S-Clarke

We're not going to be signing a CB until we lose at least 1 of ours though, that's the prob we have. We were probably counting on either ABK or Lyanco being gone by now, but they're still here. Obviously not complaining if ABK stays, but worst case is that we get a bid on the last day and all of our targets have been taken by other clubs by then.

Exactly, the same can be said of Wilcox as well - they seem to speak for us, they see what we see. That is refreshing. I don't think Ralph was ''too'' bad (it got worse towards the end), but Selles and Jones were utter nutjobs when it came to not seeing the actual game that was going in front of them. It feels like the two people heading up the football side are firstly aligned, but secondly see exactly what we all see. I hope my optimism of these guys is well placed come the end of the season, but something feels right to me.

It would be the window of the century if Liverpool miss out on Lavia and Cacedo, after they've already lost Henderson, Fabinho and Milner. And to put a cherry on top of it, lose their only world-class player to Saudi. Klopp won't hang around if that happens, could see him going mid-season (probably to Saudi as well going by the money they're pissing around)

Played this one perfectly, masterclass of how to negotiate an outgoing. Let's not spend the next year patting ourselves on the back for getting the fee we did though, we need to make sure this is used correctly and reinvested in the right areas over the next few years.

Not the most amazing forum, some of the questions were a bit pointless to say the least. But compared to last season's, it was night and day. If you remember - last seasons forum was very, very defensive (Toby Steele regarding the stewarding, Martin Semmens about anything). That forum was when I thought we had a few problems, it didn't feel right. With the new guys they are all aligned and they are all pushing for the same thing, the same philosophy. Something struck me from what Wilcox said...he'd been watching our matches since January, and his opinion were that our wins were out of luck - not style, not philosophy and he couldn't work out what we were ever trying to do. Music to my ears to have someone speak what we've all been seeing for what feels like a few years. This club was quite clearly caught between two philosophy's and confused it's self, having everyone aligned will enable us to zone in one a single philosophy and build and recruit correctly for that. It won't happen overnight, it will need patience before it's all roses, but I don't think it'll take long with someone like Wilcox in charge - he's a proper leader, you can tell. Absolutely the right person for this root and branch reset.

This is exactly it, I see people saying they'll enjoy this league more, winning games etc. But just to remind people of 2008/9 - an absolute cesspit of misery, watching us get dicked at Hull, Wednesday at home against Doncaster and Forest. I wouldn't call that fun.

The ref is never going to give a pen to the oppo, in injury time, at old Trafford. The PL wouldn't allow it.

Wolves just can't score, same as last year. Their playmakers/link players are superb, but without a goal scorer I have no idea how they'll do this year. Apparently they don't have the funds to sign one either, so it will probably be their undoing. I think they're good enough to avoid relegation, what with the likes of Sheffield United and Luton in the same league as them, but ultimately without a striker it will be a bit of a waste having the talent they have in the wide/10's.

Don't get me wrong, I wasn't sold on the idea of an inexperienced keeper at the time, not as first choice anyway. But what I'm trying to say is that the club have committed to this, whether we like it or not - they won't be signing a GK to replace one they feel is the number 1. The best we can do is just get behind him, as calling him out after every goal let in is going to be very tiresome.

So...I mentioned this on another thread, but it's all well and good getting excited about the fee's we've managed to make from Tino, JWP, Lavia, Salisu etc (upwards of £100m) and the wages we've saved on McCarthy, Moi, Theo etc but it's all irrelevant unless we ensure this is invested correctly. This is our last opportunity to generate decent fee's with our current batch, failure to reinvest this correctly will lead to a long time in lower league football. Jason Willcox has a big job on, but I'm sure they've been planning for this for some time! Flynn Downes in on loan is a positive start, but we need to keep pushing.

Can't say the fans haven't got behind this, we're going to give it our best shot! The atmosphere was great as well, no real complaints or groans from where I was - I think as a fan base we're ready to give a clean slate here and hopefully get behind a successful year. Hopefully the players can buy into that.

