S-Clarke

What does the performance against Bournemouth have to do with anything? Surely winning is winning, wherever you win a game as well as we did, i'm not sure I can class that as a negative - I'm not sure what you're getting at there. We will need at most, in my opinion, 3 to 4 points. Fulham's form has been overstated. They haven't scored in two and lost to Leeds last time out, a mid-table team. And why do you have more confidence in Newcastle, with Steve Bruce at the helm and no fit attackers, than us? I don't get it. We can do both this year - stay up and compete in the cup, so let's not worry about winning against Leicester. I wouldn't want to be relegated either, but the reality is that it is incredibly unlikely and as rank outside as us winning the cup. (I'd say we've got more chance of winning the cup)

I find it absurd that he wasn't liked by some - he's one of the best CM's we've had in our PL years.

And he was still the best player on the pitch. He didn't 'cheat' that pass.

Why? Let's not get into that debate again! It does seem pointless prioritising winning against Burnley for the battle for '14th' than wanting to get into a Cup Final. Give me the two wolves or arsenal games again, and I'd still choose the FA Cup wins. Let's go all out and win a cup I'd say.

Oh dear. Think we need a complete re-vamp of the academy setup in the summer, if we have the funds to do that.

2-5! Great effort by West Brom. Still a minuscule chance of staying up, but at least they have something positive to remember from this season.

Still sounds like we're just resting him to be honest. He'll be fine for Sunday.

Yeah he kind of intimated that. But it's true, anyone is deluded to think otherwise really - including him. It would be a shame to waste the last couple of peak years of his career as a squad player at Man City. I'm sure Nathan Ake is loving the minutes he's getting on the pitch. No fun it that really, and I think Danny looks at it more than just the pay cheque. But maybe that's just me being naive and he's also all about the money.

I'm also not one of the selfish people who only think about me. A couple of people I knew died during this pandemic, not through COVID but because they were isolated and shut away and no one could see them. And they just had enough. That is sadly more common than is seen. Those stats aren't put onto the graphs we see presented to us though. It feels like I've gone and started an entire debate on this, but I haven't really! What I feel is that there needs to be a balance between peoples lives (I guess you could say freedoms) and protecting against catching it - the debate if it's serious enough or not is something totally different. I feel that the world has gone way too far the other way and sadly there are quite a lot of people whose lives have been turned upside down, not due to COVID but because of COVID. No jobs, alone, isolated, no money, mental health through the floor. As I said, those stats are invisible though. I'm not denying that people have died and families have lost loved ones due to COVID, of course that has happened and it's been quite a year for a lot of people. But there needs to be a balance because there is another crisis behind the screen of COVID. People who have support around them are fortunate, not everyone has that and Individuals who live alone and haven't been able to see any friends or family have had the worst year of their lives - even more so if a family member has died of it and they haven't even been able to see them. There will always be variants, there will always be mutations. There will be a mutation which will evade the vaccine, I can see them talking that up already. But we cannot continue to live in fear for what will be an evolving situation for the rest of our lives.

It shouldn't bother us at all, but it just feels inventible that Witty and Vallance will be stood on a podium at some point in the next 6 weeks, showing graphs and charts and talking about 'grave' figures again. They're creating a world full of people scared to even venture out of their homes. Let's just get back to normal now, it's getting beyond ridiculous for so many people.

The 'European' third wave is primed to hit just as we start to bin everything in June. I can see where it's going.

There will be more milling around in all the beauty spots this weekend, I'm sure.

I wouldn't have thought JWP is injured. This has happened before, he's returned as a 'precaution' and then plays 90 mins next week. The guy is a freak in terms of fitness. I think we had a little chat with England prior to this due to our already depleted squad, and it was probably made clear to us that he wouldn't play all 3 games, as Kalvin Philips is the chosen one at the mo. It's nice that little old Southampton can be heard.

