revolution saint

Yeah, I agree. JV was good for pinging long diagonals but for most of his time with us was not that great defensively - I think Salisu is much better in that regard. For a lot of the back half of last season we were missing at least one of our fullbacks and playing people out of position to cover. We've addressed that now and personally think that was more important. Also think that a lot of our defensive problems aren't necessarily because of the personnel - our shape is all out attack and we leave ourselves too open. We could probably improve the players but I'm not sure it would make that much difference. Overall pretty happy with the window - we've given ourselves options and have at least one great prospect (Livramento) and hopefully Small has a similar impact at some stage. Adam Armstrong looks to be a decent replacement for Ings. The only thing I could question would be Walcott.

Fair play to Moi today. I thought he did pretty well and has probably done enough to replace Walcott as cover for Stuart Armstrong. Lad has obviously had a tough time but hasn't moaned and just got on with his job. I imagine relative lack of pace will always be something that will hinder him in the premier league but he seems to have a decent work ethic and a good attitude.

We also had Surman, Dyer, Schneiderlin and Lallana.

Can he play in the nets? We need a new goalkeeper FFS. You hipster types piss me right off.

Won the best player (Golden Ball Award) in the Under 20 World Cup in 2019 so probably on the scouting lists of most clubs but suspect that's where Crocker knows about him. Seems a decent player but probably more of a 10. Anyway, other notable winners of the golden ball award have been Maradona, Messi, Aguero, Pogba, Adama Traore and erm.....Dominic Solanke. Mostly good company then.

No, that's correct but to get into the side he would have to either displace JWP specifically or Romeu (and he isn't really a defensive midfielder). So if he doesn't do that then you're asking him to play as a 10 which again isn't his best position or the one he wants to play. I can't imagine he wants to move to a club where the chances of starting are relatively limited in his favoured position (or if he does start then it would be out of position). I'm a big fan of AMN - I think he'd do a great job but realistically he will be looking for almost guaranteed regular starts and it's probably not something we can offer him. Same goes for Yangel Herrera. There's a bracket of players that are not good enough for the bigger clubs and too costly to buy for the lesser teams. Loan is the only option for them but they'll want to have a decent chance of starting - not come in as cover. If anything happens then I'd imagine it'll be a loan for a much younger less established player like the deal for Broja - they'll have more chance of breaking into our side than at a big club but won't be thinking they're nailed on starters.

He's scored 16 goals in european competition and six goals at international level. I'd say that's probably relevant. Personally when I did see him against Derby I thought he was hopeless - no pace and no skills to beat anyone with either but he obviously has something about him and the goals against Lille were excellent. If Ralph thinks he deserves a shot then it's hard to argue against it.

Couple of things I've noticed about Lyanco. First off he has a tattoo of the year of his birth on his neck. That's proper forward thinking and impressive as it's not the kind of thing you want to forget. Fair play fella. Secondly he celebrates any kind of defensive block/tackle/clearance with a double clenched fist celebration. Chiellini also does this and it's the mark of a true defensive warrior. Gotta love these interviews though. Clearly he ain't got much of a clue about us apart from the obvious (and there's no reason he should either) but the interviewer always seem to want to ask questions that will make it appear the lad has been following us since he was a young boy growing up in Brazil. Anyway, let's hope he turns out to be a decent signing - looks a bit of a nutter so he might make it as a cult hero.

Already apologised for it a day ago. Why not take a day off pal?

Must admit I was a bit concerned about Moi being in the starting 11 but he’s proved me wrong. Happy to say that if we find ourselves playing another league 2 second string team then I’m more than happy for him to start.

I've got a certain amount of sympathy for this view. It's frustrating when it appears that something has been invented when in reality it's something that's been done before only slightly differently and under a different name. The fabled blackbox and moneyball are both other examples; they're just different terms for what decent scouts and scouting systems will already be doing. Doesn't really wind me up quite so much though. Positive thing is that they look like they've recognised an under performing academy system and are taking steps to rectify it. Proof will be the output of players that can make a difference in the first team over the next few years. My guess is that a lot of the success will also be based on the experience that Crocker and the others already have at England level. They're well placed to know the best coaches and support staff and bring them in where they can. Instead of treating the youth teams as a route into coaching as a favour for ex-pros they look like they're targeting the best staff which isn't exactly rocket science but will probably make the biggest difference whatever their job titles are.