I love your words of wisdom. I feel more confident afterwards.

I see people saying ''The club have neglected this position for too long, we need an upgrade on him'' - but we're missing the point here, if we agree with it or not, Bazunu was purchased as our first choice goal keeper 12 months ago. In the clubs eyes this is our 'GK upgrade' from what we had, this is our investment and we're not just going to give up on it. People need to stop micro-analysing every goal we concede because it won't do anyone any good, none of the goals on Saturday could be put on him. At the end of the day he is our GK, he's our 1st choice and that isn't going to change. So let's not waste air every week by asking why the club haven't replaced him.

I think Liverpool have been played on this in the best way we could have ever imagined. Feels like karma after how they pissed around with the VVD deal. Going by the weekend, they certainly need a 6, otherwise they are in the shitter this year in terms of any top 4 hopes. But from our clubs point of view I feel we've played this brilliantly, to get between 50-60m for him and pocket most of the cash up front is great business. This is exactly what our model is all about, buying young players or promoting young academy players, giving them an opportunity and then allowing them to make the step up - with us making a tidy profit in the process. The key here is that we reinvest the JWP and Lavia fee's correctly, we cannot blow it - if we do, we'll be stuck in the Champ and that's it for us for many years. This is such a crucial few weeks.

This day was always going to come once we got relegated, he was never going to hang around in the Champ. He's a solid PL player and you can't help but appreciate the effort he's given us for many years. The consecutive appearances without missing a second, the highest stats for distance covered in most games etc - gave his all every week. He was limited in some ways, certainly, but him leaving feels like a big chapter is closing. He was the sales pitch for our academy and the pathway, now it's someone else's turn to take up that mantle. Can't help but wish him all the best, hope he gets into the England squad again.

Liverpool have been totally played on this one. Chelsea have just agreed a fee for Cacedo as well.

They are in a little bit of a mess to be fair, it's transpired that the guys they signed in January (Rutter, Max Wober) had relegation release clauses, not for a fee, but loan clauses! Max Wobber has already left on loan, Rutter is going out on loan too apparently. Then you've got Harrison, signed a new deal in January but that also came with the big relegation loan clause in it - so the move to Everton will be a loan deal, not any fee. They also lost their top scorer Rodrigo for £2m due to a ridiculously low relegation release clause, so the problem they have now is that they're not generating any revenue by losing their better players - so they're stuck signing freebies like Sam Byram and the odd loan here and there.

We'd only sign Piroe if Adams went, if our strikers stay the same as they are now then we won't be adding anymore to it. So he'd be a straight replacement for Adams and should start most weeks if that move transpires. You've got the likes of Ballard in the background as well, so we need to keep the door open for them.

I think that's a little bit harsh on Piroe, his strength and power enables him to bring others into the game. A lot is made of him just being a penalty box finisher, but he's more than that.

I'd describe Downes as more of a natural CDM, yeah - given where he's played for Swansea, and WHU in his cameos. I'd see it as a two of Downes, Smallbone with Charly floating around in the 10.

Depends how bad his injury is tbf.

It must be weird being a Sheffield United fan for example, the euphoria of getting promoted, yet they are staring Derby's record in the face this year - they are absolutely inept, by all accounts Palace didn't even have to turn up today. Promotion just seems pointless if they're just going to get walked over for 38 games. This is going to be a joyless season for them and may well set that club back for many years.

Dortmund is a great move for ABK, and if we get our £20m asking price then even better. Need to get another ABK style CB in if that happens, someone tall and quick - way too easy to attack atm.

I'd describe him as an out and out CDM, gets stuck in, wins the ball, physical but technically very good. There were a fair few clubs sniffing (I think we were one of them) when he was at Swansea, but he ended up going to WHU for £15m. Interestingly signing Downes from Ipswich was one of the stipulations Martin put onto the Swansea owners when he moved there. A top Championship CDM, hasn't been given a huge opportunity at WHU to be fair - certainly could do a job at the top level, so we're fortunate to get him in my eyes.

Loan with an option to make permanent.