Andy

Aye he was poor last week, I said immediately after the game that Howe would start Kelly going forward. Some of his decision making with his passing was very poor considering the circumstances. His time will come but he has a lot to learn at fullback.

Bet you've got a better right foot than Miggy

Aye. Workplace romances are obviously going to be common, when you're potentially spending 8+ hours a day with someone that you have common ground with. I doubt they've sacked him for that though.

I think top 4 will be difficult if we sign nobody. Most of the teams competing for those positions have strengthened (or are already strong enough). You have the top 8 from last season who will be there or there abouts, then Brighton look like they can potentially be in the mix too. Lack of Europe will help, but it still doesn't guarantee an injury free season. We are already scraping at the barrel defensively and we've played one game. I think the big thing for me is how impotent our right hand side looks going forward if Trippier leaves. We have relied so much on him over the past two seasons to create chances, Livramento doesn't have anywhere near the same effectiveness at the moment. That's an area of his game that will develop of course, but he's quite a way off. It leaves us looking lopsided, when we've all been screaming for a RW for a few windows now. Still plenty of time, but I don't think it's unreasonable to say it will have been a disappointing summer if we get to next week and our squad looks the same as it does at the moment.

Howe will start Murphy on the right if he's fit, the Gordon/Barnes thing is a backup option to him at best.

It's a shame but it was clear something changed in him in December/January last year, his sudden drop off in form was almost as seismic as Joelinton's improvement. His contribution to our attack will be very difficult to replace. I like Tino but he's not as consistently effective going forward, so this leaves our right hand side looking pretty impotent.

Does the article really say anything new? Seems to me like a repeat of what was being reported 7 days ago

Perfect situation for Parish. Cash in on one centre half, fend off interest for the other more hyped one... Bit of money towards PSR while making him look ambitious to the fans. Honestly don't think he cares that much about losing Guehi for less in January. It's all about posturing.

Nah everyone knows we can only work on one deal at a time

Are Chiesa's knees not knackered? Just regurgitating opinions from people who actually claim to have watched him play recently, but I was under the impression he can barely run any more

Are we thinking this is the end of Tripps then? Certainly suggests to me he won't be first choice, and I'm not sure I can see him sticking around to be a bit part player

Yeah, doesn't matter how good your team is, if you don't bring in fresh faces it will eventually go stale on the pitch. People underestimate the value of exciting signings when it comes to giving the entire club a lift. I remember Shearer saying once that after his first training session watching Laurent Robert whipping in crosses, he came away feeling like he could score an extra 7 or 8 goals a season. That could be Isak with a decent right winger. It gives other players a mental boost and drives up the standards. I'd imagine the opposite is true when Isak looks across to Miggy and realises he's getting nowt.

I always wonder how it takes so long from "onside" popping up on the tele for them to relay it to the referee as well. Took at least another 30 seconds.

Still took far too long that.

He's a very good CB tbh, especially in a game like yesterday. I actually think he's quite underrated in that position. I hope we never see him at LB again.

Livramento was excellent I thought? Won challenge after challenge and made a few crucial blocks.

If he could kick he'd be the best keeper in the league

He will be good in games where we're dominant and he can get up the pitch. He has a lot to learn defensively, and in games where we're up against it you'll see this kind of performance a lot.

Looked like he was lacking match sharpness, but his natural fitness levelled it out towards the end when other players started to tire

He's probably had a tough summer watching the Euros from the bench like, I think people are looking into the transfer links too much

Aye, we looked unbelievably flat in those opening 20 minutes or so

Might as well if Longstaff is playing lol I meant in defence

Not so sure, I think we'll start as we finished today

Also thought Tino was quietly solid on the other side, made some important recovery challenges.

Joelinton for me