Neef

I think he does a VVD. Signs a contract extension, stays till the end of next season and then leaves. I think he definitely would have been off if Ralph hadn't come in. But now as captain and with a manager who seems to be an excellent coach I reckon his stock at the end of next season will be very high.

Would have to disagree. With Adams, you can see the quality is there, it just hasn't clicked yet. For him it's a new club, new league, new style of playing. Let's give him a little more time than 4 games to bed in.

I'm very happy with it tbf. Got the striker, CB and AM that we needed. A RB was only required if Cedric left, so we're covered there. Hopefully Lemina, Moi & Carrilo get moves in the coming weeks too. One thing I'm happy about is that we seem to have a physically competitive spine again. Danso/Vest/Bednarek at CB. Hoj & Romeu in CM, with Adams, Obafemi, Redmond & Djenepo in attack. For a while we've been slightly weak through the centre of the pitch but it looks like that is starting to be rectified. I think that was definitely part of Ralph's wants for the team. With Lemina going we're slightly light in CM but I'm hoping that gives space for 1/2 youngsters to make an impression - Slattery springs to mind.

I reckon we have CBs lined up, but we can't bring one in until we get rid of one. Six centre backs on the books just isn't feasible.

Nothing to see with the stuff about attitude etc, I don't think any of that is true. It comes down to money. He's a good player in a position where we are strong. That means we can fetch a decent fee without weakening ourselves, and then can re-invest where we are light (CB).

The comments surrounding Lemina's attitude have always baffled me a little. I don't think he's actually done anything to prove that his attitude is poor? The same goes with Boufal, who bar a bust up with Hughes, never seemed to overstep his mark on or off the pitch.

Good move on all sides I think. Targett needs to be 1st choice, and given the chance, could develop into a decent PL full back. We need the money to reinvest in other areas, and Bertrand is better at this point in time.

I'm expecting 3/4 players in and nothing more. And if recent years are to go by, they are going to be relatively cheap. I don't have a problem with that. We're in the business of 'polishing gems', and that's worked for us in the past. I think we need to distinguish between what we want to happen this summer, and what is likely to happen. 'Realistically, we aren't signing a new CM, GK or more than one CB. An addition to Romeu would be great, but with JWP, PH, Lemina, Slattery (even Armstrong), it's one of the positions we're stocked in. Can't see us putting a chunk of our budget to a position that we don't desperately need. I think it will be RB, CB, ST. A new AM will depend on whether Ralph takes to Boufal (and vice-versa). Every decent team has a strong spine. Our CM is pretty good, but we need to harden up central defence and upfront. Under Poch it was Lovren/Fonte - Wanyama/Schneiderlin (Cork) - Lambert (Hit or miss Osvaldo). With Koeman it was Fonte/Toby/VVD - Schneiderlin/Wanyama/Romeu - Pelle. We need to get that right in the summer.

Our lack of a clinical edge is a problem. After going a goal up we often have the opportunity to build on the lead, and score number 2 and 3, but rarely do. I'm hoping a good transfer window will help turn that around.

Striker and CB to strengthen the spine. And a RB too to give Valery competition. Given how unorthodox Ralph is, I think we'll see some surprising outgoings and incomings.

All is fair in love and football! How do we feel about Mane? I actually quite like him still. Always gave it his all while here. Left very respectfully too.

Last minute Austin header to win it anyone?

Good player and good enough to grow into that starting RB spot. I love the confidence he has, reminds me of Shaw a little bit.

Any update on Obafemi?

Sounds like we really are looking for cash wherever we can find it. Sad that it might be at the expense of a young players development. Call me foolish, but I'm still holding out hope for him and Sims.

We need to go back to doing that. It worked well. These past few years we've signed players and managers who might stay for longer but don't have the quality the VVD's, Toby's, Mane's, Clyne's, Pochettino's had. I'm happy to go back to that, we were better off for it.

I still don't know if we have much money to spend. Recent evidence says no. But IF we do. Then I can see Ralph doing what Poch did in his first summer, and that's strengthen through the spine CB(s), Striker, I don't think we'll get a GK but I can see Gunn getting promoted. We need a RB, I think the calibre of that RB will be determined by how Valery plays. He's essentially ended up in a situation where he has 3/4 months that's left of this season to stake his claim for the starting berth full time. After that I think the other major area we need to invest in is attackers. Redmond and Armstrong are fine. But the Palace game showed how imbalanced we are. We're a good team when we have to react (e.g. playing away or against the bigger sides), but we seem to struggle a little when we have to instigate. An attacker who can work in tight spaces is essential. I know he splits opinions on here but I'm not averse to Boufal being given another crack.

Most direct team in the league vs our relatively inexperienced full backs was always going to be a test.

Ah, hope it's not too bad. Reminds me of a few years back when Lallana went missing injured for months and the club/Poch said next to nothing about it.

I've just seen Alex Crook saying that we might be getting £17M for him. If that's the case, then I take it all back haha. Good player but take the money for sure.

Never totally understood the Cedric hate. He was one of our stand out players in 16/17. He hasn't hit that level of performance since, but when you look at our defence player by player (pre-Ralph), who has? His perceived drop off in form wasn't singular to him, it was a squad-wide issue, so it baffles me the way in which he is singled out. Even on his return to the team, I think he has been decent - still can't cross though. I'm happy seeing Valery progress and for me, Bertrand is still our best full back, but Cedric is the third best option. I'd much rather see him there than Yoshida or Stephens. CB's playing as FB's is generally horrible and has been for us - little attacking instinct, completely different angles vs wide players etc etc.

I think it's been evident for a while now that both the current and previous owners are not the type to pump millions into the club, Everton, Fulham-style. I think that's been the case since Poch/Cortese left.

tbf I feel a little sorry for Morgs. United didn't work out, as we know. But we all forget that he wanted to go to Spurs the year before and reunite with Poch. We of course blocked the move. But had he have gone I think things would have worked out a little differently for him. I think he would have thrived there.

Anybody else surprised at just how quick Armstrong is? I didn't see that turn of pace coming. Re. Valery. It was inexperience, and he'll learn from it. It's hard to begrudge him when he's so young, even if the stakes are so high. He looks a top prospect though and seems to be getting quite comfortable in the Premier League. He has a nonchalance and a confidence about him that I like, he doesn't seem very intimidated about making the step up.

Sims has shown potential before. Now we have a manager who likes to give young players a chance, and we have a team very light on attacking options. It's a great opportunity for him, and one for us also. Who knows what went wrong at Reading. But a team that is second bottom may not be willing to give a young player the opportunity to play regularly, make mistakes, thrive and find some consistency. I wouldn't expect them to either. We were in that position last year. I'm a fan of Hesketh, Gallgaher and Sims (or would like to see them given opportunities to prove themselves), but last season wasn't the time, especially when things were that dire. The only thing different this season is that our manager is a bit of a maverick and seems totally fine in throwing the younger ones into the fold. Maybe Sims goes back out on loan but if Ralph trusts him to play a part in the second half of the season, then I am completely behind that.