qwertyell

So far so good. Feels like we're not entirely at our best - Redmond and Armstrong have been poor; Romeu and Adams have taken some heavy touches - but deservedly lead. Feels like we'll need another goal just to be sure. Everton have been dangerous down the right, where Armstrong has abandoned KWP, and they're a threat from set pieces. Come on, Saints, bring it home.

It's a bold font choice from the work experience kid with PS2 pyjamas.

Still not seen much evidence that Salisu is particularly quick, but he's certainly a unit and a half. Been a while since we've had two centre backs in the squad who can, theoretically, physically dominate.

Wasn't very good against Liverpool. Does anyone think he'd be a Ralph kind of player if he was still here? Not sure his work ethic out of possession would fit our brave new world.

£60m is fine. There's only a few clubs who would pay that for a 29 year old with dodgy knees, and frankly they'd be the clubs we'd be powerless to hold off if they were interested regardless of a release clause. At least this way, they know the price, we don't have to negotiate (not our strength) and we can make plans for, say, signing three new starters (in the price range we normally operate in).

They'll be without Richarlison, though - and there's no obvious like-for-like replacement in their ranks. Iwobi is slow as shit, Walcott has joined somebody else, I forget who. Bernard has Jake Hesketh's body, only weaker. Credit to Everton, they've started the season well, but they're not too special. We can have a good day against them if we turn up. Goalkeeper's a total clown.

Absolute bottle job from Spurs. That's why they'll never win anything. No leaders. Still, good news about that "midfield general" they signed to shore up things...

Should've been years ago. Our fabled youth development has been in total disrepair since Georges Prost left.

Defensively horrific at times, but we were actually pretty decent with the ball for large periods. I wasn't on board with the Walcott signing - and his pace has definitely fallen off - but credit to him: he got better and better as the game wore on. A well deserved point - could've been more if Bednarek in particular had put in a semi competent shift at the back. Lampard won't last Christmas. Can't organise a defence to save his life. He's a shit Kevin Keegan. Good game. Well worth the zero pounds I paid for it.

So naive. Vestergaard caught upfield - obviously the counter was on. We had two or three chances to foul and take a booking for the team but no-one reacted at all. Ridiculous defending.

At least those Bednarek to Chelsea rumours can be put to bed now. Done like a kipper. Might have to get Diallo into the action early - we've got no mobility in the central areas whatsoever. Chelsea are all over us. Might have been different if Adams hadn't missed his customary sitter, but I'm told we shouldn't expect any better from a £15m striker.

Jack Bycroft played for England u19s last year. Out on loan at Weymouth this season.

Worth a gamble at that price, sure. But given that he's a husk of the goalkeeper he was before fracturing his ankle and his confidence is shot to shit, they'll be taking on a big wage for potentially damaged, unusable goods - which is unlikely be viewed as a great deal.

They're setting the ground work for normalising charging you for a Sky/BT subscription and moving all the meaningful games to PPV once the pandemic has passed. This is the future.

Could've fooled me with the way he's half-heartedly ambled around for Everton. He's 31 and playing out time in his career. If Ings got injured, I'd certainly back him to be more effective in that role than the three other goal-shy strikers we've got on our books who I doubt will score 5+ all season. But it's not a move that makes much sense in relation to the manager's aggressive, high press against the ball - Walcott is perhaps the most namby-pamby, after-you-Claude, ducking-out-of-challenges player I've ever seen. Hey ho. Underwhelming, but what can you do?

Five years ago. Signing has beens doesn't tend to work out well.

Where the fuck did that come from? Romeu upping his game now he's got stronger competition than Will Nothingbone? We needed that.

He's never been unlucky. He's a terrible finisher.

Twitter thinks we're in for Walcott. Surely not. Well on the downslope of his career.

Really weak defender. I mean, that's where he'll end up if he's to have any kind of career - he doesn't have the skills to be a top class winger. But as things stand, he's in limbo: not good enough to get a game as an attacker or a defender. Poch thought he could "Danny Rose" him and turn a mediocre winger into an attacking full back, but Mourinho seems unconvinced that's even possible. Sessegnon's got to fancy the physical challenge of defending first of all, which he absolutely doesn't. He plays like he doesn't believe he belongs there. I don't see what he'd bring to us. He wouldn't make the first XI. He wouldn't be first reserve for any of the wing positions. And he's nowhere near being a PL quality left back. So what's the point?

He's skint. Personally $450m in the hole. Think about that: the guy in charge of the largest nuclear arsenal in the world is effectively owned by whoever owns his debt. Reassuring...

It's true to a degree - he ruptured his Achillies right at the very end of 18/19, and would've probably missed all of last season if lockdown hadn't happened. "Never been the same" is a bit premature; he's only made three starts since the injury and hasn't completed 90 minutes yet. It's a long way back from the injury he had - that's primarily why Chelsea want to loan him out: he needs game-time and lots of it, and they can't afford to give him the minutes here and there when they're under pressure to win every week. I don't think it would be a good loan on a few grounds. Regardless of the serious injury he's slowly coming back from, he's had a poor fitness record all his career. Mainly, though, I just can't picture him fitting into Hasenhuttl's tactics as he doesn't work off the ball. He's a stroller. Would be an odd gamble.

If we got them both, that would certainly give the squad some depth and options. But if it only had to be one, Diallo is the crucial deal. I'm a big fan of RLC, but he can't play as a six. Doubful he can play as an 8 in a midfield two. Silky skills, but he's got no engine and a pretty unconvincing workrate out of possession. As an alternative to Armstrong, he could work. Diallo - or a player of his ilk - fills a role where we're desperately short.

But no Salisu...

Tella's not even quick, from all I've seen. Looks a long way short of being even a lower league player at present.