S-Clarke

The next block of games up until the International Break is where we need to see the impact of new additions. Today in many ways was a weird game to judge anything, as Derby's are always odd games which never really play to the strengths of the 'better side'. But we should have been better. If we're still 16th or wherever come the October International break then it's all gone catastrophically wrong and we're out of the race before it even started. But I don't think that will be the case. I think we've got good players for this level and the cream will rise once things settle down a bit. We could have done with the Derby a few months in tbh.

Thankfully we brought in Jander, otherwise we'd have been screwed for options. I think we're still 1 light in there if I'm totally honest.

What I noticed is that we bypassed him quite a lot in the first half, we didn't play into him at all. Like you, I always noticed him in between the lines in pockets of space but we never found him. Second half we did start to find him, and getting him in space between the lines is where he comes good. He's not going to chase back into CM, or tackle to win the ball back, we need to get the ball to him - preferably on the flaming ground. Maybe like you say he was a bit passive in the first half and was 'waiting' for it, rather than demanding it, but that will probably come with games and more familiarity with his team mates. But at the end of the day, if we keep lofting the ball into the strikers or out wide onto the flanks, he's never going to get into the game.

Yeah Kingsland South - I was block 30 or 29 i think, one of those two. For a block right 'next' to the aways, it felt pretty flat. Probably better Northam end, but I just grabbed whatever ticket I could!

The last 30 was about as good as it got, the rest was levels below that - if possible.

I'm glad it's not just me who felt the atmosphere was so passive. It felt like a normal league game where I was sat, everyone sat in silence. It was infuriating. Couple started to get something going a row or 2 below, with your standard chants, but were told to shh and sit down by fans around because of the naughty words they said. Everything about today was absolutely fucking shit. Fans included.

Definitely agree with that central midfield - not 100% sure on Fraser though, Robinson has to come in for me - or Leo. Fraser works hard, but he's so limited and it's painful trying to watch him play football these days. Archer up top on his own only works if the wide players get close, and feed his spins in behind. If we resort to lumping it up to him then we might as well shut up and go home. It doesn't feel as if the season has started yet, much in the same way that last season never really started, so this needs to be a 'bookmark' game for us I feel.

It's a seriously sad state of affairs if we want Stewart starting. The bloke barely resembles a footballer tbh.

He doesn't have Martin's style to hide his deficiencies anymore. He's now expected to move the ball forward and drive a little more, but he's as passive as he ever was. It shows up more because he's alongside a sitter, he's not the 'sitter' himself anymore. We need a CM to drive forward. Last season Stu and to a degree Aribo did that, but Charles and Downes together is just pure nothingness. It's one of the other, and I'm sorry to say Flynn, it's not you. Take 10-15m in Jan and be done with him.

Downes should be sweating for his place now. I think Charles and Downes are too similar, they get in each others way and do the same things. Charles does the same things better though, so it's a no brainer for me. In the other role, Jander at least wanted to drive forward and get in and around the box. I have very little time for Downes these days, he's a Martin cry-baby.

Move it quick, much, much quicker. Stretch the play, much, much quicker. We played into their press by being so passive on the ball. I had more fun on the way back home in the rain.

That was horrific, truly horrific. One of the worst games of football we'll ever have to sit through. It was hyped up as expected, but it was as flat as a pancake. Passive Tepid Timid. Everything about it was summed up in those 3 words, both atmosphere wise and performance on the pitch. It was an entirley waste of 90 mins, they've just wasted a game of football really. We didn't move it quick enough, we didn't move forward quickly enough, we didn't use the width, we didn't have shots, we didn't win anything in the air. There was nothing good about us. The second half had to be a bit better as it simply couldn't have been worse, but even that's stretching. There's really nothing much to say on the performance as there simply wasn't one, not from any player on the pitch. It was the biggest non-game you'll ever get to see in your life. We might as well have spent it at home watching paint dry.

Yeah he's screwed. I thought it was the most bizarre appointment in the summer as it was. They finished on 90 points (i think) and sacked Wilder. He was the guy who instilled a bit of respectability in their prem season, and pushed them into 90 points last. Another club with a really, really odd ownership model. They won't be competing for a long time, they're nowhere near.

That's an amazing post Rivers, I'm sorry for what you're going through. Thank you for taking the time and effort to share that, even though it must have been hard. It was so beautifully articulated and should find it's way to club figures.

