qwertyell

Have to assume Charles is in midfield, as there's no other natural CMs really. I'm guessing at a back five - Djenepo, Bree, Lyanco, Meghoma, Perraud. Charles, Armstrong in the midfield with, perhaps, A-A in the 10. Adams and Mara up front. 5-3-2. Doesn't look ideally balanced, but there we go. Edit: I forgot Martin is supposed to favour 3-4-2-1. So: Bree, Lyanco, Meghoma (he's taller than Perraud) as the back three? Midfield four of Djenepo, Charles, Armstrong, Perraud. Amo-Amayew and Mara in a two. Then Adams. Something like that. Maybe.

Watch as Spurs go lower.

Bella-Kotchap and Larios were back on the pitch training with the first team in the build up to Sheffied Wednesday. Perraud has been back longer. Ballard picked up a knock early in pre season but is fit again and has had a couple of run outs in U21 matches. Mara was a fitness doubt who only returned to training a day or two before Friday's game. Sulemana was ruled out in advance, with the manager saying: “I’ve not seen him on the training pitch very much, unfortunately. He went away with Ghana in the summer, played a bit of football so came back a little bit later, and he’s picked up a small injury. “It’s not a major one, but it would be madness to rush him back for the first game and compromise anything else. “He’s a young man with huge potential, and hopefully he’ll be involved very soon. He’s probably a week or two behind the others in terms of what his injury is.”

We were linked to Million Manhoef of Vitesse the other day. Left footed right winger. Leicester are also supposedly looking at him. Bit of a Marcus Edwards clone - low centre of gravity, pacy dribbler. No idea how many of our links are total bollocks, but his age, style and likely price feels like there could be something in it.

Would like us to turn all that possession into a second goal. Wednesday haven't offered anything yet, but if they go direct and physical I think they'll have some success against this lightweight line up. Apart from perhaps Bednarek, everyone else will get bullied. Played nicely so far, though. Look like a premier league team against a league one side, for some reason.

He was in the training photos on the OS on Tuesday.

But that's about how much we'll pocket after Chelsea have taken their enormous cut.

Million Manhoef. Left footed right winger. Vitesse. Son of an MMA guy - whatever that is. Less glittery wrestling.

Think he'll regret it more if he gets stuck in the Championship for the remainder of his career. If we don't go straight back up, who's coming in next summer with a big cheque for a 30 year old midfielder from a mediocre Championship side? It's probably now or never for him to move.

36 players have squad numbers. And although half a dozen are u21 players, you would expect the likes of Amo-Ameyaw, Doyle, Ballard, Dibling and Meghoma to see game time this season. I'm sure Saints want to bring in 3 or 4 new faces, but the squad is absolutely massive as it is. 7 or 8 or even more need to leave to get it down to a manageable number. Until there's more significant movement out, I wouldn't expect to see much in the way of incomings. We've got a whole month to address things. Frankly, it might take the January window as well to get to grips with the mess last season's incompetent squad building has left us with. Lavia and Salisu will go in the next few days. Livramento soon after. We're actively trying to get rid of Lyanco. Perraud doesn't look like he has a future here now Manning has arrived. Burnley will probably get Tella eventually. Ward-Prowse will find a suitor eventually. Onuachu is surplus to requirements. Adams has a year on his contract and isn't t signing an extension. And it'd be a surprise if no-one came in for Walker-Peters or Bella-Kotchap. That's 11 realistic outgoings. After a slow start, the final month of the window could be a real churn.

Swansea about to sign a big centre forward, Mykola Kukharevich. (Also a keeper and right back incoming). Perhaps the start of some movement one way or another? Whether it's relative to us is anyone's guess, but it'd be a surprise if Martin wasn't at least a little bit interested in a few former players.

Hamstring injury (tear?) at the end of last season at Forest. (Or "bottled it", if you're that way inclined). Was shown at the club before pre season even started, presumably rehabbing the injury, and featured in training pictures on the website during squad gym sessions once everyone was back. Hasn't been seen out on the pitch.

But would you take last season's Max Aarons over KWP? Because Norwich fans think he's been bang average for a long time and hasn't developed into anything like the player he was hyped up to become. I wouldn't disparage Walker-Peters' worth for not "lighting up" the PL for one season in which everyone was poor (having previously been one of our leading lights), in comparison to someone who didn't light up the Championship and has never done well in the PL.

The quality of the managers isn't relevent to anything. Do you - presumably an actual grown up - genuinely believe that Chris Hughton called up Salisu for an important international game, trained with him for a few days when he travelled all the way out to Ghana to join the squad, decided along with the national team's medical department that Salisu, his starting centre back, was fit as fiddle, but then elected to send him home anyway and concoct a lie to tell the media about him being injured? Why would he do that? Have there been "internet rumours" about the integrity of one of the most respected individuals in the English game?

I suppose there's two schools of thought. Either Chris Hughton (his international manager), Ruben Selles (his club manager), and Salisu himself were telling the truth when they stated that he was injured (based on the substance of either working with him or actually being him). Or some random internet nomarks have uncovered an inexplicable conspiracy of lies (based on some twitter innuendo). I wonder which of our other injuries over the course of the season weren't really injuries. Perhaps if I blocked out the microwaves with a tinfoil hat the answers would present themselves.

By being injured?

https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/vinzenz-zschock/profil/spieler/455428

I think he comes across well, seems to have his head on straight. The transfer movement in and out isn't really in his control - seems like it's probably going to be a bit messy as to who stays, who goes, and who comes in right up until the end of the window. Such is the market and the consequences of getting relegated with an enormous squad of overpriced ballast. Personally, I'm suspicious of "philosophy" managers, who seem more obsessed with the purity of their vision than actually winning football matches. What if the squad we end up with can't - as is the case presently - pass out from the back under pressure? Do we just barrel on regardless, conceding ridiculously self-inflicted goals because the manager knows no other way, and shrug it off as the cost of playing "the right way"? What if "the right way" only gets us to mid-table? Is it still the right way? Time will tell if Martin is able to compromise, which I suspect he'll have to do at points if he wants to make it to Christmas.

Don't believe he's training out on the pitch yet after a serious hamstring twang at the end of the season.

I did think it was a weird link, as Fulham are supposedly looking for a ball playing centre back. Which, with all due respect, I'm not sure anyone would describe Salisu as even on his best day.

He was training with the first team squad during the first couple of weeks of pre season. Would almost certainly have played a role in the friendlies, given Doyle, Meghoma, Amo-Ameyaw and Dibling have. Sounds like it's just a minor knock and he'll be available soon.

Wasn't a "howler" per se, but his positioning on the first goal left a lot to be desired. Watch the replay from the behind the goal. It's something he does too much of: leaving the attacker about 2/3rds of the net to aim at because he's lost his bearings.

Started (going by the pictures on the official site) training out on the pitch with the first team squad this week, having previously been rehabbing in the gym.

That reminds me - bin bag needs changing.

No we won't. Norwich were quoting £30m+ last season for Aarons.