shurlock

Wrong Derby were in the Prem when we signed Delap. We also signed Jrod for nearly double Delap's fee from a championship side which seems a bit more comparable.

Which was clearly onside.

Let's see on Chambers and Isgrove - people were frothing at the gash following JWP's performance against Ajax and others last preseason. It turned out that he wasn't ready - it'll be obvious very quickly whether these two are ready. There's little risk with giving them taster unless MP does what NA did with Gazza...

Some strange selections which you can put down to experimentation but which disrupted the flow of the game. Jrod showed again why I don't think he can lead the line - whoever we bring in has to be able to hold up the ball like Lambert. Think Osvaldo is better than Damaio in that regard. The game also showed how dependent on Clyne or Shaw for movement and directness. Our midfield isn't going to do it alone. Time for Ramirez to step up.

No I didnt though we could have been 5-6 down by the stage. We didn't get it wide against united - the goals came from pedestrian buildup play with one of Lambert's trademark backpost headers and a gift from an evra slip. With the exception of Villa and City, we really weren't that good going forward, at least in open play. The Fulham and Wigan games epitomised our huff and puff approach.

We weren;t that good at the start of last season unless your mind is being clouded by the villa result- we were horrible defensively and relied on setpieces for a lot of our goals.

Our left hand side I mean

Have we actually managed an attack down the right hand side yet

And what realistically can we do that Wham weren't able to do?

Agree - KD has never been and will never be decisive coming off his line.

We conceded 28 goals in our first ten games - from then on (a period which coincided with Shaw and Cork's return), we conceded only 32 goals. 32 goals in 28 games is cracking form however you look at it- roughly 1.14 goal a game. Over the course of a season, that would have been 43 goals. Only City, Arsenal, Chelsea and Everton conceded fewer goals. Obviously this is a contrived exercise given our opening set of fixtures was pretty tough but it's solid enough to make the point i.e. the defense isn't as bad as people make out. Indeed all the 'leaky' games you mentioned involved injuries of one sort or another (Clyne was missing against Stoke IIRC and Shaw sat out against Newcastle) which suggests the main problem is depth.

See how many goals per game we conceded after our first ten games till the end of the season -and you'll see that it compares very favourably. Remember it was basically top 6 form until the last few games, though not sure where the figure ended up.

Agree and disagree. Agree that we're still short 2/3 players, in particular, power and directness up top and possibly another defender. Disagree about (in)consistency. Was pretty pleased with how we improved over the course of the season. With the exception of the WBA game, we were a totally different outfit by mid-May: we were more resilient and organised whereas early doors we were incredibly streaky and looked like we would cave in if put under pressure. Look under the hood of the stats -convenient how they serve some posters purposes here but not other times- you'll see a team that gained in consistency but finishing looking predictable and lacking in ideas. For me that's the state of play, the Achilles Heel 3 weeks from the new season. Not sure what tonight told us - those defensive frailties involved players who will not be starting many games next season, so would be reluctant to read too much into them. Also recall that after our horrendous start, our defensive record was basically top 6 form (see stats are fickle things). At most, tonight reminded us that the squad lacks depth but that's a slightly different point.

And they once said that a photocopier couldn't do a 100 pages per minute.

Are you such a 'character' that you photocopy your **** when your clients arent looking?

Lovren looked a bit shaky and immobile in the match highlights.

You forgot to add the world-beating, would-be marque signing you saw being shown around SMS a week or so ago. I know what's obvious, sunshine....

Mark Forbes - think he does the kit and equipment.

The nicky barmby challenge at WHL was an all time classic.

Has all the makings of a transfer deadline day bottle job/panic buy.

Read somewhere that he's just been made captain.

Good article- think MP wants all-purpose CMs. In Wanyama, Morgan and possibly Banega, we'd genuinely have three players who don't rolling their sleeves up and also provide a threat going forward. Banega is a rare breed - a creative player who will chase and close as well as any journeyman grafter. That midfield would be one of the best in the league.

No doubt, its an age thing - no doubt, those who got their first real exposure to football in 80's will use that period as a benchmark, however much circumstances change. Pretty much human nature, even if it's 'wrong' and means overestimating some teams and underestimating others.

Aston Villa and Sheff Weds were also 'big' teams in 90s while Everton dabbled with relegation for a large part of the 90s.

Still have too much to do IMO