James

What on earth does this update actually mean? The first bit makes absolutely no sense!

Great player, versatile too. Of all the CBs we've been linked with I like the sound of Williams best. Young and fits with our mantra and probably better than what we have.

Agreed. He has a lot more in his locker than people give him credit for. Given his form in pre-season and now the cup he has been unlucky not to start more games.

Has to be Ramirez

Good goal by Lee - can't wait to get him back in the team (should start on Sunday IMO) Imagine Lee--Lallana---Ramirez behind JRod or Lambert - a potent strike force. Really impressed with JWP too - he should start as many games as possible, his pass for Billy's 'offside goal' was brilliant.

God we sound awful. This formation that NA seems to be persevering with could be the undoing of us this season. We do not have the players for 4-3-3 and seem to be undoing all that was good about us last season by trying to fit the players we have to a system which clearly does not suit us. Back to 4-4-2 please Nige.

We will not get "walloped" by wolves. We'd have beaten them last year and this year we have improved the team. Do you actually watch any games before making these "predictions"? Doesn't seem like it.

He was decent in League One, but got found out at Championship level. I always worried whenever he was named on the team sheet. Anyone who rates him ahead of Fox is crazy imo. Fox is a vastly superior player and one which adds a lot more to our attacking play then Harding ever did. Good luck Dan, but it was the right time to move on.

Ridiculous rumour, not sure he's worth the kind of cash being quoted. But of all the 'big names' we could sign I don't think Theo would upset the harmony too much given that he's been here before. Would definitely give us what we need on the right hand side of our front three though. Having said all that, won't in a million years happen.

I think this as well, I can't see how we can squeeze JRod and Lambo into the same team and at the moment JRod looks a lot more mobile. I'll be the last to write off Rickie though.

Good observation about JRod, his control and touch were very good but left wing is most definitely NOT his position. I began to think it would be more and more of a problem fitting him and Rickie into the same team as the game went on. Nice problem to have though as thought both did well today. Shame Jay couldn't have tucked that chance away, but came at him very quickly and didn't really expect it.

Really? I thought for the most part he was one of our best players, bar a few passes which went astray. Strange how people see things differently. But accept that a few on here are never going to accept that Guly can do anything well!

How predictable. Overlook the fact that we bossed the game for over 30-40 minutes with our strongest side out there and focus on the negatives. The attack created plenty of opportunities against a top quality defence, the sharpness will return was just slightly lacking. Defence was generally good, especially Clyne and we were undone by one mistake from Fonte. Sure we need a bit more quality in defence but we'd done a good job with what we have. The alarm bells are most certainly not ringing 'loudly' for anyone else...indeed they probably aren't ringing at all. But, typical WUM post we've come to expect really.

Assuming Davis is fit of course, slightly worrying that even if he does regain full fitness he won't have had any game time with the team. If no Davis, WP to start I think.

JWP looks likely to start the Man City game I reckon given the amount of game time he's been given, that and the fact he always seems to be included in our 'strongest' line ups.

Good starting XI, bar JWP for Davis it's probably our strongest team at the moment. Looking forward to seeing Gazza, Shaw and Chambers off the bench.

You realise I meant Mackie to Blackburn rather than Hoillett to QPR right?

Ridiculous move for him if true, more than good enough for the Premier League, get in their Nigel!

I thought this. Quality ball in for the first. Always thought he was better than Harding, even in our League 1 promotion season. Don't quite understand why he hasn't been given a chance.

I enjoy the fact that anyone advocating that we sign a few proven quality premiership players is met with taunts of 'what like QPR' or 'let's just do a Pompey why don't we?' Fact is, there IS a middle ground as the signing of Steven Davis has proved, but his signing came about in unusual circumstances. Nobody is asking us to pay over the odds for supposed big name players on astronomical wages which would break the bank! Or at least, I don't think those advocating the signing of more 'Premiership quality' are saying that. I'm all for the approach we have taken so far, if the players who best suit our needs come from the Championship then so be it. Would we have been able to buy a right back from the Premier League as good as Clyne for even £4-5 million? I don't think so. In terms of strikers...what would 7million have bought us in terms of Premiership quality? Perhaps a player like Steven Fletcher who may have been preferred by some, but seemingly only because he has played in the Premiership. I for one would rather have JRod. It would be nice to see a couple more signings with top level experience, but surely the most important thing is signing the players that Adkins believes will better us. If Adkins had wanted someone like Fletcher he would have got him or at least attempted. Top Premiership quality players perhaps do come at a cost and it is a cost we might not be able to afford/risk at this moment in time. Of the 'proven players' available to us realistically we are looking at players from teams who have struggled or players from teams who have gone down, but then if these players were so good they wouldn't have been in struggling teams and may actually not be any better than what we have! Of course there are exceptions, players who do have talent but play in crap teams (Dann, Olsson etc) but the mention of Dann is what sparked the whole thread off! As others have said, it would be nice to sign these affordable, good proven top level players. But the reality is, for a club like us at the moment it just isn't going to happen, that isn't to say I think we aren't a big club or we won't do well next season but what matters is how the outside world or potential signing sees us and at the moment we are a newly promoted team at risk of relegation.

Also, for everyone praising Reading's transfer activity well, their new team including Pogrebnyak lost 2-0 to Sheffield Wednesday yesterday. I know everyone will say its pre-season but I wonder how some of the wrist slitters on here would have reacted if we'd have lost.

Surely this is unlikely what with us already having Cork, Morgan, Chaplow and Hammond and perhaps Lallana capable of doing a job alongside Davis. Not to mention the emergence of JWP over pre-season. Central midfield is an area I cannot see us strengthening any further.

I think that if we do change captain it will be given to Steven Davis, makes perfect sense.

I agree with you, was just clarifying why he'd been mentioned. FWIW I think Dann would be a top notch signing. Blackburn were an absolute shambles last season and have a manager who doesn't live in the real world. If he came to us then he'd do well i think.

Presumably because he's just been relegated with Villareal.