ponsaelius

Absolute joke mind. Return train tickets gonna go completely to waste. That isn't some small expense that I can justify just pissing away either. And if I want to go to the re-arranged fixture to make use of the ticket I've bought, which will probably be midweek, that's gonna be more train tickets, a hotel and probably two days of annual leave used up. Can accept cancellations for things like train strikes, or bomb scares, or global pandemics - but cancelling it for a completely unrelated event is really irritating. Especially when we're all expected to continue going to work.

Agree mind. It's an absolute joke if they get postponed. I don't see what it benefits.

I'll be fizzing because I'll have to write off train tickets I've bought. It'll almost certainly be moved to a midweek too so probably wouldn't be able to make the re-arranged game.

He’s obviously not good but we’re needing to sign a free agent goalie at 24 hours notice. He’s about as good as you could physically hope for.

Think the final squad gets registered next couple of days (before this weekends game). Quick Google says last year's were registered on 10th September.

Unreal faith in Mark Gillespie.

Christ, talk about acting fast.

A lot was made of Napoli's player turnover during the summer and there's no doubt they lost some huge characters but I actually think they've freshened things up well at probably the right time. Khvicha is a huge upgrade on the 2022 version of Insigne, Simeone is a proper backup for Osimhen, Kim seems a good replacement for Koulibaly. Fabian Ruiz is the one loss on paper but tbh he never convinced me and I think Spalletti's teams look better with the energy and physicality of players like Anguissa in midfield. Ndombele if he ever sorts himself out could be a good player in Italy.

Kvaradona on flames

Watching Mudryk last night for Shakhtar and I think we should drop everything on him as our wide player signing. Move Maxi across to the right.

Something light hearted for the thread

I highly recommend people go and watch some non-league footy some time. It's good to detox from the PL for a number of reasons - but the lack of any TV cameras or VAR is absolutely delightful. A goal that is offside goes in, fans and players who had a clear view have a whinge and a shout at the liner, everybody else is non the wiser. The game moves on seconds later. It makes the idea of sitting around looking at a slowmo replay from multiple angles to find any stupid fucking reason to disallow a goal seem as nonsensical and detached from the sport's soul as it is.

Gonna be a frustrating season if we keep getting injuries to creative and attacking players. Won't be as bad as we started last season but probably won't ever have the kind of form that we did in the second half. Overall can envisage a marginal improvement on last year's league finish - getting into the top half. Think it's a lot more calming if you accept the reality of our squad depth now and embrace this as a transition year rather than getting too down about frustrating games like that. I just hope we have a really good crack at both cups.

Considering the context of being able to actually watch a slow motion video of the incident right in front of your eyes - it is genuinely the worst decision I've ever seen in my life.

Should have bought Toney instead?

Can't believe we allowed VAR into the fabric of the sport, so the useless cunts can look at a screen, and they still manage to then make that decision. It's an absolute disgrace.

What an absolute joke

Willock's been really disappointing. He's a player who looks better coming off the bench.

Really poor quality game. Kind of game where you need your £60 million striker to put away a 1v1.

Aye defo

I think we'll see a back 3 at some point definitely. That'll probably be the way to compensate for the loss of midfield depth. Did so away at Chelsea when we had a load of midfielders out.

We're going to have a problem again next summer in that only Ritchie and Dummett are out of contract (and Shelvey - although you'd imagine he triggers the auto-renewal when he returns from injury). We might also have Hayden and Hendrick back to deal with. It seems unfathomable right now but we really need the likes of Lewis, Manquillo, Murphy etc to positively contribute to the on-pitch effort this season and rebuild some of their market value so we could ideally shift them for even nominal fees next summer. The same also goes for Lascelles, Almiron, Wood, Longstaff who would probably be next on the chopping block.

We're already public enemy #1 in the league. The media frenzy after the perceived timewasting and antics this week has fed into that. This just ramps it up further. I don't think a siege mentality helps when we're still 2-3 years away from having a team good enough to compete at the top. I think we need to be quiet and calm rather than stoking the fires with comments like that - even if it is true. We obviously had interest in Gallagher, Pulisic, Maitland-Niles on loan this week and were basically told where to go. I wouldn't even mention it.

Just think it draws unwanted attention while everything he's done so far has been about quietly and confidently getting on with the job with decorum.

Honestly I'd rather he didn't come out with this stuff. I'm not sure it's productive in the long run to be whining - even if it's true.