Lighthouse

No. Ralph may be feast or famine but there are plenty of games where he gets it right. Even if I guaranteed you that Ralph definitely would do that this season, why replace him with Dyche? Where does that get us?

As I say every time his name pops up; he ended up 15 points behind Ralph with a better team, when he was sacked. If you want a different manager then fine but that man should not be Dyche. You think one win in 13 is bad? Dyche won one game up to Valentine’s Day last season.

And will want the kind of wages and signing on fee which we simply won’t be able to afford because the likes of West Ham, Leicester, Spurs, Villa and Everton can offer more.

Yep, I was there on Friday, we bowled them out for sub-200. We had them pegged as low as 2.9 an over at one point.

Stonewall….

Christ, has nobody said it yet; one more Brighton goal and we’re off the bottom of the table!

Boom! Chase that down, Kent.

Our last three starting XI have featured three different formations, using 20 different players and five substitutions yesterday. How many changes should he have made?

Our sh*te recruitment is irrelevant with regards to Fonte. Undoubtedly we should have brought in better than the crap we did but Fonte was on his last legs in this league one way or another. West Ham fans were thoroughly unimpressed by him and when he last played here five years ago he spent most of the game chasing Gabbiadini’s shadow. He has done well for himself in a much easier, lower paced league. Just like Tadic at Ajax or Juanmi in Spain. None of them would be playing like that here.

Not this again. He was 33 when we sold him and we offered him a contract which would have taken him up to a few months shy of his 35th birthday. That’s fair, his star was waning and he really didn’t look much good at West Ham. As for walking into our team today; don’t be silly, he’s 38.

Because we don’t have a fit LB and as for the ‘same old players’; today’s starting line up had three debutants, only five players who started at Leicester in May and three from the Liverpool game which preceded that.

Valera’s best position is clearly on the right side of a back three. It’s the only place he’s ever looked vaguely competent and he certainly isn’t a RB in a four. Djenepo I’ve already given you, with the stipulation that it was out of necessity. We have nobody who can play 90 mins available so someone was going to end up there. S.Arm/Aribo he was clearly trying to mix things up but again, what other options were there? Clearly something is up with Adams and we have no other strikers available. I am willing to accept Valery starting ahead of ABK because it’s a very tough fixture to be throwing new faces into. Sometimes experience and familiarity is more important than outright ability. They’re already playing in front of a new GK and behind a new CM.

So who’s missing from our ‘best team’? A CB who’s never played in England before and an unfit LB who’s probably good for an hour, max? Who was out of position, aside from a LWB when we had no fully fit LBs?

So four debutants in the same team and Perraud blowing out of his arse after 55 minutes. Then what, we bring on Djenepo in a back four or change the system completely mid game? We've gone for a policy of talented but unproven youngsters because it seems to be all we can afford. It could pay off but it’s going to take time and it won’t always be pretty. Two of the goals today came from direct, individual errors from our stalwart players who everyone wanted to start - KWP and Salisu. Nobody was insisting they shouldn’t play before the game and we still concede those goals in a back four or any other system.

You think we’d have defended better with a fourth debutant in the team, playing at CB no less, and a LB who isn’t fit?

His style being to get sacked 15 points behind Ralph, with a team of players arguably better than what we’ve currently got, half of which (Pope, Mee, Tarkowski, McNeil, Cornet) people on here were suggesting we sign when they sent down.

What, a lead we took in the 12th minute? I think I can forgive us for conceding a goal in the remaining 80 plus minutes, away to Spurs.

Shane Long starts for Reading. Currently losing at home to Cardiff.

We have, as evidence by the three players who are in it. Without Baz, Lav and Aribo we’d mostly likely be playing a different formation with Forster, Moi and Redmond. Djenepo is only playing because we have injuries to two first choice fullbacks, Valery is clearly preferred to ABK and Lyanco today but that’s not to say this will be permanent. We just have better options. All that said, we’ve still got three weeks to go and are apparently still in the hunt for a decent striker.

Interesting team. Clearly Ralph feels three young debutants in one team is the limit for a trip to Spurs, which is fair enough. Really hoping Armstrong can catch a break this season and step up.

Not saying they’ll be in trouble as such but first game of the season, at home to a big but not fantastic team and a London rival, I’d expect them to look up for it. A 0-2 defeat is hardly a decent result, all things considered.

At 38/5 I was getting annoyed that I wouldn’t get time to drink more beer but the Rapids middle order stand of 120ish helped me out. It always looked comfortable after the three early wickets.

When you consider where we were over the last couple of years, I think life is generally a bit better for most people. As for the winter variant, who knows but Covid seems to have become endemic to the point that it’ll just be like any other winter flu. Everyone who wants a vaccine has he one and the at risk will get their boosters. For everyone else it’ll be unpleasant but not life threatening.

At the risk of being unpopular I’m going to say that Valero and Djenepo looked at worst competent in preseason in those positions. Everyone who’s seen the new lads play before reckons they’re the mutts, which is more than anyone an say about Long or Forster last season. Am I expecting big things this year? No, but I wouldn’t have us odds on for the drop either.

Been saying this for ages, can’t stand GSTQ on any level.