Luke SkyWalker-Peters

There is a big difference between being shy, introverted or feeling homesick at 15/16 to age 19/20. Tyler is dealing with the spotlight that has been on him well. I cannot see a situation where he isn't playing in a top 5 European league next season. I do think he might believe he is better off at a club where he is valued, but can't see him dropping down to the Champ when we almost certainly go. Unfortunately, that just means it's more likely that he could end-up at a Bournemouth or Brighton instead of a Man Utd.

From starting?? He's 36 and was injured. Not excactly a surprise he can't start every week. Very normal for a 36 year old attacking player in the Premier League. Especially when, as I said, he missed most of preseason. Otherwise you are just risking injury. Rest one game or risk losing him for months.

To be fair, Lallana likely needs a rest given his age and the fact he missed most of the preseason. Moving Dibling is indefensible.

Would be great if he had a German international defender to bring into this squad. Ideally one that is physically dominant and can play with the ball too. Hyphenated name always a plus. Martin needs to get over his issues with ABK because we need him desperately.

I agree. Obviously the system has stifled the likes of Sulemana, Alcaraz and Edozie as the tempo is too slow for them to take advantage of unorganised defences. The wingers especially beat their man and then are faced with the rest of the team sat in the penalty area in a deep block. BBD is suffering from this too and currently looks worse than he did for Sheffield Utd, as he isn't getting the chance to cut inside and have shots on goal. Not utilising Meghoma, Dibling and Amo-Ameyaw enough last year was also very frustrating. Meghoma especially was showing after Christmas in the FA Cup matches that he was far better than Manning and deserving of 1st team minutes, but Martin wasn't interested and now Meghoma has (quite rightly for his career) gone - despite being better than almost all of our current depth options. Dibling and SAA probably should have had some minutes when everyone else was underperforming, but that is less of an issue as they're still here. He isn't the youth development manager that he repeatedly says he is. He doesn't give them minutes to develop. He would rather buy older players to potentially block academy player's minutes. He specifically bought Shea Charles but refused to use him despite Smallbone playing terribly at DM. He has got rid of (or tried to get rid of) Sulemana, Alcaraz and Edozie instead of improving them. He keeps hooking THB despite Stephens playing worse and consistently putting other players in the shit with his passes. Hopefully the young players here show improvement under him this season.

I feel that if there hasn't been any improvement after the Ipswich game that he'll be gone. That nice 9 days before playing Bournemouth seems ideal for a manager change. But obviously we will need to have had results in the league for him to still be with us after the international break a couple of weeks later. I could see the club giving Lallana a go while they search for a manager. He ticks all the boxes of players likely to have instant success as a manager: played central midfield, played at the top level for a top club, played under numerous great managers with differing styles, is an intelligent player that didn't rely on physical ability or pure technique, been a captain etc... I could see him possibly replicating that Arteta, Xavi, Alonso transition straight to management, or possibly not. Would be a good time for him to give it a go while Klopp is taking a sabbatical, as he could have someone to mentor him in an official or unofficial capacity. I'm almost certain the club would have Potter as their no.1 choice though, he is proven at delivering a possession style in the Premier League. On Martin himself, I like him but am yet to be impressed. I think he underperformed in the league last year with what was the second best squad in the Championship in my opinion. He is so rigid in his style that it is to the detriment of players we already had that did not suit it. I feel like more players have regressed under him than improved. Some looked better because we dropped a level. It seems like a real struggle for players to play his system. He asks them to do too much and its unsurprising that they are making mistakes. There is nothing wrong with passing out the back, or possession systems, but possession managers make it easier for their players to find passes. Martin does not seem to do this. Everyone finds it extremely hard to get out of our own half. No easy passes that then move us up the pitch quickly. And then when we do move up the pitch, we do it so slowly that our attacking players find it difficult to create good chances as they are facing a structured defence. I absolutely feel that he deserves a chance and I hope things drastically improve. However, I cannot fathom who decided he should get a contract extension after finishing 4th in the Championship and I hope the club keep a fairly short leash on him like they did with Nathan Jones. We have a genuine chance to stay up, we should not tie ourselves to Martin if he's a sinking anchor.

