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Agree with the comment (2) about Milijas having good game last night and also think Hill played well an centre of defence but rest were either bad or mediocre. As for the call (10)for Hoff to have a run out in first team i aint stopped laughing about that yet, he was a total miss fit, def not the missing link. The man can not or will not jump for crosses/clearances.
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In the summer I was criticised on here by some so called fans for stating that none of our players would cut the mustard in the premier league.
I also predicted we would be relegated and most likely sunk without trace by March.
Sadly it is certain I have been proved right on both counts, we have a championship manager who is tactically inept, we have not improved the squad…Reading must have rolled over with laughter with us paying 6.5 milloin for doyle.
We still play clowns like keogh and craddock as well.
Everyone knows this is the worst premier league ever but the truth is Steve Morgan is a liverpool fan who treats wolves as a plaything and bleeds the club dry, useless manager, useless players and sadly a large number of fans who like sheep believe the mantra from the likes of moxley and mad mick.
THe good news though is that at least I followed my convictions and had a big bet on us for relegation in the summer which will pay for a nice holiday come august.
We have learnt nothing from the last time we went into the premier league, sell up morgan and go mccarthy
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Portsmouth have got rid of their muppet and so we should with our Mighty Muppet. Given the fairly easy start to the fixtures, any decent management would have got rid as soon as we hit the bottom three.
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I’ve jus had a great idea. Why not rest Kightly, Ebanks-Blake, Doyle, Zubar, Henry, Mancienne and maybe a couple more of our best players. Sit back, cross our fingers, and then play them in a month or so hoping that without playing premiership football, that they may somehow be up to the pace of the game.
My plan B on the other hand would be to play our best team, attack slightly more than we have done lately, and perhaps, maybe just perhaps start picking up some points!
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I’ve just had a great idea. Why not rest Kightly, Ebanks-Blake, Doyle, Zubar, Henry and Mancienne, and maybe a couple more of our best players. Then sit back and cross our fingers that by some miracle, without playing any premiership football, that they may some how be up with the pace of the premier league.
If that doesn’t work my plan B would be to play our best team, attack slightly more than we have done recently, start taking our chances and as a result, maybe, just maybe start collecting a few more points!
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can’t comment on last night’s match as didn’t attend, but there are recurring patterns in the nature of the comments supplied; namely, a tendency to criticise a number of players who previously served us so well for perceived lack of ‘Prem Qualities’. That may be so, but given the chance (injuries permitting) to play regularly in posistions they’re familiar with, then they might at least be able to pick up the pace of the Prem as well as some much needed consistency and self belief. The Old Guard of 2003 pretty much picked themselves and consequently eventually found a ‘groove’, and once Camara was allowed to play in his natural position we looked a decent side. I would concede that the current crop are short of the quality and, obviously, experience of the 2003 side; money was definitely squandered in the summer- personally, of the foreign signings, i can only see Zubar possibly making a long-term contribution. Which to my mind, is all the more reason to revert as far as possible to the players and formula that worked in the Championship. It’s delusional to think that we’ll invest heavily in the transfer window, even more so as decent players won’t commit themselves to a struggling team. Better to give a settled team the chance to at least foster a fighting spirit and sense of togetherness which would hopefully then act as an effective buffer should we suffer the shattering dissapointment of relegation…
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Miljas, Silas, Mick as currently clue-las. Which players do we have who are ‘on the pace.’ Seriously, the reactions of players across the field is barely adjusted to this level.
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Milijas, Silas, Mick as currently clue-las. Which players do we have who are ‘on the pace.’ Seriously, the reactions of players across the field is barely adjusted to this level.
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richwolf64 you are a muppet, you gotta be on a wind up.Edwards and Henry have been two of our better players this season let me guess your one of these nobs that keep calling for Elokobi to start. I hope im wrong but Ebanks Blake and Kites dont look good enough for Prem – i hope its just the fact they are coming back from injury (how long can that excuse keep being used).
I used to knock Keogh for his lack of goals, but sometimes you have to face it that there are certain forwards not strikers that do a job for the striker, and Keogh is the best we have at the club to play with Doyle our only Prem Standard Striker FACT!!!
Bring back Doyle and Keogh for Blues PLEASE!!!!!!
