Lighthouse

I agree, as you pointed out on another thread. I think, if we’re using this metric to mean literally average and not as a derogatory byword for substandard, I’d pick a team something like. Stekelenberg Telfer - Williams - Lundekvam - Le Saux Redmond - Anders - Romeu - S. Armstrong Tessem - Adams

I think he’s the most okay player I’ve ever seen play for us. Good luck to him.

He's only 28 and seemingly a spent force in top level football. He could have achieved so much more, both on the pitch and financially than he has/is, retired aged 35 and then retired to his own Caribbean island.

You know sh*t’s about to go down when the signal drops out on your Sky dish.

Don’t worry, a Ukrainian winter spent sleeping in a trench and under supplied with food, fuel and ammo will soon cheer them all up.

Ukraine is a lost cause, it’ll all be over next week. Copyright May 2022.

A bit of thunder and lightning.

And still talking more sense than half the posters on here do when sober.

It’s not though, it’s a 38 game season featuring those two, Aribo, Stu, Edozie, Adams, Mara and the possibility of adding more, if needed, in January. Playing an extra striker to score more is like playing an extra CB to help the defence, it’s not that simple any anything but guaranteed that it’ll help.

Gah… still if we’d drawn the last three we’d have three points and I’d be happy. One of those days, a lot to come from this group of players.

This isn’t going to be a classic edition of MotD. Half an hour in and zero goals, even in the lunchtime kickoff.

Lucky, lucky bastard.

4.5 games? 🤨

I've never bought that line of thinking and I don't know why people think that any experienced older player is going to improve younger players by default. We have coaches to mentor the youth, that's their job. People have been saying it about Long and Walcott for years and yet the likes of N'Lundulu, Obafemi and Tella have shown little, if any, improvement. Thankfully it's a nonsense rumour which have just popped up on social media. I don't want Ross Barkley.

I seem to remember from social media that he moved to LA with his partner and daughters a couple of years back. Don’t think he was involved with any football club, just living the retired life.

You’d have to expect with Walcott and Redmond winding down to their last six months, they’d be looking for a way out.

We don't need to make any excuses for anything. We've signed 9 players and all bar possibly Larios look like they will add something to the first team. That included 3 attacking players who between them only have to surpass the 7 goals contributed by Long and Broja. We've kept hold of the only two players I'd have been genuinely annoyed to lose - the WP brothers - and offloaded a high number of substandard players. Another striker would have been a 10/10 window, hence I've given it a 9, but that's hardly a complaint compared to teams like Leicester, Bournemouth and Everton.

Then Mara or AA will have to play there. It’ll be unfortunate, same as if Bazunu got a knock, but it’s not some tragedy which will get us relegated.

In 2003 James Beattie and Fabrice Fernandes entered a civil partnership and adopted an infant son, Tim. He’s just graduated through the academy.

I don’t understand the assertion that, ‘Mara is the Long replacement’, just because he cost a relatively low fee. That hasn’t been written down anywhere, we’re just naming strikers who’ve come and gone. However you want to try and rationalise it, the fact is that Broja, Long and AA scored a combined 9 League goals last season. If we’ve found a better role for AA, 5 goals each for him and Mara this year really is an achievable target to improve on last season. That’s before we’ve even entertained the idea of goals from Edozie and Aribo. I can’t see an argument for us being weaker up front, I really can’t.

So, just trying to get my head around who’s available after all that, I’m going to have a stab at something like: Bazunu KWP Salisu ABK Perraud AMN Diallo Aribo JWP A. Arm. Adams Subs: McC, DCC, Djenepo, Lyanco, Stu, Edozie, Mara, Moi, Ballard

Larios, perhaps but I don’t think we’ve just spent £10m on Edozie to beef up our youth team.

Pretty decent window overall, can’t complain about any of the incomings or outgoings. 9/10 I’d say, another striker would have been nice but not essential IMO. As for Bednarek, I don’t care what he said or how ‘big’ Villa are. Like any player really gives a sh*t how big a ground is or what trophies they won 40 years ago, anyway. I’m just glad he’s gone, thoroughly mediocre defender at best and I think their fans will turn on him pretty quickly.

Not with certainty but I don’t see any subtext implied by that tweet which would lead me to be annoyed and declare it ‘bollocks’ when Broja doesn’t sign.

It’s official, he’s gone to Angers, home of a certain Mr S. Boufal.