Ronaldo

Would any other team in the top 8 not look to get very close to maximum points from that?

At least one does, yeah. Our most creative outlet by a mile is 33 year old RB. I don’t think it’s sustainable and away from home I think we lack the quality to playing effectively through the press into transition.

None of them are genuinely creative. Pretty obvious like.

You ‘can’t get over’ people wanting a good keeper in net instead of a mediocre one? I don’t think Dubravka is a bad goalkeeper - though realistically he’s probably worse than when we were relegation candidates - but unless we’re reducing our ambitions for this season you can surely acknowledge why we’d would see a significant deficit caused by Pope’s injury and look for a remedy.

So for the next 18 months + you’re advocating a midfield 3 with precisely the same issues it has now?

Top lad he is, but fucking hell - an able performer? We’re supposed to be aiming to finish above 15 teams virtually none of which would give him a squad number.

We still don’t have one midfielder who sees the game in front of him and has the talent on the ball to take advantage of it. That has to be the priority.

Indeed.

It goes way beyond that. He’s a solid / mediocre keeper who won’t make saves like the other keepers in the top half. Look at the goals we conceded with him as recent as 2022. Pope gets to a lot of them.

100%. As someone else said the supply to him usually consists of balls behind him or a hit and hope 10 yards in front.

No. Though goals from midfield would be lovely. 4 goals I think all season from them all. Not good enough.

1 win in 9 away from home in the league against a team clearly not PL level suggests this is correct. But it’s obvious what we need and I hope we can go out and get it.

He makes the wrong runs and plays the wrong pass so often. Shame because I’ve never seen anyone work harder but I don’t think it would be difficult to get a significant upgrade.

Nowt more loyal than putting the good of the club before your Saturday afternoon. Outrageous perspective.

Levels below? What’s that based on?

I think we have to sign De Gea if the alternative is 4 months of that. Need a bit of a keeper clear out mind if Pope gets injured and not one of them is fit to replace him.

I have tentative faith that he knows we need to buy a genuinely creative player who can play RW or a CAM / RW free role and evolve away from the ‘beat them with our running’ style that just isn’t working away from home.

Krath surely?

Given trying to blame other players for the goals. Bit of a protected species. He’s been so good this season but it’s madness at his age / position how much football he’s had to play.

No lack of effort but the away form is shit because we simply do not have a plan B when running and intensity are compromised or don’t work through the press. Everyone can see we’re lacking a RW fit for purpose and creative central midfielder.

We don’t use him properly. No genuine creativity behind him or either side. What do you expect him to do?

He’s a better keeper than he’s showed tonight but I’d rather we didn’t have 4 months of him on reflection.

Don’t think we’ve been that bad, just knackered. Type of game you need that moment of real transitional creative quality from midfield but we don’t have that.

Each to their own but have a word.

There’s zero to suggest his intelligence is ‘on another level’ to McTom who has already had a significantly better career.