stknowle

Rice does look good.

Just watched first 2 episodes and was immediately struck by this.

Don't agree with that. Still plenty of work to do but we certainly do not look poor.

Get in. New goalscorer as well.

Attacking bench that!

Lee Todd?

Ok mate.

Adrian, we improved under Hughes - admittedly from an incredibly low starting point - and I said almost immediately. Do you think we got worse or better last season after Hughes took over from Pellegrino?

Happy to report not just lucky at all. Played really well, probably the best we've played since the cup final. Being a negative ****er I would still just point out that Arsenal fielded a defence decimated by injuries AND we did improve almost immediately under Hughes, losing to today's opponents by the same margin we won by today in a similarly even match. And look how that all turned out.......................... (PS - gut feeling is Ralph will turn out to be 10 times the manager Hughes has ever been or ever will be)

Bednarek very good as well.

......

With the ever increasing disparity between top and bottom I expect 30 to become the new benchmark for staying up over the next few seasons.

Highly unlikely that we do need to win that many. Absolutely certain that we won't. 7 (as last season) or 8 in total will probably be enough to scrape our sorry arses into another season in this league. That still equates to a spectacular turnaround in form. Over to you Ralph.

Stephens and Bednarek - what a combo to inspire absolute confidence that our CB problems will be a thing of the past. The sad fact is they may well be our least worst option.

Plus 1

Tbf on that basis there should be a statue of Mark Hughes outside St Mary’s.

If my performance at work was as inadequate and incompetent as the performances of this expensive bunch of ****s has been for the best part of 2 years and I was asked to do some extra hours/work harder I would expect it, accept it, and wonder why the hell no-one had asked of me to do it before.

Redmond!?

Scored against Reading IIRC

They're carefully nurturing through apparently, you know sort of treating him with kid gloves.

Totally. I’m still utterly ****ed off we lost to Cardiff after yet another abysmal performance though.

We have. Ings is the best of those four but he’s usually........injured. Then we have Shane 2 goals in 50 or whatever it is appearances Long. Then Sam Gallagher and his patchy championship record. Then Obafemi who might turn out good but is raw and unproven. Deep roster right there!

Well that makes me feel a whole lot better, I thought it was 5 in 47.

Well exactly. We don't have such a striker ergo we ain't scoring. I don't think our approach play was particularly good either. Ok I suppose but not good - and we were playing ****ing Cardiff. CARDIFF.

No. Not his fault obviously at this early stage. But no nonetheless. In fact defensively - as hard as this may be to believe - we were worse.