kingxlnc

It would be nice to have ASM start against Leicester, they would be under pressure from the get-go with his trickery

If he signs that’s the new and latest bromance, Antony Gordon and Declan Rice

I had higher expectations for Thauvin hence he was a bigger disappointment. Really thought we’d finally replaced Ben Arfa

Benz needs an elite upgrade - Haaland or Mbappe and that's a new generation of galacticos

Out of the bottom 5 would like Forest and Leeds to stay up. Leicester in place of Leeds at a push. Southampton, Everton and Leicester/Leeds for me. Forest deserve another go at it - with a more settled team. Plus I think Rafa might be the next one in the door there, and it's a good club for him to get back to their glory days, there's decent history and ambition there.

All of those would be amazing tbh - perfect window

All these changes and Benitez still doesn’t get a look in? Everton destroyed his rep completely it seems

Nolberto Solano-esque

With Todd Bohleys level of interference it kinda makes me appreciate Mike Ashleys complete apathy towards the club

As a goalkeeper myself, I thought there were at least two of the goals (perhaps including the disallowed goal too) that crept under him or he had poor attempts to save. Would've expected better from his quality. Definitely not looking as strong as earlier in the season.

I didn't like him on the left in the second half, I like him central. More withdrawn behind a central striker is defo better. I like that his first instinct is to shoot always especially as he has great technique and accuracy and can generate a lot of power. His saves were routine but they came out of nothing and were on target which is a good sign

Was shocked how bad Pope looked. Two of those three goals were saveable. Martinez looks very good, especially with his feet

Tbh I never quite saw what SBR saw in him for him to become Solano's replacement. Always seemed lightweight to me

Bruce was barely professional by the end. Maybe it's his weight so he's lower energy and more tired than he used to be - aka lazy - but I know amateurs whose professionalism is way way way over and above Bruce and his clan. The sheer amount of time off, even damning indictments of his own players that they were kind of told to get on with it ('lets play') and very non-detailed suggested he was really complacent and just couldn't give a toss. The charlatan mercenary nature of not caring COUPLED with the fact he claimed to be a fan in charge of his boyhood club - my God, what would the effort levels be if he had no attachment / no link to the club?! If he was a foreigner he would have been run out of the league by the media, national debates on radio and media about foreign managers getting jobs instead of British managers. Pardew was slimy and lowered expectations etc but he was still professional. The reason why Gullitt and others get a fair pass by the fans despite not being very good is that you couldn't argue with their effort. They knew it was a serious club and treated it as such. Even Souness who was horrid for us, you didn't question his effort, you just questioned his ability and temperament. Bruce had neither the ability, nor the temperament... but worst of all, he didn't even have the effort, which surely is the bare minimum. Then you have his sheer cringiness of his interviews, and his seemingly invincibility in the media and management meant it just killed the spirit completely. He was truly the icon for a club that stopped trying, symptomatic of its malaise and neglect, the representative of a rotting corpse.

Can see him going to a Villa or West Ham

Leicester remind me of NUFC in 2015/16. McClaren took a talented team who should be no where near there down - and Rafa came in too late to save the club despite improved performances. Even then it was said why did we not sack before the international break, so there were an extra two weeks to train the team. With that said, let's hope it's not a 5-1 defeat for us on the last day like we did to Spurs!

Rafa managed to turn Ayoze Perez into a £30m player. Longstaff we wanted £50m for, for his form under Rafa Almiron prior to this season's form, last showed this type of form under Rafa, the first season he joined before he got injured (minus the goals) Rondon was a great fit here Lascelles thrived as captain Dubravka was an unknown, and a steal Schar and Leujene were relatively unknown and both steals He managed with very very paltry resources to make a competitive team that finished 10th! It was ridiculous what he achieved - that NUFC which came up is probably the worst, man-for-man in the PL era, compared to the other teams. It was the definition of solid and unspectacular. Ashley didn't want to compete - who else can make miracles happen with a 5m reserve striker from Stoke as your first choice? I can't believe the revisionism in this thread. Rafa achieved amazing things against the odds and had to make do with whatever he was given. To be honest he is similar to Howe in terms of how well drilled his sides are, they know their roles and he improves players no end. And when he's backed, he is very attacking, his Real Madrid side, his Liverpool sides all had record wins under him. When he's the underdog, he has to adapt - e.g. Valencia, smaller budget but his pragmatic style won through. Ditto Liverpool 2005, not the best team - but in 2008 when they had Alonso and Torres they finished second and scored tons of goals. Ditto us, not a great team but if he actually got money to spend (e.g Almiron) the signs were there it was all going in the right direction and would have had us competing for a top half finish.

Yes definitely a West Ham, they've let old skool Moyes have a heck of a lot of control - Rafa would be doing way better with the kind of players they have. This is why I previously mentioned Forest as a good fit - a city who would appreciate him and a big club trying to get back to glory days, decent players but need a system to be moulded. They love Cooper though so it may be a tough act to follow. We loved him as we had Pardew, Carver, McClaren so we could recognise greatness. But if your previous manager is popular (e.g. Everton) then it's a tough one. Sad to see his reputation in tatters though as it's clear he is a great man and manager. Poor choice of jobs has come back to haunt him. Him and Mourinho were very similar as managers, but Mourniho has insisted on only top clubs who can have a chance of silverware. It's kept him relatively undamaged.

If we get Pedro that will probably mean we aren’t in for Marcus Thuram

Would rather Rafa ends up at Forest would like to see what he can do with them

Leicester are like the Brian Kidd Blackburn Rovers of 20 years ago. Had not long won the title and some talent still in the team but just stuck in a rut and can’t get out of it.

Yes but being greedy would also want a Milonkevic-Savic too. No chance of getting 3 CMs though. Just conscious of filling the middle with youngsters, need a blend of world class experience too.

This is a far cry from opening day last season where we started well but Bruce’s lack of fitness training kicked in and the team gassed out after half time and lost 4-2 to West Ham after leading 2-0

Bowen is skinning Burn here need Targett on

Surely Krul (penalties) Schar (for the blasted shots on goal) Bruno (no brainer, Futsal) Ben Arfa Shearer Subs Given Albert Beardsley Emre Kluivert