Cronky

Maybe he'll get shot. It's happened to loads of Kennedys.

Has his good and bad moments. Often doesn't look in completely in control of the ball when moving forward, but for every four occasions when he runs into a blind alley, there's the fifth occasion when he opens things up. Difficult player to assess, as others have said, but maybe the chance to show his stuff in the Premiership might revive him.

Far better than I was expecting, considering the modest fee. He was constantly involved, showed some good touches and linked very well with his team mates, considering he's a newbie.

He seems to be finding his feet very quickly in this league. Still getting used to the tempo, and the different challenges that Premiership referees will allow, but has vision, skill and decent pace. He and Hayden look to be forming a good combination.

A particular issue that bothers me is one that wasn't covered in the interview - namely, the nature of his involvement in the business. Ostensibly, he's delegated responsibility to Charnley, but he's also appointed this figure Justin Barnes, to what sounds like an unclear role behind the scenes. If Barnes is there as his watchdog, ready to block any move that Ashley might disapprove of and/or to act as a spy, then that can undermine the whole decision-making process. He made a similar mistake when he appointed Kinnear as DOF. I'd assume that Barnes is there to make sure that there's still some financial discipline, and Ashley's interest in the club seemed genuine, but how realistic is this 'long distance' relationship that he has with the business? It's a recipe for an erratic involvement, and some of his bad decisions seem to get made when he suddenly gets drawn in and acts without having the time to think things through properly.

London press saying it's been stopped/delayed due to Conte being at war with the board over signings. I wonder if he was entirely happy about Matic being sold to Man U. Even stranger than Cech being sold to Arsenal.

Exactly, he really let the team down. I think he's important to the way we play and he should go straight into the side when he gets back but he shouldn't wear the armband until he proves he has worked past these issues. Dele was cuntish and either he was going to get a red or someone else was and Shelvey capitulated and let Dele off the hook. I don't really see what Alli did that was so bad, he tapped the ball away to stop Shelvey picking it up quickly. If that's Shelvey's response after having psychological treatment you have to wonder when it's ever going to change. I agree. How many times in a game to players kick the ball away or otherwise obstruct the opposition from taking a quick free kick. It's something professionals just have to deal with. What particularly bothers me is that Shelvey didn't actually seem to lose his temper. He seemed to think that if he didn't tread on him very hard, it might look like an accident. That's the sort of delusion that you have to grow out of as a child.

For me, and I suspect for a few others, this has the feeling of a final straw. He's very prone to these niggly incidents, and to do it when you're the captain, in our first game of the season back in the Premiership, says something about the bloke's mentality. He acts like a park footballer, and you wonder about the overall effect on the team of having a player who you can't rely on. It didn't seem to affect our morale when he went off, and after Merino came on, we actually looked quite positive. Yes, it's probably unrealistic to think of moving him on, because no-one's going to want him right now, but we need to drop the idea that he's an essential player. I'd be quite happy to start planning for a future without him.

I don't think Shelvey and Hayden are that good a combination. Both lack pace and the ability to keep possession under pressure. We look quite cumbersome in the middle and Merino will add something different. This could be a blessing in disguise.

Some positives from it - Atsu had the best game that I've seen him play. Looked confident and eager to try things. Merino seemed to transform the whole mentality of the side. All of a sudden, we started passing the ball. Having someone in there who is genuinely comfortable on the ball makes a big difference. Lejeune looked good until he was crocked. But the opposition were a class above us.

Can you really call it anger though? It just looks like a childish need to get his own back. As far as I'm concerned, he can go.

Pretty good descriptions of both players, though I'd add that Supermac wasn't the most skilful on the ball. He was limited in that way.

Running or moving ? Heard Walcott done his back in pushing Wilshires wheelchair. FWIW, that was a quote from the Times - "Long-serving members of staff at Arsenal's training ground have been enthused by the sight of Jack Wilshere 'running uninhibited for the first time in years' " The gist being that Wilshere is hopeful of reviving his Arsenal career. That would explain why things seem to have gone quiet on the rumour of him moving to West Ham. From our point of view, it's neither here nor there, because if he's fit, he'll stay at Arsenal. I just thought it was an interesting snippet, but clearly others are much better informed about Wilshere's current state of physical fitness.

I read today that Wilshere's training at Arsenal is going well. Running freely for the first time in ages.

