Charlie Wayman

It is beginning to look like most of that crop of U23 grads is or has been moved on and out - Valery apart - to make headroom for a new generation which benefitted from better leadership at the Academy. As Ralph has said so succinctly, when you get a chance in the first team you have to show that you belong there by working as a professional should, eating, sleeping and drinking football and putting everything you possess on the line in training until it hurts and then more. It would be good to see Sims' end of year report and where he has fallen short of Ralph's expectations.

Seems well informed and usefully up-to-date.

That makes sense a similar logic crossed my mind. Snuff out challenges before they become problems.

Ralph watchers will be pleased to have seen him in today's training pics although he didn't look his normal ebullient self. Looked a bit tentative. Maybe his minor op was a bit more than that. Hope he's OK.

Yes but will Ralph turn up tomorrow?

The operations room is in London not at the ground. Ref won't be going anywhere.

Perhaps Cedric & Boufal now count towards our five in's after all they weren't here for Ralph's last season. On that basis we need only one to come in during the next two days.

It could be that we are trying our best but clubs won't let players go or targeted players just do not want to come here.

A bit of common sense was sorely need on this thread and you have supplied it. If his loan didn't work out for whatever reason he will be worth even less next year. Lemexit means Lemexit!

People, relax let's give VAR a chance. As operators gain more and more experience so the whole thing will speed-up dramatically. personally I am quite excited about it.

It's all explained here https://www.premierleague.com/news/1220224

Shouldn't that read "would stop sprouting rumours eh!"

No post match comments from absent Ralph? More fodder for our conspiracy theorists. Club Statement coming? ;-)

What is it with you, this was a leg pull of earlier posters. Try reading the whole thread before making a complete **** of yourself.

Too late Faz, already explained that earlier in the thread. Best to get up before lunchtime on Sunday.

I guess all his meals are served with a pinch of salt.

What time was it? Unusual to have a routine op on Saturday morning.

Not all six-pointers come at the end of the season, this one is defo a six-pointer. Must win, six-pointer or we'll lose touch.

I was being a bit harsh on Nathan but he had a stinker yesterday and he should not expect his starting place to be unchallenged. Boufal can provide that stimulus so for Sianyt it's a win-win situation but actually I like your suggestion better Nathan on the right, Sofiane on the left and Adams. Ings has a lot to prove still, his price tag almost guarantees hi a start but he lumbered through yesterday's friendly and never looked involved or threatening. Hi penalties are a flipping' embarrassment, how many has he missed in pre-season. Being a cocky bastard is not being very responsible to the team and Hoj should be having an expletive word or two in his ear.

I hope it does. It'll be good for the lad he's far too comfortable here, time he left home.

He played well today, maybe he should start at Burnley in place of Redmond?

We seem unable to hold onto the ball and string more than three passes together, the one time we did today we scored. Possession stats will be interesting. Bearing in mind there are only 7 days to go a lot of our players looked knackered after 30min which has to be a worry. The lads that came on at 60min were generally better than the starters they replaced. Valery looked really good today and Bednarek did well. Can't agree with some that Adams had a good game as far as I could see he didn't win many balls in dangerous areas. I liked the attitude of returning players Cedric & Boufal who gave it there all without a hint of sulkiness or lack of commitment. I guess it is the Ralph effect of believing in these players.

Stumped by this move. He has always looked the part unlike Obefami yet it's the latter who has caught Ralph's eye. Guess it's hard to know what to do with some promising young players as even younger ones push up into the U23s. We don't want to block pathways but there are only so many kids that can be in the first team squad.

No. Why do you launch such daft threads?

We are where we are and it is of no help to keep looking backwards to play the blame game with people who are a million miles away from the Club now and couldn't give a stuff. Ralph seems to be better than that and very much the realist. His mantra is probably "These are the players we've got so I'll make the best of them" After all every single one of them has climbed through their academy ranks to become paid professionals and into first XI's of Top League European teams so de facto all are very good players. It is a myth that the PL is the best league in the world and many of these players cannot raise their standards to that level. What is different about the PL is its physicality and pace which are quite different issues to pure football skill. Nobody would expect a Border Collie to win a greyhound race after all. So if certain players find it hard to adapt physically to the PL just be aware that they have not suddenly become poor players worthy only of derision from mindless fans. As for why these individuals were signed in the first place the answer is that they are damned good footballers but nobody on Earth could have predicted which of them can meet the physical rigours of the PL and which ones could not. ... and for those who bemoan the 5 year contracts just remember what happened a couple of years before that so everyone thought that longer contracts were the way forward to stop our best players being syphoned off by richer clubs after a couple of years.