Cronky

Ukraine deserved to win, but they looked knackered at the end. I don't fancy their chances against Wales.

I can't see him fulfilling Wilson's role. He looks more like a withdrawn striker in a 4-4-2 or wide attacker in a 4-3-3. More likely to be taking ASM / Fraser's role in other words. He's a bit skinny so it's a bit of a gamble, but in Eddie we trust.

I think, at his best, he's a great player, but we haven't really seen him at his best in the Premiership. It looks like he'll return to Italy, where he'll thrive again. A big mistake on Man U's part to get him back.

As an old cry-baby myself, your post did make me think about the impact that Eddie is making. It feels like for many years, the lack of success and the sense of desperation behind the search for it, have created a difficult, dysfunctional air around the club, at all levels. The club has kept on shooting itself in the foot, creating disunity, resentment and making itself a bit of a laughing stock at times. The longer that's gone on, the more difficult it's been to break out of that cycle. But now it feels like, after so many years of hoping for a Messiah, we've got a softly-spoken Mr Ordinary who's coming up with the answers. And with that new spirit that he's generating, somehow I think if the opportunity for success does come round, we'll be ready to take it.

He's quick and strong, so he ought to be able to put in a tackle. But even on the occasions when he does run back to help out, he doesn't seem to know what to do, and / or looks only half-committed. I'd agree that he's started to adjust his game a bit though. I think it's finally sunk in that he needs to improve to remain part of the team, rather than the team needing to improve to be worthy of his presence.

I'd be quite happy with that, if it came down to one or the other. It's a question of getting the right balance through the side. I don't think we could afford to field both, if neither of them is keen on putting in a defensive shift.

You can make a case for a number of players, but when De Bruyne is moving forward with the ball, there is no opposition player who fills me with a stronger sense of dread.

Not sure if his link has been posted before - https://vimeo.com/714011292?ref=em-share A real emotional self-indulgence.

Only a You tube scouting mission, but Paqueta doesn't look quite as good to me as his valuation would suggest.

Great to hear. The problem did seem to be between his ears, and he's now back on track. I wasn't quite ready to give up on him, and it'll be interesting to see what Howe makes of him, building on his strengths. Needs to lose the tache though.

No, disagree. He's a very talented player who just needs coaching into some consistency.

Any debate about whether to sell him presupposes that we'd get a decent offer, and I can't see much sign of that. His value to any club is unclear, at the moment anyway, and there'd be an element of risk in his signing. It does look like he's trying to adjust his game a bit, but I'm not sure how well that's going to work out.

I don't think he's been the same since that long injury. He's never been great at crosses, but he was an excellent shot-stopper. Now, he's more prone to spilling the odd one. He just isn't radiating the same confidence, and it does look like a new keeper is a priority for Howe.

He's done so much more than save us from relegation. He's conducted himself with a rare mixture of dignity and determination, and given us hope for the future. Thank you, Eddie.

Player of the Season: Burn just nicks it. He's made a real difference. Most Improved Player of the Season: Joelinton Most Disappointing Player: Hmm... difficult. Dubravka hasn't looked the same since his injury. Signing of the Season: Burn Goal of the Season (feel free to rank your top 3): Bruno v Leicester Game of the Season: Arsenal (H) On the pitch Moment of the Season (we all know the takeover was the off-field most important): Bruno goal v Leicester Manager rating out of 10: 10, of course. Season rating out of 10: Can't think of a season where I started off in such despair and finished so high. And I'm old. So 10.

I look through the BBC gossip site every day, and his name doesn't appear very much, for us or anyone else. I think he's already found his level.

On the current scale, I think he's worth around £100m, but whether we'd be in a position to fork that out is something else, with FFP and other priorities in team building. With current one-striker systems, and the physical nature of the Premiership, it's a big asset to have a striker that's good at all three aspects of the role - holding the ball up, creating chances for team-mates, and finishing. Not many will be good at all three - eg Shearer, Kane, Suarez (surprisingly) - but it looks to me like Osimhen has that package. And he's still quite young, with re-sale value. Transfer fees are difficult to gauge at the moment, because I think we've finally hit a ceiling. I think the Neymar figure is likely to last a long time, if it gets beaten at all. The market got so crazy that the rich clubs, and the top players who are in demand, are deciding to wait until a contract runs down, or take advantage of a lower fee that's been built into a contract (eg Haaland) Famous last words, but for the foreseeable future, I think we'll see very few fees over £100m.

For the Premiership, Ekitike doesn't look like an out and out striker to me - more of a withdrawn, creative one. At 19, he looks well worth a punt, but I think we need another strong striker to share the role with Wilson. Osimhen looks the real deal to me, but Arsenal seem to be in for him. Dominic C-L would be another good option - again reported to be an Arsenal target. Perhaps whoever doesn't get one will get the other.

From what I saw of the game, they looked a division above Wycombe. We've just got to deal with it, guys.

He comes over in that video as a big personality and a good communicator. I can forgive the occasional rick, because the hesitancy has largely gone from our defending and I think he's played a big part in that.

I'm not sure we'll beat Burnley - they have a way of getting results - but Leeds look in a sorry state and I think they'll lose at Brentford. I'd rather not end the season by sending another club down. It could have been us, and probably would have been if it wasn't for the takeover and the arrival of our Eddie. I'd rather both teams ended the match happy.

Long term I think the club is trying to achieve top four and trophies, but realistically that won't happen quickly. Most of the top players will opt for clubs in the Champions League, and so some of our targets will be beyond our reach, even if we're able to compete financially. And there seems to be more impetus behind the enforcing of FFP than previously. If it happens, it'll happen in stages. I think Tarkowski is as good an option as MIngs and will be much cheaper. Neither of them are what you might call 'top class', but I doubt whether that's a realistic aim just yet anyway. However, we don't have a player like McGinn, and whilst his ball-winning abilities are his chief asset, he's not at all bad when it comes to distribution. Villa will be very reluctant to let him go, but if there's a chance, I'd sign him.

Nice try.

Realistically, if we'd gone down, Eddie might have got the sack. He'd have disrupted his family's life unnecessarily.

This might yet be an important result from the point of view of recruitment. Not only is it a win over a top five side, it also shows the club at its passionate best. We seem to be competing with Arsenal for some players, and this might tip the scales with one or two. Well, you know, possibly.