Midfield_General

Or until we actually see them play in the PL. Let's not forget how brilliant lots of people thought our transfers had been before we went down with a whimper.

I'm sure someone can enlighten me, but how is this sort of thing not considered bent? One club buying players and then immediately loaning them to the same team who otherwise wouldn't have the means to acquire them - isn't that seen as trying to circumnavigate FFP or whatever? Is there a limit to the number of times we're allowed to do it?

That's really interesting about Jones. Obviously his football was awful, so whatever good he was doing behind the scenes wasn't translating to PL-level results. I do wonder though how much longer he would have lasted if he could have just kept his mouth shut and given bland, media-trained interviews like everyone else, rather than blurting out the mad stuff he came out with which quickly lost him any remaining respect and turned him into a joke figure with the fans and the media. That's illuminating, given how much speculation there was at the time over the 'injuries'. Pretty sure that was what that non-league manager - Paul Doswell? - was driving at when he gave the Solent interview that Jones then went barrelling into afterwards to defend himself. Also explains why there appears to have been absolutely no attempt to reintegrate the other one, who presumably is the one still at the club but just back from loan, back into the squad. Just get rid and move on from that toxic chapter. Thanks for sharing the insights.

Well, that’s the complex, nuanced and long-running national debate on identity and gender conformity finally settled. I’ll let everyone know. Thanks SaintsLoyal.

They could do with watching everything in that video.

Forest casually unveiling Keylor Navas was also a fairly spectacular loan signing. It shows it can be done.

Behave yourself. How many chances have Mara and Sulemana had. And it's not because they're 'not the finished product', it's because they contribute absolutely fuck all, ever.

I think he could offer something too, especially off the bench. Big lumps can always have an impact, even in the PL, even if its just to change the complexion of a match and cause a bit of chaos and either get a head to something, hold it up to bring other players in or just attract worried defenders to create more space for others. I've got no problem with it if you're a goal down with fifteen minutes to go and have nothing to lose. Look at Koeman too, regularly bringing on Weghorst in the Euros when he needed to shake things up. There's still a place for it. But Martin's such a purist that I just can't see him ever lumping it up to the big man, in any circumstances. If I was in charge though, needed a goal and my bench options were Onuachu or Mara? There's not even a discussion to be had. Get warmed up big lad.

Onuachu has scored 74 goals in 179 games in Denmark, 85 in 134 in Belgium and last year scored 17 in 25 in Turkey. He's old-fashioned, doesn't fit our style and will never be a Martin player but comparing him to Mara is like comparing Zlatan to Antony Pulis.

Yeah Carillo was absolutely awful but you could see he was trying. I'd rather have ten of him than that fucking prancing gimp with his stupid fucking hair.

I think Sulemana has been a huge disappointment as well, but at least he occasionally looks like he wants to get involved, even if he's not very good. The same argument could be levelled at him with his penalty though - christ man, you've been handed on a plate a chance to actually score for once, maybe try and take it? Mara has got that toxic combination of having the 'I'm so good I don't need to try' attitude of the second coming of Mesut Ozil, whilst being absolutely laughably shit at football. Why he's even around the first team squad makes no sense to me at all. I guarantee that if we put him out on loan to a lower league side he'd be shit there too and would just vanish from trace like so many others have. I'd rather have someone who actually cares playing out of position as a false nine than ever see him play for us again. God he makes me angry 🤣

What Mara is meant to bring to a professional football team, let alone a Premier League side, I will literally never know. He's been given way too many chances for his ability, and every time he is given yet another chance he just jogs around like he doesn't realise there's a football match going on that he's meant to be contributing to. Even when someone else wins a penalty and one of the proper players lets him take it, presumably out of sympathy because they feel sorry for him, he can't even be fucked to take a proper run-up, or think about placing it or striking it properly. Nah, I'll just walk up to it and casually side-foot it to the keeper then just turn around like I don't give a fuck. It's like he's got a bet on to see how shit he can get away with being. I regularly watch Wingate and Finchley in the Isthmian Premier and I see players at that level week in and week out that would bring way more to the team than he ever has, just because they look like they might actually care about trying to help the team. I can handle players being crap but I can't forgive players who don't try. What's wrong with him? And what's wrong with us that we keep giving him chances? I just don't get it.

What a fucking shit penalty who does he think he is? Him and Sully, absolute jokers

Not even close. According to Wikipedia: "Mr Potter is the station master of The Shoe Town Railway Station." "Marshall is a cowboy who loves country and western music, loves Wild West films and does safekeeping around Shoe Town." "On the corner of Shoe Street lives Charlie, a clown."

The reviews of Welington weren't much better. They both sound absolute dogshit by anyone's standards, including Goztepe's. This all smells very off. What's going on here?

STOP THE STEAL

That’s where he played against Bordeaux - he was much further up, carrying the ball, running at people or looking for the through ball, and he did well. A bit more Stu Armstrong-style.

Fair play, that long-haul flight from Southampton to France can really take it out of you.

Moira Stewart always had a very composed delivery. Swap deal?

Only saw the last 25 mins but based on that: - Yuki looks terrific; fits into our system well, works hard, good on the ball, great eye for a pass. More than once he played exactly the right ball but none of the others had got into the right place to capitalise on it. He looks a great addition and is going to be very popular I think - Smallbone looked decent playing further up, was playing with his head up, carrying the ball up the pitch well and getting some good passes and crosses in. Corner delivery from the left was generally quite dangerous if we had someone to attack them properly in the air. Should have scored the end - Edozie was getting on the ball plenty but same old story of tending to lack the final ball - Defence overall looked sloppy and disorganised. Would have conceded two late ones if Bordeaux could finish instead of hitting the post each time when they should have scored - Sulemana did absolutely fuck all except for getting himself into a good position once and then dithering until they blocked it instead of smashing it in from quite close range Only really a training session at this stage of course, but some positives to take along with some very familiar weaknesses. We look like we still need quality adding all the way through the side, but then we already knew that. I wonder if Yuki has any former team-mates he can recommend, as his quality level was noticeably higher than most of the others in what little I saw and we need a lot more of that.

Tbf we did try that before with Delgado and Kleber Chala

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I know we all need to show patience and everything, but these linked players are all proper Pound Shop stuff, it’s hilarious. I’m surprised this year’s kit manufacturer isn’t Pep and Co.

Do you think our budget is unlimited then?

Worked hard, put himself about, too often comical in front of goal. The now legendary miss at Wolves remains one of the most incomprehensible things I’ve ever seen on a professional football pitch, while that goal against Man City was a belter when he didn’t have time to think about it. Been some real ups and downs. Time to draw a line under it. Good luck to him.