S-Clarke

That's the thing though isn't it, he can do as many stepovers, tricks and skills as he likes, but if it ultimately ends up with him either giving the ball away or falling over then it's all pretty pointless. I can't see is decision making changing, this is his third season here and there are still the same problems/question marks over him. Such a shame we still had Ross when we bought Moussa for about £15m. If we had a more capable scouting setup at that time we may have spent £16m on Saint-Maximin instead.

Another good shout. Quick and mobile, although I felt he did get caught out on occasions last year. Apparently available for just £10m

West Ham were looking at Worrall, now they're not getting that guy from Italy I can imagine them coming back in for him. Highly rated, part of the same England setups (u17's, under 20's world cup etc) as Armstrong. And Crocker would have been part of the England setup when he was breaking through and making an impact in the young sides. This video is 'interesting', WHU fans debate on signing Worrall. JOE WORRALL BATTLE HEATS UP | WEST HAM'S NEW TARGET | WEST HAM TRANSFER NEWS - YouTube To quickly summarise it - he's a two footed centre back, primarily left sided. Plays balls from the back into midfield to help build up the play. He's a man mountain, huge centre back. Reads the game well, plays it well etc. Only 24, but plays older. Leads etc. Ticks a lot of our boxes, sounds a similar profile to Caleta-Carr in attributes. Shouldn't' turn your noses up at Championship players, lots of good players snapped up from that league have gone on to be consistent PL players for years to come.

He's got a bit of stardust about him, in his touch, movement, how he positions himself etc. Can certainly see why he is so highly rated. I'd be tempted to throw him in front of KWP. He'd be more of a threat than Theo/Redmond/Moussa.

I think there was a combination of things really. Firstly, we needed a break. If you remember back to March 2020 we'd just been done 0-1 at home to Newcastle and we looked clueless and tired. The enforced break came at a great time for us as it enabled us to reset and recharge physically and mentally. I think as a club we managed the lock down period better than most, the physical plans we put in place seemed to enable everyone to keep on a really good level. So that enabled us, in my opinion, to come back with an edge over most other sides. We were fitter, more aware, stronger. I don't think we reset our game or changed how we played, it was simply down to fitness and we caught a lot of teams off guard by how sharp we were. We didn't really have a break once that season ended, so we carried straight into the next one - which actually enabled us to carry on the momentum, once Ralph stopped pissing around with the high line. But we got to about December and we were done really. The 1-1 away at Arsenal was where I started to see some chinks in the fitness in that we couldn't see out games, we were struggling in the final stages etc. The season pretty much ended there if we're honest, as from that point on I think we only managed to amass another 16 points. We've had a decent break this pre-season, we've refreshed the squad so in theory we should start seeing an upward curve in momentum again. A lot will depend on 1) who we sign at CB and 2) if Armstrong can really fill the Ings void, as we've lost starting quality in both those positions. If both of those are positive then we should be ok, as in theory with a wider squad and more options we may be able to manage the squad a bit better. (thats if Ralph actually uses the bench!!!)

He does strike me as a little immature. School holidays I guess.

Absolutely, it's not their job. Need more from Redmond, Theo, Moussa, Tella etc - it's their job to pop up in behind, or get to the byline etc. Sadly, bar Armstrong and Tella, our wide/attacking midfield options are truly diabolical. If only we had the funds to spend a little bit on an attacking player. Christ, there are so many holes in this team.

I doubt we have that much left over. I know they say we reinvest what we get, but not every penny. Some of that money will obviously go towards offsetting other losses in light of our non-owner. We'll be shopping in the 10-15m bracket for a CB as frustrating as that may be to hear.

Apart from fail to keep out 3 goals? The first goal which changed the momentum of the game is totally on him. I think he could have done something with the other two as well, even Ralph questioned the goalkeeping on either goal 2 or 3. He did a lot wrong on Saturday.

