S-Clarke

It was upgraded until we sold Romeu, but now we're probably on par there as we have the same situation when Lavia is out as we had when Romeu was out (too lightweight) It is strange how we always do this. In some windows we leave CB short (when we didn't replace Fonte), or when we loan out all our full backs so we only had KWP. This season we have undoubtedly left our striking positions significantly weaker than last season, thinking we can ''make do'' with Che Adams, a kid and Adam Armstrong. That is probably the last position you can afford to play that game with, so we've dropped an almighty bollock imo.

Think we first play them in the new year. I always thought Forests approach was daft, should have focused on keeping who they had rather than buying all new. They'll go the way of Fulham without doubt.

It does feel as if the end is here now, it's just a matter of time and some paperwork to sort out I imagine. I will openly say I've supported Ralph during the years here and I've backed the style, as I think it's a modern and progressive way of playing (gegenpressing/energy/pace etc) and he's had to do it with a bit of a rag-tag squad in the main. During that period we haven't been in any 'deep' relegation battles either - so I think looking at it like that, he's done ‘ok’ in previous years. But things have changed now, quite dramatically. We no longer have that modern style, or any style in fact. Gone is the counter press, gone is the pace, gone is the energy - we're just flat, there’s nothing about us at all. I don't know if that's by instruction or if the players are just warn out by it all and need a change, but the last 12 months have been turgid. I had hoped this summer would have provided him with the players to adopt that style again - Lavia/Mara/Edozie/ABK/ etc - young, quick, energetic players. But sadly, we have regressed even further, there now seems to be a genuine plan to just hoof it long and hope for the best (as borne out by the stats) and that is usually what happens when you have no idea how to play. So, I feel a change is inevitable. It's a shame it hasn't worked out, I do feel Ralph was the right man at the wrong time originally. If he was backed from day 1, I think we'd have had a different outcome, but in the main he's had to work under difficult conditions here and I think that's made him alter his philosophy as manager, as he's light years away from the guy who managed RB and us at the start. At the end of the day whilst you can’t ignore our ‘2020’ form, you also can’t ignore our 2022 form. It feels as if the players have lost a little bit of belief or understanding in what we are trying to do.

I agree that he needs to do it over a period of time, but as long as he stays fit (Which has been a small concern over him) then he will become the best, as he's a freak. He'd improve any team he plays in, his power and strength alone are too much for teams to deal with. It does help having players like De Bryune who can pick him out without looking, but he's also the sort of player who has the attributes to make lot himself. To be on 17 goals by the start of October is just ridiculous. There's no longer a golden boot race, or a title race for that matter.

Romeu was declining for sure, but he was still an able player if required and added steal to the middle of the park. Whilst we saw Lavia as the 'modern' replacement, it really should have been a case of playing him with Romeu for a year and not selling ourselves short. I can somewhat understand the personal side of it in terms of the club not wanting to stand in the way of his return home, but sometimes I think we need to be a bit more selfish and think about our own needs rather than everyone else's. Nice guys always finish last and all that.

These games are always weird, everyone expects a total thrashing, embarrassment, record scores etc etc. We played City twice after being pummelled by Leicester, and even though we lost the league game, it was a somewhat respectable 3-1. It won't be record scores, but we'll lose. I was hoping we'd be close to a positive GD for the first time in many years this season, so a low-scoring defeat should be the target.

This is a transfer which looks more baffling by the day. Most agreed last season that we had no one who could come in and replace Romeu if he drops his level or he's injured etc. So we got in Lavia as a young player to develop underneath him. But to then sell Romeu we've put ourselves in exactly the same problem position as last season, with just one true 'destructive' CM in the team. Which has been made even worse because he's now injured, which will happen to young players as they get used to playing football regular. Absolutley insane risk to take to be honest. We had a really good start to the window, but the final few weeks of it were a little shambolic to say the least and it's undone all the good work really.

This in a nutshell really. Our best periods in the last 3 years have coincided with Broja or Ings hitting form, our good form has never coincided with Adams or Armstrong going on runs as they're incapable of doing so. It's frustrating to be honest, it feels like the failure to bring in that game changing attacker is going to undermine and render all the other improvements pointless.

