Lotus

Lovely interview. Comes across as a top bloke. Thought he might’ve mentioned Demba…..they fall out?

Tbf, watching Gordon catch up with and rob Sterling was surprising and heartening in equal measure.

I’m sure Brighton will extract the amount they think he’s worth.

I think Gordon has the pace to play on the right. Quick enough to go past a player and not rely on wrong footing a defender by cutting inside.

Funny seeing who the super competitive people are and who are just that little bit more easy going. Looks a cool game though.

Fernandes is a cracking player. I think he’s hampered a little by what’s around him at Man U and a lot by what’s around him for Portugal.

Not sure tbh. Very one paced (so is Bruno tbf). Don’t think he ever imposed himself on a game. To say he was patchy at Dortmund would be a compliment. Think Italy or Spain would’ve suited him better. Still, for nowt I guess it’s worth a shot.

Tasty AF.

We need more left footers in midfield and attack.

Me too. Don't know how transfer rumours turned in to the wish list thread.

Fair question. I'm just going off rumours and internet chatter. Seems Howe is a big fan of Perm experience. Have personally questioned that given that Botman, Bruno and Isak are probably our best glitzy signings and they've all come from abroad. Still, that's what the faces say so just going off that.

Let's be completely honest. I have no doubt Howe will work very closely with Gordon to improve him and I sincerely hope he turns into an excellent player for us. So far, and I mean just so far, that was £40m spent that added nothing to the team from Jan to June. He has the feeling of a Howe signing. I will reiterate, hope he comes good.

I want Hoofdtrainer to be in our lexicon. Sums up a few of them brilliantly….

Odd thing to say after last night though. He mostly cut inside where it was most congested and then layed off a simple ball. In fact, Isak went down the line more than ASM. I’d love for him to learn to receive the ball in dangerous positions. Don’t think he reads the game like that.

Hope that game extinguished any lasting flames of desire to see Tielemans in a Toon top.

Thought our shape was better but ASM himself was pretty ineffective. He’d be a different player if he appreciated the opportunity of a one - two.

We’ll I don’t want to be ‘that guy’ but…..I thought he was very average. That’s way better than bad. No real mistakes and never put the team in trouble. I think his attitude and application are top notch. Good engine too. You can tell the game wasn’t too fast for him. That’s a mental thing. He wasn’t rushed. That was all good. I thought his touch and skill level were below what we need. Perhaps he’ll develop into a decent squad player but I think, comparing him to S Longstaff as an example. Even early on you could see SL had a certain ability with the ball which meant he had a better chance than most academy products. Not a better chance of being a world beater just a better chance of making the squad. Really wish the best for Anderson. Terrific attitude. Can’t be faulted. Just think that ultimately, he has couple of deficiencies that can’t really be fixed.

My heart did skip a beat a couple a times tonight with this lad…. Happy for him, obvs. Fantastic character and all that but, ya knaa…

Hugo Larsson. Malmo CM. 18yrs I think, 6’2. Runs all day, decent pace and strength. Great passing. Gets stuck in. Would think he has a high ceiling. Kind of looks like a Rodri lite atm but he is still very young.

When you watch a highlights video of Maddison he does genuinely look like exactly the kind of player we should be after.

I’ve come to think we’re using Botman as a player to occupy the main oppo defenders at corners. Botman rarely ever makes a run. He just wrestles with a CB or 2. I’m guesstiing other players are to meant run around him and make use of the space. It’s not happening though.

There was no way we were priced out by Leverkuesen so it has to be we’re looking at someone else.

All 3 of our available CMs are out of form imo. Willock is not suited to playing deep. JL inexperienced at it and Bruno is either broken and/or exhausted. Isak and Wilson are our most effective players atm. Don’t think we look at all balanced with them both on the pitch though. We can’t outrun the opposition anymore, legs seem to have gone. Need something tactically. Obvs I don’t know what. But carrying doing what we’ve been doing all season but doing it badly just because it’s ‘our identity’ is folly imo.

None of our defenders are particularly good in a 1 vs 1 situation. Would say Botman is the best the 4. If we get exposed multiple times in 1 vs 1s we’ll lose.

If you think of all the people just off the top of your head whom you know are c**** in football. What are the chances she’s the biggest of them? Very small, if you’re struggling.