I'm willing to give Martin a bit of slack as most of our business was done very late, but any mitigation goes out the window after the international break. I think he somewhat underperformed with the squad he had last year to finish 4th, so although I like him as a person he doesn't have much credit in the bank with me. If we are going to pass it out, we need to be better drilled and slicker than we have been so far. I don't think Stephens and Bednarek are good enough with the ball at this level to have this kind of responsibility. Martin needs to show us his much revered man-management skills and get ABK onboard, he is a level above the other CBs. I'm hoping that we come back from the break with ABK, Ugochukwu, Fernandes, Archer, Cornet, Dibling and, if you'll let me dream, Stewart integrated into the squad more and playing Martinball as he draws it up. When it works, it is good fun and if he is a good coach I believe he can get those players, along with Ramsdale, KWP, Suga, THB, Downes and BBD playing good possession football. For me, judging Martin starts now, I hope he can deliver. But, I suspect Sport Republic will have Graham Potter on speed dial if things are not looking better by October.

It's frustrating that we are conceding these sloppy goals, but it's not like we're getting battered because of it. We have conceded 3 goals in 3 games. I think with the right players and manager we could play this way, hard to see if we have both based on the team today. I think that goal was very much on Stephens. Can't be passing it back to a CB that has 2 players on him. I do wonder whether it is so drilled into them by Martin that consequently the players aren't being diligent enough to see if the pass is on. Fundamentally, I'm going to reserve judgement of Martin in the Premier League for when he has a team of Premier League players playing. I am not in the slightest bit surprised that lineup is losing away to Brentford, whoever the manager was. I hope to see a 433 with Archer, Cornet, Fernandes, Ugochukwu and possibly Bella-Kotchap in, and with Adarma, Aribo, Stephens, Smallbone and possibly Bednarek out. That is then a team that I could see possibly surviving and will judge him if he is incapable with those players. The team today is just not at the required level. The current scoreline is no surprise.

I'm not sure why some posters think Cornet will play LWB? He has played most of his career (and his best seasons of his career) at RW... a position we have been trying to fill all summer since Tella/Brooks left. We have been linked to half the left-footed attacking players in Europe for this reason.

https://twitter.com/ExWHUEmployee/status/1829457790210883927 The best West Ham source: "There has been a late move by a couple of clubs including Palace apparently but he looks set to join Southampton at this stage. He has also said his goodbyes this morning" Edit: How do you embed the tweet?

Assuming Ramsdale passes his medical, I think our current best XI is: Ramsdale Suga THB ABK KWP Downes Big Les Fernandes AA Archer BBD Assuming Martin wants to play his favoured 433 at some point. Not sure whether it would be Downes or Ugochukwu playing DM, but personally I'd like to see Big Les running into the box to get onto some crosses. I hope that this is the side we are building towards, with Bednarek in for ABK if he goes. I think Dibling, SAA and Lallana will all be best utilised as subs to come on when we need a goal for now, with some starts if their form demands it. I'm assuming the lineup vs Brentford will be fairly similar to Forest. I'm expecting a far bigger change for the Utd game after the international break.

It's just how they are used in their system. They are both right footed wingers, but both fairly good with both feet. Fellows usually plays on the right wing to whip crosses in with his dominant foot, but has played on the left cutting in as Edozie usually does. Martin doesn't like to use wingers in this manner and usually has them cutting in. At the moment if Fellows was to whip crosses in there won't be anyone there with the way we are set up (and the way Martin usually plays). But doing more with it than Fellows does, which is my point. Imagine how frustrating you'll find Fellows when Edozie was the far more productive player last season.

I'm looking forward to seeing all the competitive starting debuts. It seems like it will be a complete change to the Premier League side to give squad players a chance: https://twitter.com/SaintsExtra/status/1828550115487031669 I think the only reason we will play 3 at the back is if we want to put ABK in the shop window after his injuries + failed medical. Larios doesn't look match sharp yet from his U21 appearances, I'm not sure that he will play with Manning and Taylor both needing minutes. Lumley Bree Edwards Woods Taylor Ugochukwu Dibling Fernandes SAA Edozie Archer

I don't understand the Fellows move. He is the same age as Edozie, but scored less goals and the same amount of assists last season in the Championship. Edozie has been deemed not good enough for the starting XI, due to his lack of end product, so why would we bring in a player that was even less productive last season? I know he has 3 assists in 3 games to start the year, but who knows what Edozie would have in the Championship right now if we hadn't have got promotion. He's a good player but seems a complete waste of resources when we are looking for an improvement. He doesn't have the pace we would like in a wide player at this level. It's not like we are short of right-footed wingers at the moment either. He just isn't the player we need. I don't understand it.

