WALK DMC

I read that he is playing out of position and that his preferred role is in midfield.

I guess that there is another scenario: people will be expecting him to tear up an inferior league based on what he has done this year in the Premier, but just suppose he has a poor or average season in the Championship. He was never a prolific scorer in the under 21 team (or in the Premier this year), so what happens if he shows moments of potential but ultimately doesn't deliver scintillating goal or assist statistics; his value to other teams may drop significantly. Will clubs pay £55m for a player who has had an ordinary season in the Championship ? And of course, as Larios and Stewart have demonstrated, injuries can play a big part. I am not suggesting for one moment that any of those scenarios will happen, but maybe it could be a consideration for selling him now or in the summer while his price is high. Of course, there is another similar scenario; Tyler destroys the Championship, grows as a player and his value continues to increase exponentially. I personally think that with the number of teams chasing him at the moment, there is little chance of him staying beyond the summer, but only time will tell.

The interview with him when his signing was announced stated that he wasn't able to complete the Brazilian season due to injury but was working hard to regain fitness. The implication was that once he was fit again he would be challenging for a place in the 1st team. Your suggestion may yet prove correct, but at the moment that's not the message coming from the club. He also has far more senior experience than Joachim Kayi Sanda so I'd be surprised if we don't see him in the Saints team this season particularly as we are light on strong LWBs. I guess that we'll find out in the next month or so.

You're right, although I doubt Larios will ever return from his series of injuries which have been over 2 years now. Maybe his only hope is to change his name to Lazarus. Charlie Taylor is better as a LB in a back 4, or LCB, so could play a role complementing a LWB such as Manning or Welington.

Plus he is still barely 21 years old, at that age there is an expectation that Charles will continue to improve.

Ronnie Edwards has his first start for QPR. Leicester have already scored 5 after just over an hour of play.

Maybe Big Les has been recalled by Chelsea and this is his last game, hence the desire to try other combinations. Real shame if so.

Totally agree with your message, although I think that Sugawara has a really decent cross on him and certainly has the ability to pick out a player (see goal v Everton as a good example). However, while Sugawara has made a few mistakes, he also hasn't had a consistent run in the team where we play to his strengths either.

Weirdly, I've thought that Manning has performed well this season and displayed skills that I wouldn't have given him credit for last season. I'm still not keen with him as left back as I think his defensive abilities get exposed, but as a left wing back, he hasn't let us down this year; and hasn't looked out of place in the Premiership.

Isn't Wellington joining in January ? He could be the left footed wing back that we need.

He also gives me hope and entertainment, however if we are going to be playing a pressing game, he just isn't suitable. He'll run out of puff within 10 minutes.

Certainly not exciting, but his Torino team finished 9th, 10th and 10th in the last three seasons in Serie A. Very strong defence too. Certainly not a sexy appointment, but as many of us have written this season off already, it is a low risk opportunity to see how he gets on. His record at Roma in Serie A was 3-1-4, and they've only won a game in the 8 matches they played when he wasn't the manager. Not as bad as is being presented here. Give the guy a chance.

A Portuguese colleague has just messaged me to tell me that Vasco Matos the Santa Clara manager has been linked to us in the Portuguese sports pages this afternoon. I know that he has been mentioned here by 1-2 people as a possible replacement for RM. Nothing more than a rumour at this stage.

I agree with pretty much everything that you have written, but thought that Downes had an awful 1st half. Plus a special mention to Ryan Frazer who hasn't had a positive impact on a game this season but I thought he played well when he came on.

Sunderland fans used to rave about his strength in defending corners. Let's see.