Agreed, I think he's all but gone (maybe not January, but in the summer). Ditto KWP - some sell on there and he will have takers. The club will see it as we already have the replacements in the building in Tino and DCC, so we don't need to spend fortunes replacing them.

Another year - contracted until 2024.

The reason I don't think there will be a change 'yet', is because of the comments made by Semmens (I think last season). This has always stuck with me - ''For us it's not about where we finish or how many points we get, it's about how well we are developing players and providing a pathway'' So for as long as the manager in charge picks the players with potential resale value and provides them a platform to develop, then he's doing the job he's there for. The change will come when we start to see a stagnation in player development, which will lead to us in a proper relegation battle and a potential risk to the model - which we are starting to see...so if it carries on then come the world cup they may think it's time.

We (reportedly) had a few targets. Sasa from Stuggart, Dembele from Lyon, Ramos at Benifca and then Cody Gakpo at PSV. Gakpo being more of a complete attacker than the others. No idea how close any of those were really, but there was money down on the table for the 'right' attacker. I guess we decided to stick as we couldn't get anyone better than what we have, but I must admit our scouts have failed a bit if they couldn't find better than Adams and Armstrong in terms of goal scorers! We've probably got an entire season of ''oh what a miss by Adams'' ''Adams has to be doing better there'' ''Skied by Adam Armstrong, he had to do better''. Best buckle up.

We've had so much worse in other leagues. I remember having to deal with McGoldrick and Jordan Robertson, after we'd sold Rasiak and loaned out Saganowski due to our log jam of strikers! PL wise it's hard to remember much worse though. It's possible that Edozie, Mara etc could become some of the best we've had, but they're nowhere near yet and the sad thing is that our transfer window has meant we were/are relying on those two filling the Broja void - but the jury is out on that, if they don't we are substationaly weaker than last year, and to be weaker than last year isn't going to end well sadly.

If we signed that striker in the summer, that was probably going to be a pretty straight forward second half. Adams once again shows he cannot be relied on, the sad thing is that no one else can be relied on either to be clinical - we've got ourselves in a right old mess in attack, the worst we've been since we've been promoted. First half was flat as a pancake though, players looked disjointed and unsure what to do most of the time. AMN was absolutely inept, like a pub player thrust into a football match. He's either not fit or he's regressed so much in two years. I thought he had more about him. Aribo, in the second half, was the only one who looked like he could offer a spark. We started well and got on the front foot, took the league and we had them where we wanted them. We don't have the players to make it 2, 3, 4 though and seemingly we're still prone to brain dead bollocks by giving away free kicks and allowing crosses into the FUCKING BOX. how many times. I thought ABK was a bit sloppy today, DCC not too bad but should have scored at the end. KWP absolutely shit for the equaliser, ditto Armstrong - was it a game of who can stand off the longest? It was 2 against 1 and we didn't pressure him at all. I'm a little nervous about Bazunu, although it's to be expected with such a young player. Although I'm getting Angus Gun vibes in that he just doesn't seem to be able to save goals, anything on target goes in. Hopefully more potential there than Gunn, but jury is out. This was always the gamble though - going for kids over tried and tested, that requires patience because the ground could swallow them up quite quickly if they're hung out to dry. The starting 11 was full of more intent, but sadly no structure. Not really sure what most of those guys have been doing for two weeks as they looked like they'd never seen a football before. Our ball retention and use of the ball is the worst in the league imo. Not sure where we go from here. I still don't see Ralph going yet, the world cup break will provide that opportunity. The clock is ticking though as this isn't getting any better and it's the first time under Ralph, for a prolonged period of time, that we are playing with zero identity. There's nothing about us anymore.

You always hear stuff like this when it's ''not going well'' though. A few months ago Bednarek was claiming Ralph could manage any club in the world. He's stubborn for sure, but you can probably put that on a lot of managers. And re: Fergie, this is the same bloke who threw a boot at David Beckham and fell out with players quite often...!

I don't have much time for players like him, who have had massive contributions to our shitness whilst they were here, then coming out after they’ve left to stick the boot in. He was lucky he was given so many opportunities by the manager he criticises, he was never good enough for the top level so he should thank himself lucky he had a manager who was prepared to give him a chance and develop another string to his bow by playing third CB. He should spend more time trying to figure out why he was caught out of position 90% of the time.

