S-Clarke

He was third choice at Newcastle for a reason, became a bit of a banter figure for them when everyone else was getting injured. They preferred to use Dubrabva when Pope was out. Not sure we should be signing 8th placed PL teams third choice keepers tbh.

Great read, find myself agreeing with pretty much all you say. One caveat is that as far as I know...DCC is an obligation, so Lyon will be forced to buy him for a fixed £3m and he'll never return here. Probably for the best.

1 - Downes winner v Watford. Won't get much more dramatic than that, I thought that would have given us the boost to get top 2. You never forget the feeling of last min winners like that. 2 - The first half away v Swansea. Honestly it was majestic, going in 6-0 up wouldn't have been unjust. 3 - Edozies 5th goal against Huddersfield, we knew we'd wrapped it up then after one of the most topsy Turvey games of the season.

Wrexham could be a good gravy train to jump on for players like him.

Most of those will go for a mega pay-day in Saudi I reckon, their reputations are high enough to earn some interest from those teams. Tanganga had a decent season at Millwall by all accounts, but my feeling on him is that he's a Championship player and no more than that. I'd rather focus on someone like Ben Johnson rather than Tanganga.

He was one of the players on our mega-list of potential signings back in the January we sold VVD. Sessegnon, Shaw, Theo, Promes - we were signing them all. Then we ended up with Carillo.

He did well at Carlisle didn't he? I remember he was loved by their fans during his little stint. I think the pathway could be similar, I think we've outgrown him and I don't believe he'll be a PL player but I'm sure he can make a name for himself in the EFL.

He's been absolutely invisible for a year now, has he been injured? He does need a fresh start, not sure I'd be willing to gamble on him though as LB is a position I'd say we need a new starter from day 1. A player I think we'll go for is Ben Johnson of WHU. Right back, but can play right mid, DM, third CB and LB. Powerful runner with the ball and that sort of handy versatile option you need throughout a season. Available on a freebie.

Yep, just read a bit more on it this morning. Basically they are trying to complain about some of the rules that they say they didn't break, but they want them changed so they can operate within them. Hmm. I smell something. As much as most neutrals want to see them punished, the leagues/FA do not have the guts to do anything meaningful to clubs like City. They bring the PL/FA a lot of money in their European exploits and player recruitment, raises the profile of the league etc - the PL will want to protect that at all costs. Doesn't matter if little old Forest or Leicester overspend, dock them points until the cows come home as it won't harm the leagues pull - but god forbid they stopped Man City being able to bring in the next Hallanad - that's why nothing will happen with City.

I don't think it was his 'dilly dialling' on the ball which caused us many problems, he was great with his feet. The issue with Baz is that he cannot save any decent shot on goal, which is a pretty big failing for any aspiring top level GK.

Club already blinked on Lumley and gave him an extension in March for some reason.

At least 10 months was in the official announcement, back end of next season if we're realistic I think. Need a new GK for the entire season really.

I doubt he'll have much, if any involvement next year at all, so we're looking at a stop gap - McCarthy is an easy option for the club.

That's how I see it playing out. Not that I agree with it, but the club have gone all in on Bazunu so they're not going to replace him with a bought player. (As much as I think they should do)

Man City hitting the ball back and now launching legal proceedings against the PL for some financial stuff, not that I truly understand what they're going on about. I'm just waiting for the announcement when it's confirmed that Man City's 120 charges are finally brushed under the big carpet at FA HQ.

End of Stu's time here. But also, finally, after what feels like a lifetime - we've released Jake Vokins. Not sure where he'll go from here, maybe non-league at a guess. Simeu off as well - clearly a signing to help Tino settle in at the time, offered nothing long-term for us.

Sad end to his time here, but one of my favourite players in our 'less than stellar' period. He had an amazing spell under Ralph during the empty stadium games and start of the following season, he was at the peak of his powers and one of if not our best player. Didn't he hold a crazy record that we didn't win without him playing? Sadly time caught up with him and injuries and a gradual slowdown has enormously impacted his game. I have nothing but gratitude for all that Stu has given us during his time here, but I feel that this was a natural point to have a parting of ways and allow both sides to explore something new. I hope he gets a good move.

I think I always get a bit of excitement when a tournament comes around. I don't care much for the friendlies, but world cups or Euro's have resulted in some of my most memorable summers in my lifetime! I'm a bit of a footballer watcher in general though, so there's nothing better for me than 3/4 games a day for a month.

Yeah I appreciate that point, it makes sense - but it can sometimes be a bit of a chore watching! I agree that having Rice in CM is an amazing plus for us now, I think he's one of the best in his position around at the moment - with him deeper, Bellingham a little more advanced....it does look good.

I think we've had a decent period since 2018, final appearances, Semi finals etc. Better than what we were doing under Sven. I think losing a final on penalties is luck of the draw, I wouldn't call that underachieving. I think our attacking options are up there with the best, Saka, Palmer, Foden, Kane, Eze, Grealish, Bellingham (kind of) - it's a ridiculous pool of talent (I've probably forgotten one as well) Where we can't quite match that is at the back, so he's having to work with quite limited centre backs outside of Stones. Defensively will be where we come unstuck (if we do). I just hope Southgate can get the best out of Foden, Bellingham, Kane and Palmer though - the top 4 English players right now. My only criticism with Southgate is that he's quite risk averse, my feeling is that with the attackers we have we just need to go for it.

I think it's inevitable that opinions on him will be inflated because of his brother, he's no where near his level and likely never will be, but I still think he's a decent player. I think another season in the Championship could aid him though, let him become a star at that level first and then he'll have the pick (or not, if he flops).

Gomes Rodriguez? Yeah he could come through, but he is very young - only just turned 16 I think, but looks like he's 20. Be interesting to see if he gets involved in our pre-season this year, certainly has the build already for mens football.

I think he's on upwards of 100k, so you're probably right there. It depends on how much the player pushes for it, if he's happy to sit and pocket 100k for nothing then fair enough and RIP his career - but if he wants to get out and play and makes that clear to them, I'm sure WHU aren't going to keep a player who wants to leave.

I'd say getting relegated was bad timing, given the quality of those coming up....but I think this is actually a decent season to be promoted back. Everton have to sell anyone who moves before they can even look at free transfers, Leicester ditto and will be hit by up to a 15 point deduction. Ipswich are an unknown quantity and do need a lot more work than us, IMO, in terms of bringing their squad up to the level. Brentford are drifting and will lose Tony and Mbueno this summer, could be a difficult one for them. I'm not saying we don't need to strengthen, we really do and we will, but it's not as daunting as some are fearing in my opinion. The standard of the PL last season was horrific.

I think with Ings people can sometimes forget what he can do when he's a regular. At both Villa and WHU he has been in and out of the side, on the bench, unused sub, 10 mins here and there etc. He's a player who 100% needs games to build up momentum. When we first got him on loan from Liverpool it took him a while to get up to speed, he picked up a few niggles and didn't really set the room alight in his first year. I remember there being some debate if £20m was good use of our money to make his loan permanent. But once he played regular his injury's cleared up, his confidence rose and the rest is history. I wouldn't be totally against an Ings return, as a regular he knows how to score goals and he will score goals.