If he's off to Belgium it has to be soon, as their window closes on Monday. Other than that it's Turkey or Saudi I guess, but their windows close next week too.

Shea Charles scored for NI tonight. Good goal too. They're 3-1 up on Luxemburg atm.

He was never the owner, just a front for ENIC as the CEO of the football club. (Joe Lewis). I wonder if a takeover is brewing.

Or a year, as was the case with Salisu. The weirdest slow introduction into the team ever.

Even if they're not 100% accurate, the point still stands to be fair. We've saved a fortune on the wage bill which is going to stand us in great stead in future windows.

Who knew, we signed the player just for Aston Villa at home (tm). It's a shame it never worked out, but I don't think we scoped him out well enough. I think the PL was just a little too quick for him, he needed time on the ball - as he got in Serie A and the Champ with Boro, but was often bullied off the ball at PL level.

Obafami could have been a powerful player at a decent level, but so many managers got frustrated with him as he never put in the effort to manage his body. I know Ralph spoke out about him, and I think even our old mate Martin questioned his commitment/application when he was at Swansea. (but that may have been another of his deflection tactics!) A waste.

If our players went into this game seeing themselves as underdogs, I'd kick them into the Itchen. Grow a pair, seriously.

It's pretty good going to get a player to 'drop down' from a Top 5 league.

This window has been the root and branch clear out we all wanted, we've reduced the risk of any '12' point hangovers by doing this. As with any clear out of this scale will still be question marks over certain areas as you can't do it all in one window. There are still things to be done in future windows, but this is a pretty fast start. Leavers: Onuachu, Sullemana, Bree, Taylor, Smallbone, Brereton-Diaz, Larios, Bednarek, Armel Bella-Kotchap, Suguwara all gone - players I know we all feel needed to go and it was time to shift them on. The wages freed up there is huge. Aribo and Edozie still to go. We also had to lose Ramsdale, Dibling, Fernandes and KWP as our only proven PL players - but that's what you pay for with relegation. Big fees recouped and more big wages off the wage bill. CBs: Quarshie, Edwards, Wood, Stephens, Harwood-Bellis - Stacked in numbers. We were never going to add anything else there. We've got good Champ CB's in Wood and THB, a prospect in Quarshie with some interesting attributes - and QPR's player of the season. We've got lots of options and versatility in CB with different profiles. I wasn't too keen on Stephens new deal, but you can't say we have a poor group of CB's for this level. Full Back I really, really like what we've done at full back, we've unquestionably upgraded the left side and the depth all across. Jelert, Mads are top tier signings. With Manning and Wellington also in the mix. DM/CM Midfield has had a bit of a refresh too. Matsuki, even though he was here already, is a new signing really. Jander looks like an elite talent and I think we've picked well there. Charles, Downes, Jander, Matsuki, Jelert, Edwards who can all cover CM makes it look like we have some good depth there. AMC/Wide The attacking midfield and wide areas have been revamped entirely, it will be like watching a new team in these areas. Leo & Fellows bring direct dribbling unpredictability, they are players who can stretch the game and are able to operate on either side. Azaz is a pure 10 with the stats and record to back up, Leo can also operate as a 10. Once you add Armstrong, Fraser, Robinson to that group we are absolutely stacked with all sorts of options. There are so many goals in this group. Strikers We have Stewart, Downs & Archer as our '9's. I guess some feel it looks a little light, but I think people are writing Downs off before he's even kicked a ball - I don't understand how people have decided he's not good enough already. We weren't going to add another striker to a group where we already had 3, plus players like Armstrong or Fraser who 'can' play there in the right setup. GK For me, the worst outcome of the window. We had a gap in the GK department with Ramsdale & Lumley leaving, rather than signing a GK to genuinely push Bazunu we signed someone who is never really expected to play. I think that is a huge error. If we're not going to replace Bazunu that's fair enough, but at least bring someone in wo can challenge him. Overall: 7/10. It would have been 9 or 10/10 had we got the GK right. On paper I think we look weaker than last time without the PL experience of KWP/Bednarek/Adams/Stu and co, but we've added proven Championship players to the mix who have operated at the highest levels in this league, and have the stats to back it up. Arguably we look a bit more balanced than we did last time, albeit without as many 'names'.

Lol. How can you give it 6/10, and then proclaim a relegated side who has just spent £45m is going to finish mid table? If we finish ANYWHERE near mid-table with these players then something has catastrophically gone wrong. I'm sure we are full of wums on this thread.