mrfahaji

Unless I'm going completely mad, that random '1st post' tweet and any responses to it have been deleted from the forum, correct? I was just about to reply saying it looked a bit suspect and the whole page crashed, and when I refresh the board.... all vanished!

I know they're a selling club, but surely even Liverpool wouldn't sell Mane for a loss.

What, you wouldn't have Davis in your starting XI?

Don't disagree that he deserves a shot and had some good games last year. He also had moments where he was caught out positionally, switched off, was weak in the air. These are all understandable for a young central defender, but to "play him in every match possible" suggests that even if he isn't good enough you want him on the pitch.

Gabbiadini. I'm not prepared to write him off because he missed one. I've just watched it again and it's a pretty good save from Romero. Obviously if he misses any more then we might have to question it. Bertrand has also taken one and scored.

I can see the argument but I think the mods have to hold their nerve on this one, else what sort of message does it send out? Other potential ITKs may start pushing for the same treatment. If Tom28 isn't prepared to show the same level of dedication as others on here, perhaps he should be made to post in isolation until he realises that the mods aren't going to give in.

Even if he turns out to be a weak link?

If there's either a possibility he will leave (to anyone, maybe another club will show interest), or he's not in the right frame of mind, it makes sense not to have him with the rest of the squad, either being a disruptive influence or being privy to all our plans/routines for the season. I'm not going to assert that "He's not leaving! Definitely not to Liverpool!" because it will be even more galling if it does happen. I think the only thing this development shows is that he hasn't 'accepted' he is staying. As Cartman alludes to above, we might not see him until September if he isn't sold, as he'll probably need some time at the back end of August to 'reintegrate' and learn all the things the others are running through at the moment.

If the entire league failed to score for an entire season, that 1-0 victory (and goal) would be celebrated pretty vociferously.

Sky/BT will make a number of changes to the Christmas schedule so our already tough festive fixture list means we have to play 7 games in 3 days. I don't think we'll be that different to last season, but will be slightly easier to judge our chances in games due to less rotation and the availability - hopefully! - of our two main goal threats. I'm going with 50 points, 10th. Which will displease just about everybody. If we keep VVD and sign a CM , I'd raise my expectations significantly. Sell VVD and only sign a replacement and I think we'll spend a fair bit of the season languishing in the lower half, with a few anxious looks in the rear view mirror.

Yep. I have mentioned it at some point but not sure if it was my post you saw, as I expect others have said it too! The difference was last summer, although we "knew" we were light in attack, it was also based on a few assumptions - JRod wouldn't rediscover his touch, Long wouldn't maintain his form from the prior year, and Austin wouldn't adequately replace Pelle. As well as the fact we only had three strikers, they were reasonable concerns, but still unproven. The current midfield problem has been evident for an entire season with this exact group, so the only way we sit here next summer and say "hats off to the club, they got it right" is if at least two of our four central midfield players step up a level this season, as well as Romeu avoiding any lengthy injuries. It could happen, but does seem a bit of a risk.

I saw Kachloul play for the reserves before he featured for the first team. Can't think who it was against now... He played pretty well, may even have scored, so was glad when he stepped up to the first team and ended up as a good player for us.

Maybe it depends on the opposing defenders, whether we're being attack or defence minded, and what sort of defensive line the opposition play.

While watching those videos I was wondering what it would feel like for a player like this to come through the academy now (especially if we got an Alan Shearer at the same time!) My first game was as a 5 year old in 1990 - Le Tissier got the second in a 2-1 win - so for me Matt was always there. Not sure if that meant in some ways I took it for granted quite how lucky I was to watch him every week, and how lucky we all were to have someone so talented prepared to stick with us, especially the way things have gone now with the game. I could watch videos of his goals/skills all day - and the more you watch the more you see an amazing goal you didn't even know about! Just watched a "6 minutes of Le Tissier" video with goals from 90-92, and there is an amazing overheard/scissor kick against Forest - would be most players' best ever goal yet may not even get in Le Tissier's top 20, ha.

The good thing with having JWP on the pitch is we're guaranteed to nearly score from a free kick.

Yep, they are players that can do something others aren't capable of, and those things are invariably crucial for turning a game. Of course, there does come a point where it's no longer worth the rest of the team 'carrying' them, even Le Tissier had plenty of those days. But I do find it odd how quick people are to want to drop or get rid of Tadic and even (already) Boufal, as if somehow in the Premier League you can do away with craft and guile, and conjure up goalscoring opportunities through sheer effort.

He could just have been being nice.

You might be right, but it would be a sorry state of affairs for a club that preaches how well run it is, how sustainable it is etc, if we had to sell off the Crown Jewels to stay afloat during the summer when the money pouring into the division dwarfs any season before it.

I just wish it wasn't an either/or approach. Having sold Fonte and Rodriguez, plus the +70% TV money which a lot of clubs seems happy to chuck about, I can't see that we're in a position of not being able to afford anyone. If we're operating a one in, one out basis, then I'd rather the one we HAVE is VVD. But just feels like such an opportunity missed, not only for our prospects in the upcoming season but also as a signal to other players who might be looking at their futures (Romeu, Bertrand, Cedric) that we are making steps forward. It's frustrating when our weakness is glaringly obvious (a bit like our lack of strikers last summer) to all and sundry, yet nothing is done about it. Of course, there is plenty of time left on the clock, so I'm hoping Les & co are just getting their ducks in a row rather than sitting on their hands.

His corners aren't bad and he 'whips in' quite a good free kick from wider positions. Another reason we don't score many from set pieces is that we don't have many threats in the air. van Dijk was one, and Austin is decent, but we missed both last season. Yoshida is ok but I see him as more of a secondary threat, someone who might get a chance because everyone is worried about someone else (i.e. VVD). Of course, it then begs the question, if we don't have many players to benefit from a good corner even we manage to deliver one, is the importance of set pieces overrated anyway, and therefore is JWP THAT valuable to us in that department?

Nah, I'm a right catch. I spend my days conversing with people I've never met on a forum, for one thing. (Also the holiday was only shortened by 1 day, any more and I may not have gotten away with it)

Haha, brilliant. My fiancee wasn't very understanding about me cutting our holiday short and paying to change flights back from India so I could make the EFL Cup Final. Fortunately when she complained to her dad about it, his view on my actions were "yeah, fair enough".

Seems a strange link. Wouldn't mind us being linked with Pontus Jansson though.

You could give some thoughtful analysis like Chez has above, or you could just lump it into one generic sentence ! I don't know which one to believe ! Perhaps the answer lies in whoever can exclaim their points the most !

Same, except the 'guilt' instead of 'gilt' bit.