qwertyell

Pretty inept all round. An amateurish shambles in the first half, and then, after we'd looked bright for 15 minutes of the second half, Hughes killed all momentum with his substitutions. We barely touched the ball afterwards. At least Ings got something out of the game: a goal, and Pickford making the first incisions on getting his tramp stamp removed. I really don't know where we are - more worryingly, I don't think Hughes does either. I suspect it's going to be another bleak season of struggle. Not many early promising signs. Sent from my F3311 using Tapatalk

Be fair - he did take us from 17th to 17th. It was a statue-worthy achievement that surely no mere human could've pulled off. Those 2 wins in 8 games were fully deserving of a 3 year contract. Probably longer. A lifetime appointment, perhaps. He single handedly SAVED us from finishing in any other position than the one we were already in. (I'd have thanked him for his bare-minimum service and brought in a proper manager in the summer, but the majority view here seems to be that Mark Hughes is pretty much as good as it gets for a club of our standing and ambition. So, I guess we should strap ourselves in and enjoy the ride/death spiral.) Sent from my F3311 using Tapatalk

Not sure he's got the mobility for midfield, from what I've seen. Sent from my F3311 using Tapatalk

Hughes has been in charge for 11 games. Hoedt has started and completed 90 minutes in all 11. If that's not the definition of a guaranteed starter, what the hell is? Sent from my F3311 using Tapatalk

"Guaranteed starters" McCarthy Cedric Bertrand Hoedt Romeu Austin (Based on Hughes's 11 games in charge) Sent from my F3311 using Tapatalk

Gallagher didn't make the final 18, but he was definitely involved with the match day squad - there's pictures of him on their pre-match walkabout. Didn't see Long. I'd find it hard to believe Yoshi would get all Billy big potatoes, but he's the only member of the squad who returned from the WC with an improved reputation (a la Fonte). Does Bednarek, having played all three games at the WC, now think he's a bit more important than the guy who spent three quarters of last season playing for the u23s? Obviously the most believable malcontent would be Cedric, having been mysteriously absent all preseason and one of our few saleable assets. Sent from my F3311 using Tapatalk

Charlie "guaranteed goals" Austin has featured in 10 of Hughes's 11 games in charge (7 X starts). Charlie "15-20 goals per season if he can stay fit" Austin has scored one in his last ten games - as a sub. Extremely limited tap in merchants aren't much use in a struggling side that doesn't create many tap ins. He literally contributes nothing else. Sent from my F3311 using Tapatalk

I thought he was excellent - Leicester's best player in the first half. I assume the only reason he was subbed after an hour is because he's way behind in match fitness having joined Leicester a month ago with his knee still in a brace after surgery. He certainly didn't deserve to come off while the appalling Iheanacho played the 90 minutes. Sent from my F3311 using Tapatalk

Leicester look very handy. No negative Puel-ball. An equaliser wouldn't be undeserved. Sent from my F3311 using Tapatalk

Are we actually spending a club record £20m next summer on a guy with breadstick knees, who will only have one year left on his contract? When we could only sell Clyne to Liverpool for £10m because he only had one year left on his contract? When we could only sell Wanyama for £10m because he only had one year left on his contract? Are we honestly spending full whack on a player who has scored 3 goals in 3 years, going into the final year of his contract? Wow. Just when you think Saints couldn't possibly do worse business, they keep on surprising you. I mean, it's not like I'm paying for it, so I suppose I shouldn't care. But the knock on effect of splurging a huge chunk of next summer's transfer budget on Danny fricking Ings is likely to hamper attempts to strengthen an already weak squad. Wonder if that means our first signing in the Championship could technically be a £20m striker. A sign of intent, I guess... Good luck to Ings. Hope it all works out. I think it's a terrible panic move - Liverpool fans say his pace has been badly affected by his knee injuries, and that was pretty much his main asset. But, hey, it might be a ranging success. Anything's possible, I suppose. Sent from my F3311 using Tapatalk

Newcastle predictably couldn't get a work permit for him. Suggests our alleged interest wasn't ever realistic. Sent from my F3311 using Tapatalk

