Gallowgate Toon

I was a bit surprised he started, tbh. 49 minutes of football in 3 months isn't great. Aye, he's trained with England but I don't imagine that's anything like how we train/reflects a proper preseason.

First 5 minutes we were decent and looked to get right up but we sat off far too much for my liking after that and let them build momentum instead. It was odd. That, combined with risible refereeing, led to the sending off.

He's absolutely insane when we're up against it. Motm for me.

Tough one for him but it happens to even the best, at times.

The Brazilians are just so good at digging in. A bit worried by Gordon's showing. He looked miles off it mentally more than anything.

Saints fan at work thinks they're in for a battering as he reckons Martin will still try and play out from the back as a point of principle, even though their defenders aren't really great technically.

That is a very big risk for Palace considering their level of commercial income & potential ownership changes. While they are a stable PL team, they're hardly a stable outfit for player progression - bouncing between managers and styles over the last few years. Finished last season well, aye, but it's hardly a precedent of anything with them that they'll automatically do well this campaign. An average season and he could feasibly go for £20m, maybe even less, next summer if he doesn't extend.

It's all quite strange from Palace. They don't generate much meaningful commercial revenue outside of TV, iirc, and haven't sold many players for good cash other than Olise? This should be great money for them if they've got ambition to keep growing, if they have faith in their talent spotting.

He's bang on. I wish we'd worked faster this window but we shouldn't forget we have some absolutely class footballers, many of them hungry characters with their careers ahead of them rather than behind, led by an exciting & innovative coaching team. Even if we signed nobody else, there's still plenty to be excited about this season.

Fuck the transfer window, I cannot wait to watch Alex Isak, Bruno G, and our other BALLERS play the beautiful game tomorrow.

Chalobah feels like a great option for where we're at and would likely preserve some budget for RW.

time to move on.

Madueke has shown himself to look a bit of a twat with the penalty in-fighting stuff but Chelsea as a club have an awful culture. I feel he'd grow up a lot in this environment to make the most of his talents. Other worry with him is injuries - he picked up a lot in the Eredivisie, iirc?

I don't think he'll risk Kelly or Willock. Sounds like we've been very careful with them so far and I expect that'll continue for the foreseeable unless other injuries take hold - neither has really played that much football during the preseason. Feels like the big calls are Tripps/Tino and Barnes/Gordon. Hope it's Tino and both Barnes/Gordon.

The next... Josh King.

Aye, so much potential due to how flexible he is - wand of a foot to stick wide & cross and has the composure to step into mid if we're struggling to control possession. Shows a surprising turn of pace too.

Some lovely one-touch, direct football on show. Bring on the season, man.

Kulu feels a bit position-less to me - not quite an AM, not quite a winger, not quite a CM - but he does have some guile & quality that he shows in streaks. Always seems to put the running in as well even if he's not firing.

He's got some canny finishes on both feet in clips so it feels like it's a case of getting more regular chances, building confidence, and finding finishes that feel comfortable. He'll get plenty of bench time this season with Wilson's penchant for going missing ~50% of the season, but I doubt there'll be any pressure on his goalscoring numbers. Likely a campaign where the main focus will be truly trying to prep for 25/26 if he's going to make it here - getting 'Howe fit', building his athleticism up, learning tactics & roles etc.

His fee may be high but he's quality and only just turned 24 - could easily be our starting defender for the next 7/8 years.

We have goals from lots of parts of the pitch. Ideally, we'd have a dynamite backup striker who bags for fun and can stay fit, but it's just going to be a benefit to, as a minimum, have a consistent physical focal point who opens up room for others when Isak needs a rest. Lots of time to develop the goal scoring knack.

Little Joe

Started the summer with Kelly so well - can't lie that it's frustrating that we've not made another signing that isn't a GK since then. I think we'll get the 2 major needs in, and I'm hopeful we'll actually get a junior striker in as well, but we know how important getting a good preseason in is. I don't really rate Villa's business to date, objectively, but the speed at which they move is annoyingly impressive. All that said, I'm at the point that I'm really missing watching us play. I still feel we're going to have a class season.

Wasn't it even stated by Ashworth himself that they had a traffic light system in place? Mitchell shouldn't have final say on transfers, nor should Howe. It should be as democratic a process as possible between relevant people all providing their expertise.

For those marvelling at Everton's new stadium, isn't it located within extremely close proximity to a sewage treatment centre? Remember watching a video that it's quite whiffy there, and it's also a transport nightmare as there's only one proper road near it.