I have a feeling his injury is one of those ''5 weeks, but turns out to be 2/3 months'' type ones.

Am I missing something? They're talking about ''the feelgood factor' around their club. What have I missed? Have they had new investment or something I've missed? They've got the same number of points as us but have won less games, and we're supposedly in the gutter.

I notice Watford have sacked ANOTHER manager. At least they gave him 11 games this time. That's 16 mangers in 10 years. Absolutely insane way to run any organisation, not just a football club.

A lot of screaming about TAA not being included, but I think most normal fans can understand why. The one which has always bemused me is fikayo tomori - class CB, been an absolute super star out in Milan and is a mainstain in that side. Athetlic, quick, powerful. Why does Maguire, who doesn't play, get in ahead of him?

They are an incredibly defensive side, with experience at the back (proper experience too). They will keep it tight, sit deep, be hard to break down and try to exploit the break. It has all the ingredients to be a very, very frustrating and ultimately pointless afternoon if we continue the same way. This is not the game for the likes of Elyounoussi, and it's also not the time for Adams up top on his own. We need legs and players who are prepared to attack and break down the sides of them, as they're not the quickest recovery wise. Edozie, Aribo on the flanks with Adams and Armstrong through the middle. If that doesn't work, switch one of them for Mara early doors 2nd half. If we play as we did against Villa or Wolves (scared to lose) then we will have no luck against a dogged Everton side. Need to be on the front foot and attack them from the off. If Elyounoussi starts this one, given how totally unsuited he will be for it, then I will give up with football.

We're certainly pretty shit nowadays, as shit as we have ever been under Ralph. I have been a staunch supporter of Ralph because I like to follow teams with a clear identity and a purpose, the counter pressing and attacking way we played was fun and at times a bit crazy. We never had the players to really sustain that though bar a few purple patches, which is why we ended up with some almighty battering’s along the way. I agree with what others say in that those large defeats have changed Ralph. He's become a cautious and stand-off manager, focusing on defending before anything else. There's nothing wrong with a defensive focus, but not when it comes at the expense of any attacking ambition. Villa was incredible in that sense. We are more interested in stopping the opposition score goals as opposed to scoring them ourselves. Gone is the bravery and the counter pressing in the final third, or the red zone as Ralph once put it. It's frustrating for me because this is now the first squad he's had with us who would be able to sustain this style. We have recovery pace at the back, legs and mobility in the middle (when Lavia is fit and AMN is used). Cover at full back, physicality all over the pitch etc. But we now don't play that way, we're regressed back to a very scared damage-limitation style team and when you go in with that mindset you never really look great in attack. Sure, we've got some pretty diabolical attackers still, but we need to see the new guys like Aribo, Mara and Edozie get some chances now. I still stand by my view that nothing will change before the world cup. It's an ideal point to reflect on the first half and see where we are then. Our start hasn't been 'diabolical' by any means in terms of points, it could have been a lot worse, but let's see where we are come November in the hope that these new players start impacting – things may look different then.

He did some good work up to the final touch, much as the same with us. I'd have to say it was simiar for Stu Armstrong too, he couldn't seem to hit a barn door either. For Che though It must be infurating for him to be subbed and then watch his replacement score 2 goals against the same team. And Dykes is playing his trade at a lower level. Che is just not clinical what so ever, he needs to be paired with someone who is otherwise there will be lots of ''how did he miss that?'' ''weak shot by Che'' commentary on every game.

That was an incredibly moving moment and was on the request of the queen, as whelk says above it was the piper who woke her up most mornings. The way he walked off into the distance with the volume slowly decreasing gave me Goosebumps to be honest. That was a much fitting end, I didn't need to see the coffin fully lowed through the floor - we all knew what was happening there.

They were phenomenal weren't they. Unflustered, never out of place. That would not have been an easy job to take that up the stairs to St Georges Chapel, but they did it with ease. The whole thing makes you feel proud to be British really, everything good about us out on show (minus the stupid hecklers and mobile phones). The whole thing was so moving, it was faultless from start to finish. The whole country done her proud.