doddisalegend

How are we going to know if he is good enough without giving him a chance? Wasn't that what the club was supposed to be about giving our youngsters a chance. If we are just going to flog him and bring in an a sicknote with a ****e goal scoring record for 10 million it rather proves the academy/U23s pathway is just another pile of club bollix.

Nice attempt at sarcasm if we had won playing like we did yesterday I'd still be worried. This is just like last pre-season when people kept passing it off games as meaningless when anyone watching close enough could see the issues that marred last season already emerging. This pre-season's games have already shown we have issues in defence involving two players who where first choice CBs last season. Do people really think come first game of the season they are just going to become first class CBs?

be funnier if he signed for Rangers..

Welbeck could be ok though his goal record isn't overly great (or at least I thought it would be better) best goal tally he has every managed in a league season is 9 goals (which if fairness is an upgrade on our last couple of seasons) and that was for the 2011-2012 Man Utd team not sure what he would do in our team.

Well that would certainly kill the old path way myth and would be a **** move. I'd rather they gave Gallagher a go than spunk money on Ings...

So given how weak we are there how is 2 at the back going to make us better defensively? I still think the formation will work and the but you have to take the calamity duo out of the equation, play Betrand and Cedric as wingbacks and you have play Romeu and Lemina in front of them.

That argument would hold more water if Hoedt and Stephens had been competent defenders before Hughes arrived but they weren't they where already ****e all Hughes has done so far is fail to improve them.

A good attack comes from having a solid defensive base to allow the midfielders and fullbacks to get forward to support the attack. I can imagine any central midfielder or fullback in our team will have next to no confidence that the keystone cops at the back can cover them if the push up.

So leave out Hoedt and Stephens and play Yoshida and Jan Bednarek its not the formation its the fact Hoedt and Stephens are total turd.

yep you said the same last season even when it was obvious we had some serious issues and Mope was a serious downgrade on Puel in pre-season. The results aren't important but the manner of performances are. the performances of Hoedt and Stephens are a major concern as was lack of service to the forwards and our inability to control midfield.

Certainly I imagine one positive from this pre-season is Hoedt and Stephens might spend most of next season on the bench.

I'm not sure playing less defenders is going to make us better defensively. Hughes reverted to the five at the back because we where getting thoroughly rimmed at the back when he turned up the change certainly made us more solid. Arguably todays team won't resemble the one we put out on the first day of the season.

Good to see our new CB having an impact... just not the impact I was hoping for

so how Hughes going to sort out our ****e defence? our reckon we might have to play a flat back 9 with Austin up front....

and a new manager and coaches...personally I blame Eric Black...

Yoshida our best CB these days .. never thought I'd say that.

yeah I remember people saying that last summer...

eh? has made quite a few saves in this game.

oh great

he is no Jos Hooiveld for sure

That's the role he has played in the two Chinese pre-season games and got himself a couple of goals it would be great if Hughes could breed a bit of confidence into him and he had a good season.

Well I think we can say Hoedt and Stephens are still ****e on the other hand this won't be our first 11 in the PL...... well I hope not

So business as normal at the back then. We need Yoshida and Vestergaard to step up this season so we don't have to see Hoedt and Stephens embarrassing us in a saints shirt every week..

should get our first update on the game at half time then...

it would work better with the right personnel. Bertrand is wasted as a CB, Romeu should be sitting with Lemina , Cedric will offer more than JWP and ideally Stephens and Hoedt should be on the bench.