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Cant quite agree with you when you use brilliant to describe him. Agree we need a squad, we need an option from the bench etc. In a non PSR world I would say great age, behind others so don't need him to show up week on week and would suit certain games etc. The lack of europe and how good the others are at staying fit have meant we can't offer these players the run of games they maybe need. The side are also evolving and you need to step up or be left behind as longstaff has found this season. Biggest issue for me is 30m sitting on the bench week in week out who spends alot of time out on the treatment table. For that "investment " he's not been good value and if we could get 25m for him i would snap your hands off. All very what if really. While Eddie clearly has his favs and persists with them the likes of Barnes and willock are simply not doing enough to make the decision harder. When everyone is fit the team right now picks itself I feel. Looking forward to futher in the journey when there are tougher calls to make.

So other than Birmingham in the cup has he done a great deal to be pushing for more time than cameo appearances? I had him in my list of players to go to allow reinvestment despite being less injured this season he's showing me nothing to warrant a run in the side. Might have been different for a few of our fringe players with Europe and the need to rotate more but just not seeing the player from the Champions league qualifying season.

I love him and he's been great this season but no idea what this being the most advanced player chasing down players on the wing is all about. That clumsy challenge where they got a free kick just seemed to be inviting pressure to begin with him staying so high up following a corner then to allow them to loft it forward from a free kick when he committed a foul. I know we want our players to do a bit of everything but stick to defending and if there is a ball to chase the attackers should be doing this.

I am clinging to the lack of quality in front of him, how young he is and the fact he missed a full year of football through injury means he's still learning and can develop.

Not sure if this has been posted yet? https://youtu.be/azC7o4tcsJA?si=JvG3Iov4rCve6b_g

Him playing on his preferred side might help his chances of performing better he's here for 3 games at least. As others have said if he's rotated with willock or joelinton it doesn't bode well for him staying beyond the summer.

I think that's a good point added to the fact a sprinkling of B+/B players in a few areas drag up our D and C rated players as a collective. I find when you have arguments about which player would get into other squads and vice versa the element of how "these" players work well collectively can be missed. Makes the task over the next 2 or 3 years that much harder as we look to let players move on and integrate new with the same "this set of lads" type ethos.

If your good your good but for Joelinton specifically you have to bump him up for his versatility which is an asset for us which may not be as needed in the context of league. Doing a job falling into the back line, middle, left and right boosts him "on his day" to a easy B. If I only thought him in the middle of a 3 and only that it might be a C+ instead.

Obviously not my debate to be sticking my two penneth worth in but not all variables have stayed the same while we may no longer be punching above our weight other teams have signed players/changed managers so what we are doing now is in a much harder landscape. Coupled with that the lack of squad freshness for us and players aging out i still hope we can refresh and come again next season and take the league conundrum from a different angle the Howe style has worked but he surely knows it won't forever. Still think under the circumstances Howe is doing great the inconsistency is what worries me most we can't have a good 90 we have good spells and sometimes play like it's a completely different 11 from one half to the next never mind game to game.

Funnily enough this was posted on bbc Who gets in Europe?published at 18:27 Greenwich Mean Time 18:27 GMT There will be at least seven English teams playing in Europe next season, although that figure could rise to 11. However, that latter scenario is unlikely and would require Premier League sides winning every European competition in 2024-25 with certain teams finishing outside the top five. Normally the top four go into the Champions League, with the fifth-placed side going into the Europa League. However, the Premier League is currently on course to earn one of two extra Champions League spots, meaning a top-five finish would be enough. But if English sides win both the Champions League and Europa League (and they do not finish in the top five) that could mean seven Premier League teams would be in Europe's top club competition. In normal circumstances, two English sides will be in the Europa League, but that will rise to three if Chelsea win the Conference League (and finish outside the top five), with another team from England then going into the Conference League. So, for arguments sake, let's say no English team wins a European competition, but the Premier League gets an additional Champions League spot. Then, as it stands, this is who would be playing in Europe next season. Champions League: 1. Liverpool, 2. Arsenal, 3. Nottingham Forest, 4. Chelsea, 5. Manchester City. Europa League: 6. Newcastle, 7. Bournemouth. Conference League: 8. Brighton. (If a team from outside the top seven wins the FA Cup, they would go into the Europa League, Bournemouth would drop into the Conference League with Brighton missing out).

I think this is it 50k a week to be 6th choice and minutes restricted, he is 28 this year coming to the end of his current contract and you would imagine even if player sales happen he will always be down the pecking order here due to what he can offer. I think it would be better for him to move on and get more game time and us to invest the money into progressing. I have no doubt he loves the club by all accounts nice lad goes to loads of the youth games and is really invested into the place but that doesnt mean he cant go on to have a great career elsewhere.

no one is silly enough to say we dont need a player to cover the debate is if Sean at 27/28 coming to the end of his contract gets a big extension and sticks around as backup or do we sell and reinvest in the squad, he's going to need replacing by youth setup or signing. I dont think he is good to have a sustained period in the side and the quality gulf between one of the two you mentioning coming out and him coming in is too big. as has been suggested if no one comes in for him I can see the club giving him a 2/3 year deal just to stop him walking away for nothing which right now for me would be a mistake.

I think people are entitled to an opinion tries his best, one of us and fits a certain game and offers us home grown at club depth are all valid points. We also not going to have a Bruno/Tonali level player for each position. However if it seems like it's his time to get it now Miggy has gone is because he's an obvious weak link in the side. I was done with him last season and nights like last night against lesser opposition does not sway me that we should just take a fee and part ways. Hopefully a fresh start will do him some good.

It's damned if you do damned if you don't, 3 windows of no immediate first 11 Improvements, player sales and closed up shop weeks before the window opened. Off the back of the statement they would invest the maximum they could into recruitment. Cookie cutter shite is all I am expecting Challenging window Manager believes in current squad Want to hold on to our brightest talent Wanted to learn from frantic sales for compliance pre summer Be patient with us we are doing all we can but must take a medium to long term view to prevent getting stuck in future windows. Etc etc

I agree with most of that issue is just the size of the mini rebuild due. Taking the 80m as real and let's pair that with getting some Europe this season means we need a mini rebuild How many on final year do we want to keep? and who now needs improving who maybe only has a year left on their deal come the summer. Minimum before we look at squad building- Right wing striker cover for Isak New starting keeper or true number 2 rival RCB cover or new starting RCB That's a minimum before we look at what happens to longstaff or Barnes for instance and if they go do we need to spend some or all of the fee on their replacement I am glad it's not my job to make all this work you could spend 50m just on a starting RW so it's going to take more sales or these kids brought in to step up onto our first time bench ready to start/cover. Or alot of hits in the unearthed gem category.