Andy

Calm down man. If we're struggling to attract quality players into a relegation scrap, it'll be twice as difficult for Burnley. They aren't exactly an attractive proposition to begin with. Given their debt, I'd be surprised if they even reinvest the money into players.

Can't help but feel like the only acceptable answer to that would be "already on that train"

Mad that we're paying 20 million for him and he's getting the train up like

Better than 1 in 2 record in Germany like. €50m is probably about right for a 25 year old striker with that kind of record in the current market tbh, especially given his form this season.

Underwhelming but let's give him a chance eh. May turn out to be a shrewd signing if we can get some crosses into the box (Trippier) and if we can maybe get him a partner with a bit of pace.

Looks raw, direct and exciting, would be happy to bring him in alongside a more established striker. Would be a lot of pressure on him, but he might be young and confident enough for our circumstances to not really phase him.

You can't really compare stats from the first 8 games under Bruce, to the 8 games Howe has managed which include Arsenal, City, Liverpool, Man Utd and Leicester like, especially taking into account the fact that he took over a team on a downward trajectory who were unfit and bereft of confidence heading into this run. Howe has a lot to prove, but as of yet hasn't really had a chance. Saturday was the first real blotch, but even then we were still hamstrung by the lack of investment in strikers in the Bruce era.

Hope that's bollocks about the wage structure like. If our current crop of shite want parity with the new signings, start performing to a level where the board have any desire whatsoever to keep you.

It's completely acceptable to have concerns and people shouldn't be shot down for voicing them tbh. Patience is important but if we don't have a striker in by the end of this week we'll be in a pretty bleak position for the Watford game. January window is notoriously difficult but we need to buck the trend and start getting things done this week. Money talks and in theory we have a lot of it, it's time to start showing it.

Wouldn't be averse to signing Wood as long as another striker comes in with him, maybe someone young and more unproven of Barbossa's ilk, who wouldn't then have all the pressure of being the only fit striker at the club.

it's not entirely untrue, either, to say we did play "okay" for a good chunk of the game, we were just toothless and went into panic mode towards the end. If we'd taken our chances it could easily have been been 4-1, 5-1, and we're calling it a job done. Of course, it does sound daft when you've just lost against a side from the lower leagues. But the problem IMO is less the performance itself and more the bluntness up front, which is only going to be solved by adding new players. If you have a squad full of players who are scared of scoring, it doesn't matter what league your opposition are from.

Yep, happy to see the defence strengthened but I hope Howe is making it clear just how important it is to get goals into this team. This attack would see us relegated even with prime Baresi and Maldini at the back.

Better when the game is being taken to us IMO. He's effective at turning in midfield and getting the team forward, not so much at probing.

I think the issue there was that was that he was trying to change a style of play that was effective to begin with, without understanding it. It just came across as tone deaf.

Bruce had this team winless and on trajectory to be comfortably one of the worst premier league teams of all time. That's what Howe inherited, not the team that finished last season. The names might be the same, but the rot is the problem. Momentum is a hard thing to turn around in football.

Jesus

Hmm. The way I would see it, Bruce systemically destroyed an established team and was rightly slated for it. Howe has inherited a winless squad, completely bereft of confidence, fitness and tactical awareness and is in the midst of an incredibly tough rebuild. Performances so far have been up and down and results obviously haven't been great, but I'm not convinced any other manager would've done much better in the games we've played with this bunch of players. He's not immune from criticism but I don't agree that it's hypocritical to not hit him with the same criticism Bruce received either, the two scenarios are vastly different.

True to an extent, although a lot of the deficiencies in the squad were, and still are, of Bruce's making.

Hatem's end product was on a different level to ASM's still though, even towards the end.

Thought he always looked better from Bruce coming back from injury, or after the covid break etc. Think he struggles to perform at his best over a large number of matches.

It's more than the goals that are missing this season like, he looks weaker, slower, technically worse, mentally worse and just completely clueless every time he's on the ball. The decline in literally every aspect of his game this season almost makes Kennedy's second season look ballon d'or worthy.

Certainly very poor today, sick of seeing him turn back on himself over and over again. Can't work out if it's low confidence or over confidence with him, but he's been a lot less direct lately, which was previously his biggest asset.

Confidence in front of goal has been the biggest factor today like, with a decent striker on the pitch we would've put the game to bed comfortably. He literally has no viable options up top so it's difficult to be too critical until that problem is solved.

I know we don't want to be messed about, but I hope we're not wasting valuable time messing about for the sake a few million quid's worth of add ons like. Let's just get this one done.

We don't know he doesn't want to come tbf. People hang on Romano's every word, but while he's right more often than many, he's still dropped some clangers lately. Having an actual bid on the table could change things as well. Players are just as prone to sudden heel turns as any of us, the Trippier signing might turn his head, and if that doesn't the potential money might. I doubt we've put a bid in and made it public without reason.