Lush Vlad

Even with the no striker excuse and the usual lack of options on the bench. This has been shocking. Predictable in attack and wide open behind the midfield and in behind the defence time and again. Even if we draw. This somehow feels worse than Luton the way we’ve played.

Saved yourself some pain if you didn’t find anywhere

Buzzing for the Arsenal game. They’ve scored 10 in 165 minutes. We look like we couldn’t keep a clean sheet against The Dog and Duck’s Sunday Vets team.

Wide open at the back. Keeper should be saving it and all.

Have they changed the law around that? I’m sure it keeps happening. If they don’t blow for the foul. They never go back to give the yellow now. Like the advantage means they don’t give the caution?

Get Miggy off FFS.

I suppose he kept us in it first half. But fucking hell.

Really good from Longstaff. Really shit from Almiron. He never spots an easy pass

Not sure who has less control. Our back 4 or the ref. Strange game. We have played quite well for large parts. Just massively missing a striker and any pace outside of the front three. I don’t think they’ve been particularly good. But should have scored two, for sure.

Honestly. This woodwork teacher looking motherfucker is useless. 3 shit tackles from behind. No yellows.

That cunt should be off. Two blatant yellows

Think he has been brilliant so far. Passing has been classy as usual. But seems much more aggressive with his tackling and pressing. He has just given it away twice in 30 seconds just as I started typing this, mind

This ref always looks like a substitute school teacher. No fucking control over the game. Twice they’ve slid in from behind right in front of him and no yellow.

Botman has been terrible. Getting done by movement and pace and his passing has been poor. Proper end to end (again). Oh how I long for a boring, slow and controlled game

It is sad the way it has gone towards the end. But let someone else have him on the Deadly Ledley schedule. Should be someone else’s problem next season.

You can never tell with Howe in his press conferences. But based on what he is saying and me guessing. Sounds like Isak and Willock will miss tomorrow. But back for Arsenal.

Exactly. He seems finished in this league/in a team that plays the way we do. Massive shame, as he’s still a top finisher and a decent centre forward. Just never available. Isak is a worry. But I don’t think his career has been plagued by injuries thus far, in the same way Wilson’s has. If we got some rotation going and Isak wasn’t ran into the ground as often. Then that might help. If he keeps getting injured at the same rate. Then that would be a major concern.

Sounds really harsh typing it out. But he has to be moved on at the end of the season. Just a complete waste of a squad place and big wages nowadays. Did someone say he’s been unavailable for over half of our games since being here? I knew his injuries were bad. But fucking hell.

Toney got off pretty lightly, in some ways. With a good chunk of his ban being served when he wouldn’t be playing, anyway. You’d like to think it would be back dated or similarly lenient, at least.

Isn’t this relegation clause all originating from a Chelsea ITK account? With the copy and paste accounts following suit and then the local journos, who seem to know fuck all. Then mentioning it in passing.

Have you looked at the coming FFP cycle to arrive at that figure? I don’t fully understand it. Nor do I want to, it’s mind numbing But I know there are a few on here that do. If we are getting rid of the wages of most who are out of contract. Shifting first team players such as Almiron and/or Wilson, who are regularly mentioned by fans and journos as those that are likely to be moved on. Then we’ll be signing a lot more than 1-2 decent players. I’m not expecting a mass rebuild or necessarily jumping straight back to a top 4 or title challenge. I didn’t realise that’s what we’re discussing here? But even in saying that. We’re not even miles away from top 4 after a poor’ish season and the worst injury crisis since maybe Souness or Roeder? So why delay it and gamble massively on some youth players suddenly coming good in a few years?

Be very surprised if that were the case. Think it makes sense for 2-3 current first team regulars to be moved on. Along with plenty of deadwood at the end of their contracts. Going to need far more than one or two first team ready players. How long are we waiting for these decent youth players then? Miley looks good but not physically ready yet. We’ve not had a standout or anyone that looks remotely decent from our 23’s in how long?

Scrap VAR for everything apart from goal line technology and unseen violent conduct stuff. Like how players used to retrospectively get punished after the game. Have the VAR official looking at it whilst play is ongoing and a more streamlined version. Not 700 angles and super slow mo, ref to the monitor. Grey area and there would be some boy who cried wolf scenarios. But harsher punishments for diving and play acting. Fed up of how pretending to be hurt and blatant cheating has just become an accepted part of the game. Some kind of salary cap and a clearer, more sensical version of FFP. Would still be loopholes and rife for abuse like it is in American sports. But the money involved has gone beyond a joke. Yellow cards, very easily becoming two yellows if players surround the ref. Should be the skipper speaking to the ref with the player in question. Rugby has gotten a bit shit over the years. But always agree with that. NFL is a violent as fuck sport. Yet the officials get more respect and less dissent. Kick off times - a thorough review required and the way TV companies have carte blanche over them. How many times do teams get a ridiculous KO hundreds of miles away. With no public transport to get them home after.

Right. So what are you expecting exactly? Which keepers in world football come out their box, as the last line of defence and attackers bearing down on them. Then start playing like an actual sweeper in the old school sense? Not many Beckenbaur and Baresi types in nets these days Emi Martinez is brilliant at it. Clears his lines and did so a few times against us. Ederson and Alisson the same. All three are brilliant with the ball at feet, yet still regularly do that. They’re rushing out of their box at full tilt to stop an attack. They’re hardly going to have a touch and start knocking it about. You’re confusing Pope being shit with his feet, which he is. With him not being a sweeper keeper. Surprised it’s even up for debate. It’s obvious to everyone and the stats back it up. Hard to quantify not ‘contributing to any attacking endeavour’ and all. He is certainly helping the defence and if it is pushing the team 10 yards up the pitch. How can you say it isn’t?

If Spurs, Arsenal and Liverpool are genuinely interested. Then absolutely no chance. Would love him here, or course. Think he’s had some bad injuries already and only 23? Thought he was older for some reason.