Chez

I'm with you. Not a fan of three at the back at all, but we sure are giving it bloody good test. Thought Les had a poor game. His performance levels are very up and down. We just didn't control the midfield and when that happens you are very vulnerable. As for the keepers making the difference, this is why we paid top dollar and it paid off yesterday. Management, formations and tactics are all very important, but quality of player is critical.

Watched the game back and after the thrill of winning and having a tiny ray of hope enter my heart, I am reminded that Ipswich are the second worse team in the division, and not a side blessed with talent. Yet they still created some very decent openings, cutting right through out centre, which they really didn't maximise. Encisco especially. I want to believe we can take confidence from this win and perhaps do something in the next, but I do wonder if the more ruthless Bournemouth will bury similar chances. We have to be better, tighter at the back. How often do we get chances like Delap scored from. That should not happen. That's enough negativity from me for now. I want to get back to enjoying this wining feeling for the rest of the week.

Cheers. From that article, Juric suggests the reason is because ABK can't play left centre back, at all. Certainly worse than Aribo. And maybe that's true, but I have to say I don't buy that reason. How does he even know Aribo is better there? It worked out, but it looks like ABK is only on the bench to advertise the fact he is fit.

Can't imagine the club have evaluated the injuries and made a decision to get a loan in all within a couple of hours of the game.

Genuine question, is THB a good defender? I know he's a pretty good ball player, but what about all the without the ball stuff?

When Stephens got injured, we brought on Smallbone and dropped Aribo to CB rather than bring on ABK. Seems a good opportunity for the local press to ask why not ABK?

Same for me. 8 minutes of injury time was stressful. They say its the hope that kills you, but I'd love a second win in a row and a little bit of hope.

First time I've looked at the league table all season. Not pretty reading, but better today than yesterday.

Until I read the part about the two the goals I wondered who you were talking about. Is that straight line heading vertically down?

it was, and some statistical "end product" for those that don't think beating several men and getting a dangerous cross counts.

I didn't think the ball stuck that much. The odd time, but not enough. He looked tired from about 55 minutes. The press was non existent from him. However, he's in the box when the balls falls - and in the end that's what won this game. A lot of his goals in Belgium and Turkey were like the one he scored today. I will never be a big fan, but if you want to score, you have to get in the danger area and he does that all the time. Not all our strikers do.

Thought Delap ragdolled Bednarek a couple of times and turned him with ease. He's a good player and powerful lad, but I don't expect my cbs to be outmuscled. We have too many CBs that simply don't have the basic attributes required. Not easy to find players that AND can play too, but that needs solving in the next 18 months.

I thought Wellington looked pretty good. Late on he ran half the length of the pitch to stop a break, made a tackle and I think that was what got him injured. That kind if work ethic combined with decent stuff with the ball could be a good sign. Early days.

Waited all season so gonna enjoy this. 2-3, 1-2, what's the difference.

love your optimism Dave. Keep on keeping on. We certainly look stronger than last week.

Players that give the ball away cheaply are also infuriating and I fully understood why Martin dropped him from his starting eleven. Shipping him out so soon after Martin arrived did feel hasty, especially given his age, but Martin saw him every day in training and perhaps he just didn't think his ball retention was up to it. Who knows? Seeing as he wasn't going to get a game, it made sense to cash in and recruit some other young talent. Sadly neither RM, or the recruited talent worked out...

I didn't create the x or y narrative. You did. We sold him because he did not fit RMs possession-based style. Quite simply, he gave the ball away too often for Martin's liking. That's not to say the funds didn't help to buy other players who have not worked out.

if they play their first team, then they will have an advantage of being a team winning every week and brimming with confidence, while obviously we are low in confidence and not winning. Next season, our squad might contain a lot of the same players, but hopefully will be in a very different state of mind.

still annoys me that he missed out on the WC and we missed out seeing him another season (or two) more of him in his prime.

Excellent. Love JayRod and always will. Bloody brilliant for us. Look forward to seeing him scoring some massive goals on the Disney series in the near future.

What about selling Alcaraz to afford to buy Fernandes? I know which I'd prefer.

Both are under contract next season, so will be here unless someone meets our valuation. That is the largely the case with th erest of thre squad. All under contract, so will be here. Many however will be out of contract the following summer. Which is perfect when you need to perform a overhaul/upgrade on promotion (hopefully).

Very good. On the one hand we have fans on here saying we bought players last summer to help us get promoted next season - which sure is is `long term' transfer planning, while on other, the suggestion is that they don't even talk about transfers until half way through the window. Of course, both could be true, but something tells me neither are terribly accurate.

The fact we are trying to put an obligation to buy (assuming that is accurate) suggests Juric/the club doesn't fancy him. I guess Archer may have indicated he wants to leave, so inserting the obligation works for him and SFC? If the `obligation' element of the news stories is true, then one way of the other his time at Saints seems almost up. Good question. Everyone keeps saying `Armstrong will score a bucket full of goals back in the Championship and without Martin holding him back', but I'm not sure. Having several strikers would be a good plan. Maybe Juric thinks they are too similar and doesnt want both. If that is the case then you allow one to leave - and that obviously requires a suitor. Maybe Armstrign doesn't have one.

If we are struggling to balance the books and meet the finacial fair play rules for this single season we will sell before end of June. If not, it will be after to get it into the 25/26 season. Both single season fogures and rolling three year fogures need to be taken into account. Potential profit and subsequent tax due is another consideration, although even with a Dibling sale you'd imagine after spending £100m in the summer we wont make a profit. Having actual cash in the bank from any sales as early as possible in the summer would allow us to get on with our incoming transfer business, but as always, we are probably going to have to see some players going out the door to open up squad places - and (KWP apart) that probably wont happen until the latter part of the summer.