Chez

not massively impressed to be honest.

Would be fantastic, but seems unrealistic.

You can add Asprilla to that list. If we had the money and the prices weren't so high, him and Carvalho were my preferences. Not sure our front three are terribly scary. However, in THB, Downes, Sugawara and Fernandez, maybe we have bought genuine premiership quality.

Just to provide a little more detail, he played RB in one game and CB two games, all the other games it was in central midfield. He was in and out of the side, with four consecutive starts the longest run. I don't think he is particularly hard done by on here. His performances have been assessed in comparison with other first teamers. There are certainly questions about the fee and what else it could have been spent on - Winks being some people's preference. He has then been given some leeway as he is very young and still learning. Compared to Sulemana, who is absolutely slated on here, he got off lightly. I agree with you that it's a good move for everyone.

I'm a little less enthused than some other posters. When he played, always as a holding defensive midfielder, I didn't think he did a great job of providing a shield in front of the back four. He still needs to learn the actual role. I also felt he was too passive and a little too casual too. He has the ability, but he did things in slightly slow motion. Rather than looking like a class above with time to spare, he looked a bit laboured. I felt he just needed to be a bit sharper and a bit busier. He has the attributes to be a good player, but he wasn't actually 'great' in the championship last season. I felt by the end of the season the manager couldn't trust him to be that DM he needed. Time is very much on his side though. Get a slight improvement and you have got yourself a good signing there. Best of luck for season. Beat the skates.

the links to players are pretty light on here and usually create a fun discussion. maybe you should just knock twitter on the head?

do you think he will get 10+ goals? He was brimming with confidence at the end of last season, so I'm hopeful, but you could say the same when he first joined I suppose.

he plays like Lallana did. smooth with the ball, but he lacks a yard of pace. not easy to go past players without that. hes got the ball skills though. can't see us paying £25m for him, but you never know these days.

Interesting that he has been on the bench in their first two games behind Timon Wellenreuther.

I know this won't go down well, but is there a chance that we actually sign a backup keeper to McCarthy - just so that we have three keepers - rather than a new number 1?

Purple? Strange, it looks green to me. Anyho, if you are seeing purple hands you must have Reynaud's disease. So its' either Clemont's keeper Joan Reynauld or its the Forest Green Rovers keeper, Thomas Lewis, who suffers from the condition.

Green hand means inexperienced, so a young keeper perhaps. It's used especially to describe inexperienced crew members on 19th century whalers. Wales keepers Hennessy, Ward or maybe Tom King from Wolves perhaps? But Green Hand is also a book by Nicola Claveloux. Nicola(s) is obviously Thibaut Courtois's middle name, so he might be a very ambitious target. Hmm. There is a book of the same name by George Cupples, so my guess is Shamel George, the Livingstone keeper. I've got it, right? Hang on. It's not Etienne Green from Burnley or Robert Green coming out of retirement. No too obvious. No wait. It could be a keeper that wears (or has worn) a green jersey. That narrows it down a bit...

BBD Archer and AA is what we got with our budget.

I'm concerned about this signing. That is the one thing giving me hope. Wonder if we will create enough chances for him ourselves.

If course it is. I'm sure I could find it if I looked hard enough.

Cool. I must have missed that post. What was the photo clue of?

I am not trying to suggest you are a poor man's Alex Crook, but The Echo published the story that Mateus was coming on Saturday, didn't they? Anyho, keep up the 'great work'. Love and light...and all that bollocks.

Against us?

Carvalho, signed for £5m, pretty much failed to get a game for Liverpool and sold for £27.5m plus a sell on clause.

He played the first game, got absolutely zero service, did ok when he was rarely given the ball, and imo looked strong and sharp. He was then dropped. Very hard to come to any conclusions, but I thought he looked back to full fitness and there was the potential for him to do the same things as he did for us last time. Ipswich may have got a great deal there. With him and Delap coming in, they have upgraded. Let's see if they are more effective and get more goals than BBD and archer.

I know the money is different, but the Broja Archer comparison will be a good one this season and longer.

Possibly. But where does this figure come from? Is it a reputable source or one of those "player wages websites' that are about as accurate as an [insert to your own player and attribute]?

The side was dire. Not sure JWP was. Might even have been his best season for us. Lavia was great when fit, but I thought JWP was probably our best player that season (not saying much I know). maybe my mind is playing tricks on me. He's not a world beater though. There are limits to his game.

big clubs earning an absolute fortune from their failures and cast offs really pisses me off. They have every angle covered.

when Chelsea get it right on the pitch, could all this off pitch shenanigans start to look like the work of genius? Essentially they are signing lots and lots of bloody brilliant young players and doing so in a way that gets around financial regulations. Seems smart to me. They are creating a squad of tremendous talent and potential, which gives them a chance to back to the very top of the tree, where they once were. The long contracts ensure talent stays with the club, and in the future those players may potentially be on wages less than they might get if they signed contracts every few years. I'm not really sure how having 15 attacking central midfielders fits into this overall strategy, but someone at the club must know. Obviously, if they don't get it right on the pitch, it just looks bat-shit crazy.