david in sweden

...except that.... (according to something I saw published in the summer) ....Claude Puel knew EB from his time in France, and knowing that Black was bi-lingual asked him to consider working for him... if / when... he ever managed in England. I can understand due diligence on players etc, but hiring a new manager .....and then refusing to employ his choice of assistant......is sailing a bit close to the wind.

Hush Hush...say no more .....

No shame in that effort. Had the team been playing well, he'd have shown up better. We let them come at us for the first 25 minutes and no-one looked very special. Good reasoning by Puel, and Jake will have learned something from the outing, but " it's a man's game ", and he'll have to learn to take the knocks. Sadly the only time I heard his name mentioned was when he was picking himself up after being fouled. Jake is on a fast learning curve, and I expect to see him given more chances in the future.

I stand corrected.

the point made several times by the TV commentators. Two good crosses into the box (Austin "scored " from similar efforts at SMS) but last night those in the box were ball-watching and had no striker's instinct to go for it. If we continue to use that ploy, it'll only work if there is someone at the far post.

...it's only the bed-wetters who'd find fault with that statement.......

.....does he speak French ......?

really adventurous Claude......it's a brave idea.. but it just might work ! A starting side in a Euro competition with 3 Academy graduates ..and another 3 on the bench! We will never know unless we give them a chance. BUT I did notice than the (Swedish) referee is Stefan Johannesson. He plays by the book and isn't shy of flashing the yellow cards.

I'm sure it is. .. but my comment was merely to placate those people who think we should play the same team for 50+ matches this season.... .....but will then complain that we don't give the Academy lads any game time.

I don't often predict line-ups, but given the info on those left at home........so, for better or worse...here goes Forster Martina Yoshida van Dijk Targett JWP Romeu Clasie Tadic Redmond Long SUBS; McCarthy, Cedric, Stephens, Reed, Hesketh, Hojdbjerg, Isgrove..

There is a goodly number of players who had excellent personal careers, but who were total misfits as managers. . If you want to go back far enough...it's at least half of the 1966 World Cup side to start with..and quite a lot since. In truth....Ronald Koeman is a rare exception for someone who had a top class career and also has good manager / coaching skills ..(or so we seem to think at present).

Sammy has been involved in the England set-up (periodically) on and off for the last 10-15 years (?)..not sure exactly. He must know the England set-up pretty well. If he's under contract ......there's no reason to kick him out just because Big Sam has gone, and surely neither Gareth Southgate or Dave Watson is a stranger to him.

What is our strongest side? Now that Claude has finally got his message home to the squad, we have won the last 3 games with three quite different line-ups. The best side (selected) isn't always the same players week after week....or in this case every 3-4 days, and not every opponent can be opposed in the same way. Whilst we're glad that Charlie Austin got another goal on Sunday, there was little else he was called upon to do, although he did make a good assist for Tadic. I'm not saying that he didn't have a good game, but the match was run by our midfielders and good defensive play from the back line...and Charlie did his bit there, too. What we may be heading towards is a well-balanced squad of 23-24 players who are all capable of DAJFU....regardless of who/where they play alongside on the pitch. One TV observer noted.. it didn't take Redmond and JWP long to discover which way we were kicking, and with better luck both might have got more out of the game. Although it may be disconcerting for fans to see an ever-changing line-up every match, it doesn't matter who plays if they contribute to the play and we get a result. I think that if most of us were asked.... if we wanted a win in Isreal.. more than a win at Leicester on Sunday, we'd prioritise the 3 points in the Prem.

Absolutely.....for all the money they get ....all professionals should be virgin tee-totallers who live in closed communities and never tell lies.

well ....he played 17 games in all competitions in his first season. .and then had a major injury problem. Getting past Toby Alderweireld was probably " a bridge too far " for him, and just now I can't see him outpointing VvD on present form. He'll be 28 at the end of October, so he should be mature enough for our back line - don't you think?

not another Ali Dia joke please.

Is anyone really sure where the " Man Utd " connection came from ? Was it a genuine interest on MU's part?....or his agent just trying to boost up his image...and get a better deal?..or was it a total fabrication on some crazy journo's part ? I think the club was right to stand back and let the dust settle, especially as Jose is still under contract for a while longer but the prospect of giving him a pay rise and an extension may not be so daft when you consider that (at 36) both Gareth Barry and John Terry can still lace up their own boots and DAJF their Prem. clubs. In time, an eventual (younger) successor will surely emerge, but I can think as long as he retains his form Jose can still give good service to the club in the coming years.

It's obvious that someone who can admit to wrongdoing shouldn't get away with it, but surely the journalists involved could have revealed all this before the FA appointed Sam in the first place. As Alan Shearer pointed out it makes England look a laughing stock, although behind the scenes skulduggery seems to occur everywhere - even within FIFA. The FA's biggest problem now will be finding a suitable replacement who has British passport - we've surely had enough of foreign coaches by now ...or ?

I don't care what he calls them.....if he can keep them happy enough to stay with Saints ....

a few people have mentioned this, but surely WHam co-owner David Sullivan must be biting his tongue just now. He publically criticised Charlie Austin's fitness at the time of his transfer in January, but yesterday's performance from Charlie was much more than just his 40th min goal. True Charlie hadn't played that much, but that was also because of the fierce competition from the likes of Long, Pelle and Mane at the back end of last season. With hindsight Mr. Sullivan may feel that Wham's £15 million investment in Andy Carroll was a better investment than the £4 million we paid for Charlie Austin...???

thanks I saw that, but I was thinking in terms of ..total goal tally..so far. Playing for England is an " international " event, so things like Europa League might also be considered valid.

a good example, but " the average midfielder" covers about 10,000 meters every game, and for all his glory moments Mo hasn't scored a Premier League goal at the London Stadium.

remember all those suggestions during the Summer that ZaZa might be a possible replacement for the departing Pellè ...... ..thank goodness you kept away from that one Les.....another £20 million saved....

can also recall that on some weekday evenings, the "old Wembley stadium" used to be used for greyhound racing. Sort of took the shine off international football games. NOTE: next time you go to a WHam away game - take binoculars.