ponsaelius

I understand but I think it's clear that the club and/or Howe have no interest at all in stop gap signings on loans or frees. Any signing clearly has to be a long term move for the club - with loans requiring the potential to be made permanent. We'd clearly rather muddle on with what we've got and even play youngsters rather than sign a player for the sake of it.

Bondswell doesn't need to be registered as he's 20.

Based on what exactly? Played all his games in pre-season in the midfield 3, started there against Tranmere and he came on at Wolves for Willock. Liverpool is literally the only game where he has come on in a wide forward position.

Said it in the other thread but 8/10. We need quality over quantity to avoid re-buying and that's what we're doing. The shift from January is that we've started targeting a younger age profile too. 22 is about perfect to get players who are ready to step straight into the team as improvements but also have loads of room to grow. That gets an extra point from me. Marked down because we haven't signed a wide player - which is the weakest part of the team. Would be a 9.5 if we'd landed one of them of a similar profile.

Quality over quantity which is what we need. 8/10 for me. Would have been a 9.5 if we'd signed a wide player too. If we keep adding players of the age and quality of Botman/Isak every window, even if it's just 1 or 2, it's not going to take us too much longer to build a very strong XI and subs bench.

Whoops

Ando7 at the back post?

Don't get me wrong as a short term option he would be brilliant to give us reliable depth out wide. But it's not the kind of signing we've even looked like trying to make.

Can't see Moura tbh, doesn't seem to fit with our profile of targets at all.

Pozzos sold em now.

If Dubs, Longstaff and Fede are all out and we're not registering Krafth and Shelvey then I make that two free spaces? Maybe we'll register Shelvey in the hope he gets fit again.

Yeah he'd probably be on Watford's bench

If we don't register Krafth and Shelvey, nor shortstaff and Dubravka, I make it that we actually have a spare squad place at the moment.

It’s a huge game. A win makes it a very solid start to the season. Dropped points and it starts to look a bit indifferent.

He’s nowhere near as bad as some make out but he’s never a holding midfielder.

Wood and Murphy were both dreadful and probably cost us the game through sheer lost momentum imo.

It shows him completely level with the defender with some lines pointlessly drawn onto the single frame. VAR completely loses the entire point of the offside rule which is to stop players gaining an advantage. He’s not gaining any advantage and pre-VAR a competent liner wouldn’t have flagged that in a million years.

Show me the hard evidence. The only screenshots I've seen look like a striker completely level with a defender.

Don't think he was at all. Looks dead level, no advantage being gained at all. Wouldn't have even been questioned as being onside pre-VAR.

Honestly can accept the goal. We time wasted like fuck. What I can't accept is Isak's perfectly good second goal being disallowed.

AMN would be a solid loan signing considering our injury issues.

The thing is we do need to cut players from the squad before the end of the window. One of those probably has to be a keeper - but we've seemingly had no firm interest in Darlow. Dubravka has pushed for it so we've obviously decided to let him go. I think there's quite a few players we'd have took fees for if any interest appeared. Disappointing on his behalf but I do understand it. He'll be guaranteed loads of Europe and cup games at one of the biggest clubs in the world. Considering his career to now I can see the attraction.

Away games can be a lot of money. If I'm doing them these days I want to make a proper day/weekend of it and justify the expense. Being cattled in on a bus to a single grotty pub is basically a waste of a day - particularly if the result goes to shit.

Feels like we need stuff to 'fall for us' as Howe put it tbh. IE players moving around and therefore others becoming available last minute. I can't see us making anymore big signings. Loans with options only IMO unless there's some bargains to be had.

It's not the best but it's no worse than loads of other UK towns/cities of the same size tbh. Urban sprawl in the west midlands is insane so it's clearly been hollowed out significantly. But it was clean and lively enough as a city centre on a matchday at least and the ground is in easy walking distance. Would have been a perfectly OK place to spend a couple of hours if you weren't ridiculously treated like a hostile force. I can only think they're used to having 2-3 home derbies per season in the past so it's basically just set up that way out of risk aversion. But honestly I think it probably just makes things more angsty than anything else.