shurlock

Agreed.

Not sure how to interpret this - I assume you're just speculating?

To be fair, jrod has been pretty anonymous (as much due to our absent midfield). Two well-taken goals though.

great play cedric

Our lot not very comfortable in possession.

These lot are flying in a bit. Dirty f**kers.

True of most of their goals.

Empty six yard box ffs.

That goal was not all on kel. How many defenders did that tame cross beat?

For such a lump, his ability in the air has always been a bit disappointing.

Because none of our defenders are attempting to play through midfield and are being pressed in going backwards. Much like the England team.

Alpine's like the fat controller at an all-you-can-eat buffet for preseason matches on his own patch. Known to grin uncontrollably.

We also renegotiated Walcott's sell-on clause, you plum. Nothing to do with thinking that Bale would flop.

He was an excellent player and would have been a very good addition, though he missed quite a few games. No contradiction there. Who mentioned Martina? youre like a hypocrisy sniffer dog that manages only to find their own turd. Ineffectual.

Wrong. He missed ten league games (if you include United). Given he joined only on the transfer deadline, that's nearly a third of the season. Not untrivial.

We don't want/no longer want Hernandez. My understanding is that the initial bid was £20m, with £16m guaranteed and the rest in add-ons.

A very good, but not great player. Do think he benefitted from the system. When he was asked to do more -especially when Morgan was injured towards the end of the season; he showed he was quite mortal.

Interesting post, cheers. By the way, what do you make of Vurnon Anita and Leroy Fer's relative struggles in the Premiership? Were they tipped as prospects when they came to England? Are there any lessons for Clasie and a potential move or are the situations/players too different to draw any conclusions from?

I can't believe anyone, moderately professional, would either adopt or fall for these tinpot tactics. As a theory, think it's way off the truth and says more about the state of mind of this place that it's been mooted.

Not sure I buy those examples - some like Clyne, Mané and to a lesser extent Jrod have performed exactly as expected. Others were bought when they were raw but had bags of potential; while others had outgrown their various clubs and we simply gave them a bigger platform on which to perform. By contrast, Martina is a journeyman, an established pro with a middling track record. I think it'll be very much a case of what you see is what you get.

You tend to raise your game during the transfer windows, pal; otherwise, you've got pretty much f**k all to say or contribute.

You've got to be one of the biggest helmets on here, with your regular 'inside scoops'.

Hytner's a solid journo - very good links to the London, especially N. London clubs.

I know the second half of the season was disrupted by injury but am still tempering my expectations. Most looking forward to seeing Jrod back in action, even though there are probably more question marks over him.

Hopefully Juanmi and Jrod can add something -and Tadic is more with it as we looked very toothless at times last season. FWIW, supporters from other teams see us predominantly as a defensive team. There's a grain of truth in that. With all the changes at the back and midfield, our attacking line will potentially have to step up alot more.