Saint Charlie

Ugly Inside is just, well...****.

Probably the same melts that always buy a programme and then moan at the content.

It's what he will say. I would say only Van Wolfswinkel would definitely make our starting lineup and the players we have signed will improve our first XI. Quality over quantity. Fair enough to Norwich but IMO we are buying from the market just above them.

Waste of time doing predictions when there's still a month of the window left.

We take too long to buy players and pay too much, they are decisive and have signed some bargains.

Come on, players like that don't suddenly sign for someone. Would be all over the net if he even held talks with us!

Hearing we haven't signed Damiao.

Phil Brown said last week he was hopeful of signing Forte.

Doesn't matter where you said he was wandering. Point is he wasn't even in England! The last time we signed someone without any articles suggesting something was imminent was probably Hammond from Colchester for 400k. We are in the PL now, transfers like that don't happen.

These rumours...

We were in the Championship then. The OP refers to taking players from other Prem teams, meaning he is referring to a scenario where we are also in the PL.

We weren't a PL team then.

We are reluctant to buy from other PL teams. I think we like the idea that new signings will first play PL football for us rather than having a history with another PL side. To be honest it is probably because they are always more expensive & much harder to sign players that their current side doesn't want to let go. Not many Prem - Prem bargains to be had.

I've heard club shop is shutting at lunchtime so a new signing can be pictured in the new away shirt behind the tills. Fans will then be allowed in to purchase the shirt, served by the new signing. #preseasonuncovered

Where does late October come from? He and Maya have only not played friendlies because they returned later to enable them to have a rest after Intl duty - that is not their faults, they need rest at the end of a long season. None of the other players played a friendly after two weeks of training. They are following the same pattern as the others but just delayed as they were not available for the start of pre season. If we rushed them back it would be against the advice of the medical staff etc. I expect both will be bench vs WBA and most likely start vs Sunderland.

Sharp and De Ridder haven't trained with the main squad this year, they were told in the summer they weren't part of the plans.

Some people will still be talking about Sharp in 3 years time. He just clearly isn't a PL player and isn't even wanted by the better teams in the Championship. He is a good finisher and scored some important goals in a team that created lots of chances. But we need to move on.

It is absolutely ludicrous to have a friendly midweek before the first game. Completely bizarre and will probably mean neither Ramirez nor Yoshida start the first game. By the way, its clear pre seasons are very important, and well organised in terms of progression and game time. Having a player join up half way through is obviously not ideal and is in no way the fault of the player who clearly needs rest time where they are not training.

The British press always speak of these "reports in Spain" and then the Spanish press about "reports in England". Not sure there are many reports and it seems to have gone very quiet on this.

As I have posted before, a member of the coaching staff who has seen both regimes said that everyone liked Adkins and his training sessions were very good, but that when MP came in things just went up a level and became even better, sharper tactical focus, tougher sessions, and the players performance levels in training went up.

This.

IMO Alpine and Calum Chambers have come out of the trip best. Isgrove with an honourable mention too.

Also had a tidy finish disallowed for a marginal offside.

Don't see that we need him, think Chambers has proven he is capable backup to Clyne. If Clyne's 'knock' turns out to be worse then it would make sense.

It wasnt. I think someone on here mentioned he would be involved, but he isnt quite ready yet and we have two LBs anyhow.