Neef

In an ideal world, I imagine the club, the manager and the CEO would want to spend more money too. But unfortunately we have an owner who for whatever reason isn't investing into the club, and who is actively trying to sell. Add to that, we've had no matchday revenues for the past 18 months and had to take out loans to get by during Covid. And then add to that the heavy wage bill and the line of high-paid deadwood on the books. And factor in a failed transfer / managerial peroid a few years back, meaning that we haven't been able to buy low and sell high like we used to. Basically, I don't know where the club would get the money from to splash out like pretty much every other team bar Burnley & maybe Brighton.

You'd think the ideal/realistic long term situation is: 1) AM / FF play out this year as the keepers 2) One leaves at the end of the season 3) We sign a new No.1, with the remaining keeper now No.2 Ideally I'd prefer we keep McCarthy over Forster, but we'll see. I don't see the point of signing both to long term contracts when it's clear that we need a new 1st choice keeper. It feels like we're finally arriving at a place over these next 12 months where we'll actually be able to clear out the high wage bill and surplus squad members.

A shame we let him go, but good luck to him. Think many misjudged Ralph's tactical tweak (KWP pushing high and Bertrand shifting across into a back 3) as an indicator that he no longer has it. Hope he does well. Having experienced players who know the culture and ideals of the club is key for a squad and a club as a whole. When we let the likes of Bertrand, Fonte etc. go, we lose more than just their ability - you lose experience on and off the field.

It's a fair move for both. We have JWP, Romeu and Diallo. It's likely he wouldn't have got the game time wanted to progress his career, and we couldn't have promised him that either. Good luck to him.

Remember what happened when Hojbjerg made it clear he wasn't signing a new deal last year? Or Bertrand this year? They were both frozen out. I'm interested to see how Ralph approaches this one. He seems to be an "all in," or "all out," kind of manager.

Think both keepers will stay and Forster will see out his contract before leaving on a free. We all want the squad to be rebuilt - and the GK spot is a part of that, but realistically all of the changes required can't be done in one summer. Especially when it's clear that we have little money to spend. LB/RB, CB (If Vest goes) and an attacker (Striker if Ings goes) are more pressing issues than bringing in a new GK at this point. I imagine we'll wait till next summer to bring in a new No.1.

Wish him well in the future. It’s no coincidence that most of the players who arrived in that Puel / Pellegrino / Hughes era have not been successful here. It must’ve been the worst time to join the club and an environment not conducive for any kind of sustained success: numerous changes in manager, playing style & philosophy. Add to that the constant upheaval of the squad & the poor managerial and executive appointments, (even a change in ownership?). And it’s not just the transfers that didn’t work out. The young players coming through the academy suffered because of it. Also, to this day I still struggle to think of any players who actually improved during that era (Romeu & Hojbjerg maybe?). So it’s no surprise to me that players who arrived with rumoured potential in that time period have massively failed to perform. Some of it is on them of course, but we can’t overlook the wider context and club they arrived into. But with these players off the books & new ownership in the pipeline (fingers crossed), hopefully we can begin to move into a new chapter.

We shouldn't sell JWP at any cost that Villa can realistically offer. In a summer where we're supposed to be building a squad, potentially losing a starting CB, a starting CM and a starting Striker would take us backwards.

We should’ve have kept him (if possible). Clearly still a very good player - and doesn’t bomb forward as much as he once did because of tactics (not because he can’t). KWP pushes high and the LB shuffles across to form a back 3, so Bednarek can cover the space KWP has vacated. It’s why Stephens & Salisu have done well there recently too. Feel this may be another Fonte. We complain that our squad is devoid of character, but then never retain senior players.

I remember the same happening with Gunn the year before that. These stats are undoubtedly poor, but I do think there's something about the quality of chances we give away to opposition that bleeds into this. There are so many games this season where we seem to offer up the simplest of goal-scoring oppurtunities. The Rice goal on the weekend is another example of that. In turn I think it makes it difficult for the Goalkeepers (practically and confidence wise too) because the protection around them is so fragile at times.

Let's get Joe Willock in

Beaten by the better team. They are top half for a reason it seems. The lack of impact/quality from the #10s is a big concern. Our attacks lack decisiveness because of it. Tella looks promising but I hope we also bring in someone on loan (doubt we can afford the required quality) who has the quality to make an impact.

