Dusic

Interesting comment in here from Burnley's new Chairman... https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-9107001/They-big-ambitions-transforming-club-ALK-Capital-bought-Burnley.html The academy is fundamental. 'This should be an aspirational place,' says Pace. 'We need to try to become the home of English players coming through up here. Look at Southampton, we have a tremendous amount of respect for what they did with their academy. Yet over the last five years, under the current owner, they have destroyed that. -------- Wonder if the above is now largely the prevailing view? Barely any representation amongst Eng youth squads and very poor results would suggest its not far off being true.

If we can stay in the top 10 by the end of Jan then hopefully we have a good chance of a top 10 finish come the end of the season. Need to get Ings firing again and get a big of luck with injuries and suspensions (KWP most at risk).

Thiago will probably start, and he improves them massively, especially against a pressing team.

Ah, fair enough. In that case, hopefully he can avoid another but seems fairly unlikely with three tough games to come. Hopefully we get Williams in early Jan rather than having to play Stephens out of position (assuming Valery is totally out of the picture as it appears).

Would be good for KWP to pick up a yellow so his suspension is for the Cup game that he would surely be rested for anyway. Lineup wise, Armstrong for Djenepo. Would be good to see Redmond available on the bench.

I hope they are ultra careful with Ings rather than try to rush him back too soon, even if from the bench. He has had an operation and a separate injury all within 2 months, and we shouldnt have tried to make him play 3 games in a week, and had a lucky escape that its seemingly not too bad this time. With the FA cup weekend thrown in, hopefully he doesnt play many mins til after that.

Also the standard of the B team is awful - he probably gets more of a workout training and building a rapport with the actual players he will be playing with, rather than the future stars of Woking and Eastbourne Borough.

Moyes probably holding Antonio back for the game on Tuesday. Not seen any quotes from Ralph to auggest Ings or Redmond will be available. Not expecting them til after the Cup game.

Maybe he felt that with the pen denied and two goals ruled out that it just wasn't our day and was happy in the very end to take the point. From his position, when you look at the bench there isnt a huge amount of quality to bring on, and I'm sure Djenepo will end up starting vs WHU and Liverpool with Long benched and Walcott moved up front. So he also has to manage that. End of the day, we got a draw, were the better team second half and but for inches may have won even when not playing well. Hardly a disaster, and I felt Fulham were not a terrible side overall.

Fair enough score. Unlucky with the Adams offside, but not Long's as most of his runs leave him offside. Didnt play our best of course and missing key players, so a point hardly a disaster.

Personally feel it would be stupid not to sign a fullback. We are having our best season for ages but if one full back gets injuted or suspended then it gives us a major issue, let alone if both were missing at the same time. Would imagine lots of good and getable players would be keen to join, so might as well use that to our advantage.

Don't see why people are talking about player for the '10' when we have four good ones competing for two places. Full back and GK are surely the areas being looked at by the club, probably as part of a longer term plan.

Guessing it will be: McCarthy KWP, Bednarek, Salisu, Bertrand JWP, Diallo Armstrong, Djenepo Walcott, Adams Decent enough lineup but will be very little quality available from the bench.

Just got round to listening to the Lambert episode. Fantastic.

Its a fair question to ask why Ings has played so many mins having just come back from injury. Quite likely that he will miss more games with this one than he did with the knee injury, due to the amount of fixtures. Lets hope it a minor one and he is back sometime in January.

Stating the obvious but interesting to see that even with 9 subs neither Vokins nor Valery featured. Definitely need reinforcement in this area. Bertrand has looked jaded in the last two games and KWP in his first season of playing every game.

Armstrong gives the ball away a lot compared to Redmond, Walcott and Djenepo, who are all better in possession, but he plays a high risk, high reward game. At home he is usually better and has a good goal return, so I would keep him in for this.

Or...Brandon, one injury and you are a starter every week for a top 10 PL side, learning from a good Manager.

Also shows how hard it is to effectively learn your trade in the PL. He probably needs a loan move to play 90mins every week and find some form. He is obviously a talent, but needs game time and we can't give him that. Should start every B team game at the very least, but the fact those are now often weekend means he can't then be on the bench for the first team.

Quality performance. Arsenal and City to come with no pressure or fear.

Slattery went off injured in the last game.

Care to expand?

I thought the same from listening to that. Ultimately Ings is irreplaceable for a club our size, Bertrand less so, although a replacement would come at considerable cost seeing as Bertrand would leave for free.

Again, why would he sign a new contract in January and then push to (and be allowed) to leave in the summer, just months later? What is the point of that, from either side?

Respectfully disagree. From Saints perspective, I am sure if they get him to sign a new deal, and the fanfare that will go with it, they would see him staying for at least two more years. Can you imagine the fan reaction if we sold him 6 months after heralding him signing an extension? From Ings perspective, if he wants to leave then why sign a new contract as it will 1.) Make a summer move more difficult as his price would go up. If a club would want him in the summer they would want him now and would be telling his agent not to sign as it would then make it much harder and more expensive to buy him in the summer. If he genuinely wants to go elsewhere then him signing a new contract is a stupid way to make that happen. 2.) Would make him out to be a bit fake when he then decided to leave just months after taking the acclaim for staying. His long term rep here would be ruined, and would be worse than if he didn't sign a deal at all IMO.