Charlie Wayman

No, no, it's far more concerning than that. ericb has called it the way that many fans see it. Not all change is good and much of the change over the last few years has been downright bad for the game at all levels in England and for fans. We have an English Premier League in name only, the top six clubs mostly being foreign owned, foreigner managed and fielding only foreign players. Only Spurs can make a pretence of still being English. These elite teams could settle anywhere in the world and one day soon probably will, ending up in the US or China or as travelling circus akin to Formula 1. Their legacy will be the ruination of English football. The printed and on-line media have become besotted by the Big 6. There is no balance, no fairness, no alternative vision. Fans have been marginalised to the role of extras. Disillusionment is rife and widespread and the inevitable drift away will begin in earnest soon. Football at grass roots is tribal and rivalry is the lifeblood of tribalism. Rivalry has become inevitability for most fans now so what indeed is the point?

Not dreading it as we can pretty much guess the outcome. We've been told umpteen times there is no money for transfers unless one or two leave for decent money and as yet there aren't many rumours around concerning our players and who can be surprised after the season we've had. The only one who had a realistic chance of moving to a Big Club was Bertie and he has probably blown it anyway by not making the cut for Russia. The focus has inevitably shifted onto young players who might star in Russia. Outside the top six why would he want to move to another club in much the same situation as us. Doubt many or any would pay him more than he gets here. Nope, one in at most and probably only one out. Reed is still at the football helm so why would anybody expect anything to change, the tired old dog is far to ancient to learn any new tricks and will bumble along just as he has always done. Getting "our business done early" for Les means before 11.30pm on transfer deadline day.

Winter break or no winter break, we fans won't even notice the difference. Why don't they just close the whole league down for one month preferably January so that we can have a break as well and any transfer business can take place behind closed doors so to speak.

Yep! Agree, this is our best side.

... and it's nearer Switzerland?

Indeed my namesake was one of the best CFs we ever had and scored for fun. We lost him only because we failed to secure promotion in the 47/48 season when almost dead certs.

Quite a prediction!

You seem to be another of these morons who has an agenda against Maya Yoshida. Of course he is a Premier League quality defender even if not one of the best and he is one of the best leaders in our team. It's not worth reading the rest of your opinion because it clearly is not unbiased.

He who lives by the sword....... Serves the buggers right and I hope the smug egoistical prat does in particular do a runner

Greedy bastard. People like him have destroyed English football's club competitions.

Quite an assumption without a shred of evidence or proof. Time travel is not possible, clearly you have never heard of the Second law of Thermodynamics? Perhaps you will have noticed that nobody is here from other parts of the Universe? Unless YOU are?

My guess is that we will not be signing anybody and Hughes will be asked to get the best out of the very expensive players that Reed has brought in during the last two disastrous seasons. Reed will still insist that these players were gems that can be polished to perfection rather than complete duds that they are. No way is Reed going to admit any failures on his part he is much too arrogant a bar steward for that. Money fo signings? In your dreams boyos! Forget it.

What a load of pompous, patronising utter Tosh!

What on earth are you on about? Stupid post.

If indeed there is any truth in the rumour that Hughes has been told he has to sell to raise funds before he can buy then what a perfect cop out for Reed & Kreuger. They can claim that they were not responsible for selling their dud buys (Boufal, Carillo) or indeed our best players (Bertrand, Tadic, Cedric) who are the only ones likely to be of any interest elsewhere. Hopefully Hughes is not that daft.

Sounds more like wishful thinking than offering any real insight as to why things are not going as smoothly as many had believed they would. Nobody in negotiations goes slowly deliberately so it looks very much as 'though there are stumbling blocks. Either their are other candidates or there is a clash of views on who does what and who will be responsible for what. If there is no transfer budget that might be one hell of a sticking point although had that been the case Hughes might well have walked already. The fact that he is still in the building suggests he is still in the frame but whatever aspects have divided them will likely leave a sour taste one way or the other. Not a good start.

I beg your pardon?

Nah! Waiting on Emery to make up his mind, us or Arsenal.

That's the trouble with you chaps, you expect the Club to have high ambitions but set your own sites far too low. Why are we even discussi

Sterling & Kane are most definitely world class and will succeed on any stage but they need a high quality midfield to create opportunities for them. Dier also is not the man being a journeyman at best but Dele All is a different kettle of fish. If only he can get his right and put in 100% effort he could be one of the stars of the tournament. On his day he is one of those players with magic in his feet but all too often he is distracted by taking easy options like diving instead of busting g a gut to score legitimately. Don't rule out Vardy either as a world beater but once again he needs service from the middle to do his finishing act. All in all Alli is the key to our world cup, if he turns it on England could do well. As for Bertie, well tough cookies mate but Southgate is looking forward to 2020 and beyond and time is not on his side.

Ah!, Mark is it now? How long before he becomes Effing Hughes as in Effing Puel and Effing Pellegrino? Just asking. Best to stay neutral my friend, that way no egg on face when the brown stuff hits the fan.

There is always a surprise team that play fast open football and score at ease that takes everyone by surprise. That's what makes it worth watching but knowing that after all only the big boys will make it to the quarter finals. From then on it's boring as hell.

That money could have bought us a decent Centre Half

There is a simple answer to this, if Gao persists with Kreuger & Reed then he can stick his ST renewal invitations where the sun don't shine!

The truth is there for all to see, these blokes are just covering each other's arses. Our only hope for something better is that Gao can see right through this fog of posture and surreality.If ever there was a case of The Emperor wearing an invisible cloak. Blackmore should have gone for the jugular, it wasn't only Reed who suddenly became dumb, where was the great Kreuger when the sh*t hit the fan and fans just wanted reassurance. Safe enough to come out of hiding now Ralphie?