Chez

Yet another flair player that IMO needed a manager to put some real faith in him in order to get the best out of them. He'd play well coming off the bench, then given a start, perhaps didn't shine, so was immediately dropped back to the bench. Maybe he simply is not good enough, but if you are going to spend £24m on a player, you ought to know what you are buying, good and bad, and with that knowledge, know how to utilise them. In my eyes he should have been given a long run of games, starting them all and with the manager getting the ball to him and encouraging him to take players on all day long. I must confess to wanting to watch flair players with tricks that can dribble past payers perhaps more than anything else and this means my judgement can be faulty, but if he goes we must search for another like him, just better.

We'll bring in one. A CM. If Boufal goes, I doubt we will replace him, which is a shame as I think another creative player is needed.

Yep. Zaha could easily have had three. Took Stephens to the cleaners on one occasion, however this is pretty standard affair for teams like Palace and Burnley. They have defenders and defensive midfielders that are not great on the ball and that means they turn over possession a lot and it forces them to play more direct and hit teams on the break. Whether its by design I am not so sure. In my eyes they are just not very good footballing sides, so make up for it in organisation and then players like Zaha and Townsend give them an out and a threat. I know Zaha is not well liked or respected by Saints fans, and mentally he can be a bit frail, but I like him a lot. He makes a very very average Palace side dangerous. He's never been quick. He finished last season brilliantly. He has a good footballing brain, good touch and awareness and decent engine. I think he holds his own at this level. He needs competition whether through the youth scheme or an acquisition. I'd expect him to get a new contract. The club may have said they don't need to sell to buy, but its obvious that every pound we pay these guys is pound we cant spend elsewhere. We need to use the loan to buy market much more ourselves taking guys that flopped at a club for whatever reason but clearly have talent.

I wonder sometimes if the `blocks being in place' is what slows down the moving of the ball. We certainly need to bolster centre midfield, but couldn't Djenepo/Boufal be that left winger?

Whenever we are without Armstrong we seem to lack zip and thrust. Invariably we underperform and fail to win.

a 20% shareholder can block a company sale, ie the whole caboodle, so long as it is written into the shareholder agreement, but I'm not sure a 20% shareholder can prevent a 80% shareholder from selling their 80% share to whoever they choose.

Drexler or Choudhry?

Leeds linked with Drexler from PSG. Always thought he was a very good player.

Possibly could have picked Brandon Williams or Maitland-Niles. Bertrand is better than both IMO.

When you lay the squad out like that, CM is an obvious gap that needs filling IMO, unless Smallbone is a realistic starter. We can't expect JWP and Romeu to be fit/not suspended and on form the entire season. They both put a shift in and having an option off the bench would be handy when they tire. From what little I have seen Smallbone has the ability with the ball, but someone will need to advise me whether he does enough (well) without it.

like the sound of that. Only trouble is the wages. The bog clubs pay a fucking fortune. Loftus Cheek will probably want to stay in London.

what makes you say that? Do you think all our targets have gone elsewhere?

almost everyone is skint this summer, so the prices ought to be lower. Wait till next summer and although we may have a few more quid, so will everyone else, so the prices will increase.

crazy is the word I would use to describe spending £7.5m a year for three years in the hope of persuading players at one club to leave their current agent/management. That industry may be lucrative if you have the right platers, but that business model is the stuff of fools.

unless we make a contract offer that is too good to turn down, his agent will string it out, knowing that their position strengthens every month (assuming he is playing of course). Saints on the other hand will be up against it financially due to the pandemic, so won't be keen to offer £100k a week type deals. I'm interested to get peoples thoughts on his value to the side.

why didn't he pull put?

strange that he only signed a one year deal. I guess it gives both parties the flexibility they need.

I really enjoy the current crop of TMS commentators. Isa Guha is excellent. Opinions, opinions...

Jeff apart, I can't really stick any of them on it, including Le Tiss if I am honest, so for me, changes may be a good. I do wonder if their replacements will be the insightful, well researched and articulate individuals required to perform the role of commentator...or just more of the same.

Some of the adidas kits are terrible. The Sheffield United home shirt reminds me of the nightmare UA `bra' kits we have had with the stripes not going all the way up. It just looks bad, as does the wolves away using the same template. The Arsenal raspberry ripple is pretty poor, but I think the worst is Leeds. It's hard to explain, but it's just so stark. Maybe it is quite classic, but I hate it. Nike, which tend to get more right that wrong, have done little better. The green in the Liverpool shirt really undermines it and the strange back part of the collar is just ugly. The Chelsea away kit is original, but horrible. Blue and black home is very dull. The spurs kits...they just don't look right, especially that green away kit and its black collar. I really like the Palace sash kit they normally have for their away, but Puma have fucked it up this year. The same with West Brom. All three of theirs are horrific. Puma just don't know what they are doing. As usual Hummel seemed to have got it right. Our kits look quite decent in comparison. The yellow keeper shirt would make a decent 4th kit.

watching that video, Koopmeiner has a nice left foot and can pick a pass. Not sure he is the most athletic, but looks like he keeps the ball well.

I don't have a strong opinion on Reed. I didn't see the one good game he had for Saints (was it Everton?), so haven't ever been pushing his claims for a berth in our CM. In the games I saw him play he underwhelmed me. He was neat and tidy, but he didn't run a game and he chased shadows a little bit. There was room for improvement and a loan was the ideal way. I look forward to seeing how much he has improved. Lemina could win a couple of games for Fulham. He might lose one or two too trying to do to much to make up for the inadequacies of those around him.

interesting that we might potentially be financially better off losing that game.

both are woeful kickers. Both make me nervous. McCarthy makes one or two outstanding saves. Forster doesn't.

Reed was good for them. £8m is buttons for a player they feel can play at Premiership level. Lemina loan is a low risk deal. He can play and at his bets is better than what they have.