Dusic

Burnley always seem to get into a difficult position and then have a run where they win 3 from 4 so Im not totally writing them off just yet. Newcastle will improve as they will sign good players so I think they will stay up comfortably enough in the end. One of Leeds, Everton, Saints, Palace, Villa, Brentford coukd possibly be dragged into it but would need a second half of the season like ours last year plus one of the current bottom four to have a great run, so seems unlikely.

Couple of points: 1. Chelsea will not be signing Digne for 40m and probably not on any permanent deal 2. Patterson may end up being a good signing for Everton and at the kind of money being mentioned its a relatively low fee for a rich club so they won't mind paying that if he does well NB - no disagreement here that Livramento top value, but he is probably the exception rather than the rule.

James Hill would be exactly the type of signing we should make in January. We aren't going to sign anyone who will improve our starting XI within our budget, and we have a pretty deep squad with few injuries and at this stage are not in pannic mode and about where we should be given squad quality & investment. A player like Hill is very highly rated, could be loaned back to Fleetwood to join for pre season. If our scouts rate him and the fee is right then its a no brainer. As an aside BHA just about to sign a Poland Intl midfielder (18) for £8m and leave him where he is for now - those kind of fees are chicken feed/gamble money and Hill would be a lot less.

Probably waiting for a double unveiling of our new NFT fan engagement token.

They can easily say that some/all of those are not over the effects of covid. I don't think they will be rushing them back somehow. Given we would likely be missing three of our usual back four anyway it wouldnt be a total disaster if it gets the chop.

Must be a very small chance of this game going ahead I would imagine as obviously the PL decided the Everton game couldnt go ahead and rightly or wrongly I don't see how the situation will be different by Sunday and NUFC clearly better off were it to be postponed. Probably get a confirmation today/tomorrow of it being off.

Newcastle have 4 (four) covid cases apparently.

Tenacious, tidy on the ball and good cross. Just not as dynamic as Livramento or as silky as KWP.

If Livramento doesnt make it then I guess he would give Valery another start rather than Diallo playing there. Newcastle will be gagging to get games rearranged but hopefully the PL stand firm.

West Ham boss David Moyes has revealed that striker Michail Antonio is not featuring tonight after testing positive for Covid-19. "He tested positive last week, about a week ago so we're getting him closer to being back, but he is not here tonight," Moyes told Sky Sports.

The club has been very clear they want to buy talented young players, develop them and sell them for more than what we paid. Talented young players cost money, and I highly doubt this lad would go for £20m anyway but it would be a signing that is exactly in line with our model.

Why not? Its basically our stated business model.

Broja definitely our best striker and looks like he could have a great career. Not too many players who are 6'3, fast, strong and with good finishing. No chance we could afford him but possibly could loan him again although I think he would be a good option off the bench for Chelsea. Excellent signing from Saints to be fair.

Disagree with this. Its not terrible. It is a bottom third squad, for a team with a bottom third budget. Stronger in some areas than others. A few proven PL players and lots that are not. A lack of match winners as we can't afford them.

I have been pro Ralph for a long time but starting to waver slightly, for 3 main reasons: 1. After 3 years, sometimes players just need an alternative approach to keep them on their toes. 2. Our worrying pattern of being absolutely awful in most second halves - ultimately this is where the majority of games are decided, especially as a team that doesnt score many goals. 3. Strange selections, like not starting Lyanco today after a very good game vs Brighton. Dropping Adams a few times when in good form. That said, generally our biggest problem is not scoring enough goals when we are on top in games and I dont see how he is to blame for that. Ultimately, in attacknwe have #10s with no real history of scoring many goals and no proven PL strikers. Its no coincidence that our best spell under Ralph came when Ings was on fire and obviously we couldnt keep him and then replaced him with an inferior player who will need a season to find his feet at this level. One thing is for sure, any Manager to were to come in would face exactly the same challenges as Ralph: 1. Leading a club with no ability to spend more than we receive in transfer fees. 2. A lack of really good PL level players, plus a selling policy of any that do train on with less proven replacements signed 3. Unproven strikers 4. A PL that is ever richer with more clubs provided with serious investment. We probably have a realistic ceiling of about 12th/13th in the PL.

Why is Harry Lewis, aged 23 even at the club if they need to sign another goalkeeper so he doesn't have to play on the only occassion he is actually required? He should have been let go years ago.

Lewis is absolute dross. When he gets released at the end of the season he will struggle to find a club in the EFL. If McCarthy and Forster are out for all of December we are in big trouble and hopefully would look at a free agent.

Interesting snippet posted over on ldsports.com

Plus he said there was a seemingly good deal that was ruined by the pandemic.

Yes. No 10 is by far our weakest position, but he is the best of a bad/injury prone bunch.

To me it seems fairly obvious. No team can press well for 90mins and when you take away the high intensity we don't have much else. Pressing well requires everyone to function together, to move in sync and not leave large gaps when someone else has pushed forward. I think the longer the game goes, the harder it is to play this style and gaps open for the opponent where we aren't quite as sharp and also where they have gotten used to how we play and where the spaces are. In midfield Romeu often tires and isnt often replaced (no viable alternstive today) and we arent a team setup to keep possession for long periods. Aside from pressing we have little recognisable style and in the attacking third don't have the individual quality, and as the intensity drops we become a lot more basic. In addition, because we rarely kill games off in the first half the opponent nearly always raises their level, especially if they have been woeful like Norwich were.

As we have started to concede more soft goals I wonder if its time for a front sweeper who can defend all across the pitch and stop goals from going in? Romeu is too slow, Stephens too error prone and Lyanco too hyped. Seeing as he isnt playing much, I think Perraud could play this role well, as was once mooted for Frazer Richardson. ------------McCarthy------------- TL -------JB-------MS-------KWP <<<<<<<<<<Perraud>>>>>>>>> ----------JWP--------OR-------- ME-------------CA--------------AA

Maybe his contract situation has something to do with his minimal minutes?

When I look at the current PL table and the teams above us compared to Saints for squad quality and spending power I would conclude: - The current top 10 (Brighton aside) are on a different level and it would be a huge achievement to finish above one of those clubs over a league season. - Of the other 5 ahead of us Villa and Wolves have better squads and Palace invested a lot this summer. - Brentford & Watford have had some good results but will be bottom third of the table most likely. Conclusion: we are about where we should be given squad quality and spending power. To finish much higher we will need to be finiahing ahead of the likes of Villa, Wolves, Palace over a complete season which we may do, but certainly have no right to based on available playing and financial resources. Since our string of top half finishes we have become weaker whilst the depth of the PL has become stronger and more teams are able to spend big than has been the case before. Are fan expectations too high?

Given before today he hasnt missed a PL game since late 2018 I don't understand how you can make such a conclusion unless it is based upon literally 1 (one) game?