andyc35i

I just think we should chuck that money at Botman instead because he could conceivably be here for the next decade given his age

I’m not certain he would walk out on us if we go down as e’s getting a hefty salary that would be hard to match elsewhere and it seems this move was more of a family decision. I guess it’s the England thing that may mean he wants a move, but I’m not sure he gets into the next squad given the competition at right back. You never know, he may be convinced to stay on and see how we go

Van Dijk was in his early / mid 20s when they got him for £75m. Liverpool knew he would be with them for at least 7-8 years at his peak. Carlos is 29, has less time at his peak and also untested in England. It’s perfectly right for us to not want to over pay no matter how desperate we are

I haven’t see a lot of him to suggest he would be worth £50m. If others have seen more of him and think there’s a top player there, then I’m all for it because we need better players in his position ASAP

There’s no way they will sell him right now, but I could see another loan deal on offer

That little lob pass that he made late on the second half for Fraser to run in on goal was absolutely delicious

I would love it if we beat them

Have to give a shout out to Longstaff, I thought he was excellent alongside Willock in the final 30 minutes

I think that they are here to beaten. The problem is that we can’t do anything when we have the ball in and around their goal

I’d swap him for Murphy soon into the second half if he doesn’t improve

At least we are still in the game and have not been completely battered like last year

How awful is our midfield looking now…

I really wish we had Raphinha playing for us

What I would give for two wins in a row like this

I’d drop Shelvey for Willock for this very reason. We need someone that can chase the knock downs and still get back into shape when we lose the ball

I still think his general energy in and around the box would drastically change our goal threat and even if doesn’t get anywhere near the goal return as last season, it would give us another dimension in attack

Regardless of the fixtures so far and who was managing the team, I think we should have at least 8 more points than we currently have. I mean some games really stick out to me where we should have taken three points. That stoppage time goal against Southampton (I know they were far better than us), all the easy chances we missed at Watford and the 88th minute equaliser against them at home, and the ASM open goal chance against Man Utd - I just don’t think we have had any real rub of the green this year. I guess we wasted it all last season

I think we win this one. Well I said that for both Manchester United and Watford so clearly I’m wrong…

Lingard would obviously become our best midfield player and walk straight into the midfield three, but he would need to be complemented by a defensive two with him similar to West Ham with Rice and Souchek. I think we already have a Souchek type player in Joelinton, but are missing that Rice style of player

@Trensa Who you thinking gets the better deal - NUFC for Carlos or Sevilla with Botman?

I was against having Van de Beek coming in because doesn’t look like he has adjusted to the league, but we are crying out for someone that is comfortable in possession that can advance the ball. We get him on loan with a defensive destroyer then a midfield three with Joelinton doesn’t look so bad on paper

It’s so disappointing that we couldn’t hold yesterday. We could have had a week out of the bottom three to maybe convince some of these players that we weren’t going down

We also need a player that can create. I wish we weren’t so deep in the shit that Coutinho would have considered coming to us. If Villa get him fit, he will get a lot of goals and assists between now and May.

My main gripe with Howe is that he continues to have in Shelvey as the first name on the team sheet. I get that it was required for his first two months here when his hands were tied without a transfer window to call on, but he should be demanding better players in this key area of the pitch. I will judge him when the window closes to see if we have the ‘balance’ he keeps talking about, but to say I’m concerned is an understatement

I’m very concerned how anybody can watch us today (and all the other times) and not see how weak we are in midfield. We have nobody to cover any ground defensively, let alone create anything and our best midfielder is now Joelinton - this is just insane