RobM

I only want to keep him if we're going to play him. His age and quality means he needs and deserves regular games. He's too good to warm a bench constantly, we have academy players who would be delighted for the chance to do that.

On one hand, rightly or wrongly, the common view is he left badly and therefore there is bad blood, so even if we accepted him back he's one bad game away from being hated even more. On the other hand, he's past his best, will likely have high wage demands, and seems to have ongoing injury problems. I don't see why we'd be interested? Even without the history, would he be somebody we'd be interested in to improve our first 11? It's a no from me.

10th - 12th and better football, that's all.

You just have to be better than the other options in the squad at the time. He is clearly talented technically, but he's proven to be not quite good enough to be a first choice CB for a bottom-5 EPL team. If we have aspirations of the dizzy heights of mid-table, we need better. How many mid-table or above EPL clubs will be keen to sign him as a starting CB? If we sold him, he'd go to the Championship, or a newly promoted club if he's lucky.

This (but in English). Our throw-ins are rubbish because nobody makes themselves available to receive the ball. Everyone stands still, in predictable positions, doing nothing to lose their marker. Combined with the fact the only two players who have good range don't take throw-ins often and it means we lose the ball 90% of the time. You can often see the player taking the throw-in getting frustrated with the lack of options, which means they just chuck it anywhere to avoid a booking for time-wasting.

Sims came on and did the job we bought Elyounoiussi to do, but actually did it effectively.

FINALLY somebody who gambles on a rebound in the box.

Hoedt needs to go and have a chat with Fonte about the dangers of ego.

Our defensive record is no worse since Cedric stopped playing regularly and his assist record proved we're not missing out on any attacking threat. And Gabbi couldn't score goals after his injury early in his Saints career, and doesn't want to play in a high-pressing team (which is why he left Napoli). Both had value, both were wanted by other clubs, both were surplus to our requirements, so letting both go was exactly the right thing to do.

IMO, Valery only needs to be good enough to get us to survival at the end of this season, ready for a rebuild in the summer. If we can get more money for Cedric now, when teams who need a proven RB might panic buy and over-pay, sell him. We have a few other players who can step in at RB if needed, but Cedrics value will drop in the summer so if he's not in our plans, cash-in.

This, plus the comments from RH in the article, need to be taken in context with an interview linked to around the time RH joined. It described the way he plays and one of the key points was forcing the opposition into mistakes, with very proactive off-the-ball movement, pushing them into areas they don't want to go and can be dealt with easier. You could see it yesterday, not only pushing them outside, but restricting them to hopeful long-range shots on goal and little else. Players like JWP can play an important part in this, but if you're not watching him in isolation it would be very easy to miss it.

Lemina is incredibly talented but seems mentally weak. Against City, he only looked really up for it (e.g. driving forward at pace, taking players on, covering more ground quickly, quicker & more positive and creative passing) when we equalised. Before our goal and after City's second, when it felt like we were in for a tough game, he couldn't motivate himself to the same level as when things looked more positive. It has been the same in other games; when things look tough, he goes missing. When we're on top, he looks like he's too good for us. He has no fight in him at all and cannot lift a team or influence the teams performance. Even Boufal, who you can criticise for many things, would try something when we needed a spark. He'd try and get the ball forward, or take players on, or try tricky shots from distance, just to spark something into life. It might not have worked and he might have been kicked off the ball easy, but rarely could you say he didn't try to change things when we needed it.

If Ralph takes a look and decides he can't help us now, we should just sell him and give him some clarity in his career. Same applies to other players who are on loan and are now of an age where their time being 'one for the future' is running out. I think Sims can do a job for us though. His energy, pace and direct running with the ball give us something only Redmond offers at the moment.

It shows his character, to not have made a fuss or been public about game time, to take a pay cut to get regular football and to want to return to Ibrox. I hope it works out well for him.

For as long as Valery isn't a risk, I'd keep him in, accepting he isn't the finished article. There's no better way to learn than by playing competitive football and if he keeps improving to the standard we hope, he's our long-term RB. Cedric is better right now, but for how much longer? He's been in the squad when we've been leaking goals and he rarely contributes with assists, so what would we be missing by sticking with Valery?

We've had that for 90-mins each week, how much more do you want?

I suspect it's a lot more basic than that. It's likely the agent of each unemployed manager just starts contacting any media outlet willing to listen, to make sure people remember their client still exists.

100%, IF we all now recognise the model this fits into. If we all accept that we'll attract talent like this, on the promise and understanding they'll be allowed to move on when a big money offer comes in, we can all enjoy it while it happens. If we expect some sort of loyalty and then get the hump when the player moves on, it'll be no fun at all.

That shows he has the right attitude, mentality and work ethic, despite not playing a lot of club games recently. Those the things missing from our team in many games!

Shows how big the difference is between the Championship and EPL. He's always looked 'OK' here, but consistently looks great for Championship teams.

"The south-coast club's hierarchy remain happy with the 55-year-old and the squad they assembled in the summer..." But... "There is a consensus that they still lack the defensive leadership of Virgil van Dijk and the direct attacking pace they had in Sadio Mane - and they will look to address these areas." How can both those comments be true?

Gabbi doesn't work as an impact sub, he only ever looks his best after a couple of games. It's partly down to sharpness, which his game relies on. It's also down to other players getting used to him, which is always highlighted when he hasn't played for a while. There are often times he makes a great run that goes ignored, or is literally pointing at the place he wants the ball sent to, which gets ignored. IMO, he and Ings are our best forwards and they offer different things, so they should be given a consistent run of games together. Gabbi stays forward, is great in tight spaces and makes great runs. Ings covers more ground, drops back further to find the ball, can play a decent through ball, reads the game well and has a good strike on him. Playing both, with Gabbi just ahead of Ings, could work well if given time.

I'm usually in favour of giving players, especially in partnerships such as at CB, a chance to develop and succeed. If you change things too quickly you'll never give players a chance to form a partnership, which is really important in some positions. We have all moaned at former managers making too many changes, not knowing their first choice 11, or not having a settled team. But there comes a time when you have to admit it's not working, which is where we are now, IMO. Hoedt needs to be replaced with Yoshida. We need some pace and EPL experience alongside Vestergaard. Austin needs to be replaced by Gabbi, with Gallagher coming off the bench for a while. Austin was OK doing nothing for 89-mins and scoring in one minute of greatness, but without scoring he gives us nothing. Gabbi is a clever player and the rest of the squad need to get used to playing with him, as his runs and movement is so often ignored.

IMO the players are the problem, but there are two things I can't excuse Hughes for: First, sticking with Hoedt for too long. I totally support giving players a run to prove themselves, settle into the team and form partnerships, but enough's enough, Hoedt has proven he's not up to it. Yoshida might not be the perfect CB, but we had some great defensive performances with him at CB and the same can't be said for Hoedt. I also believe Yoshida's pace and movement will compliant Vestergaard's size and strength. Second, dropping the formation we spent all pre-season planning for. The whole point of pre-season is getting a team ready to play the way a manager wants, but he ditched it before the first game had finished. Pre-season is the time to work out whether it works or not and if not, prepare the team for a different way of playing.

Agree 100%. The only reason to let him go, is because he wants regular football and it's the fair thing to do. He isn't first or second choice in any position he can play, so unless we're selling him and adding £15-20m on top of his sale price to improve the first-11, he doesn't need to be replaced. If he's happy to stay and get a similar amount of game time as he's had recently, I'd be happy. But if he wants to play every week, he needs to leave. It's a bit of a shame though, as I'd rather finish in a boring place in the table with a home grown team, than slightly higher with a bunch of bought-in mercenaries.