the saint in winchester

Not necessarily. We may look to sell Cedric in Jan to get something for him. Talk that Wolves want him for £5M. A Portuguese player at Wolves - who would have expected that? Maybe we could get Matt Doherty from the deal.

Newcastle ARE interested in him, but prefer to wait until end of season. If we want him, and I hope we do, then we need to out some money on the table in January.

Yeah, page 1 of this thread is why I don't post straight after a game. Emotions are too raw then. So, what a decent performance, at last. A return to the way we should be playing, to maximise our strengths. Obvious again we can't defend for toffee. But when we go forward we are red hot. If only we had shown more calm in front of goal, we could have been going to time added on with 5 goals scored. A little coaching on finishing for Djenepo needed. Next two games are crucial. Boufal in for Obafemi please. Generally, much improved. Play with that level of commitment and desire, close down the oppo and look to transition quickly. If we do that, we will be a different proposition second half of the season. But if we now return to ball retention at all costs and drop the tempo, we will sink like a stone.

£200M over 30,000 fans works out at under £7000 each. Who's up for it? We give Gao his money back, and we own the club to boot!!!!

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/50510377 Bring him back, bring him back .... (to quote Moloko)

Djenepo is our most exciting player, but I would hold him back and unleash him for final 20 mins of games. He was ineffective on Saturday, playing a defined role. Play Boufal from the off, and season with a dash of Djenepo in the second half.

--------------------McCarthy Cedric---Bednarek-------Yoshida---Bertrand ------------Romeu--------Hojbjerg -Valery-----------Boufal -------------Ings--------Adams I would rather not play Cedric or Bertrand, both want out, but we currently don't have anyone else. Valery is better going forward, so would play him further up the pitch. Djenepo is better as impact sub to conserve his energy, coming on without specific position, just with instruction to "do something special". Redmond was a passenger on Saturday, and we need to play Adams until he gets the target, and surely that is soon. Most of all, in January, for me (IMHO) we need a midfield general to (1) captain/lead the team, (2) energise all around him, and (3) play box to box as playmaker - cos it was obvious on Saturday the current incumbents don't know how to make a play.

Opening words are a bit misguided. It won't be the club's choice. We will struggle to sell players unless we are almost giving them away. We will have to wait until contracts expire, so that is where to look first. Who will be out of contract at the end of this season? They will go first. After that, who do we put a price tag on? Not easy to sell relegated players.

Not sure we have anyone ITK right now, do we?

WHAT!!! THE !!!! F!!!!! Even at his peak, he wasn't worth £40M! I would have taken the offer in a heartbeat!

Someone needs to. Once the problem is admitted, then it can be solved. Until then ...

Yeah, I agree with that. If successive managers can't get them playing to a decent level, then it is clearly the players. You can change the jockey as many times as you like, but in the end the horse is only as good as the horse is.

Are you saying there was a falling out between Ralph and Rohl? That Ralph pushed him out?

That sounds about right for us. I am just reading up on the comments since Saturday, but I also think he will walk away, so looking for next-one-in. Right now, I hope he stays but it's clear he has lost his sparkle. Losing his right hand man and then having inferior coaches foisted on him has left him a dead man walking. Lee Johnson, if he is the way you describe him, would fit the bill.

Watched it on the way home last night. The passion they speak with, we need to get them - and others - involved with the club coaching now. We'd never miss a penalty with those two. Get Lambo and Beatts coaching the strikers, MLT coaching the midfielders to pass forwards, and Benali coaching the defenders. And Kenzie on pre-match entertainment and pouring my beer!

He has a right to go, having lost his place to a young'un. At least the decision has been taken (by him) so we can have a go at getting something back in January. On the one hand, he'll be a free agent at the end of the season, but maybe someone will give us a few million to take him in January. Get that Maekle fella in?

Surely our issues are around the strength of the current team, which is down to Reed and Wilson who have both left the club now. We are also massively hampered in the transfer market by still owning players who are out on loan and we can't sell off. Again Reed and Wilson. We are where we are due to poor recruitment in recent years. Right now, blaming Gao is like blaming your dad when he can't afford to spend big on your Christmas presents this year because your elder brother had to be bailed out for loans he took out and can't afford to pay back. We can't expect Gao to keep funding more players, while the current bad-eggs are still on the payroll. Especially when the only one with football experience is Ralph himself. We need a decent recruiter, someone who can spot a good talent. I'd have banners like "Reed out" and "Wilson out" .... oh wait.

Getting back to the subject on the card - are we nearly there yet?

I think we can win the 3 home games, so 9 points, for me.

Better performance, better result than I expected. So far so good ….but Ralph needs to be told the best form of defence is attack. Not reckless attack, but look to alleviate pressure on the defence by going forward. Even when we had possesson we still went sideways and backwards. Would have stretched the game by bringing Boufal and Djenepo on earlier. Hopefully we see a more attack minded lineup and play next weekend.

That's my view, as well. Half season loans, so they're not tied to us if we go down. See if we can get a few squad players from around the Prem league. Mix of young guns - like Martinelli, Brewster types. Add in some experience - a Giroud type. If only we had a DoF who could spend him time researching candidates.

OK

Given the injury concerns, I'd take him on loan first to see where he is fitness wise.

Didn't someone say he had come back with an injury? Keep Djenepo company in the treatment room? Get well soon, Josh, we will need you. At least he runs forward with the ball, and not many of our squad do that!

McCarthy Valery Bednarek Yoshida Stephens Cedric Hojbjerg Romeu Long/Redders Long/Redders Ings I don't think Pep wants to hammer us, he'll be happy with a 2 or 3 nil. I'd go with above in the first half, and if we are still in it by HT, bring Boufal and Djenepo on toward the end.