CanadaSaint

I hope so.

When we were in the Premier I can remember hoping - and hearing many others express the hope - that we don't face any of the promoted teams early-on, because they can be an unpredictable handful. Well, now we're one of them. For that reason I'll settle for those starting fixtures - and also because it helps us to get a decent run-in at the end.

I'm surprised that some folks think West Ham will be alright. Sure, they'll have money but they had that this year. And their 'football', which shows little sign of changing under BFS, doesn't seem to cut much mustard in today's Premier League. Losing Rogers and Lambert could have quite a negative impact on Swansea and Norwich - no disrespect intended to the guys coming in. Yeah, I'd settle for 15th right now but, with a few key signings, I think we're capable of much better. It's looking like we'll be trying to play on the front foot, which IMO is when we're at our best.

It seems that the best way of surviving up there (here) is to try to play football rather than defend and rely on the hoof to a big front man. West Ham seem well equipped to play the very kind of 'football' that will get them relegated. Again. Let's hope so.

Indeed, but if we had a choice I'd go for Thomas Ince, who I think will be worth more - and sooner. We'd probably have to fight off some of the big boys and spend even more to get him, but Puncheon could still turn out to be a bargaining chip.

So do they.

You still miss my point, which was in response to Crazy Diamond, who said that some people are not that excited about Rodriguez. I simply drew the parallel with Jos. That's all. I sometimes think that you could start an argument in a phone box.

What we need is dependent on how we plan to use Schneiderlin IMO. He spent a lot of late-season time playing in front of the back four, which made it more difficult for him to be the "playmaker" he has the capability to be. But if he's to play farther forward he needs to improve significantly on his finishing.

I keep coming back to him but I don't know whether he has enough left as a player, and the last thing we need is someone coming here as the start of their easy transition to retirement.

CB, I was talking simply from the perspective of a signing that underwhelmed many but turned out really well. However, even the most open-minded about him never imagined that he would make the difference between promotion and another year in the Championship, which IMO he did.

Don't you think that the Financial Fair Play Regulations will have a moderating affect on the wages of players like this? I'm hoping that the environment has shifted, making it harder for the big clubs to pad out their squads with players that the smaller clubs would love to have.

Absolutely. Let's hope the same story works out just like the Jos story.

Whether it's Butland or someone else, the task of signing a quality keeper has to be a top priority because the list of options is far shorter than it is for outfielders, and the window of opportunity is much smaller. This is one we can't afford to dither over.

One thing we haven't talked about much is the role of club/team captain, and this is where I think we could do with someone with some decent experience of the Premier league. There were times when we lacked "an old head" last season, even when Hammond was playing, and I think it will be more costly next season unless we resolve it. I don't think it can be Kelvin - partly because he's too removed from the action, partly because he's likely to have his hands full with his GK duties, and partly because he's no certainty to start and end the season as first choice.

I despise the diving and embellishment, and I very much like the idea of retrospective punishment. The cheating needs to be eradicated from the game. But it doesn't help the cause that many of the game's top international administrators come from countries where this kind of play-acting is viewed as a necessary skill and an art. We could at least do it in the UK but then we're at an even bigger disadvantage in international (club and country) fixtures.

I fully agree with that. I'm just questioning whether Green is enough of an upgrade for us to do it with him, when there are some good, younger keepers out there who could soon develop into quality starters. I'm not sure that the Dutch guy we were looking at is off the radar screen yet - or Butland, and they'd come a hell of a lot cheaper than Green.

I don't have any concerns about Robert Green the guy, but with what his arrival could do to the carefully-woven salary structure at the Club. Nothing creates unhappy players more than feeling that they're underpaid relative to others in the room. Yes, he'd be an upgrade IMO, but I wouldn't risk the dressing room spirit that has brought us so far - and I don't think Adkins or Cortese would, either.

Despite the easy cheap shots about him, he's still a very good keeper with his best years arguably ahead of him. However, if I was going to seriously damage the Club's salary structure and risk creating dissent in a dressing room known for its harmony, I would be looking for someone who could improve us more than Robert Green. Yes, we certainly need another quality keeper but I'd prefer to see an "up-and-comer" than an expensive star.

I thought the point of a forum like this was for reasonably mature and intelligent people to discuss things in a reasonably mature and intelligent way, and have the occasional chuckle while they're doing it. No wonder it's rapidly becoming the cyber-bullying domain of a few who would rather sneer, hurl needless insults and take the "s hit e." And who actually take pride in it. It's really quite sad, given that the club we're here to discuss is on the crest of a wave and probably heading for an all-time high.

I'm pretty sure that's a No.

I offer the words of noted journalist Sydney J. Harris: A cynic is not merely one who reads bitter lessons from the past, he is one who is prematurely disappointed in the future.

I felt at the time that Kelvin had cemented his place in next year's staring line-up with his performance at Leeds. Even though I have significant reservations about him - and Premier League teams will be much better at spotting and exploiting his weaknesses - I think he probably deserves a shot. However, if we go into this season with Bart as his only real back-up we're taking a massive and potentially fatal risk. For me it's a top priority to sign a quality keeper who's more than capable of starting ahead of Kelvin. Things went quiet on that Dutch guy but I suspect he's still under consideration.

Don't misrepresent what I said to justify your own viewpoint. I said that Arsenal are doing it the right way, just as we will. I didn't say we'd hit the same heights but that we'd follow a similar path. Who knows where it will take us? But I'm optimistic, you're deeply sceptical to the point of being cynical. That sums up the thread, really.

No argument here with the point that they will always be better off than us financially, but I wouldn't overestimate how much their "massive global fan base" actually generates for them. Many of them never spend a penny that actually ends up in the big clubs' bank accounts. And they can't sign all the best youngsters, can they? If anyone has proved that point over a number of years, it's us. And, as stev2001 said in the post right below yours, Arsenal are doing it the right way - just as we will.

Many of the cynics' arguments are based on their belief that we will be completely unable to close the financial gap between ourselves and the big clubs, which ordinarily might be true. That's now not a one-way journey, though. Just as we will be working to build our financial and fan base, so the big clubs will be coming back towards us as the financial fair play regulations come into effect. They will change the whole ball game if they can be implemented effectively, and the greatest single assets in that kind of world - as many have identified - will be fiscal responsibility and a top flight academy. With our catchment area, our academy and the people we have at the top, I'd say we're very well-placed to grow more than most.