WALK DMC

I don't think all transfers have been bad. Bella-Kotchap is a very good signing. He is still young, and I assume that we will make a profit on him in the summer when he inevitably leaves. Plus the likes of Mara and Bazunu will probably make a good living as footballers (not sure which division ....) when they mature. I personally think Bednarek has played alright since coming back.

I believe that Man City have a buyback for £40m from Summer 2024, but also a 20% sell-on clause effective immediately. It basically means that if we sell him for £50m this summer, we'd still only receive £40m, so little incentive to sell him for that amount now. £80m may be pushing up, but £60m would only bring us £48m, so lets hope that there is a bidding war. With a guaranteed £40m in 2024 and the 20% clause reducing any sale this summer, we have very little reason to sell him for a lowish figure. Of course, this assumes that he hasn't been promised a move, or if he decides to throw his toys out of the pram to get the move.

As I recall, it was during the 3 games that JWP was out suspended last season. We actually scored (Livramento header) from one against Burnley. We certainly need to mix it up with our corner taking, as something isn't working at the moment (and hasn't for a while now).

Orsic is not providing Salisu with much cover

I agree with many of the comments about Nicolas Jackson particularly the absence of strong goalscoring. One positive though is that he has played regularly (although not as a confirmed starter) for Villareal. Villareal currently sit equal 4th in La Liga which is a fairly high level and certainly stronger than the bottom sides in the Premiership. He must have demonstrated some good abilities to play regularly for a team at that level in the division. Plus, he is only 21, so clearly isn't the finished product. I'd still like to procure Ings (who is the finished product) as that has more bearing on the next 19 league games than Jackson who can make a contribution but is unlikely to be the difference between staying up or going down, while Ings could.

4-2-3-1 Clearly NJ reads this forum 🙂

I'd go 4-2-3-1. Due to his booking take DCC off, stick AMN at right back. And replace A Armstrong with Edozi.

I think the absence of Lavia from the bench is also a concern. He played 2/3 of the game on Sunday, I just hope he didn't get a reaction to his recent injury, he would be useful against Liverpool.

But in the last 10 years since returning to the Premiership we have never managed less than 10 defeats in a season. In quite a few seasons it has been more than 15 too ...... I know that it isn't the most positive statement to make, but you can't deny the accuracy based on historical data.

I appreciate that Newcastle are in a good vein of form, but I don't think that we need to throw in the towel so quickly. They have only won twice away all season and their away record is inferior to Chelsea, Arsenal and Man United who we matched earlier in the season. So yes, stick Lavia on from the beginning and see how the game progresses and how his fitness holds out. It will be difficult but we can definitely get something from this game.

Isn't that what we did last season when we got two draws ?

Arsenal fans I spoke with laughed at this statement. They considered it a known fact that AMN is lazy. I suspect that he has been left out of the squad for other reasons, but it may explain why he hasn't been as successful with other clubs and achieving his full potential.

Cheeky bid for Traore ? He is 26 years old so a little older than our usual targets, but Wolves want to get rid for around £20. He blows hot and cold, but still an exciting player. Could be an alternative to Gakpo.

Leeds are 4/5 favourites to sign Gapko. Saints are now only 2nd favourites.

I guess much will depend on how much we pay for Edozie, hopefully not as much as Basunu or Lavia. He certainly looks a little lightweight which could be an issue, but I know there were similar concerns about KWP when we signed him too. And he didn't turn out badly.

I actually quite liked it .... (although it didn't really answer my question)

Has anybody received their Spurs tickets yet ? At what point should we start to worry ?

I dont think that Winks is the worst player in the world, but don't feel that he would complement our current midfield partnerships. We lack pace and physicality which I don't think that he brings. Too similar to JWP (without the set pieces) and Levy would make sure that the transfer fee was at a premium level. Its a no from me.

I haven't seen him play other than YouTube videos but I did notice that it describes his weakness as "doesn't command contested box" which seems to conflict with what you have seen. My only source is this Youtube video:

I agree with pretty much everything you have written. However, Diallo did okish earlier in the season (when JWP was suspended) and I think that he deserves a couple of games to prove that he is worth keeping. Agree that he was awful at Brentford and last night, but sometimes players need to be given a few games to get their form back. Sadly that wasn't the case with Diallo (or the other players you named last night). Should Diallo play at Leicester ? Maybe. Is Diallo premier standard and worth keeping ? I'm not convinced. We need a big physical midfield player to start kicking people and defending set-pieces. But they cost a few quid ...

0/10

I had assumed that he going to leave the club in the summer due to his ongoing treatment where he can't get any time on the pitch, but your suggestion could make sense. I still wouldn't be surprised if there is some sort of swap deal lined up for Brereton Díaz who we were linked with earlier in the season. He is close to the end of his contract, so Blackburn probably need to get rid and replace. An Armstrong return to Blackburn might work for all parties, although whether Brereton Díaz would make more of an impact in the Premiership is anyone's guess .....

I was told yesterday that Shane Long's minutes per goal is the best of our forwards this season. I haven't checked the stats, but if true it is a very poor reflection on our other forwards ......

Man City have Cancelo playing left back, but he is right footed. So I guess other teams do ......

Its strange that our home form is now so much stronger than our away. While it has been 3 months (Arsenal away) since we saw a performance anywhere close to yesterdays, over the course of the season it is beginning to look very average (it is virtually identical to Watford's). It is only due to 1-2 magnificent away performances (notably West Ham & Spurs) that the attention on our away form has not been in focus. We still play very open away and quite often get penalised. Even in the first half against Man U which was seen as a good result, they missed a couple of big chances when they caught us on the break and the H-T score could have been much worse. I know the absence of Salisu makes a huge difference to our performance (missing Villa and Arsenal away), but maybe it would be better to change our style away from home and start with a more defensive line-up. I know 3 at the back didn't work in the 2nd half yesterday but the game was already lost by then. In 1 of our only 2 victories away from home since the end of October, we actually played 4-1-4-1 (West Ham) so maybe we need to shake it up a little as I fear our attacking 4-2-2-2 is becoming very predictable. This isn't a knee jerk reaction to an awful display yesterday, as I feel that the there is a trend emerging for some time that has not been highlighted due to our excellent home form and morale boosting victories against Spurs and West Ham. It will be interesting to see if Ralph refines our tactics in our next away game. ps I wouldn't change anything for our home tactics.....