leffe186

I was well chuffed to get actual money for him.

Next week will also be sensationally grim for me looking at the fixtures. Interestingly, if you've had a s*** start you can just register a new team at this point. No need to wildcard. With the amount of teams registered I think a few have done that from the off Got to feel for the guy who is sitting on 12 points after using the triple captain card already. I hope nobody on here has done that tbh #moralpolice

Fifth biggest last year, and Hull were second.

Out of the relegation zone!

It's going to be bloody Talkshite, isn't it?

Bit of a niche question this, but does anyone know if there's an AppleTV radio channel that does commentary? Radio Five Live is on the list, but does not transmit live commentaries as presumably somebody else has exclusive rights. I just don't know who it is. Same for the Test match, annoyingly. Edit: Sorry, should have specified that I'm in the USA.

Still got five to come, but 22 points so far .

I haven't heard a word against Luke Young for aaaaages.

It kind of worries me how miserable I've felt today. I mean, Spurs were anodyne, then my FF was a washout. These things shouldn't continue to make me so pissed off - I'm 42 FFS.

Ooops.

Nearly forgot to pay a visit...on my way!

Stayed well clear of Sunderland again, thankfully.

Armstrong has scored.

How come?! I got up too late to change the team, and it appears to be shit . There were three or four players who weren't going to play that I left in by accident.

Week 2 wildcard coming up .

No matter how shit a game it is, I still get annoyed about an Old Trafford ref.

Good enough for what, though? They got us fifth last year. I'm just not exactly sure what people expect us to do. We really wanted Schneiderlin, but Man U blew us out of the water - not just the fee but probably double the wages we could afford. Liverpool bought two players for more than we've ever paid, and again, their wages are more than we can offer. I do think that Cabaye would have been a decent shout. We've made a commitment to youth, and I'm happy with that. I'm still hoping that we can pick up 2-3 more players, and I think that we still have a chance to sneak in to the top four if things click.

We're still pretty good, you know . It's fairly simple - three teams can essentially pay whatever they want on fees and wages. Two others are not that far behind (in terms of money available). Then there's us. We're punching above our weight as it is, but to improve we have to keep developing our own players and trying to figure out which player from a modest side is going to make a leap forward. That way is never going to look glamorous. I still think we're going to get at least a couple of forwards in. Lloris, Rose and Trippier in, Alli instead of Dier and we're back as a very young, exciting team with plenty of depth.

They really do, but with Dier as DM I don't think it's going to make much difference. I'd still be confident we could put them under pressure with Trippier and Rose on the wings. As it is, I can't see anything but a hammering.

Woke up too late to make changes. This is not going to start well.

With Trippier on the bench does that mean Poch prefers Walker or is Trippier carrying a slight knock? Trippier was excellent in pre-season, but as soon as Walker was fully fit Poch played him (against Real Madrid). It does look like he prefers Walker, although God only knows why.

No Lloris, Rose, Trippier. Dier in midfield again. We're going to get gubbed.

I vaguely remember reading somewhere that we're up against Italy, and Sampdoria ballsing it up too means we're OK. Very vague memory though.

Very tidy player. Trouble is, we have a ludicrous number of young CMs coming through. Bentaleb, Mason, Winks, Carroll, Alli, Ward and Onomah, plus others like Veljkovic, Sonupe & Pritchard. Poch can't play them all - we've already had to sell Luongo (another excellent CM) because we just had too many. The fear is that the ones we let go will turn out to be the better players in the long run. We're crying out for 433, but Poch is fixated on 4231. What do you think of the pre-season scheduling mate ? Having 2 high profile games in a row 72 hours before the season kick off away at Old Trafford....isn't it a bit strange ? Of course you could tell, players aren't fatigued at this stage of the season and such high profile opposition will get them more in the mood, but it's very strange scheduling. as you fielded 2 decent sides as well. Spurs spending this summer is at negative 15....surely there'll be one more striker/midfielder purchase ? There will have to be a striker at the absolute minimum, particularly if Ade and Soldado leave. I'm expecting a striker, a player who can play wide forward and possibly a DM. There's absolutely no way that we're done. Rumour is Berahino plus one or two guys from Germany. I could live with just Berahino in, although I can't see us pulling up any trees if he's the only addition. With the money others have spent, we'd be lucky to get top 5 again. As for the pre-season? I dunno tbh. I mean, it's hard to turn down a chance to play Real Madrid/Milan/Bayern for all kinds of reasons, but clearly money and exposure is high up the list. Do we lose out in prep work for Man U? Of course. Are they pointless friendlies? Not a chance. The eye is clearly on the long-term, and it will have been a fantastic experience for all those kids. I'm not unhappy with the pre-season: I'm far more concerned about the lack of depth up front.

Are you expecting Alli to start? In place of Mason or something? Very possibly, particularly if we don't pick up a new DM. I could see Bentaleb and Alli in CM based upon this pre-season. Mason is also recovering from an injury.