Chez

Fair point. If you saw that person in the street wearing said t-shirt, would it annoy you?

Agree fully with his post. Anything that annoys racists is fine by me. If it means they don't come to games, fine by me. If you don't like it - tough fucking luck. It's the players choice. If they feel it is too closely connected to BLM or is doing nothing for the cause of anti racism, they can stop at any time. They don't need to explain themselves, but it wouldn't be terribly hard to do so. Personally, I see taking the knee as nothing to do with the BLM organisation and everything to do with the message `black lives matter' and trying to draw attention to racism that still exists in our society. I do not know if this action works any better than the `kick racism out' t-shirts, but I am more than happy to see our club trying a different method.

its pretty tough for young kids coming through these days, in that they not only need to compete with the best of British, but the best from around the world. It's hardly surprising therefore that only the off player gets and stays in the first team. When a player does, we should celebrate them, and give our academy a big pat on the back (which by and large we do) so long as those players are genuinely improving us and not just filling a shirt (cheaply).

is there no way out of this without selling key players? Could we retain the ones we want, but just not spend any money at all for three years on any new signings. I am guessing not if the ones you want keep asking for pay rises or want to leave anyway.

not necessarily. Bertrand will want a pretty large wage and maybe a signing on fee. If we let him go and then signed another free contract, perhaps someone wanting less wages, Omar Richards for example, then that could save us money. Doing that though, is easier said than done and obviously might be detrimental of the quality of the side.

If we don't make any loan repayments until 2025, the debt would rise to £122m. I would assume we will be trying to reduce that figure over the next five years somehow, which means spending less than we bring in.

They were linked with Tripper, but his ban would prevent a move, you'd think. Solskjaer seems to rate Williams. Well, at least he has made positive remarks about him recently (maybe to boost his price, maybe to boost his confidence ahead of games in the busy period - and maybe because Tripper move is falling through) , but he clearly hasn't shined early season enough to claim the reserve left back role. Wan-Bisakka doesn't seem to get injured, meaning the right back cover doesn't get many games, so perhaps there isn't huge pressure to sign a right back right. If signing his depends on United signing a player ,then it is going to come down to the 11 hour.

So that would be five out of the starting 11. It happened a lot when we were struggling for money in the championship. 2013/14 season we had Shaw, Chambers, Lallana and JWP starting most weeks and Gallagher started a few games. Will be very hard to replicate that.

LeTiss, Shearer, Bridge, Saw, Bale, Lallana and JWP all got International caps whilst at Saints. I think you might be able to claim that you are `famous' on being capped, but obviously they gained even greater fame when moving to bigger sides. Bridge gave us 5 years and Lallana 8 years. Lallana signed a five year contract for us when dropping to the third tier when he could easily have moved to Wolves. We paid him handsomely to do so, but that signing paved the way to our path back to the top flight. He stayed certainly improved the side no matter how sour in ended when he moved to Liverpool.

Most of his Saints career was spent outside the Prem, so you could say he progressed and fulfilled his potential. He was a very good player (in a shite side), not a great player, yet he still played at the top league which is testament to his dedication and application. The transfer funds we got from his sales was important in our survival as a club. I think possibly we as thanks might owe him a debt of gratitude for making that move. I'd suggest he was another great youth system/academy success.

I'd argue that academy rejects are those of us that didn't get a professional contract.

Northern Echo's take is that Brandon Williams is now going nowhere https://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/sport/19000643.newcastle-end-interest-manchester-uniteds-brandon-williams/ with Fosu-Mensah instead departing and Williams becoming backup right back.

I've only watched Reading twice and to be honest I wasn't concentrating very hard. However, he was actually noticeable in those games because he beat people all ends up and that is something you don't see every day at most levels from fullbacks. He always seemed to want to get forward with the ball and dribbled a lot rather than seeing the ball as a hot potato - lots of confidence. I just watched a youtube video of a game agains Blackburn and he has a brilliant drag back and in that game he seemed to beat players all the time with his tricks. He certainly likes to dribble it out from the back and drive into space like KWP does. I am wondering if he is a converted winger. He looks good at that level. He wouldn't get away with as much at our level, but he has the first touch thats for sure. I don't know if he has the defensive capabilities.

