Barnes23

Cooper actually seemed like he was doing an okay job at Leicester from the outside considering the squad/resources at his disposal - certainly showed more on average under him than they have in the last two games.

Villa 2-2 Man City Brentford 2-1 Forest Ipswich 1-2 Newcastle West Ham 1-1 Brighton Palace 1-2 Arsenal Everton 0-2 Chelsea Fulham 3-1 Southampton Leicester 2-1 Wolves Man United 2-1 Bournemouth Spurs 1-3 Liverpool

Some delegation is fine of course but I'm personally suspicious of managers who would neglect coaching to the extent that Gerrard allegedly did (essentially deferring the entire thing to Beale, if reports are to be believed). I would suspect a lot more involvement on the part of the two you mentioned, especially.

Could be a good coach but a poor manager. Agree though that that Beale alone doesn't account for the successful spell with Rangers, just that it's a pretty big caveat to factor in.

From what I've read it's fair to say a great deal of the success Gerrard had with Rangers was due to the work of Michael Beale (who was responsible for much of (all?) of the actual coaching work on the grass).

There's a name I've not heard in a while

Needs to learn to play with his head up - you can see why Howe isn't giving him minutes aside from in very secure circumstances. Has talent though for sure, definitely a Howe type of striker in terms of his profile.

He actually has some Pardew vibes watching some of his post-match stuff.

I'm sure I remember Livramento being a real threat down the right hand side for Southampton- bombing down the wing and playing so far forward sometimes he was almost looking like a winger. IIRC there were some Southampton fans commenting that he could be the next Bale when we signed him (or was it an ex teammate making comments to that effect?) Definitely agree he has the tools to develop that side of his game a great deal and really kick on.

It's a bit of a mixed and unclear picture with regards to our scouting and recruitment at the moment, at least from the outside looking in. Possibly a reflection of transition, competing voices or even power struggles. One of the less discussed dimensions of this is the possible sidelining or minimisation of Steve Nickson, who by all accounts has played a pretty important role in some of our best recruitment work to date. The hope would certainly be that we could unearth another Bruno/Isak somehow, and those reported targets you mentioned are certainly encouraging too. Equally though, I don't dismiss the possibility of a world where we go and spend the incoming funds on Guehi, Elanga and James Trafford - an abysmal scenario and yet the reports from the last transfer window give the idea some credibility.

Without some incredibly intelligent scouting and recruitment I fear we will slide into further midtable obscurity were we to sell Bruno. I understand why we would do it, but I don't understand why anybody would exactly be clamouring for it except as a means to avert possible FFP induced stagnation. It's a massive roll of the dice. Probably an unpopular opinion but if we have to sell a (very likely irreplaceable) player on FPP grounds it would be Isak for me. Partly because of his injury record/suitability for a high pressing style which is undoubtedly the style which suits us best under Howe. I also feel it is likely Isak will be looking to move on in the next couple of years in any case barring a great reversal of our present fortunes. Whereas Bruno I could see staying for the longer-term, if we are able to withstand any interest in the next year.

Arsenal 2-0 Everton Liverpool 2-1 Fulham Newcastle 3-2 Leicester Wolves 2-1 Ipswich Forest 1-1 Villa Brighton 2-1 Palace Man City 2-2 Man United Chelsea 3-1 Brentford Southampton 1-3 Spurs Bournemouth 2-1 West Ham

Very little to get excited about on that list. Agree we would be looking in similar places or taking a punt on a candidate with less name recognition.

The whole team is underperforming massively at the moment across the board, and has been for some time - I don't see much point in over-scrutinizing the performances of our (best) players absent that vital context. There isn't a single player who has been consistently at their best this season so far. Bruno is easily good enough to play for any other team in the division.

Find it hard to believe that Guehi/Tosin would be making a great deal of difference to our performances at the moment, like.

Everton 0-2 Liverpool Villa 3-1 Southampton Brentford 1-1 Newcastle Palace 1-3 Man City Man United 3-0 Forest Fulham 0-2 Arsenal Ipswich 1-2 Bournemouth Leicester 2-2 Brighton Spurs 1-3 Chelsea West Ham 2-1 Wolves

Think that is a still a level too high for them tbh. Rooney/Gerrard at least.

Ipswich 2-1 Palace Leicester 2-2 West Ham Everton 1-1 Wolves Man City 2-1 Forest Newcastle 0-2 Liverpool Southampton 1-2 Chelsea Arsenal 2-1 Man United Villa 2-2 Brentford Fulham 2-1 Brighton Bournemouth 2-2 Spurs

It's telling there have been no real exciting suggestions - in the press, on here, or elsewhere. There are no standout candidates that I can see in terms of anyone with serious pedigree who would represent real intent or ambition. That doesn't mean there aren't lesser known coaches who could be the next big thing in waiting - but this of course represents a greater risk.

Brighton 2-1 Southampton Brentford 3-1 Leicester Palace 1-1 Newcastle Forest 2-1 Ipswich Wolves 2-2 Bournemouth West Ham 0-2 Arsenal Chelsea 2-1 Villa Man United 2-0 Everton Spurs 2-1 Fulham Liverpool 2-1 Man City

I think most people would be hard pushed to provide a name that is both credible and exciting and that kind of tells a story tbh. I don't think there is anyone obvious out there at all, and so parting ways with Howe would represent an even bigger risk than in other circumstances.

Leicester 1-2 Chelsea Arsenal 2-0 Forest Villa 2-1 Palace Bournemouth 2-1 Brighton Everton 1-1 Brentford Fulham 2-1 Wolves Man City 2-2 Spurs Southampton 0-3 Liverpool Ipswich 1-3 Man Utd Newcastle 3-1 West Ham

Brentford 2-1 Bournemouth Palace 1-1 Fulham West Ham 2-1 Everton Wolves 2-1 Southampton Brighton 2-2 Man City Liverpool 2-1 Villa Man United 2-1 Leicester Forest 1-1 Newcastle Spurs 3-1 Ipswich Chelsea 1-1 Arsenal

Bit the bullet last night - Haaland and Rogers out for Cunha and Salah. It isn't even so much Haaland's absence of form as much as the reinvigoration of Salah this year under Slot - he's starting to feel like he may be essential. Impossible to accommodate both without instead sacrificing one of Saka/Palmer. Making the right choices with those four is going to prove pretty decisive this year I think. TAA is another interesting one - I sold a few weeks back as he doesn't seem to be getting forward as much. It doesn't feel like a year for premium defence in general, although things can change very quickly.

What is everyone thinking about Haaland - worth moving on at this point?