Saint Matty 76

I do like what we've done but I really feel like we need an O'Riley-type creative and the Ramsdale-type proven Goalkeeper to have much, if any chance of doing much next year to be honest.

Same here! I honestly thought he was just identical to Armstrong for some bizarre reason.

It's a weird one because his best work for Sheffield United last year came off the left, similar to Armstrong's off the right. I wonder if we'll just use them both up top in the 532 we used in the playoffs, or if we'll still need a focal point for them to both play off in the 5221 which we've been running in preseason.

Mate who supports Chelsea just replied "Based on tonight you've got no chance" when I asked about O'Riley.

Martin on if he thinks Jan Bednarek will sign a new contract: “Yeah, I hope so. I think we're in discussions with him now. I think he's very, very happy.” @AlfieHouseEcho Who'd have thought that'd be viewed unanimously as good news 18 months ago?

Christ just give it to the kid who won it, fed up of Mara

I don't think it does. It says that Martin is keen to link up with O'Riley, I think. £25m. Tierney/Jota.

A tier 1 Besiktas source stating that an English club have submitted a £3m bid for Ox. I wonder.

I imagine we'll loan Sulemana to a favourable league (Eredivisie?) this year in the hope that he can have a solid year to raise his value. However, my hopes aren't too high given his lack of impact on the Championship. Similar to what just happened with Minteh will be our goal, I'd guess.

Brereton Diaz, alongside one other forward has looked like a no brainer all Summer, so I'd be happy to get that one over the line on the loan w/ option. My best Football Manager brain also leads me to believe that we'd still be able to make two Premier League loans (@Matthew Le God?) as Diaz would be coming in from abroad. Ramsdale (loan), O'Riley (£22m), Diaz (loan) and Broja (loan). We take that?

Wouldn’t blame him unfortunately. Looked great whenever he’s had a chance and if I were him I’d be annoyed about the fact I wasn’t given a proper go last year.

About as world class as the player we're chatting about. Either way, doesn't bother me at all. You've got your thread for it and crack on.

I've never clicked that thread, for obvious reasons.

Looks like that's that and he's off to Torino. A good time to move on for both parties. Had his positives but finishing was absolutely never one of them. Made the players around him play better, in my opinion, and played a big part in getting us back up. Happy that we get to roll the dice on an alternative now, but I wish him luck in Italy! I'll never forget the Wolves miss though.

Speaking of... Brilliant assist from SAA and a nice finish from Alcaraz. 7-1.

Amo-Ameyaw really is brilliant. I hope we get him a longer term contract and a good loan move this year. Wasted last season.

Happy with that one then? Sugawara 6-1

Lallana out through injury in the warm-up... Any wages he's getting are a robbery.

It's not a bad question to be fair. Looking through the table you'd say most teams would be pretty content with their #1. West Ham maybe? I'm not too sure about how secure they are with Areola. Forest and Bournemouth potentially? Although Forest just signed Sels and Neto is the captain, although getting on a bit. I think Newcastle is the worrying one, but you'd hope we were immediately on the phone about Pope if that happened anyway.

I just can't see what kind of deal we'd structure which would be acceptable to Arsenal, given the wages. I can't imagine we'd make him our highest paid player ever at 120k p/w, so is it a hefty loan fee with a buy-option, equalling something around £30m? Or would we go for an obligation should we stay up? Either way, there would be clubs who would be willing to cover the full wage on top of the above, which I can't imagine we will. I do agree that Alfie's tweet has made me a little more confident though!

To be fair, my belief is that an experienced midfielder such as Reed would look at our squad and be of the opinion that he could find a way in quite easily. If you estimate we'll probably be lining up with something like the below, in the 5-3-2: Smallbone - Downes - O'Riley/Aribo/Lallana I'd imagine that most footballers with Premier League experience would take a look at the opportunity and be able to convince themselves that they could find their way in over Smallbone as a weekly starter, rather than just being an understudy to Downes. Either way, plenty of other priorities as you mention, but I'd be worried if this wasn't addressed by the end of the window.

I'm not suggesting we go and break the bank for an understudy here. I'm talking about a couple million on Harrison Reed, or using one of our loan spots on an experienced option. There would be plenty of minutes available for either so I don't think it'd be an overly tough sell to the player.

I agree. However, rewarding players with average first seasons with an upgraded role is a recipe for disaster. I'm quite shocked to see that anybody believes we don't need another senior figure in that area this year.

I can't say I agree. The role isn't going to become any less important in this division and he is not ready. I don't want to write the kid off by any means but expecting him to go from behind a shoehorned Smallbone at DM in the pecking order, to first call back-up behind Downes after promotion would be remarkably risky. Even if it is somebody like Reed, who has been hinted at on here, I'd feel far more comfortable. There will be minutes given the Downes concerns, the idea of giving them all to Charles should terrify anybody after last year.

Yeah, and that's a big fucking problem! He was not trusted in the Championship, so I doubt he will be in the Prem.