Classic FM tactic. But does Reed have Adaptability of >15? Glad we're not running the club like a bunch of virgins playing on their dad's computer. Sent from my F3311 using Tapatalk

It isn't the going rate, that just happens to be his release clause (everyone in Spain has one, some more unreasonably priced than others). As Bilbao know Chelsea are in no position to negotiate due to the urgency of the situation, it's simply a case of paying the full whack or missing out. Sent from my F3311 using Tapatalk

Interested to see how things play out this week for a bunch of talented youngsters who CDAJFU but are likely to be frozen out this season at their bigger clubs: Loftus-Cheek, Tammy Abraham, Kurt Zouma, Patrick Roberts. It'd be nice to think we're at least "monitoring" these things... Sent from my F3311 using Tapatalk

Shocking from McCarthy. Speculative effort from 30 yards straight through his hands. Second goal he's conceded this week that was his fault. If signing Gunn was to put pressure on McCarthy to maintain his standards, the early signs suggest he's not coping very well. Sent from my F3311 using Tapatalk

That was easy. Back three caught square, not for the first time. Bendarek easily outpaced and the cross for a tap in from Hermann who also easily left Hoedt for dead. I'd call them worrying signs, but we've been staring at them dumbfounded for a year and still seemingly have no clue how to address them. Maybe five at the back isn't enough. Perhaps six, or seven... Sent from my F3311 using Tapatalk

I just hope Shane Long isn't starting again. He's played a worrying amount in pre season for a team not trying to get relegated. If Hughes sees him as a starter, we're in for a shocker of a season. Sent from my F3311 using Tapatalk

Good thing we don't play with wingers and most of our players can't go quicker than walking pace then... Sent from my F3311 using Tapatalk

Ziyech watch: he's handed in a transfer request and Tadic has been given his squad number... Sent from my F3311 using Tapatalk

From what I've seen previously, he's not spectacular, but he's extremely competent: he saves the ones you'd expect your keeper to save, and does everything calmly, without much fuss. Reminds me a little of Van Der Sar. Very reliable. He won't let us down - and who knows how good he might become in time. You could argue, with cash being tight, that we had greater priorities to address than goalkeeper this summer, but long term I think Gunn will prove a cracking investment. Sent from my F3311 using Tapatalk

Has he massively underperformed, though? He's 22. Having your breakout season at 22 after a couple of up and down years learning the ropes isn't exactly uncommon in even the very best players' career histories. I think Palace - or whoever gets him - will be picking up a gem. It might not work out, of course; no transfer is ever a certain success. But a Schalke fan told me he'd been offered to us and we'd turned him down, so I'm definitely interested in seeing how this one plays out. Sent from my F3311 using Tapatalk

Nothing like Ravel Morrison. Meyer's commitment and professionalism have never been in doubt - it says something that Schalke kept selecting him in a key role all season in spite of knowing he was leaving at the end of it; and he had he best ever season, helping his team to second in the Bundesliga. His "bad attitude", as far as I can tell, is that old school Mattheus, Moeller, Effenberg, Kahn attitude of thinking extremely highly of himself and not being shy about vocalising his opinion to teammates and staff. Perhaps in modern day, right on Germany that's no longer seen as such a good thing, but it was certainly embraced in the past. I'm sure his reputation has not been helped by seemingly having a toxic agent farming him around aggressively with ridiculous demands, making few friends along the way, but there's a super player, just 22, capped 4 times by the national team, to be picked up by someone willing to take a chance. He'll be sold for a big fee at some point in his career. I remember him absolutely running rings around his England u21 counterpart in the Euros two years ago. The comparison in quality was stark. But, you know, he's quite good at corners and did well with his GCSEs, so I guess we're lucky to have him... Sent from my F3311 using Tapatalk

Jesus, are we still playing the "if Austin stays fit" bargaining game? He hasn't started more than 14 games in a season for 4 years. At 29, he's not getting fitter - in fact he looks slower and more out of shape than ever. Sent from my F3311 using Tapatalk

So, conceding every match, creating nothing from open play, having no midfield, and utterly reliant on set pieces? Cool. Sent from my F3311 using Tapatalk

As opposed to not even being named in the 25 man squad of a Premier League side? Sent from my F3311 using Tapatalk