To be honest I need to apologise. Couple of Blackburn fans I know said he was a bit one paced which seemed strange as he did look quick. I guess they meant his "one pace" was fast. They were probably pissed off that we were signing him.

So you’re just arguing about terminology but generally happy they’re using this set up because they should have been doing it anyway?

Yeah, I reckon we'll go into the final few days with that last loan spot open and see if anything interesting comes up. We've still only got three midfielders for two spots although Armstrong can do a decent job and possibly Lion-o if he signs so it's not like we're desperate but a long term injury to either JWP or Romeo and we'd start to look a little short. There's going to be a load of players at the big clubs that won't have a chance in hell of making their first team squad and they'll be desperate to get them out on loan.

Seems like an exciting signing and from the clips I've seen he seems to justify the hype around him. Lets hope he lives up to it. Coincidentally on the same day we sign Thierry Small, Norwich have finally got Brandon Williams on loan. I think I prefer our deal. Was thinking that we now have the potential for could be a really exciting bench with either Livramento or KWP, Small, Tella, and Broja. These are all players you want to see and it should be exciting to watch their progress. In recent years I've got used to there not being that many options on the bench that would make me think they could come on and make a difference. I know we've had a few like Obafemi but I never had that feeling that he would actually change much. When Tella scored his first senior goal at the end of last season and had that huge smile on his face it seemed to mean a bit more. Early days of course but football is about optimism and these kind of signings at least give us that for now.

Just watched a couple of YouTube videos of the lad and looks impressive. In one clip he takes on Livramento goes round the outside and gets his cross in.

Ah OK so it’s not that you think we have any more money we should be able to spend, just that we blame it on agents fees etc? Fair enough, end result is we still don’t have much money but I understand where you’re coming from.

Serious question but do you think the club are lying about finances? I know there’s all the agents fees, signing on bonuses etc etc and you’ve mentioned how it only seems to affect us so what’s happened to the money? Do you think we’re choosing not to spend and keeping our powder dry, or is Gao taking money out? Personally I think the club probably is spending what it can afford so it’s difficult for me to have a go at them for not spending more but would be interested in another opinion.

It would be interesting to know how many players 24 and under have been signed for 20 - 30M and subsequently gone on to be substantially more expensive. I bet there's more misses than hits.

Personally I think we're probably spending the amount we can afford - I don't think we have any more money left. So, if you want to buy a CB for 20-30M then you'll need to either not sign someone like Adam Armstrong or you sell to raise the money. About the only player we have that would go for the amount required is JWP. Then you'd be in the position of spending that money on your CB and another midfielder. Now I've never been that much of JWP fan so I might be tempted but it seems pretty clear the majority of fans wouldn't hack that. Have to say I disagree on Zouma though - who's going to spend 50M on him in a couple of years time? Possibly Arsenal I guess but if you're talking fees that large then there's only a handful of clubs that can afford it and this is the problem when you sign players in that 20-30M bracket. If you're gambling on making a profit then you don't really have a massive pool of potential buyers out there. Course if finances are such that you're just looking at getting your money back then fair enough, plus you get the value of the player for a few years. I think it's fair enough to argue for one player over another if they're pretty much the same price but arguing for spending 20-30M is probably a bit unrealistic.

Absolutely need a headerer and a ball striker too. Our defencemen will struggle if not.

I only managed to see the second half of the Everton game and he didn't really stand out in that but then the whole side looked a bit crap. Today though I thought he was excellent. Looked as if he tired a bit in the second half but that's fair enough and he wasn't the only one to do that. If he continues to improve as you'd expect him to then I can easily see him dominating that right flank. If Armstrong is out in future then I think I'd rather see a combination of KWP and Livramento than having Walcott in the starting 11.

Losing S Armstrong would be a blow. Best ‘10’ we have and should be starting every game. Fair enough if someone offers stupid money but I can’t see that happening.

Completely agree. Hypo asked for details on who had written whateverhisname is off. I just provided the details. Personally couldn't give a toss whether people have made their mind up or not - it's a free country. They haven't made an informed judgement based on watching him play for us but that's up to them.

Does that help?