egg

I'm pretty sure I read somewhere that there isn't. Shame, he'd be a good option at the moment.

Agreed. I can't understand why we had no cb or rb cover on the bench which only offered defensive cover for Bertrand. It seems crazy to start with 3 cb's but have no alternative but to ditch the formation if one of the 3 cb's has a problem. Otherwise it was a cracking performance and we were set up very well. Hopefully the players will take confidence from that and kick on.

Read my post, I wouldn't put Stephens ahead of Hoedt. I'd 'consider' him ahead of VVD who was utter sh1te against Newcastle. Sure we were awful against wolves but who knows how long we'd practiced it. To me it looked like not very much at all. 3421 works well for many teams and personally I'd rather see that (properly coached) than what we are playing as clearly it ain't working.

I doubt we'd get away with 12 players! However, taking Redmond out of that and leaving Tadic and Boufal behind Gabbi is how I'd go. Very much the Chelsea system, and Tadic and Boufal as inside lefts and rights could be very effective - they're both wasted out wide. Gabbi in one of the support roles would be effective also but there's no adequate replacement up top - Long would waste any chance created and Austin isn't mobile enough. The only other change I'd contemplate is Stephens for VVD. He just doesn't look interested and had a mare against Newcastle.

Lemina and Romeu should be able to control middle. I think Gabbiadini making runs from deep with Long stretching the Newcastle back 4 could be our best attacking option. I like the line up and fancy us for a few goals today.

He would.

Nah, long up top making the space for tadic and gabbi in behind. Same 3, just used differently.

Who, at the top level, is successfully playing wing backs (so 3 at the back) with 2 up front? Chelsea are successful but they play one up front, with 2 in behind. Arsenal's version is similar. That blend works as the two behind the front man have so much more freedom and can become a 2 or 3 up front. I'd love to see us with a well drilled 3 cb's, wing backs, Lemina and romeu, and then 2 ahead plus 1 up top. With vvd back in the fold I wouldn't be surprised to see it using that system.

He's stating the obvious really. We couldn't play 2 up top in the prem, we'd get battered in the middle. Alternatively we'd have to use a diamond and have no width. Both are a recipe for disaster. I up top with at least one, ideally 2, supporting as well as giving width works for the top sides and imo is the only logical way to go.

Well, I misjudged him! I didn't think much of him in the west ham game but today he was absolutely superb. Looks a hell of a player.

I think the club published something like 37 or 39 million for Staplewood. I heard it was at 35 ish+ whilst the work was still being done, with a 15 million ish budget, but that we weren't done yet.

It does, but this wasn't public money, it was real money belonging to the owner. The changes made to that development, and the wasted money, was outrageous. That amount, and the money spent on Osvaldo alone (his wages, that we paid up, were eye watering) justified anyone getting moved on and did the club harm for a long time in terms of a) the actual amount having to be paid but b) the wages paid to Osvaldo, and Ramirez, have meant that we've had to row backwards from unsustainable salaries to a more sustainable salary ceiling.

He was paid to spend about £15m on Staplewood and ended up spending nearly £40m. That's not brilliant on my book.

I can't believe some of the comments on here. The first team are doing badly, can't find the net and got battered by a wolves reserve team and outclassed at home by Watford. The u23's are even worse and the nippers struggling too. I'm struggling to understand what is wrong with pointing about the obvious and questioning what is going on.

Changes are needed otherwise we're in for a long season at the wrong end of the table. That's said, I can't believe people are calling for Stephens to be replaced, he was our best player my a mile in yesterday's debacle. I'd play 3 at the back and work on it all week. Wolves can't happen again. I wouldn't start VVD yet, unless he's able to give a full 90, physically and mentally. If he is I'd start him in the middle of the 3. If not I'd start Yoshida. Either way I'd drop Forster, and go with 3421 in the Chelsea style, ie 1 up top supported by an inside left and inside right. That way we can give Gabbi proper support whilst hopefully getting more service to him. Lemina has to start to give more presence in the middle, we looked like the under 18 team vs the big boys yesterday. You've got to earn the right to play and Palace would batter yesterday's 11. My team : Mccarthy Stephens VVD/Yoshida (depends if vvd ready) Hoedt Cedric Romeo Lemina Bertrand Boufal Redmond Gabbi Bench. Whoever but I'm not persuaded by Boufal and I'd be looking to get Long on early if Boufal or Redmond don't get involved enough.

Quite. I think he's acted stupidly but I won't boo him and can't see that doing so would achieve anything, and certainly nothing positive.

All this 'it's the agents fault' is utter boll0cks. He's a 26 year old man with his own mind. Do people really think that he's incapable of deciding for himself that he could play for a bigger club and could earn loads more money. He and he alone must take responsibility for his actions.

Cheers, I knew he'd put pen to paper! Perov Balls though ?

Yep, I was sure he would leave and some time soon he will. Whether we get a committed player who doesn't disrupt the dressing room in the meantime, let's wait and see. See post above re Hoedt. You don't have to watch a player in your own team to assess a player. Martina was bang average for us and will be bang average for Everton, for example. He won't suddenly go up there and become the world's best right back will he.

I've commented on how he's played when I've seen him play, most recently against France where he was slow, ponderous, positional wise weak (at times) and poor in the air. I wish I could say that moved across the ground like a whippet, was commanding in the air and in the right position all the time, but he wasn't. Sure, when he plays for us the positioning may improve, but I doubt he'll suddenly be able to move quicker or jump higher.

First point noted. Second point, unless you've been asleep you will have noticed that we didn't sell VvD.

Not at all but I'm not a 'we've signed him so he'll be great' person, instead I judge all players on their merits. From what I've seen he'll take a lot of improvement to be better than Stephens and Yoshida on current form. However, he looks a better 3rd pick than Bednarek.

Have you seen Hoedt play? We've had 2 clean sheets in 3 games this season. I'd stick with Stephens and Yoshida based on what I've seen.

I agree with most of this. His positioning wasn't great and he was far from dominant in the air. What worried me most though was his lack of pace. Yes his midfield exposed him, and yes there was a lot of pace in that French team, but you're either slow or your not and he looked slow.

I agree. Play often breaks down when the ball gets to the undroppable Tadic, and to a lesser extent, Redmond. JWP is purportedly a dead ball King but in open play isn't very effective. Boufal has all sorts of ability and will hopefully fulfil his potential, but needs to play to have a chance of that. Beyond that it's hard to see who'll put goals on a plate for our strikers who aren't the sort to create anything for themselves.