qwertyell

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

As things stand today we definitely haven't. We could sign the 2-3 players the manager says we need. They could be absolutely cracking deals, taking the football world by surprise with their ambition and audacity. Anything could happen in hypothetical land. But the trend at the club in the last few years suggests it probably won't.

Really? Selling one of only three senior midfielders and not having any other credible options in the squad for the entire season isn't a shambles? We're one injury, suspension or loss of form away from playing Will Smallbone every week. In midfield. In men's football. In the Premier League. Will fucking Smallbone.

He had a terrible game, yes (along with Armstrong). But Djenepo was probably our best player against Spurs the previous week.

Then you've never seen Davies play. He's got no pace at all. He's Prowse of five years ago (sideways and backwards passing, can't tackle, feeble, completely ineffective) without the set piece ability. I can't think why we would have any interest in him. Everton fans who watch him week in and week out would drive him down here themselves.

Choudhury at least has some of the attributes we can use: good engine, workrate, and a physical (sometimes too physical) ball winner. He'd be Romeu with legs. And hair. Davies is just nothing. Doesn't defend or attack. Stealing a living.

Adams is bang average. And not in a particularly useful way like Brett Ormerod or Paul Rideout. And he's not some youngster who's "guaranteed to improve". He turns 25 this season. Heavy touch, no pace, doesn't score. Not a great combination for a striker. The amount of love he's getting for winning a few tussles in the centre circle is just weird - like all those people praising Shane Long for his hustle as he goes another 30 games without scoring... If Ings gets injured, we're absolutely screwed. None of our other forwards will score 5+.

Bank the points - but that was one of the poorest quality games I've seen. Both sides made controlling the ball look like an entirely foreign concept to them. I lost track of all the heavy touches, misplaced passes and farcically overhit simple through balls. The main culprits for us were Djenepo and Armstrong, who were absolutely hopeless in everything they did. They played like the ball was a live grenade and their boots were on the wrong feet. I remain mystified as to the appeal of Adams. He doesn't score, has got the touch of a baby elephant, and was easily outpaced by Burnley's not particularly quick centre back when he finally seemed to have the run on him. Is he really the best we can do? Vestergaard was the MoM. We desperately needed his aerial strength - especially as McCarthy lost his bearings and flapped uncomfortably at numerous crosses. Anyone who finishes below us and Burnley will go down.

McCarthy... Fucking hell.

Shocking low quality game - fortunately for us Burnley have got a few more carthorses that we have. Going to need that second. There's no way they won't shithouse a goal from somewhere. "Soft penalty" would be my guess. Armstrong and Djenepo haven't brought their feet tonight, but as we have no alternatives on the bench, we'll just have to hope they remember how to control the ball after the break. Hard to pick anyone that's playing well. Vestergaard's going all right, to be fair.

The guy who can't get in a rubbish Championship side? The guy who is so useless with the ball at his feet he managed to fracture his ankle kicking it? (And has never fully recovered from the injury). That guy? Butland's a write off. Even moreso than Forster.

Rudiger's been a shambles since a long term injury. Tomori would be a better loan. Right sided, pace to burn, would compliment Salisu and a high line perfectly. I think he was name-checked on here at the start of last season as someone the club were looking at (in loan, before Danso happened). He's supposedly available...

Could we really not compete with that? £1.5m to a team that finished 9th in a farmer's league and aren't in European competition. I appreciate Monaco's probably nicer at this time of year than Ocean Village, but still...

Oh dear. Davies is like early era Prowse: neat, slow, feeble sideways passer. And with no set pieces to redeem him. If we're signing him to rotate in here and there to give Prowse a rest, fair enough - he's better than Smallbone, hard as that is to imagine. If we think he's a starter in the 6, we're going down. Has no defensive attributes whatsoever.

Don't think much of Adams' quality, but he does a half decent job for the team in build up and workrate. Has no-one noticed Long's legs are going? Doesn't have the same pace of old and can't sustain haring around the pitch for even an hour anymore. It was a mistake to extend his contract - it'll be declining returns from here on in. And that's from a guy who's previous returns were about four goals a year.

Well, it's a link... Absolute bollocks, though. Unless the club have been keeping a "warchest" secret for months and actually we can throw around £30m on unproven youngsters willy nilly.

Our entire attack, minus Ings, won't manage 10 between them. Adams is as poor a finisher as Long. It's not bad luck. He's just substandard.

He's as shit a finisher as Shane Long. He's not unlucky at all. Had three sitters today. Hit two straight at the keeper and dithered and took too many touches to sort himself out to mess up the other. He's a lower league player. And probably will be again in a season or so one way or another. If Ings gets injured I'm not sure we'll muster 10 goals between all our attacking players this season.

"Che Adams has been playing well..." He's missed three great chances. Shot straight at the keeper twice; dithered and took too many touches on the third. Works hard, no quality in front of goal. Cost us badly.

Both a bit unlucky to be level, and a bit fortunate (that high line is a disaster waiting to happen, VAR won't keep saving us). Playing miles better than last week. Djenepo's been more lively than Redmond has been in months. Got a problem in CM now both Romeu and Prowse are on bookings. They couldn't foul again and that led to Spurs'equaliser. That and McCarthy being awful. One of them isn't going to last the 90. Good thing we've got no other midfielders in the squad...

Sims was at least a stand out player in the youth teams. As was Hesketh. The fact that they haven't been deemed good enough for this level yet we're promoting the likes of Tella and Smallbone, who only their mothers would have noticed in the u23s, is a troubling development. Only Obafemi, of their group, really caught the eye. And he's not exactly special - I doubt he'll be a PL player long term. Frankly, our youth development has been rotten since Prowse and co came through at once.

Get the same sinking feeling as when, early in Pellegrino's reign of rubbish, we got knocked out of the League cup at home to then-championship Wolves' second XI. This is going to be a rough season.

About right? He played about nine games. Before that he was a journeyman forever loaned out for unimpressive spells at championship clubs. With a year on his contract, he'd have left for sub £2m. His value has wildly inflated on the basis of not much more than a cameo.

RLC is a quality footballer, but he wouldn't suit us at all. He's a stroller out of possession. No great work rate or engine. Allied to a poor fitness record, I just can't see him being a Hasenhuttl player.

How? Absolute horseshit. If this isn't overturned... Total muppet "expert" referee saying it was a good decision, backing up his mate even though he was blatantly wrong. Thanks UEFA - making them look at the monitor has prevented another bout of total incompetence.