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“The Hoss” is typical of Mad Mick’s signings…..rubbish!!! The board hoped that our young guns could step up to this level to save money, and they haven’t. Blake, Keogh, Hennessey, Kightly, Ward, Foley…sorry…good players yes…PL players…NO! and that’s why we are in this mess. We will lsoe again on Sunday, McCleish has done a far better job than McCarthy.Mind you…so has Owen Coyle
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have to say our squad is looking way short of what is required to stay in this league.we have bought in quantity not quality.none of the players bought in are any better than ones already at the club and our stars from last year don’t seem to be able to make the step up.mick needs to get a settled side and persevere instead of chopping and changing the team all the time.lets give the hoff a run of games with doyle up front and be a bit more direct instead of trying to overplay.good to see jarvis back in the team and maybe milijas could be tried on the left wing hopefully to provide some quality crossing (which has been lacking)surely this 6 ft 7″ giant will score if given the service as he has a decent goalscoring record.still think the defence needs strengthening though in january (maybe lee naylor)and also an experienced premiership centre back(sol campbell) and a proven goalscorer.hope your listening jez & steve as its quite obvious that trying to do it the cheapskate way has not worked you need to spend on some quality the only quality we’ve bought is doyle and zubar the rest are just about good enough for the championship (wonder what liverpool fans would of said if morgan had took over them and bought these players in there?)
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kightly is not off the pace he just is not good enogh at this level he wasn’t doing it for most of last season.same goes for seb it looks too much of a step up for him in class the same as all the rest of the team except doyle maybe foley when fit jarvis & zubar(hope they prove me wrong)
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LETS TRY KEOGH AND DOYLE UP FRONT AGAIN,AT LEAST WE WON ACOUPLE OF GAMES WITH THIS COMBINATION
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Hull won last night there is a gap opening up. We won’t beat Blues we are doomed.
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39,Tudders– That may be so, but given the chance (injuries permitting) to play regularly in posistions they’re familiar with, then they might at least be able to pick up the pace of the Prem as well as some much needed consistency and self belief.Herein lies the problem,MM Has a select band of favourites that he wants to play come what may.It has been blindingly obvious that a quality RECOGNISED left back is needed but NO MM has SW striker converted.MM puts blind Faith/Belief in inadequencies rather than tactical nous.People on here keep on about Burnleys bubble will burst( will ours ever begin),Hulls 5th home game without defeat last night now puts them 5 points ahead,Portsmouths impending appointment of Avram Grant could see them move up the league,but hey we have the return of Steven Ward to look forward too.
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48 Bet the climate in Malta is good.
Spot on with what you say.
Other teams are starting to play, we have S Ward to come back, just about sums us up.
We have been prepairing for life in the CCC since last May. Never mind the good thing is, we will not lose any players who the hell would want them.
Bet Liverpool wish they had our set up.
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agree with you ben the hoff should have a run of games now with doyle and get milijas in the team as well he is the most gifted player at wolves mick has got to start playing the players he bought for a lot of money in the end there quality will shine and wolves will prosper so cmon mick pick the best players if not to save your job but for the wolves fans who deserve better for all the support we give to this fantastic club of ours!zubar milijas hoff castillo all must start if fit,,,WE ARE WOLVES
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V Blues I would go with: Hahnemann, Stearman, Zubar, Craddock, Mancienne, Edwards, Castillo, Henry, Milijas, Doyle, The Hoff but whoever he picks we will all be behind them….WE ARE WOLVES
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fully agree with 46….Doyle and Keogh seemed to have a fair understanding of each others play, and both play in the Republic of Ireland team.
we did reasonably well when they were together, and should be matched together again against Birmingham, with Sylvan on the bench
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Mick made the mistake of buying quantity instead of quality in the transfer window. Maybe one reason is that he cannot handle proven premier league players personalities.
Kightly and seb are off the pace, its so obvious. If you miss a full pre-season you will struggle all season until the back end. By then it will be too late as we will be relegated. If we get relegated the club needs to freshen itself up with new personnel on and off the pitch otherwise it will get stuck in a last season we were a premier league rut.
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its funny how idiots on here calling for the manager to be sacked are complaining that nobody is listening to them. i wonder why?? wwfc 2 brumingham 0 . wwfc will survive comfortably
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I think Ikeme should play
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