Gallowgate Toon

Gayle will score a good amount of goals, if fit, no doubt in my mind. He was so far and above the Championship it was laughable.

Murphy's got some really impressive agility. He's shown some great touches and dribbling in preseason. Excited to see how we'll develop him.

Outrageous from Merino, like 40-yard, inch perfect pass outside of the boot.

Think there's been a bit of over analysis, like. We weren't even going 100% by a preseason game's standards (looked very hot in the first half), tbh, and we pretty much played our second XI for most of the game. Obvs, we still need some key players for the first squad. Our defending for those 2 goals was beyond crap, though. Diame and Colback for the first, Shelvey and, to a lesser extent, Hayden & Atsu rubbish for the second. Hayden was out of position and Atsu should've tried to anticipate the danger a little better.

Good runout, tbh. Hot conditions, top division team, high pressers, they've switched shape and styles a couple of times, as have we. So glad we've brought another CM in, like, Colback and Diame were so tragic defensively. Mind, Hayden and Shelvey didn't do much better for the second.

Meh, preseason. We've tried a couple of different tactics and looked leggy in parts - some decent build up in places but awful final balls. Already know Colback is shit. Diame looks old.

Diame and Colback there, man

I don't think he ever was, reckon that was a Chronicle fuck up (but he most likely is for sale). He was in the training pics yesterday.

I expect to see Ritchie and Murphy/Atsu/Aarons switching a lot in games.

Like the fact we’re getting another young talent in; Rafa’s seemingly angling for more unpredictability and energy. Places lots of responsibility on Shelvey, mind. Goalkeeper and 10 are where we need experience the most. A more established striker would be good too, but I have a feeling we’ll go for someone a little less known again. I reckon we’ll get the numbers in, it’s really about quality now. ‘keeper, 10, striker and another winger will be our lot, IMO. Doubt we’ll shift much.

I imagine we've probably negotiated a decent purchase clause when the deal is up so we don't mind paying the fee?

Sounds like we had a lot of chances and played some nice stuff again. Decent.

He's a long term project for Rafa, no doubt, but seems to have some great abilities - pretty excited and think he'll have a solid first year. He'll get a lot of game time this season but, crucially, we should be making sure we have enough depth to take him out of the firing line when his form drops. That seemed an issue last season; he burnt out after a tremendous start and wasn't really managed that well while the team floundered. If anyone is going to drill simple habits into him, it'll be Rafa.

Seems to have the slight edge over his brother, at the minute. From what I've read, Josh is more of a winger, Jacob more of a wide forward. Also: Good signing. Looking forward to seeing him play, think he's got something and is under one of the best coaches to develop that talent.

Really appreciate what he did last year, well worth the investment. Came in to ridicule, leaves with a lot of respect. Good purchase for a Championship club.

Keeping an open mind.

I think Lejeune is a pretty big step up from our other CBs, tbh. He’s the only one out of the current crop that’s shown real quality over a longer period in a top league. I have faith in the other 3 stepping up, but I’m much more confident that Lejeune will make it – wouldn’t be surprised if he turns out to be one of the signings of the season. I expect the 'spine' signings will be players of higher quality as we can get away with it out wide a little more. Think you're generally right, though, Rafa's squad building for the long haul. As for Murphy, looking through some less biased comments about him from Norwich fans(many seem in denial that they've just lost their highest-scoring midfielder), the consensus is that he's got a lot of talent, is a good athlete, can be a game changer, but is inconsistent (natural for his position, especially at his age) and not the best defensively. Had a fluctuating season - started well, faded (along with the whole team, tbf) and then had a resurgence but not to the same level of the first 3rd of the season. He's obviously got some tools for Rafa to work with and I imagine he'll get a lot of game time this season, but I doubt he’ll be a set starter; more likely someone to add to the competition mix that starts when in form. I think less pressured game time alone will help him improve too. Probably burned out on a few occasions last season; he seems to have a little more physical filling out to do. I’d send Aarons out on loan to prove his fitness and get a senior winger in :lol:

Looking forward to this lad. He’s got all the attributes we’ve been looking for in a winger – pace, dribbling ability and an eye for goal. I have high hopes for him making the step up, even if it takes him a little time to settle in.

Rafa, man. Sticking it to the knobheads. This is concerning, obviously, but I’m still hopeful. Rafa’s said/done worse things at clubs and still stayed on for a while longer. He made profit last season, he should be given the money agreed and allowed to spend it as he pleases. Charnley stepping in to decide the ‘real value’ is totally unnecessary and screams of a bloke absolutely desperate to appease his boss. To me, the callout is more of a nod to thumb. Ashley won’t want to be dragged into this, he likes his scapegoats and this will be another added pressure that should force him to get Charnley to make some kind of move, whether that’s through transfers or getting rid of Rafa (which we know won’t be cheap).

Was bored so I decided to watch the whole 90 Surprisingly, we played some nice football. Usually, our preseason games are turgid as (from my memory, at least), but players seemed pretty in tune with each other, and we put together some great moves. It reminded me of how good we actually were at times last season (as in, sometimes we looked so far and away above the opposition), especially with everyone fit, and gave me some hope for the new season. Even if we only get Murphy in for the rest of the summer, if Rafa stays, I can always hope we'll have a good-ish season. It's Rafa, man. You can tell Gayle and de Jong just get each other's games, like, as soon as Siem got the ball, you could see exactly what he was looking for. Aarons was also impressive (he's filled out a lot), it's just a shame we really can't rely on either him or de Jong over a season as they both have talent. Maybe they can be solid squad players for the season. Shelvey just picked up where he left off and looked a cut above, tbh. His second touch was an absolute raker of a pass looks very, very lean and more mobile - think he's going to have a good season. Diame was also good next to him, broke play up well and sprayed some lovely passes. Second half, Gamez and Saivet caught my eye. Gamez put some lovely crosses in and looked much quicker than I remember him. Saivet did the basics well - showed some nice turns of pace, and played some good passes. LeJeune looks massive but mobile. Potentially the defender we've been looking for for years & years.

Good sign that Colback was the last of the CMs on, mind. Hopefully a sign he's moving down the pecking order.

Saivet was good in his couple of years before moving here, tbf. Personally, don't think he wanted to play in Ligue 1 again.

Caught Chalobah a few times, never been that impressed. Had the odd flash, but largely pretty basic stuff. Worth a punt for 5m though.

No one else find it a bit weird that we've been even quieter on the outgoings front, considering how cash conscious we've seemingly become again? It's not like we don't have any saleable assets.

Wouldn't say Mbemba is awful under pressure, tbh, think it's the opposite. His biggest weakness on the ball is lapsing in concentration, making daft choices that invite trouble.