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Minor issue that he's a loon who's under contract elsewhere and the transfer window is shut.

Our French speaking ex centre back who looks after the under 23's will step up imo. He's been more closely involved with the first team set up so should be seamless.

Agreed that he was a motivator but that's not what the kids need. They need to be coached to improve as players. Doddsy and Williams couldn't develop them as players hence they went. Yes Doddsy served us proud but that doesn't mean he's a great youth coach - his absence from the pro game says it all.

The Flying Dutchman opposite the casino near Oxford Street. Good beer and big screens. My new favourite footy pub.

Quite. Dodd and Williams were poor coaches. They had the respect of the kids as they'd been there and done it, particularly Dodd. They were also good at was keeping the kids grounded. The kids loved them but that did not make them good at the important bit of making them better players.

I've got a Blackburn supporting mate who describes him as a quicker more mobile Chris Sutton. Reckons he looks very comfortable at that level.

You heard that. I heard that. The muppets in the Northam were a disgrace. Definitely more class on the pitch than off it tonight.

Yep. 2 players desperate to take the pen, and confident too. Stand in skipper sorting things out sharpish. Austin banging it away then half apologising for being a knob and saying it's been sorted. Puel saying he'll have a word. Don't see the issue.

I dislike Lallana as much as the next man but it's daft to say say that he was anything but very good today. Credit where it's due.

But Redmond, Boufal and PEH wouldn't come to sit on the bench behind mane, Wanyama, etc. That's where the 'we should have pushed on' and added to the squad argument fails. Good players come for first team football so have to come in to replace those who leave. Sure we all want a bigger and better squad but the emphasis has to be the strongest first 11. Wanyama had to go. His contract was running down and we had to cash in. Anything else wouldn't have have made business sense, plus an unhappy player (from being forced to stay) suits nobody. Mane's stock was high so selling him made sense also. Arguably we could have got more but selling made sense and again I don't see the sense in forcing players to stay. Thus keeping them wasn't an option. If we did we'd struggle to get quality to play second fiddle to them plus they'd be gone in the next window or the one after so why put off the inevitable departure and search for a replacement until another day? If people want to see better 2nd and 3rd choice players they must consider how realistic it is to move out someone like Yoshida for example, and then find another bloke who's happy to be 3rd pick. It's not easy and costs a lot of cash potentially paying up contracts, loyalty payments, agents fees, signing on fees plus transfer fees etc. Then there's FFP which is whole other story that I'm tired of mentioning cos the masses don't seem to realise just how little we can spend wages wise compared to others in the league.

What? I cannot believe I've got to waste my last post replying to such daft questions. Just read the ****e posted on here by the likes of you, heisenmoan and others. There's the expectation that we buy all sorts of players. I've read all sorts of posts saying that we have tried harder to get Bony, Chambers and all sorts. Why? Who says we haven't? Who says we can afford their wages? Who says they'd come here? How do fit more than 25 players in a 25 man squad? The bottom line is that we've replaced each departure. That's a fact. What's to say that the new boys aren't an upgrade? Boufal is rated highly and may be an upgrade on mane. Redmond will produce more than Juanmi. Hjolberg looks class and will use the ball better than Wagamama and spend less time banned. Looking at MLG's list please tell me how the squad is weaker. Also tell me which new player is worse than the player he replaced. In short, stop whining, think before you type and get behind the team ffs.

Good post MLG. I've said before that ours fans have become spoiled and expect too much. Most people also seem to completely ignore FFP and don't appreciate that we just cannot compete on wages regardless of whether we have the cash. Personally I think squad wise we're about where we were pre summer. My concern is the system they're used in but that's another issue.

Pens decide who gets an extra point, ie 3 for a win, 1 for a draw but 2 for a draw and pen win.

What do you expect people to say? Nobody is delighted that we've sold so many, but I suspect most people understand that at times we've had to sell, that on other occasions it's made commercial sense too but sometimes we could have put our foot down. In any event sales have happened and we look at the future.

Tough draw but away days at Inter and Prague will be superb. Splendid.

It would take an exceptional player of that size to excel in the prem. Juanmi looked brilliant in a much better league than the Romanian league and struggled over here. If we sign him obviously I hope he does sell but size won't help him.

Stanciu looks about as suitable for the premier league as Juanmi did.

No FFP hasn't been relaxed. As Latheal has said the money is their for players but wages are an issue we can't compete on because of FFP. Latheal appears well informed. If you look at his posts you'll see that he's said there'll be no number 10 coming in if Fonte gets his rise, but that if he goes there'll be wages to redistribute. Guan has now said there's no irons in the fire.

Again spot on. I wasn't aware of the site and thanks for the link. Anyone who hasn't read it should take a look - our fans must understand that we can only pay so much in wages, and can't even pay as much as Norwich!

Good post. People overlook ffp - it's a genuine hindrance for us and does limit our ability to compete on wages.

Selling a saleable house is the easy bit. Purple bricks can do that as well as anyone. Estate agents only prove their worth if an issue arises with the deal or chain. Good, experienced agents have the ability to deal with those scenarios. You gets what you pay for and personally I wouldn't use an Internet cheapy to sell my house.

I've got plenty of miles on the clock and remember fondly us finishing runners up. The fact that were a favourite underdog in the past doesn't mean that in this big money era it's sensible or reasonable for fans to expect us to be top 6 consistently and/or try to compete with the big hitters on wages or transfer fees. With as many years of supporting us I'm realistic about who we are and where we are. Layer cake etc.

You lot should read some of the ****** you post. Anyone would think that the world is about to end. We've lost a few players, that's inevitable. We still have the nucleus of a good squad and the window is still open. We've also lost a manager but replaced him with someone who has a decent enough record. Sadly the mood on here reflects the mood on Saturday. Our fan base has become spoilt, expectant and sulky. We ain't Barcelona or even Spurs. We're a recently ish promoted who's punched above our weight for the last few years. Anyone with half a brain should realise that we won't finish top 6 or above this season. The board haven't let us down since the takeover. I for one am confident that they won't let us down now and I'm looking forward to the season ahead whatever happens during the rest of the window.

Either nobody knows anything, or there's nothing to know. I reckon the latter.