Saint Fan CaM

Not sure I understand what you mean as I didn’t suggest he would have a different role - just that as an attacking forward he has recent goal scoring form. The issue of course is whether his goal scoring at Burnley was dependent on either his team mates ability to provide assists or the playing system(s) employed or both. I fear that the system we’ve seen employed by Saints will hinder him scoring as it has done so many other players over the last three years, with the exception of the last Liverpool game when something clicked for some reason.

Regardless of whether Che, Armstrong, Mara or Tall Paul move on, we’re down two decent strikers which need recruiting, as otherwise I think there will be a goal drought this coming season. It’s a huge persisting problem that needs sorting out for us to get anywhere near a chance of promotion. The only striker I would put any hope in for goals is Tella and it’s extremely unclear whether he’s going to be staying. I was a little disappointed not to see him get some playing time against Benfica given he’s been training with squad.

Kind of what I was thinking. Pass stats up…we’ll be fine. 😳

Meghoma looks a good lad…plays keep ball well and passes with intent. Whoever’s in front of him (Dibling I think) is continually passing backwards when receiving the ball…not brave or skilled enough to move forwards.

And there we have another repeating issue…concede just before half-time. I know this is just a knock about but the signs are that not much has changed…we’re still shit in the final third and open to a mistake or two at the back.

Nothings changed…still no attacking intent. Boring.

McCarthy gets beaten at his nearpost. Standard.

Looking good - especially the surprise left back!

I find that meme somewhat offensive. Granary bread all day long.

With Shea Charles or any other incoming player the key is where they’ve come from and what past experience they’ve had to be considered for our squad. Who’d heard of Lavia or Alcarez before they joined us? Orsic came to us with supposedly an excellent pedigree and rep which most fans had been aware of, but look how that turned out! I don’t think the club is in any rush to agree to a huge drop in Salisu’s value with weeks still left in the window. My guess is he will go at a tad under our purchase price, but possibly with a sell-on clause or similar. JWP is an enigma. I don’t doubt he wants to play in the Prem/Europe and I don’t doubt that the club will see this window as an opportunity to make money on a saleable asset. For all his prowess in free kicks, his corner taking is not all that and his job as a DM is…well, standard. For all his high pass stats, his corresponding assists have tailed off dramatically. I’ve never been particularly convinced he’s Captain material, although I suspect the dressing room of the last three seasons has provided a ‘safe son-in-law’ environment for him. On balance, anything over £35m and we bite.

Seems a no brainer and a good signing for a free. He mentioned the need for squad depth given the numbers of games that will come thick and fast, so perhaps there’s a plan to play both Perraud and Manning at LB - square pegs in square holes and similar quality…better than relying on a lesser player in the advent of injury.

I don't doubt this lad has all the potential to be a top player one day. He may even hit the ground running and perform well for us. However, where is the experience and guile coming from? I can see these lads being kicked around trying to play keep football by numbskull cloggers and consequently facing long periods in the medical centre. And when they return they'll be a little more wary of playing keep ball and we'll lose possession more, in turn losing more games. When they're out injured for long periods the lack of depth in squad quality will start to tell and performances will drop. There's some huge risks coming our way, even if Martin gets the team playing like Brazil. Could be big fun or it could be another season of pain - who knows?

What's in a contract and what the Club decide to enact are two different things though. If they want to keep certain players they can easily amend the contract terms to whatever they feel the player deserves...e.g. JWP, Alcarez - amend to 0.1%, KWP, Tino, Sully - amend to 2% etc., Aribo, Diallo, Orsic, Tall Paul, Djenepo - leave well alone at 40%!

Well that’s my point…there is no ‘clarity’ yet to us bringing in “decent names” for departing players. Yes, Tella may well be a better player for his time with Burnley (assuming he doesn’t get sold back to them towards the end of the transfer window when they find themselves short and panic buy). And Armstrong and Adams are not the same players in the same team to when they were scoring for fun before joining us. Based on the last three years I’m not sure our style of play (or Martins) suits some of these players. Perhaps the last 3-4 years has left me feeling too pessimistic (which is hardly surprising!), however there’s a long way to go before I’ll be convinced the club have got it right this time around to the point where we look cohesive, score goals and remain competitive over 90+ minutes in a very tough league.

Well yes and no. Clearly the squad last season was awful - bloated with mediocrity, unbalanced and devoid of quality, with the exception of Lavia perhaps but even he had some bad games. My point is that the squad needs a major overhaul and extra quality brought in to be in with a shout of success, rather than any further dilution. Sure, it will be difficult to find a direct Lavia replacement and this guy might be the best we can get, but that just serves to emphasise the need for major overhaul and quality improvement without which this season will be a lot more difficult than some seem to think.

Meh. Thats all I’ll say on this.

Looks like a decent acquisition and for that money I would imagine he’s been told he’ll be a first team starter meaning Lavia is definitely off. However, from the UT clips he’s not as good as Lavia and that in itself gives me a little cause for concern. Unless other positions are strengthened we will once again find the overall squad quality diluted a little more and that’s something we cannot afford to happen if promotion is a serious aspiration. Last seasons squad was a mess irrespective of the league we were in - what’s not certain is how much of that was due to such poor and inconsistent team management/coaching. I’m hoping a lot.

He could play for any of the top six in the EPL, then there's Madrid, Barcelona, Borussia M, PSV, etc. etc. - why Liverpool?

I truly hate our best players going to Liverpool - it's irrational I know, but nevertheless they've pillaged our squad too much in the past thanks to Reed and Co who must have had a 'special' relationship with them. And they're an entitled bunch of ****s too. You'd think Lavia would have higher aspirations. If it were my decision it would be £60m and a sell-on fee clause of 20% - fook 'em.

Based on general observation that elder players will in general get taken to the cleaners by agile younger attackers.

Nothing if you think he’s going to have what it takes for a promotion place. He doesn’t (now).

Madness if he’s brought back at 39!

Clearly Lavia is a talent and no mistake and the other City youngsters are good players too, but let’s not also forget that these players were part of a squad that couldn’t prevent relegation. I’m not saying Lavia was the cause, but he was the only youngster who had the quality to help prevent relegation…we needed more players (youngsters or otherwise) of that quality, which we failed to sign. That’s the big learning point from the last three years and a downside to the model…it’s very easy to progressively dilute the squad to an extent that it fails spectacularly and last season was not the first time…Lowe did it too. We’ll probably be OK in the Championship, but unless the club IMPROVES on last seasons overall squad quality we will not match the promotion hopefuls this season.

I’ve decided not to respond to this inane drivel. Oh.

Has to be Lyanco. I refuse to accept any other solution.