TRon

That's a tad optimistic for me tbh, almost in the realms of signing Osimhen. But I'll take Raphina all day long should it come to pass.

No point in Minteh if he's leaving for the AFCON, but the De Gea and Phillips on loan would surely make sense. It would give the squad a massive boost if nothing else. I think it would balance our current policy of signing potential nicely as well. We have enough lads on board who might grow into real assets, it would be nice to get some battle hardened players who can slot right in.

It's comical he's the starting CF for a club which spent over £1bn this season.

Tbf, all the noise seems to be on social media, or so I hear anyway. There's never been any suggestion that the club are anything but fully committed to Howe. For all the grumbling, there'd be uproar if Eddie was sacked, he's the most loved coach since SBR. I'm sure beyond all the outside noise, the club insiders will be well aware our squad is inadequate for this sort of campaign, and that's neither Howe's fault or the owners. It's purely down to FFP.

The problem with handing out contracts to the likes of Ritchie, Dummett and and Karius is that while they might be great to have around the club, we clearly don't trust them to make a difference off the bench. Just a waste of shirt numbers IMO.

It wasn't aimed at you, the sarcasm was directed at Arsenal.

I don't think we need 5 at the back, but we need to nullify their threats in the same way opposition teams nullify ours. Salah has to be closed down for example. same way as we wouldn't expect Isak or Wilson to be left unattended.

Emile Smith Rowe

Oh dear. Better let them keep him then.

Nice to see he's staying positive but I'd advise against getting his teeth fixed. He might have tiny teeth but he's got big gums, not sure he could fit implants in there and still be able to close his mouth.

While I was glad to see Man U beat Villa just to stop them getting too much distance between us, I am a bit wary of Man U getting a huge lift from the win, especially the manner of it, coming from two behind. Could do with them losing a couple of easy fixtures just to stop any momentum building.

I don't think it was flukey, they might have had a lucky bounce for one of their goals, but they were down to ten men for the majority of the game and we couldn't put them away. Then they managed to find space with their ten men against our defence to get in one on one while many of our players were stranded at the other end of the pitch. We managed to concede not just one goal but two against them after they had a man sent off. It was badly managed IMO.

Same. I'm sure he's got potential but I'd rather pay a loan fee for a tried and tested player right now.

Doesn't help him much when players twice as fast are running at him with clear space to goal in behind him.

It's incredibly frustrating to have waited years and years to settle scores with these scumbags only to have half a team missing when the opportunity finally comes round. I still think we'll beat them comfortably FWIW, but would love to have gone at these with a fresh team and a decent bench. We'd fucking murder them at full strength.

I know where the idea's coming from even though it seems hysterical given what he's done in 2 years here. Howe is a great leader and motivator, I don't think anyone can dispute that. But there will be some question marks of whether he's been winning the tactical battles in some games, particularly recently where we've got beaten by some pretty ordinary teams. He could do with getting one over Klopp this weekend as well, the grinning German has come out on top every time so far.

He just looks like a very private person, don't think he was saying much even before the betting stuff came to light. I was massively pissed off when this all came to light, but at this point I've just written him off for the season and am hoping he will come back determined to answer his critics on the pitch.

I wonder if Eddie has figured out a plan to stop their runners getting in behind us? Even before Forest tore gaping holes through our midfield, Liverpool have made a habit of getting in behind us when we push too many forward leaving our defenders chasing shadows. The defence Howe put out against Forest was too slow to cope with their pace in wide positions. We need a better plan this time to make sure there is less open space for the likes of Nunez, Salah and Luis to attack.

More than anything else, I'd like to see Phillips on loan just to see if it makes any difference when teams break on us when we lose possession. Bruno himself is very good at pressing himself, but if he gets caught up the pitch and they break, he's not the quickest so he struggles to get back. A genuine DM might read the game better from a defensive POV in the first place and be less likely to get caught upfield.

Might need to find some way to loan all the opposition teams our back 5 as well, he might hit a few more hattricks.

He's still a manager I don't like tbh. I wonder if he chooses the signings or they are bought for him?

It's precisely for that reason I don't see Howe being sacked any time soon. None of those have made that convincing a case that they would be any better. Winning trophies in the distant past doesn't mean all that much, and De Zerbi has still to prove himself every bit as much as Howe. Far too soon to be even contemplating it as of now.

Shame it's for West Ham. Always feels like they end up siging good players by accident.

Agree, for the money they've spent it's a really glaring weak point.

I'm kidding myself really, but if there's a straw out there I'll clutch it at this point.