Returning to the left back position, I see that Reading's Omar Richards (out of contract in the summer) is linked with Bayern Munich. Possibly agent drumming up interest from Prem sides/increasing Reading's wage offer, but he is an exciting player. Very skillful on the ball, lots if tricks and a decent crosser of the ball. He doesn't look lightning fast, which could be an issue when stepping up a level, but I would hope we have scouted him in recent weeks.

good timing that Valery got a run out in the last game I guess. Not saying he is the long term answer, but he can play one game without the world coming to an end.

Very hard to just write off £20m, but perhaps cutting losses quickly is a smart move with wages no doubt sizeable too.

I actually thought there was contact by KWP, but it wasn't enough to fell Mane, but having felt it, he then dived with arms thrown out. There is a slight delay between contact and him falling, a sure sign of a dive. My fear was VAR would just focus on the contact and ignore the fact it didn't cause him to fall over, that was all his own doing. Thankfully they either didn't think there was significant contact, or agreed with me that the only reason he ended up on the ground was because he dived.

it was a bad tackle. I've only seen it once, but definitely yellow, possibly red. Just the sort of tackle that Milner has avoided cards somehow his whole career.

Fair point, and just like you I will probably be bemoaning him when he does it, but often here aren't brilliant alternatives, so the ball will likely be turned over anyway. I would also say that its a lot easier to determine when to do it not do it from up in the stand/sofa.

Very interesting game against Leicester coming up. They are full of confidence, but won't dominate as much as Liverpool did second half. Getting the balance right between attack and defence is crucial. Not sure we have cracked that yet, but the Foxes game will be a better gauge.

I agree with this. Armstrong does lose the ball more often than say Prowse, but you have to have players willing to drive into open spaces. His willingness to push into even narrow spaces with the ball can be a real asset, it forces defenders to work hard and stay honest, he drags players to him which creates openings. Yes, often it leads to nothing, and it can look clumsy, but you have to take chances now and then otherwise everything is played out in front of back fours and we become predictable and easy to defend against. What's key here is how often he makes these runs yet still has energy to chase back. Theo is a similar type of player. It can be frustrating seeing these two seemingly trying to take one too many on, but there is room in our side for some direct runners that take chances. I see these players as brave. Perhaps not the time or place, but Lemina also showed some bravery when keeping the ball too long looking for someone to be open (which cost him and us in a couple of games). It is a fine line. Personally, I'd prefer to see us take these chances and get caught now and then if it means we are more dangerous and attacking side that is good to watch.

Terrific. Really pleased with the amount of composure we showed on the ball. It was backs against the wall in the second half, and we chucked everything in front of crosses and shot, but when the opportunity arose we put our foot on the ball and did our very best to keep it rather than hoof down the channels. KWP especially shows absolutely n fear on the ball. I thought he was outstanding. Brilliant effort from all players. Perfect timing for the FA cup game to help give one or two a rest, possibly.

Decent half for us with some good opportunities created and not too many against. Boy did we run around a lot, chasing everything hard. A bit headless chicken at times, but it worked. That massive effort worries me as we will tire and space will open up, but better us go for it from the get go than sit back and let them pick us apart in their own time. We need to use subs wisely in the second half, not helped by a lack of experience on the bench. I missed the build up. Where is Adams and Romeu?

some of his basics, like controlling a pass, and passing to a team mate ,have bene horrible in recent games. Like someone that has not played in months. You have to get those basics right. I am a little surprised Redmond has not replaced in (maybe he will tonight) because of that. Good that Ralf is giving him a run of games, but he needs to repay his faith with better play. He is certainly more of a team player, getting back behind the ball etc. and making challenges (all be it most leading to fouls) but I'm not sure he is any less predictable. Just none of his dribbles have created a lot in recent times. I think Bertrand struggles to read him or know when to overlap. I don't think he trusts him no to lose the ball and therefore is more reserved with his overlapping. He perhaps needs more space to work, which you get in the last embers of a game.

I've probably missed lots, but just as a guide: Born (school year) 1992/93 Oxlaide-Chamberlain, Isgrove, (let Mings go) 1993/4 Cropper, Stephens (bought for £150k aged 17) 1994/5 Ward Prowse, Gape, Shaw, Chambers, Reed, McQueen 1995/96 Gallagher, Targett, Hesketh, Flannigan, Seager, McCarthy 1996/97 Jones, Sims, Lewis 1997/98 Olomola, (let Ben White go) 1998/99 Valery, Slattery, Maddox, Tela, N'Lundulu, Johnson 1999/00 Vokins, Ferry, Obafemi, Smallbone, 2000/01 Ramsey