woodsaint1

THB, Downes, Sugawara, BBD, Wood, Edwards, Taylor, Welington, Juan, Lallana and the two Japanese players makes 12

Champions - City CL - Arsenal, Liverpool, United Relegation - Bournemouth, Forest, Leicester Saints - 15th

Fabio Carvalho? Has he not turned us down twice already lol

Andreas Georgson, the set piece coach who was with us for hardly any time has just landed a role at United. And Lemina made Wolves captain (wtf)

Stopped caring about kits a long time ago - as long as they dont deviate massively from the standard red and white for home and not go too outlandish on an away colour, which they havent done for these latest kits. What matters more is the team wearing them. Great to see Downes back. We desperately need a creative AM and a 12-15 goal PL striker sharpish however

ABK

One Sulemana is more than enough. Watching our current one has aged me terribly this season 😂

This is the Bournemouth team which started their first game back in the PL two seasons ago. Beat Villa 2-0 and stayed up comfortably that season. How many of those players were good enough for the PL at the time (or even now)? Yes we need a new striker or 2, CM, RB potentially and a winger, but we will sign more players. However we shouldnt write off the players who were relegated with us before and have had a great season in the EFL winning games and building their confidence. Quite a few of them will be good enough for the PL. Continuity counts for alot rather than making mass changes.

We certainly scout in South America, thats how we identified Alcaraz

You said he cant set up a defence, but he clearly can. Our record with a back 3, which we may employ next season, was pretty good

Defence did alright during the playoffs when it really mattered.....

Hes literally been back training under a new manager for 3 days. Lopategui will need a few weeks to assess their options before potentially agreeing to sell Downes. Can see it being closer to the start of the season before we might see him back, if at all

If Bednarek is staying then the addition of Edwards and Wood (with ABK, Lyanco and DCC leaving) is probably an indication that we'll be employing 3 CBs regularly this season. Would have preferred Edwards or Wood with a more experienced CB signing also, but in RM and the club we trust

Might be the last competitive game at Goodison but you'd imagine they'll arrange some send off game or a testamonial against a top European team. Be good to relegate them for good measure though

Good shout

Being from NI and reguarly watching our games, I can confidently say that Shea, Connor Bradley (Liverpool) and Daniel Ballard (Sunderland) have been our stand out players for the past 18 months. Yes the majority of our players are Championship/Scottish Prem/L1 level but Shea is regularly coming up against quality and established international players (Spain last weekend) and putting in some good performances. It hasnt translated into the same level of performances for us, but hes only 20 and provides a good backup option to the likes of Downes. Would rather he stayed as a squad option for this season than being loaned out. Hes an injury away from getting a good run in the side

Been a few GK links already. Hopefully a sign that its a priority for us because it needs to be

We were terrible in the first game, but how we contrived the lose the second game still baffles me

Kompany is so good that his team finished below Rob Edwards' Luton. They must be lining Edwards up for the Barca job.

Context is crucial, particularly when you realise the worst posts were either; a) immediately after we had appointed RM b) 8/9 games into the season (bearing in mind the team were implementing a completely new style of play) c) after we had already secured a playoff spot Criticism is fine but neither situation warranted the overreaction it got from some posters. Some didnt want RM from the get go and that informed their opinion all season. Well, they want him now.

Do you look like your avatar?

Ye had little faith

Bit unfair to put some of those players listed in the same bracket as AA and Bednarek. Both have had multiple seasons in the PL, in fact Bednarek was a mainstay in a mid table PL finish. Im not disputing that we need to strengthen throughout the team, just think both players can be a big part of a successful season back in PL

Relegation battle standard during the dismal end of Ralph's run and the shitshow that was Jones/Selles yes, but they look like players reborn under RM. We will strengthen around these two, but absolutely no reason why they cant be key players next season as we aim for relative safety. If we stand still we will be easily relegated but i imagine we'll be busy in the transfer window. Massive summer ahead