Youssoufa Moukoko's deal to Real Betis is off. https://x.com/berger_pj/status/1826305942725464399 We were mentioned as one of the clubs interested. He broke all sorts of youth scoring records at Dortmund and is the youngest player to ever score in the Bundesliga. He's as close to a goal machine as we could get for our money. He's got loads of experience having made his debut the day after he turned 16. Obviously the majority as a sub, but he has played in 99 games for Dortmund. He's leaving due to wanting more 1st team minutes at 19 years old. He only played 613 minutes last season in the Bundelsiga (equivalent to just under 7 full matches) and scored 5 goals. 5 in 7 is a very good return, but obviously he will have a much tougher time in the Premier League in a low table team. He had a nasty ankle sprain the season before (nothing needing surgery or anything) and hasn't got back into the team since. Left footed and about 5'11, he is a pacey striker with a great shot on him. But I'd probably have him play RW for us, where we haven't found a solution since Tella left. Cutting in on his left foot I'm sure he would be very dangerous. I'm intrigued. He wants to move out of Germany and he wants 1st team football. If we sell Charly, Tall Paul and ABK then I could see us making a move for him. Berger reported the fee was only €13m - €14m. I would classify this in the "insane signing" category, if it were pulled off. https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/youssoufa-moukoko/profil/spieler/467720

They've spent the same amount as us now. I'll be honest, it looks like they have beaten us to a few players: We must have had interest in Muric, we still don't have a GK. I think we clearly wanted Delap, then signed Archer after he went to them. It seems like we were interested in Clarke, but went for the much cheaper option of BBD instead (possibly in part due to Sulemana's injury). I suspect as they have many players on very cheap contracts having been in League One two years ago, that they have been able to offer very good salaries to their incomings compared to us and Leicester. The Kalvin Phillips loan supports that too, they must have room under the wage bill. I really fancy Ipswich to stay up this year. McKenna is an extremely good manager and I think they have bought really well this window. Right now I'd fancy them to beat us on the pitch (not a surprise perhaps with the results last season), but their depth does worry me over the season. Many teams have gone down due to a lack of depth. On us, I like all the business we've done. I think that we have added good quality to the squad that suit Martin's (and Sport Republic's) style of play. If we do go down we should be in a good position to come back up again. However, we have just not quite had the few marquee signings that I would have liked. O'Riley, Carvalho or Moukoko... someone with real quality that would scare the opposition. As I said, I like every player signed and every deal made, but our team just lacks that 1 or 2 players that are going to keep the opposition up at night. I do think Bijlow could somewhat fit the bill as a player that is far better than our level (when fit), but I'd like us to have a goalscoring threat too.

Why are you so desperate to keep a player that couldn't get in the starting XI in the Championship? Simply put, Charlie is worth far more to other teams than he is to us as he just can't play well in Martin's system. He can press and he can score a goal, but he just loses the ball far too frequently to work for Martin. We are getting a younger player, who fits the system more and by all accounts isn't a "cast-off", Wolves tried to sign him for £20m last summer and got rejected. This is likely a situation where both clubs feel they are getting the "better" player for their needs. We will likely bag some cash as well to help improve other areas. I'd rather have a player that is more likely to break into the starting XI under our current manager, than a player that was on the bench in the Championship. It just makes no sense to keep Charlie at all. By all accounts, we are going to get a good fee for Charlie considering he was not a consistent starter for us or Juventus last season.

If we are selling and buying two players for the same amount, we are making a profit this year under FFP, because the full value of the sale goes onto the books this season whereas the purchase is spread over the length of the new players contract. e.g. Sell Alcaraz for £20m and buy Hugo for £20m on a 5 year contract. That would be 20-(20/5) = 20-4 = £16m of profit this year. Hugo might well be a downgrade overall on Charlie, but he is likely a better system fit. Charlie is not good enough with the ball to play CM for Martin. Presumably Hugo is. Charlie has other strengths that made him an effective goalscoring CM for us when he arrived, but it is better to have players that fit the system. I'm not sure why you have forgotten Ugochukwu and Fernandes. Both are an improvement on Smallbone, Aribo and Alcaraz in Martin's system. Yes, Ugochukwu is a more natural DM, but he has all the tools to play as a box to box 8 for Martin - athletic but surprisingly good with the ball given his size. He didn't get loaned here to sit on the bench behind Downes - he could have done that at Chelsea. He's here to start. Fernandes isn't going to be sitting behind those others for long either. He is too talented. You are using Alcaraz's time before Martin to justify keeping him. I don't think anyone is suggesting Charlie is a bad footballer, but he is not suited to the extreme possession style of football that Martin is trying to play. It is better for the club and for Charlie if we sell him and reinvest that money on a player that suits our system more and he goes to a club that plays to his strengths more. He wasn't a regular starter for Martin in the Championship, he would just sit on the bench for most of this season in the Premier League.

