Chez

quite possibly. Not ideal though. Our model relies on making some serious money on the successful signings. I wonder if the club's experience with Salisu (getting a big offer early in his Saints career, but turning it down and then seeing his value plummet) will effect how they consider offers in the future (such as for Lavia). We shall see.

Not for me either on what I saw. Didn't lead the line terribly well, didn't come across as a powerhouse forward or a tricky skillfull forward either...totally one footed.

ABK is going nowhere in this window. Not a chance. Salisu is a different kettle of fish. Him not signing a new contract in the summer is a problem (one of many obviously). He's looking increasingly likely to walk on a free, which is gonna hurt financially having turned down a huge bid from Newcastle.

The News is clearly inundated with `agents' posing as journalists helping to bring the paper to its knees. Doing a damn fine job they are too. tin pot.

Absolutely perfect description. Like all good central midfielders he ha that `Scholes-like' ability to position his body so he can just slide out of trouble despite an opponent being all over him. I doubt Lyanco can do that, but we are getting so little out of Diallo, we may need to sacrifice some of that ability on the ball until Lavia returns.

what the actual law on the number of keepers you an field. Can we get away with playing two? Might be a cunning plan.

He works hard, but positionally he ain't great. He does look to break the lines, which we badly need someone to do, but he can leave you a little exposed. We need to up the energy in that part of the pitch, so maybe a combination of him, JWP and Lyanco might be a solution of sorts.

You post made me think about David Luiz. Lyanco is very similar player. Flamboyant, great on the ball (for a CB), at times he looks fantastic when nipping in snd intercepting stuff, but equally his recklessness and diving in leaves the side badly exposed. I seem to recall Luiz looked pretty good when moved forward into that holding role, but some reason Chelsea always seemed to keen to move him back to CB where he just was not the answer. I don't like players playing out of position, but as with Pele many moons ago, needs must and it might be worth trying.

I think the last game I saw at the Cottage was when we had to suffer the fat bloke from Poole doing the square route of fuck all. Horrible display. Hoping for slightly better this time around, but not by much.

My word. Amstrong and Aribo as a centre midfield pairing. Have you ever seen Aribo play?

it wasn't just going to a back five, we stopped trying to go toe-to-toe in terms of attractive passing football with teams better than us, we also smashed long down the channels for Shane to chase, turning sides around and getting us up the pitch. We kept things simple, didn't overplay and most importantly out-worked teams. Man City at our place was a case in point. It stopped the rot, but having got ur mojo back we didn't stick with it too long. Maybe it could work for us now, but simply having more defensive players won't be enough. There needs to be a mind shift and a huge change in attitude when it comes to working with and without the ball.

You make some good points, but every time we play five a the back we look terrible IMO. We get overloaded out wide, leave gaps behind the wingbacks, have CBs going out into wide areas where they look uncomfortable and in general players just seem lost. Like you say though, the current system isn't working either. By the way, Larios isn't quick. His legs move quickly, but he's not quick.

our press is pretty much non existent. It's so easy to beat. Two or three passes and Brighton got between the lines. It happened from minute one. We just don't seem to know what we are doing or have players able/willing/fit enough to get tight enough to make an impact.

JWP can't keep up with March. No surprise there. It's always been his achilles heal; slow to cover the ground. However, for me it's Aribo that fucks us. If he comes out and attacks the ball and makes a challenge rather than just standing there watching, the third goal possibly doesn't happen. I agree with you though. If we are to turn things around we need more bite, more physicality, more pressure on the ball, more intensity - especially in midfield and players like Diallo just do not cut it. We need a Kalvin Phillips type that is going to make life difficult for opponents and the rest of the side to follow his lead. Diallo, Aribo, Ely and JWP (and others) just do not get close enough for opponents to force them into making mistakes. That has to change otherwise we will be chasing shadows and games until we go down. We desperately need more quality in midfield and throughout the side, but adding that quality is tough, takes a lot of money and time. Obviously we should look to do that, but in the mean time upping the work rate and defensive intensity is a good place to start with the current players.

we were linked with him back in 2020. If we have the same scouts, then the interest (and research) will still be there. His contract expires in the summer, so decent shout. Could happen.

KWP, Perraud and Lynco are all 25, CC is 26. We don't have a particularly young or inexperienced defence. With a 33 year old and a 41 year old, we were always going to bring in a young keeper. The problem was, it was highly likely the new signing would be first choice as the other two options were not ideal. I wasn't overly concerned about his age, it was more about whether he was really top class and good enough to be a Prem starter straight away.

always gives his all? Do me a fucking favour. He walks around the pitch. Laziest fucker I have ever seen. He has qualities, but effort certainly ain't one of them. If we are looking for some legs, athleticism and dynamism in the middle, then he's perhaps the worst option you could possibly list.

Shambles. He did pretty well at left back. Filled in nicely when we were desperate, but not sure over a longer period it would have worked out. Giving him a new deal based on those three or four games seemed madness to me, and to then just consider him a winger thereafter makes no sense to me.

One of the worst player assessments I think I have ever seen. How on earth did NJ come to that conclusion? If you are describing Diallo, then word you are looking for is `passive' or `lost'

maybe it wasn't a change of tactic, it was just having shitter players, unable to keep and dominate possession that has lead to the ball being played longer more often.

We only have one loan player, don't we?

we did sign some experienced players too in Aribo, Carleta-Car, AMN and Cabellero that were for the here and now. ABK had a fair few games under his belt too and could well have been for the here and now. Livia, Bazunu, Edozie, Larios and Mara were your promising youngsters. The problem is perhaps more that the existing players were not the best and none of the experienced guys coming in have really improved the first team.

he may have had faith in his own ability, but it took a great start to the season and world cup before the big clubs did. Fair play to us and Leeds for trying in the summer. When Man United failed to come in for him, he might just have taken the next best option. Would have been brilliant to have got that boost of new talent. Wasn't to be.

For me, a major concern, was that after about five or ten minutes of being run ragged and our `press' completely dismantled, we didn't seem to (be able to) adjust to nullify that domination. Brighton continued to play it out from the back with total ease. I didn't see any change to our tactic or position of players. Maybe NJ wanted to give it a little more time, but going forward we are going to need to adjust quicker when opponents are on top.

Immediately below your post is a post chastising Jones' selection of Djenepo (amongst others), a guy that has done almost nothing since he came here, yet Ralph gave a new three year contract - a perfect example of the kind of decisions that have got us where we are today.