I think that's a little bit too strong. It was pure stupidity yes, and what this has probably done is removed Ralphs trust in him. He'll have to build that back up. But history has shown that once Ralph loses trust in you, it's hard to see a way back - he is very stubborn. I expect him to go.

As other's have said, what are they testing? The world is peak stupidity at the moment. This somewhat doesn't surprise me and I think that's probably the worst part of it. I fully expect these decisions now.

I've noticed that with a lot of Sheldon articles, they're a lot of words wrapped up in the illusion that behind-the-scenes stuff is being shared, but in reality he's just fluffing up what is already in the public domain and any of us can find. Nothing new is ever presented in what he posts. It's either his opinions or fluffed up words that can be found anywhere. I expect more 'in the know' stuff from the Athletic to be honest.

The fact Gaston ended up on loan at Hull and on the back of that, on loan in the NPC with Middlesbrough probably tells you all you need to know about his suitability for this league. He's done ok at Sampdoria to be fair, that's probably the best fit for his ability - la liga wouldn't have been a bad shout either. Slower pace, more time on the ball. The total opposite of this league.

Nah, he'd be out on his arse in a Ralph team. A luxury player who'd be totally lost and at odds with how we play. Not sure why you feel he'd work well in a Ralph system. I think most fans accepted he was genuinely gifted, very technical, but just not really suited to the rigors and pace of PL football - much in the same way as Boufal really.

Those years were the most exciting I've had supporting this club. Some great away days, breaking records all the time. It was such good fun, only have good memories of those years. What makes it even better is how that core came up and then finished in the top half of the top league as well. Love stories like that, probably won't happen again in my lifetime. Don't forget Guly! Whilst he split opinion, he was too good for L1.

That has been dreadful, such a low standard. Not sure why we've got 6 defenders on the pitch against Albania. The entire setup looks condensed and confused. It's no wonder we're not creating anything. What were Southgate's senior managerial credentials prior to getting the England job? Relegation with Middlesbrough?

Wow, that's like a thing of dreams! (Well, not selling Ings and Vestergaard as I don't want them to leave). We can't sell Gunn, he's already agreed a 2nd year loan at Stoke next year. Need to hope Fulham go down then, as the agreed fee with Fulham is around £4-5m

Like you said, our management of these players have been poor. I class Slattery in that group as well - very talented, but kept here for too long and not given opportunities. There's only so much you can do in the U23's. I hope we don't end up doing the same with Alex, as I think we'll look back in a few years shaking our heads if he leaves.

He's been decent up there, but in context the Celtic fans aren't too excited about keeping him. Like you say, the only clubs who could potentially offer him an avenue are smaller European sides - and there's no money in those teams really. As per our unsellables, he's on big wages and I can't see us being able to shift him for a fee because of that. Same issue we had with Boufal, Carillo, Hoedt etc.

Looked like he was in tears when he came off in that game, I don't think it was even that bad an injury. I think if we'd have been in the Championship, Hesketh and Sims may have progressed a little more. They were unlucky to come into the side at a time when we had Mane, Tadic in and around the squad (and Long...). They were never superstar young players at the time, just decent enough players to help fill out the squad, so they weren't ever going to oust established PL players. That's why they stagnated I think. There was definitely something in both of them and I think they'll make a career in the Championship and below- Sims, maybe bottom half PL later in his career.

We're in a bit of a tricky situation with Elyonoussi. I don't think anyone will pay a fee for him, so we'd be limited to just sending him out on a random loan again next year. That doesn't give us much/if any cash, so we couldn't then fill the spot he vacates. In that sense, for squad depth alone, it may be a good idea to keep him around. I think we should try all we can to sell him if i'm honest, but I just don't see any takers as he's not very good. I think Abraham and Tangana are realistic loans - possibly. Not permanent signings though. And don't you be surprised at the club leaving an obvious squad shortfall come August the 1st. We do it every year, 3 centre backs would not surprise me in the slightest.