saintant

Giving him the contract at all was the really, really stupid thing.

As it stands England get Sweden.

Yeah, agree with you on Bree. I'd see how Stewart does in the first 15 games or so and then make a decision based on that. The rest I wouldn't worry about seeking extensions - maybe Aribo if he stays and does well.

If Will Still prides himself on managing teams who let in few goals he'd do well to avoid picking Bazunu as his 'keeper.

Yet some approve of a 3 year contract for Stephens who is older and has had far less success than AA. Bonkers.

I didn't suggest we should.

Armstrong and Archer have scored plenty of goals in the Championship.

If Stephens was lining up against us in the Championship we'd rightly be delighted and looking for our forwards to fill their boots.

I'd hazard a guess that all your valuations are very much on the high side compared to the reality of what we are likely to receive.

I guess our biggest potential problem is going to arise if any of those transfers are completed near the end of the window giving us little or no time to bring in replacements.

From recent events and comments coming out of the club I think you'll need to move Stephens to the front of the front line.

Ah, see you've changed your mind on this 🙂

Ok, then it's possibly your interpretation of what Spors said that differs from mine.

Fair point but maybe judge Spors if he allows the sale of Ramsdale, Fernandes, Dibling, THB and Bednarek and spends none of the money on replacements.

So you'd presumably be happy if we sell Ramsdale, Fernandes, Dibling, Bednarek and THB and spend only on one attacking midfielder because that's the only position you think is left to fill after comments from Spors. Can you imagine the outcry from the majority of the fanbase?

Spot on.

We'll see but I'd be amazed if we sell star players and don't spend the money. It'll be another way to turn the fan base against those running things that's for sure.

Well if the club was always right we'd not be in the current mess and wouldn't have had to sit through the complete debacle of last season. They have been known to make wrong decisions in case you've not been paying attention.

I'm fairly sure that statement would have been on the strength of the available squad at that time. Common sense dictates that, if we lose 2-3 star players, the money received will go towards replacements. It's what all successful clubs do so not sure why Spors wouldn't be smart enough to appreciate that - if he's not then he's in the wrong job.

If Bednarek and THB go we'll have money to replace them - no need for this to impact Stephens position at the club.

But why extend his contract? No need to do that as he is not a key player who will have sell-on value.

Stephens says how he's proud to be our captain in the recent interview after signing his new contract. Much to my dismay I believe he will be the on field skipper.

With due respect football is a little different. Will Still will have access to hours of tapes to show him exactly what each player at his disposal is either capable or not capable of. He doesn't have to rely on asking the opinions of those at the club as he can use his own eyes to come to his decisions. Anyone looking at footage of Stephens wouldn't take long to discover his limitations and his two sending-offs last season should immediately flag that he is not captain or leadership material.

I strongly suspect Stephens will be first choice for our opening match. How long he stays in the side is anyone's guess but most on here are in accord that extending his contract was both mistaken and not necessary. Should have been allowed to see out his contract and then released.

If Will Still is as thorough as I suspect then he'll surely have done an in depth look at each of our players. If so and it led him to believe Stephens is worth an extended contract and retention of the captaincy then alarm bells about our new manager are ringing loud and clear. Hoping he had little to do with this particular bad decision.