verlaine1979

I assume that, for you, a lot of this is about defending the verdicts you've passed on our players in FM (a game I haven't played in fifteen years).

We need quick CBs. Our fullbacks provide most of our width and are integral to us getting forward, and neither Romeu nor JWP have enough pace to cover effectively. Would be madness to buy another slow CB.

I'd take 15m for him now, even if it's really 13 plus add-ons. He's not worth 20m with a full contract, let alone only a year left.

I tend to think we need a specialist CB who could, if absolutely necessary, step up to cover Romeu. Circulating the ball quickly between our back four and GK is so vital to how RH wants us to play, that we need an upgrade on Bednarek if Vest leaves. However, on the flip side, when was the last time a successful team sacrificed their settled CB pairing to plug a gap in midfield? Seems far more common to do it the other way round and make-do at CM.

How many CB/DM combination players are out there? Guardiola loves putting a DM in his back four, but aside from that, I can't think of many players who regularly swap between the two positions. So is the priority a CB who can fill in at DM or vice versa?

Is Bednarek good enough for the style of football we want to play? Is he comfortable receiving possession? Does he hit ten yard passes accurately and at pace?

He looks nippy and alert rather than flat out fast. As others have said, it's not like Ings was blessed with a lot of pace, so he looks quick enough (even a bit quicker) to replace what we've lost there. Always promising to see a striker confident enough to hit with either foot. Looks to have decent control and touch, which will be important as Ings was pretty good in possession. I'm cautiously optimistic - he strikes the ball well and seems to have a bit of the arrogance and belief in his finishing that Adams lacks.

He can't pass. Along with having GKs who can't pass, it kills our possession game. Lost count of how many times we played ourselves under pressure because of a few poorly weighted/directed balls between Bednarek and the rest of the defence.

The transfers of Mane and Daka show how the price baseline has risen in the PL. Same club, similar age, similar record (Mane's better, in fact), neither in the final year of contract. We paid just under £12m for SM and Leicester paid £23m for Daka. So, where attacking players are concerned, we're pretty much priced out of buying hot prospects even from second-tier leagues.

You must have me mixed up with someone else. Back in January I said this about Ings, and my opinion about the likelihood of him staying never changed. Moreover, I don't believe I've ever passed comment on The Athletic, or the reliability of any other media. But aside from that, you're spot on.

How exactly do you imagine we coerced him into signing for Villa on 'our terms'? He made it clear that he would rather find a new club than sign the contract we offered him. And evidently he found a new club where a) he'll play every game when fit and b) who offered him a wage we can't afford. Meanwhile we're apparently scrabbling around for 'cheap options' to replace him. I'm not sure how Ings comes out of this exchange as the scolded loser.

Selling a player we said we had every intention of keeping isn't my idea of a power play.

I've only seen Sorloth once for Palace, but I remember thinking that he had decent control and technique in possession.

Tella and Obafemi are quick, I'll give you that, and maybe one will step up and become a regular this season. But at the moment, they're just quick bench players who might make an impact on the first XI and might not. You're mistaken about Adams though - he's slow. And Walcott was quick once, but his pace is nothing to write home about now. As for Redmond, I'm mystified as to why it keeps being repeated that he's quick - he isn't. I would characterise Armstrong as more direct with good control than flat out fast - he doesn't often run past people, but he's difficult to shake when he drives forward with the ball at his feet. Someone like Edouard, who is 6'2 and a powerful runner through the middle from what I can see, would make a big difference to how we can play.

Based on highlights (which is all I've seen of either) Edouard looks to have attributes the attack is currently missing (power, height, bit of pace), that Armstrong wouldn't bring. We'd have more options of how to play with Edouard, so if those were the only two options on the table, I'd go with him.

Exactly. By using a loan sourced from outside PRC wasn't he explicitly going against the wishes of the Chinese govt? The whole 'currying favor' theory has never made sense on that basis. Far more likely that he was trying to move money out/establish a source of wealth somewhere democratic.

If Romeu is the main differentiator between topping the league and having the worst form in the league, maybe Ralph is right to want an additional DM.

Obafemi's not a finisher. There's a reason we remember him for the spectacular goal against Chelsea. It's because he rarely finished the meat and drink chances.

This reads like Gao is holding one of your family members hostage.

Agreed, for the most part, Though to the surprise of no one, I'd put Armstrong in that team ahead of Steven Davis.

Armstrong is decent (occasional dangerous loss of possession aside) but he's not remotely in the same class as Tadic.

It's not unreasonable. Neither Walcott nor Redmond are reliable finishers. They have other strengths, sure, but confidently tucking away chances isn't among them. Both far more likely to score the spectacular than put away a one-on-one.

Annoyingly true - for all the ups and downs of recent seasons, you've always been able to count on West Ham coming along and absolutely bullying us for 90 minutes twice a year.

Presumably, with transfer/contract catastrophes like Haller, Anderson, Yarmolenko and Reid weighing down their books, West Ham won't be making any meaningful transfers for the next three or four windows.

We're crippled by our ownership. Everything else flows from that. Nothing simpler.