Verbal Kint

Very poor team selection and even worse subs. How we can continue to give these two centre backs games is beyond me. They're ****ing awful and everyone surely knows it by now

These 2 centre backs are an absolute joke

Even if Yoshida was fully fit I'm not convinced he'd be played over Hoedt. Consistently dreadful but he is still picked week in week out

He won't be poor next week when he's 1 v 1 against hoedt...

Thankfully hoedt and Stephens are up against absolute nobodies. Just imagine it next week up against Walcott and Richarlison

Woeful as expected. Only positives are Armstrong and Vestergaard both looking good. Hoedt carrying on from last season and has been awful. What a terrible player he is. The back 3 might scrape us a result at home to dross like Burnley, but we'll be in big trouble if we stick with it all season

So if you were offered a straight swap of JWP for Grealish you wouldn't bite their hands off. Mental. Maddison/Grealish etc will turn out to be much better players than JWP

You have to have very good CBs to play with a back 3 as the two wider ones are going to get isolated in wide areas 1v1 and for the likes of Hoedt/Bednarek it's just a disaster waiting to happen and they'll be exposed time and time again. A flat back 4 with Yoshida and Vestergaard is the only way forward IMO

Criminal to sell a reserve left back, who in over 30 first team appearances has never looked like being good enough to be our first choice? Even if we sold Bertrand we would want to buy a replacement rather than promoting Targett. I think it would be criminal not to sell him for 15 million when that money is needed to bring in another attacking player. A decent showing against an average side in a pre-season friendly doesn't change that

Austin has scored plenty of goals in this league and Gabbiadini showed signs in his first 6 months here that he can be a big player for us in this league. Long is a decent bench option to run at tired legs and we'll have to see if Hughes rates Gallagher or not, he was a pretty decent striker himself so I think we should trust his judgement. It shouldn't be forgotten just how terrible the management of the team was last year, particularly with our attacking players, and I think they are better than they have shown ..............McCarthy Cedric Yoshida Vestergaard Bertrand ....Lemina Romeu Armstrong Redmond Gabbiadini Elyounoussi If we can shift a few fringe players and bring in a Redmond upgrade then it doesn't look a bad side on paper, assuming the new signings are up to it (big if as always)

It's difficult to understand why some fans think he will come good. He's an awful player and the second half of last season was comical at times. Incredibly slow, clumsy on the ball, regularly beaten in the air, he doesn't possess one attribute that suggests he might become a good player. It worries me that we haven't done everything possible to get him out of the club. 3 at the back with our CB just doesn't feel right to me. It's our weakest area and I'd rather we had a back 4 with Vestergaard and Yoshida together and let them get an understanding going. It then allows us to play armstrong behind the striker and have two wide men. I think it suits our squad better

Targett has had plenty of opportunities for us and he's proven that he isn't good enough to play as a full back in our system aspiring to be a team that challenges for the top half. In a defensive team where he doesn't need to get forward he might be solid enough but for a long time now we have had full backs that get forward and overlap and he simply doesn't have the pace to get up and down the pitch. He isn't good enough

I completely disagree about Targett. He's actually made quite a lot of appearances for us now and he's proven that he doesn't have the pace to cut it in a PL team aspiring to finish in the top half. All the better fullbacks in the league are seriously quick because the demands on that position are so high now, you have to be up and down the pitch non-stop and no matter what he's done at Fulham he isn't going to suddenly find the considerable extra pace that's needed. We have an opportunity this summer to sell him for a decent fee and we should take it. I actually think we should be far more decisive on a lot of the academy players: Reed, Gallagher, Targett can all go and I'd consider selling Stephens and JWP if we got decent offers for them as well (but we won't). Sims needs a season playing every week so get him out on loan if it won't be with us, and the same applies to Hesketh. None of these guys are going to develop any further playing for the U23s and getting 5 mins here and there off the bench. Our squad is too big and needs cutting. We could easily lose 7 or 8 players this summer and bring in 3 quality additions and be much better off. But we will struggle to do that because Les Reed has totally ****ed us with regards to the contracts some of the players are on

I wasn't suggesting Pelle was a disaster, simply making the point that this recruitment policy we have is theoretical and in reality that isn't what we are doing. As those (and I'm sure there are others) I think prove

Carillo Pied Pele Osvaldo Clasie Stekelenburg Were they all in the top 5 list of scouted players for their position?

Moritz Bauer did very well for Stoke when he came in. He'd be on my shortlist

That's the worst idea IMO. Right now Fulham think they have a decent you English player who can make the step up, but after a year on loan there where he, once again, gets found out at PL level will see his value diminish. Strike while the iron is hot and sell him this summer

I hope Targett is sold. He's had his opportunities in the PL and he's always looked too slow for it. Hopefully Fulham will be prepared to buy him and we can keep McQueen who I've always thought had a bit more about him

He's been awful. At Swansea in particular I couldn't believe what I was watching at times. Awful with the ball, very slow and constantly allows strikers to back in and outmuscle him, regularly missing first headers and causing chaos in our box. They had a half chance in the last few minutes from simply floating a long ball up to the striker (Abraham I think) and he allowed him to chest it down, turn and have a shot at goal inside the area. It summed him up. You always hope he might improve but I'm really struggling to see it happening. 15 million for that.... If the board are serious about getting us back up to 7th/8th then they'll have 2 new CB signed this summer with Yoshida and Bednarek as back up

Sell Hoedt and tell Stephens he has to be considered a central midfielder as he isn't good enough to play as a centre back. Sign a proper CB who is a leader. After that start selling a few. Forster being the first one out the door...

I'm going to have to disagree here. I thought the centre halves, Stephens and Hoedt particularly, were awful once again. Both of them continually get out muscled, they lose initial headers, Hoedt's distribution is appalling and he's extremely slow. There was a moment near the end where they knocked a long ball into Abrahams (hardly the biggest striker) and he was able to back into hoedt, chest it down, turn and shoot unchallenged. It was horrible to watch but it happens time and time again with hoedt and stephens. Can't fault their effort and determination but neither are good enough for this league

Walcott and Bolasie up against Hoedt and Bednarek is a nightmare scenario. Hopefully Hughes adjusts things to protect them more, because Bednarek has to be one of the slowest defenders we've ever had (including Lloyd James in that) and Hoedt is absolutely awful. I think we'll lose but winning at Swansea may be enough

Hoedt would have to make any shortlist for worst centre backs we've had in the PL. He's absolutely woeful and somehow cost 15 million. Shocking

He didn't really deserve it though did he? He was frustrated and shoved him to the ground. It happens multiple times during a game in other sports and the referee just steps in, tells them to grow up and you get on with the game. The rules should be changed as I just think it's madness that players can be sent off for what Stephens and Elneny did

In 20 plus years of watching us that is the worst 45 minutes I think I've seen. Absolutely horrific