TRon

I'm not calling what we were doing Dycheball, I'm saying maybe we need to go all in on one approach rather than get stuck between two stools. Could be Dycheball or Pepball, at the moment it seems to be neither.

I think it's fair to ask whether we are buying the right type of players for how football is evolving in the PL. We are still targeting athletes over technique, but we are getting stuck between two stools for me. We don't have the technique to overcome the physicality of this season's opponents on the floor, and we don't have the physicality to outmuscle them either. We aren't winning however we play it. Howe might have been better off just going all in on Dyche-ball if he wanted to win by overpowering teams with athleticism.

He hasn't done a lot wrong, but he hasn't done enough right either. He had a good chance to cement a permanent move, but I don't see that happening now. Eddie can barely wait to bring Pope back in.

We'll have to take a significant hit on the fee with only a year left then. Not sure we can afford to offer him a bumper contract either given his injury plagued time here.

Yep. I don't mind being linked with these players but as soon as I see Arsenal or Chelsea are in the mix I switch off.

Not a chance in hell, Eddie seems to hold him personally responsible for the farcical swap deal for Elliott Anderson.

Fucking hell, this was the first post I read today and I thought he was injured again.

Sesko

I don't think there is any race to get Trafford. City don't need to sell him and he's made his own bed by going there.

I think we just need to concentrate on making sure we are only signing players who will improve us, or that have a higher ceiling in the next couple of windows. I'm not going to knock the summer transfer window too much because we desperately needed to fill out the squad, but I think not having a DOF in place probably saw some us getting rinsed on a couple of the signings.

Said this earlier as well. You can't shield the ball if you don't have it. He had to charge Gordon to get anywhere near it. And he still didn't.

That's fair, I said the same thing myself when he was being touted to replace Joelinton. Joelinton loses the ball trying to draw players in and then playing it forward, Miley tends to look after it better but doesn't take the same chances. He's growing into a real player now though, been great seeing him breaking into the box for goal attempts.

We've got used to having a really top keeper in Pope for a few years and got spoiled. Pope's handling of crosses has been exemplary, but not this season funnily enough. If people could see Ramsdale for what he is, a £4m loan signing as back up, they'd probably be a lot less harsh.

One of the things I really liked about him in midfield was that he rarely gives the ball away so I think he's already got that covered. I guess for all the moaning about the money wasted in the summer, well Miley will probably cover that, his stock is rising fast. He looks genuinely class.

I don't really see any point in whinging constantly about him now tbh. He's like a deer in headlights right now, but he can still be a dangerous option off the bench. I'm not convinced he's got the mentality to make it at a big club, but Howe will probably still believe he can get him performing. I've seen glimpses of good stuff so I would rather just let him settle in and he could be a good squad player. We've overpaid but it's done now.

It's kind of perfect tbh. Enough to devalue him further, but not enough for Liverpool to get him written off and get a big payday through insurance. Just need Ekitike to pick up an injury which puts him out for a couple of months now.

They are a good team and we have to account for that. They will hurt plenty of others so no shame in that result at all. We just need to get the rub of the green in the second half of the season, and it does feel like we are going back to our get at 'em philosophy which is what the majority of these players were bought for. So count me in.

3-1 and we are winning like.

Yep, he had a split second where he could have hit it first time, but the touch meant James got a foot in.

Although even there he failed to really open his legs. He looked hesitant to run at full pelt in case he lost control of the ball otherwise I'm pretty sure he could have done the defender for pace.

He knows fine well he's not getting the ball, that's why he goes in extra hard on the man instead.

To shield the ball it helps if you fucking have it like.

Isn't that what VAR is for? I don't think people get that pissed off at a genuine mistake, but when you have the ref solidarity league sitting in the tv studio, that's when it gets people riled up.

Yeah that one.

Was thinking of the earier one where he dragged Barnes back.