Ings is 29 this year. From Leicester's recent transfers, it seems that they target young players with big sell on value. Part of me thinks they'll go abroad and spend big(ish) on a young striker when they eventually replace Vardy.

Great player for the club, argubaly one of our best PL signings of this era. Sad to see him go to be honest. He seemed like a great player to have around for those coming up, and still is very useful in a Premier League squad. Will also always remember how he was rumoured to be very influential in organising the wage deferral the players took last year when the pandemic first hit.

The Adams conversation is quite simple for me. Very good player for the team, but as much as he contributes, he needs to score the sitters. He holds up the ball well, brings others into play. Presses really well too and is a much needed physical presence in what is quite a lightweight team. But it's hard not to be frustrated with some of the chances he passes by. The excellent goals he has scored vs Newcastle, CIty & Sheffield United etc should almost be bonus goals for strikers. It's the 2/3 yard chances he sometimes screws is where his true value as a goalscorer can be. It's almsot more frustrating that he clearly has the intuition and tactical skill to put himself in those positions (a trait that is to be respected in itself). To me, he's a decent striker who is teetering on the border of being good.

It depends on what/who we can afford in the summer. He's probably the best wideman after Armstrong - (Tella has great potential so, I'd like to see more next season). I also acknowledge that he's come into a team on a horrendous run of form, which must've have been difficult to integrate into. Also feel like it's been difficult to get him on board tactically with the lack of team/tactical coaching it seems Ralph has been able to actively do this season. I'd rather Taki over Theo.

What is success for us? That's part of my point. We staved off relegation in the 1st season (which was his job), and we finished 11th in his first full season. I wouldn't say that should be defined as failure for us. What do we realistically class as success for us? Especially when you take into account money and everything else. This season is clearly not success. But I do think there's more to it than Ralph being a bad manager.

Think we're forgetting how quietly successful Ralph was before he arrived here. Promoted and then finished mid table with an unlikely Ingolstadt in the Bundesliga. He then finished 2nd with Leipzig in that same league. He's clearly not a bad manager. So the question is figuring out what has gone wrong here? Funds is a massive issue. We want to be competing with the likes of Wolves, West Ham, Villa etc. But the reality is that some of those teams have outspent us 2 / 3 / 4 X in the past few years. There are so many games that have hinged on our lack of depth (Villa at home instantly comes to mind - the 1 goal comes from JWP being tactically exposed at RB). For someone who relies so heavily on coaching and preparation, this COVID season clearly hasn't helped him. Generally think he's a great coach and his principles are great too. But I would say in a season that has been so mad and clearly physically/mentally exhausting for all involved, his rigid loyalty to his philopshy has hampered us. The lack of pragamtism has really been exposed.

Wow quite remarkable when you put in context like that. Nostaliga would have had me swear that Pelle socred more than 11 in that season.

The worse Liverpool perform, the better our chances of keeping him imo. If things continue as are for them, I feel like they may do a mass overhaul in the summer and try to bring in a big name in one of those attacking positions (Mbappe, Sanchom Haaland). If so, could leave the door open for us to turn this loan permanent.

Quietly optimistic about the summer. Realistically, think we may see an upgrade on #10, potentially a striker (or two depending on Ings) - and then some fullback cover. We're not far off a decent squad that can push for Europe. We'll hopefully get a better pre season than last year too.

21 Years Old and hasn't played since June. All considering, a very good debut. Mistakes expcted considering how rusty he would have been, but the fundamentals are clearly there. Atheltic, reads the game intelligently, sweeps well - all vital for a team like ours who play with a high line at times. Considering how long it has taken him to make his debut, I think it's made us slightly lose sight of his pedigree. He was a regular in a midtable La Liga side at 20 years old. Excited about his future.

Very happy with this. With our 2 #10s, Armstrong has played in a role that is more about balancing the side / heavy running / exploting space etc. The other #10 is supposed to be making a real impact in the final 3rd - but this season Redmond, Djenepo, Walcott and whoever else have played there have really struggled to do that. It's really blunted our attack at times. Hopefully he can be that player.

I don't think anybody's neccessarily wrong with this one. He rightly wants to start playing regular football (19 isn't that young an age to start doing that.) But with JWP, Diallo & Romeu, that pathway is blocked. Unfortunately for him we have some great depth at Central Midfield. I don't see why we can't loan him first though?

I think there may be a tactical element to this as well. A lot of the time Bertrand is almsot building up play as a 3rd CB while KWP pushes on into deeper attacking positions.