hypochondriac

Of course but it's silly to say we will be left with Wood and Stephens

We will very obviously replace him.

Fair enough that's him off then. You can't do much if a team like that are in for him. Get as much as possible and we will have to move on. Big blow though.

I never once claimed not to be judgemental. We make judgements all the time. It's also not a negative opinion, it's a truthful opinion of his first two performances. In an earlier post I described how mane had some thoroughly underwhelming early performances. That he subsequently showed himself to be excellent doesn't make those early performances any better or less poor. What I said was that it's a nonsense to say he has been written off. He's been played not in his strongest position and has played a couple of games. It hasn't looked great so far but it's early days and Dobbin has shown he can score and assist in this league when played the right way.

"we do this all the time." No we don't. Cretins on social media like Facebook or Twitter might post some stupid comments but that's no different from every other club in the country.

Agreed. You could make an argument for Boro and the three promoted teams to finish above us but really we should be above every other team and anything less is an underperformance.

Personally I thought when wood came in at the end of last season he was a decent performer.

It's bollocks and a popular myth. It makes people feel better about themselves to pretend there's loads of saints fans writing Dobbin off after one game.

Meant Brentford.

I could easily see him at Palace or Fulham or Burnley or Brighton. A mid table prem team like that. I'd be amazed if we sold him to West ham given the signals that would send out.

Isn't it likely with the Charles replacement that we are waiting for the best option possible and that takes time?

Based on? Would be big if he did.

Ffs. Fix the site.

Sounds like the promising cb is going to Burnley. Shame but really he was only coming here if THB was imminently on his way out. Expect THB will go at any rate but hopefully we have someone else promising lined up (not a youngster please).

Signing an AM is a smart idea. It's the spending 9 million on him that I question if we are as broke as some are suggesting.

Questioning a signing isn't writing someone off after one game. It's probable that Alfie and Adam know a similar amount (particularly given that they occasionally share lifts to and from games.) I don't agree that he is negative usually, it's why for me his latest opinion pieces are a bit more concerning than usual.

Yes that's the point. It's not just about an individual player, it's about the strength of the squad and the starting 11 as a whole.

They are questioning if it was wise to spend 9 million pounds on an Azaz alternative where in the opinion of some people that money would be better spent elsewhere. That's not writing him off after one game and your characterisation of it as that is disingenuous at best. Yes clearly Adam Blackmore knows more about what is going on than the average fan. He talks to people at the club and or ally multiple times a week.

Because he speaks to people at the club all the time and clearly has conversations off the record? I've rarely heard him be overly negative to be honest. In fact, he got a fair amount of criticism last year during our poor form for giving Will Still an easy ride. No one has written Dobbin off after one game other than maybe cretins on twitter. Don't be ridiculous.

Apparently did well on loan last season and 3 Bundesliga clubs interested. May fetch us a decent amount.

I can't see us selling him for 3 million. It simply wouldn't be worth our while and we can't really afford to write off that much of a loss.

I'd hope for 5 million for Archer as an absolute minimum and probably closer to 7. Possibly 6 for Sugawara too and bbd about 3 like you say. Hopefully 14-16 million for those three.

I think given the archer links away and reports of Downs to America, it's clear we are looking to offload attackers and bring another one in probably on loan near the end of the window. I don't think it's reasonable to rely on Larin not getting injured at any point.

Agreed. Just interesting to hear someone like Blackmore saying it. From memory he was a lot more relaxed last summer and seems to be a fair bit more worried this year.

Adam Blackmore update today and quite pessimistic on our chances I thought (which contrasts with summer last year where I thought he was quite positive.) Jury is out on Dobbin for him, doesn't think we have enough firepower for automatic promotion, need more goals and compares unfavourably to Coventry from last season. Doesn't think we will do anything in defence unless THB leaves.