Tino just showed up better in training, apparently. I don't have any issues with Tino starting - that wasn't the problem, he had a positive impact. The issue was with him not subbing him after 60 mins for KWP.

1 game. He did nothing wrong, he also did nothing extraordinary. Not sure what you're expecting from him.

At least we can get Pep's ''They're the best team we've ever faced and managed to thrash'' comments out of the way early.

Concerning. At least the U18's won though, hopefully they can have a better year and start to rebuild their reputation.

I agree, if he's signed in addition to another 'younger' CB then I'd be snapping it up. Experience would be invaluable, even if it's only the occasional appearance he makes over 1 year.

Wtf? So to be a true fan you must never voice negative opinions about the club, and you should suck up everything that goes on? It's not a fun time to be a Saints fan, it wasn't fun during the 90's at stages either. People voiced the dissatisfaction then as well, but does it make them any less of a fan? Absolutley not. Forgive us 'fake fans' if all we want is a local team who they feel can compete.

It's been a good game actually, Saint Maximin has been the stand out, WHU cannot get near him. We're crying out for someone similar to him in our number 10 area's.

I dunno, best check with their scouts. I imagine the main reason is because they weren't looking for a starting CB, they were looking for a squad option to cover for the next 10 months or so.

Caleta-Carr ticks a lot of boxes. Saw a link to him earlier, but can't remember where. Experience in a top league, experience at International level, a very tall, commanding, powerful and ball playing centre back. Not particularly slow. 24 years old, 1 year left on his contract. Available for around £15m. Experience of the 'RB' programme from Salzburg. He'd be an upgrade on Vestergaard in every way. If we've not at least tried then we're failing.

It's a shame you can't just 'simulate' this game and skip to the next one. Could just forfeit it and take the 0-3 now.

I don't think this is going to happen though, as much as we're crying out for exactly those sorts of players. it looks like Dortmund have offered him a new deal to stay...by the sounds of it. Whilst signing kids is 'exciting', when you have no experience to back it up the talented kids are somewhat left in the firing line. I'm getting horrible flashbacks to 2009. I just hope our CB is a proven top level CB, not an unproven young player.

And I don't think either did impress him or put themselves in the shop window. A right old mess. Ralph did make an interesting post-match comment yesterday, if you heard. I think it was relating to their third goal where he was questioning our goalkeeping, so he's clearly aware. I just don't think we have the money to fix it, not with the other priorities we've got.

No, it's just an admission that McCarthy has been beyond terrible for almost a year now. Someone else needs a long run in this team, McCarthy has had his chance and is killing us. I doubt Fraser will be much better, but beggars can't be choosers. We've got ourselves in a right old mess in goal, let's not forget the loss we just made on Gunn either.

I think we needed changes at 1-1, that's where we needed KWP (Tino was blowing). That's where we needed a little bit of dynamic running with Armstrong in place of Theo. That right side started getting picked apart a bit by Dinge and Gray. You can't expect Tino to operate at that first half level for 90mins, that was his first ever professional game and he's only 18. Mental and physical fatigue are a huge issue within this team, certainly mental fatigue. That's why we give up so many leads and concede goals at killer times on an almost weekly basis. It's all a miserable combination of shit on field leadership and shit management on the day. We needed some proactiveness on and off the pitch. I don't know who will give us that on the pitch as we are meek as fuck. Off the pitch I want Ralph to succeeded as much as anyone and he's got the bench now, he had the depth yesterday....he needs to use it better.

Not sure why you're sticking up for McCarthy, it was horrific hesitation and horrific communication. Salisu equally - horrific lack of awareness of what is around him and too slow to react. Both were at fault, but I still want my goalie to take charge of that situation. Do something, the worst thing he could have done is just stood there. Which he did.

Yeah, I'd agree neither are good enough. We've not swapped them around like crazy, it was just a little experiment at the back end of last season - in the main McCarthy has been number 1 for 90% of Ralphs tenure and he was always average, sadly he has now regressed beyond anyone's worst nightmares.