Not sure what the benefit of looking at the lad's academy highlights from 3 years ago is. He's been playing first team football for a while now.

Or he might have another major knee injury, spend the season out of the squad, but Ipswich stay up anyway because they have a decent squad plus a great manager... and then they are having to fork out £30m for an injured player that didn't help anyway. Leeds had a similar situation with Jean-Kevin Augustin, whom they had to sign on their promotion despite him being injured the whole campaign.

I'm really excited by him. He looks like he has everything you could want in a CM. Scans frequently, has high technical ability, is two-footed, very athletic and aggressive defensively. Out of everyone we have signed, in my opinion, he is the first that could be bought by a super club within a couple of years. His ability to receive the ball and dribble past pressing defenders is something our midfield lacks currently. Very Lavia-esque in that regard. After a bit of bedding in, he's ahead of Alcaraz, Smallbone and Aribo for me. Looks like an excellent fit for the system.

The reason a DM is referred to as a "6" in the modern football vernacular is very simple: It's because that was the number worn by players playing DM outside of the UK. Coaches use the numbers associated with positions to most easily convey where they want a player to play in midfield. As a consequence of so many foreign managers and coaches coming to English football, in time the coaches and players here stopped referring to a DM as a "4" and instead as a "6". Pep has been the biggest driver of this change in the last 10 years or so as he regularly talks about the importance of the "6" in his system. However, the traditionalists among you will be pleased to know that the England national team has made a concerted effort to keep the traditional English numbers going. You will have seen at the Euros Rice at DM wearing the no.4 shirt and Guehi at CB wearing the no.6.

After failing a medical for a heart condition, it seems best to keep him this season, prove he is fit and can play, then sell him in January or next summer. If he plays a few games at the level he did last time in the Premier League, then we will get bids higher than we were willing to sell him to Hoffenheim. The knock-on effect is worrying though. Are we still going to get the GK (loan), AM, RW and ST that we are hoping for before the window closes? Selling Alcaraz, Mara and Onuachu now becomes a necessity and we would ideally move on some of Lis, Manning, Bree, Larios, Charles and Aribo too. I'd add Sulemana to that list but his injury seems to have ruled him out of a move. Stewart is in the same situation as ABK - needs to prove fitness before a possible sale (though I still have hope he can be a contributor).

lol. If you look at the full thread on Twitter it has a number videos each showing off a great pass. I don't think OP meant just that one video lol. The full thread is a very good read/watch from and English journalist who covers Liga Portugal. He seemingly rates him very highly and expected Sporting to be starting him this season. I saw in his comments on another post that he was completely perplexed as to why Sporting are selling him. He seems to think that one year at Sporting and he'd be getting sold for 4 times as much to a massive club. All very high praise. https://www.twitter.com/Ben_Mattinson_/status/1797681354114818116

*Mateus I really like the look of him. He has everything in the toolbox to become a complete box-to-box CM. For me, after bedding in he goes straight into the team ahead of Aribo, Smallbone and Alcaraz as an 8. But, he may need a bit of time to adapt to England and the Premier League. I saw some here saying they hoped Ugochukwu was the next Lavia. Personally, I see Ugochukwu as an almost carbon copy of Lavia's Belgian teammate Onana - tall, rangy and very defensively minded. However, watching clips of Mateus at Estoril last season gave me serious Lavia vibes. He was playing CM in a double pivot last year, like Lavia did for us, and the way he was able to receive the ball deep with his back to goal, turn and drive up the pitch was very similar. He also is able to make those line-breaking passes from deep that Lavia did when he got into his best form. Unfortunately, I don't think Aribo or Smallbone are good enough to start in the league regularly. To me, this is a very necessary transfer in a weak area of the side. He seems to have every quality Martin would look for in a CM. My only concern is how slowly Martin will integrate him given his age and inexperience. Is Mateus the Stu replacement? And if so, will O'Riley be the Alcaraz replacement?