woodsaint

Wouldnt be many players left if you were in charge. McCarthy and Gallagher have done well on loan and deserve an opportunity next pre season. Not seen enough or anything of Caceres, Hassen and Pied to make an assessment. Would certainly keep Austin, Davis, Clasie and Long. Cant argue with the rest. On another point, Targetts injury must have been bad. Noticed he was still limping in the video of the players getting their squad photo in their cup final suits

Hojbjerg on some peoples lists. Give the guy time. Yes hes inconsistent but hes young and its also his first season in the premier league. Fully expect both him and Boufal to improve alot in their second seasons. Cedric is proof of this, has been much better this season compared to last.

Does he play for us lol? Steven Davis is an excellent player. For these 'calamitous' moments you claim, you can compare this with games like Bournemouth where his introduction at halftime changed the game and we went onto win. Current captain and hope hes with us for a long while yet. I am biased being a Northern Ireland fan however.

Totally agree. For a young centre back thrown in to replace VVD and Fonte, i think Stephens has done well. His positioning could have been better for one or two of the goals we have conceded with him playing but hes young and hes going to learn playing against the likes of Zlatan, Carroll, Defoe, Deeney etc. We are not going down and probably not making Europe, so why not give him the experience. Hes become a bit of a fall guy because we have signed an ex Barca and Juve defender, but he hasnt played in over a year. Yes if Stephens has an absolute stinker then Caceres will get his chance but Jack has been doing well and im happy with Puel persisting with him and giving him premier league game time.

Was always going to be a tough game for Yoshida and Stephens having to deal with the physicality and aerial threat of Deeney and Okaka. Thankfully with the addition of Gabbiadini, our attacking has improved alot. Just wondering how many games earlier in the season we could have won with him in the team. Will be an entertaining end to the season for the fans.

Or give Hassen a go

Krychowiak is struggling for game time at PSG. Would love to see us sign him and pair him with Romeu in defensive midfield. Semedo or Schar would be my choice for new CB.

Stephens wasnt at fault for two goals. Midfield lost Lingard for the second and the third was a breakaway from our own corner which Stephens was up for. Romeu made a silly tackle for the free kick and he needs to be stronger in the tackle in the lead up to Zlatans winner

Thought we would have seen a video or picture of him training with the team in Spain.

'Plastic' fans like myself who can only get to a few games each season due to the cost of flights/hotels etc. Doesnt make sense to have a season ticket. Still a 'loyal' supporter however.

Sol Bamba? Hes an average championship CB and hes near 32. Younger blood needed like Reuben Semedo or Fabian Schar like you said

Sign a top class CB and Striker McCarthy and Gallagher will be back from their loans and provide competition Sell Gazzanigga, Martina, Gardos, Reed and Long

Him and VVD will have a lovely man bun/ponytail combo at CB. Should bring back Ostlund for that matter too

Bertrand. Pure class defensively and going forward

Cant think of anyone worse than Chris Samba. Would take Callum Davenport over him

Playing with and getting to learn from an international who has played for Juventus and Barcelona will only help Stephens. Personally thought he did well on saturday. Could have prevented the first goal but wasnt helped much by the midfield in front of him. Brought the ball out of defence on a number of occasions and looked composed. In a year or two he can be a very important player for us

Agreed, Davis at times is quality for us. Forster on the other hand....

The CB farce from the January Window is gone and we just need to get on with what we have. Yoshida, Stephens and Gardos have the potential to keep us solid until VVD returns hopefully mid March. We have two good full backs and Romeu in DM who can protect them as much as possible, not to mention that with the addition of Gabbiadini and return of Boufal, our chance creation and ultimately goalscoring will hopefully improve. All this talk of relegation is ridiculous. When you look at the CB possibilities for other clubs, ours dont look too bad - Sunderland - Djilibodji/O'Shea/Kone Bournemouth - Francis/Cook Swansea - Mawson/Fernandez/Amat Watford - Prodl/Kaboul/Cathcart Hull - Maguire/Dawson/Ranocchia Burnley - Keane/Mee Not to mention the struggles of Leicester and West Ham defensively. Yes LR and whoever else deals with transfers have messed up big time, but we should end up mid table by the seasons end and a day out at Wembley where we can all pray to the heavens. LR owes the fans after this and will hopefully make it up in the summer window.

Forgot about Dusan, JWP to drop off the bench

Appoint Eddie Howe Keep both Van Dijk and Bertrand Sell/Release Taylor, Gazzanigga, Martina, Gardos, Reed, Clasie Sign Erik Sviatchenko, Alexsandar Dragovic, Ignacio Camacho Team Forster Cedric Van Dijk Dragovic Bertrand Romeu Camacho Boufal Gabbiadini Redmond Austin Subs Hassen Sviatchenko Yoshida JWP Davis Rodriguez Long

Leroy Sane just breezed past him like he wasnt there for Citys second

Probably alot of people on this forum praying for it

Leicester in for Sviatchenko. Looks a good CB. With our Celtic relationship, we should swoop in

We have 4 keepers at the club and one out on loan, we dont need another. Centre back however....

Theyll lose Payet though so will be worse off. Jose could struggle too as West Hams midfield wont give him the protection hes had the last few years