Disco Stu

I hate this formation to be honest. I know it's logical against a strong opponent like City but I think this would have been the shape regardless of our opposition. League 1 Lincoln at home is a case in point.

😂

A big problem is we only know what's going on from tidbits on twitter. They need to communicate with their fanbase. When the fans are left in the dark, it's hard to get them behind the project.

So the reverse Ward-Prowse?

I would be surprised if we sold KWP then if Livramento is also unavailable long-term.

Might be needing Livramento back pretty soon then.

I'm talking about attaining our transfer targets. I'm not advocating for a club like us to spend £35m+ on individual players but spending well doesn't have to equate to spending less. You identify players that have underwhelmed after high transfer fees but I could also point you towards players like Maddison (£22m), Bowen (£18.5m), Benrahma (£20m), Fofana (£35m sold for £80m), Guimaraes (£40m) and Jimenez (£33m) as fees above £15m that have been good investments. Likewise I could point you to countless cheap buys that end up being dead wood taking up wages and squad places. It's about good scouting and then picking up those players when we find them before our rivals do. As you say, January is a tricky window to buy players. We have no leverage in negotiations. Bottom of the league, everybody knows we're desperate and nobody is going to sell a good player at market value. If we've identified these players as the ones we want, we'll have to negotiate on the selling clubs terms. The Primera Division and Ligue 1 are not of the same level as the Premier League but that's why their asking price is not even higher. Moffi is linked with Everton and West Ham. Alcaraz is linked with Wolves. We need to be capable of competing with our direct rivals in the transfer market. If our scouting is good and we believe they are genuinely capable of performing at Premier League level, they'll be worth their asking price to someone in this league. Presumably, if we found alternatives equally as capable for half the price, we wouldn't still be "pursuing" these two. I might add, I'm personally unsure Alcaraz is the right player for our circumstances but supposedly the club have identified him as someone that improves our team. I suggest that if we believe they'll improve our first 11, they are worth the outlay. According to Croation reporter Ižak Ante Sučić, Zagreb wanted €7m plus addons for Orsic. They got exactly what they wanted from us. Selling clubs sell on their terms this window. It's very difficult to identify players good enough for our level. When you find one, they won't always come cheap. Often they don't. It's slim pickings at the best of times and that's just amplified this time of year.

Alcaraz (Release clause €25m) Moffi (Asking price £25m) If these are the players we want, we better pull our finger out.

That Japanese lad was signed in the summer window and given a season long loan in the Bundesliga before he was deemed ready. He was a gamble they could afford to take. A player with a good track record in a strong league will come at a premium in January and that's what we require.

We're still trying to shop in the sub-£15m bracket which won't get us a quality striker. If they're actually capable of playing in the Premier League, we'll need to fork out another £10m on top especially in January.

Nathan Jones cup specialist.

Are we going to back 5?

Poor decision from Aribo.

Lyanco at right back? Against Zaha? wtf

5 at the back and we're 1 nill down before half time again? Can't be.

In the Championship.

He won't be on £100k a week when we go down. If we're run properly, every player should have a wage reduction clause for this scenario. Probably around 25%. He'll have suitors for £75k a week and may be willing to take a little less if it means he can stay in the Prem and have a crack at the free-kick record.

Looks decent. Just a shame it will be too little too late.

He may be having a poor season but his CV will still be attractive to other clubs. 11 years in the Premier League making what will likely be over 340 top flight appearances by the end of this season. Captain for 2 years (not necessarily a good one but they won't know that) 11 caps for England 2nd most free-kick goals in Premier League history. Versatility (can fill in at full-back in a crunch) A player like that at a cut-price deal would be an excellent signing for a promoted team and he would likely have suitors from midtable clubs as well.

People don't want to hear it but the solution now is to rebuild in the Championship and hope to live to see the day we're a Premier League club again.

Not sure how it kicked off but that would be my guess. Something like this happening was inevitable.

Highlight was the fistfight in the Chapel stand during the first half.

All together now! We hate Nottingham Forest, We hate Liverpool too. We hate West Ham United, But Southampton we love you!

Another Championship striker, Middlesbrough's Chuba Akpom, on our radar according to tenuous source, Daily Mail. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-11591999/Middlesbrough-forward-Chuba-Akpom-monitored-Crystal-Palace-Everton-Southampton.html