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Worth his own thread now I reckon. Seemed very keen in that interview, hope he develops well!

Burnley have signed James Trafford, England Under 21 keeper for £15 million from City. Spent last season on loan in League One... More expensive than Bazunu but is he any better?

He wasnt very friendly with Edozie, Sulemana, Mara, Djenepo etc - i.e. any flair attacking player effectively being frozen out. Sulemana should've started every game, not sure why the others were barely seen

I think he’s pretty good and would suit a better ‘footballing’ team. I’d be much more disappointed if he left than Armstrong or Onuachu. Reckon he’ll develop into a better player than Adams but obviously there’s a bit to be seen yet

He's better than McCarthy, and dropping him near the end of last season for someone no better (who seemed to concede more soft goals?) felt pretty harsh. Wouldnt be adverse to signing a new number 1 for a season or two so long as Bazunu still got games and it meant McCarthy leaving!

We replaced him a few times, like we did with Stephens and Bednarek, but sadly they're all still here! Admitedly, Stephens and Janny B could be good in the Championship, but I'd rather McCarthy gone, and Janny's ego (and OG)...!

Asked my Chelsea supporting mate about Abu / Cho$en and he'd never heard of him. Conversely, when asked a couple of years ago about Livramento, he raved about him and said he would be brilliant for us...

£12 mill is an absolute joke for Tino. That better be the starting price with a lot of performance related add ons. I cant see why we'd even entertain a bid that low for him (unless his knee is completely screwed).

Is this being enforced on Reading instead of a points deduction?

Yeah, I think they've missed the top 2 off that list 🤣

Is it going to be one of those "oh, we'll still pay half his wages, and let you have him for next to nothing" sort of deals that Saints seem to love doing? The owners have said we're not desperate to sell anyone, so if we're getting next to nothing out of it, we might as well keep him. Whilst he's quite erratic(!) how much would it cost to get a replacement of similar 'quality'? Probably a lot more than Vasco de Gama would give us I'd guess!!

The only great surprise is that Lancashire isnt on the list...!

Taken from the OS: Two senior players are departing, with Theo Walcott and Mohamed Elyounoussi’s contracts expiring at the end of June.... ...Experienced goalkeeper Willy Caballero is also approaching the end of his current agreement, but talks are ongoing around a potential new deal. Outside of the current first-team squad, the club has also confirmed the following players on professional contracts will leave this summer: Goran Babic Sam Bellis Matthew Hall Zuriel Otseh-Taiwo Leon Pambou Fedel Ross-Lang Jak Stewart Will Tizzard Jack Turner Caleb Watts The club would also like to express its thanks to each of those players and wish them well for their future.

and not be seen for the rest of the season...

Is he actually ever going to be appointed?! 🤣

100% this - hasnt been terrible, but definitely playing within himself. At the start of the season he seemed to work fairly well with the forgotten man Aribo, but since the first month or so of the season has completely lost his attacking intent. It all went a bit 'Redmond'.

Absolutely pointless playing him - another classic Selles selection… Not better than Bazunu, seemingly doesn’t care, surely being moved on.

Simeu could be decent I reckon, and Olaigbe and Chauke have a chance of being squad options in the next year or two, but Vokins, N'Lundulu and Watts almost certainly not good enough sadly. Small is a weird one - signed for good money for a youngster and was very highly rated. Looks very good going forward, but potentially a bit suspect at defending? Loans have been mixed, but still young.

Thank the lord Mr "we should be grateful to just be here" is being shown the door. That mentality has gotten us to where we are now, and hopefully this is just a minor blip and the Sports Republic team can build a winning mentality and bring us back up next season!

I think with Edozie you can see he's a very skillful footballer, and in a lot of his appearances has waltzed through defences only to be let down by either a poor final ball or a poor miss from the strikers. Having him on the pitch gets defenders on edge, and to me, it's not that much of a coincidence that since he hasnt been playing, we havent (seemingly) been getting as many freekicks around the edge of the box for a certain someone to fire in...! Mara definitely has potential, but just randomly being thrown on every 3rd game for 10 mins at the end or starting once every 5 games he's never going to get much rhythm. He's still very young and I dont think looked out of his depth at any point.

Hopefully the model still works that the 4 in bold above are in the first team next season - we've seen enough to know that Livramento (if fit), Edozie and probably Mara are more than good enough to become star players in the Championship. Larios had a few run outs where he looked lightweight but could see potential in his skill. I'm sure some of the next group will be in the squad most weeks next season, and wouldnt be surprised to see Ballard and Doyle in the squad for the next match or two. That said, last game of the season Walcott almost certainly starts as a farewell?

Is the point more that if they hadnt vastly overspent, they may not have beaten us? We lost 2-1 in gameweek 9, still had Ralph as manager and had we won that, potentially we would not have sacked Ralph and been in the state we are now! Their 2 goalscorers that day were McNeil and Coady, 2 signings from this season, when within the rules they probably shouldnt be signing them. One of the goals assisted by their 30 mil signing Onana, who they almost certainly shouldnt have been able to afford!

We should build the team around Sulemana, Edozie and Alcaraz (and possibly Mara and/or Tella)

Yep, got to be playing Mara, Edozie, Sulemana now. Why even bother with Armstrong - playing the likes of him, Moi etc has sent us down.

Edozie and Sulemana both were good, direct and looked like they would make things happen when they came on (as they do most times they play). It's almost as if Selles doesnt want us to win / score. Now we're relegated and he's pissed off the fans by playing this crap football and pissed off the better players by constantly overlooking them. Fun times.