Newcastle United midfielder Jack Colback set to leave after training ground row with boss Rafa Benitez Jack Colback has almost certainly played his last game for Newcastle United The former Sunderland midfielder refused to take part in a training session Newcastle manager Rafa Benitez has since told the player to train alone Jack Colback has almost certainly played his last game for Newcastle United after a training ground row which has seen him banished from the first-team set-up. Sportsmail understands that the former Sunderland midfielder was already training away from the main group earlier this week when, after one player picked up a knock, he was called to join in. Colback, however, is thought to have refused to take part and this has infuriated manager Rafa Benitez, who has since told the player to train alone. The 27-year-old reported to the club’s training ground on Friday afternoon - after the senior session had finished - and was forced to work by himself. Colback will be left out of Benitez's 25-man Premier League squad and the Magpies have already offered him to other clubs, although his £40,000-per-week wages are thought to be a stumbling block. Colback began his career with the Black Cats, but joined Newcastle on a free transfer in 2014 and has since played 102 games for the club This won't go down well, but anyway........... Rafa doesn't have the greatest reputation when it comes to tact and sensitivity when dealing with players. Whatever your opinion of Colback's ability, it does look like he was humiliated here.

Was thinking that yesterday. With Coutinho and Van Dijk kicking off so soon after signing new deals, players should have to remain at the club for at least a year after signing a new deal, be it when first signing or extending a contract. Would probably need some caveats related to age for loan deals, but otherwise if you sign a player, you keep a player. Coutinho signed a new deal in January and now wants out in August? Ridiculous. I was meaning the practice of buying a player without any intention of playing or even training them. But I agree with your point too. Unfortunately, when large amounts of money are involved, people often don't behave well. In all walks of life.

This kind of practice can and should be banned. If you buy a player you should have to keep them on your books for a year or even more before loaning them out.

I'm wondering if Rafa is favouring some loanees from a longer term point of view. It may be that the players who are available now to us on a long-term basis, won't improve us by very much. So we may stay up, but it might then be difficult to push on because we'll be lumbered with these somewhat limited players who are difficult to shift. Loaned players don't clog up the wage bill long term. The only rider of course is that the loanees have to be able and ready to play in the first team. Otherwise it's a waste of time. You can never quite tell with younger players like Kenedy.

Only seen highlights of Lucas Perez, but he sounds eager to prove himself, after being shut out at Arsenal. Sounds like a good buy, if the price is right.

At this level, his only real strength is as a target man. If his finishing was a bit better that might compensate for his lack of pace, but unfortunately that's not the reality. He would probably function better in an old fashioned 4-4-2, with another striker feeding off him, but that's not the trend in top level football.

Perez looks more than okay to me. Quite pacey and good technique, though maybe not the strongest. He might combine quite well with Gayle. What Wenger is looking for is a striker with the power to hold the ball up well under pressure and finish chances in a lone, central role, but also possess the technique to contribute to their tippy-tappy build up. There are only a handful of strikers who can do both to the ideal extent, and Arsenal haven't had the financial muscle to land one.

I daresay someone, somewhere will give him another chance, but it's rather telling that when he finally got his opportunity at a club of the size that his talent deserves, he still messed up. He's talked himself about his problems with authority, and it looks like that was stronger than his will-power to reach the very top, where indeed he should be playing. I've long thought that he needed a psychiatrist more than a coach.

Regardless of perceptions, he had the most assists (8) of any English player in the Premier League. That said, Dele Alli got one assist less, and scored 18 goals whereas Barkley only got 5. Everton fans I know pretty much all want shot of him, frustratingly so inconsistent. I'd have him here in a heartbeat though. Just imagine the strop on if both Shelvey and Barkley are playing and can't be arsed Barkley has lost his way a bit at Everton, but I don't doubt his talent and if surrounded by even better players, he would fulfil more of his potential. Spurs look very confident of getting him at a slightly reduced price, and he'd be tailor made for them. He could be key to them taking that final step.

Yeah, I think we've punched above our weight here. Nice to see. He's a Spanish U-21 who's done the grand sum of fuck all in his career, we haven't fallen off that bad Christ! Give the guy a chance, he's only just turned 21. He's won Under 21 caps for Spain and secured a move to a club the size of Dortmund. That's not fuck all for a young player. This lad could easily turn out to be our best player.

Yeah, I think we've punched above our weight here. Nice to see.