Viana

If you're going to blow every time a Brighton players fall over while being pressed they're going to win most games.

Brighton at home wanting to make a statement. They've come prepared the same way we did a few months ago. Howe had two challenges this summer; what do you prioritize with the transfer budget, and how do you evolve the team tactically. We've signed four players, but I would say only Tonali is in the on paper best XI right now. He has prioritized long-term signings like Hall and Livramento, but that means he has less new cards to play right now down the spine of the field. That in itself isn't a major issue if you're confident your system still works, but it's clear it doesn't right now. Willock is a big miss and Joelinton hasn't looked fit all season. This is undoubtedly his first major bump as manager. Three defeats, two very meekly, he has to go away and figure out what he needs to figure out. If he can't then he'll struggle to stay in the job, and that's just the nature of managing a team with a directive to go to the top.

I think I may have crossed a threshold with this, and I'm unsure if I can go back across it. I enjoyed pre-season, I even went to one of the games, and it was good fun seeing a local lad score the goals. But I keep reading more and more about what they're doing in Saudi Arabia, and the sheer magnitude of PIF and it gets harder and harder to accept. I know this is where the game has gone at the top level. I know I'd likely never see us win anything without this kind of ownership. It's just not what got me into football. I watch how someone like Man City play and it's nigh perfection for 90 minutes. That's not what I got into it for. I accepted and I almost enjoyed the imperfection. It's what made it feel like something. I don't know if my soul is railing against modern football as a whole and this is just a symptom of it, but either way it doesn't feel right. I know our government does shit, all governments do barbaric things, but they don't own my football club. Edit: The reason I wrote this down now is because usually I'm quite excited for a game regardless of opponent, but after for some reason it just didn't feel that way today. Maybe it's temporary, maybe it isn't, but here felt as good a place as any to write about it.

The new Dutch lad at the back looks a player.

Nicholas Jackson throwing himself down every chance he gets here.

I feel sorry for Carrick. He had them going last year and they've basically sold off his best assets and bought lesser ones.

To be fair, while in purely footballing terms he has undeniable talent he does have red flags which mean he would never have worked for us. Firstly, I don't think his personality would have suited this group. I also think to get the best out of him you need to build the attack around him. Howe has never wanted to build us around one player.

We don't play with a 10 though.

Burnley just a bit powder puff.

The beauty of football in evidence, fair play to them, perfect response From what I saw that felt like a repeat of them at their best last season - soaking up a bit of pressure then using speed and quality to break on teams. Chris Rigg definitely looks a player too. In the same way that one reflects well on Sunderland it does look bad for Southampton. Russel Martin has nice ideas, but they've not looked convincing yet this season. I don't actually think the team on paper was terrible. Four of the back five have Premier League experience. The bench is a lot stronger than Sunderland's, and yet, I do wonder - and this is just total speculation on my part - how Martin's ideas apply to a team that goes into games overwhelming favorites. Teams won't throw themselves onto Southampton. That means less space in the final third and a more complex problem to solve.

Pickford has the ability to make world class saves but his inconsistency and emotional volatility stops him being that player.

That's exactly it. I get where @TeddySAFC is coming from totally, the tricky bit is going to be figuring out how they all adapt to the English game. The Championship is just relentless in terms of schedule and physical demand on the body. I don't see relegation as a threat personally, and Mowbray had a decent record of working on young players at Blackburn, but when we're talking about top 6, that feels unattainable for this group.

That actually feels like quite a rough end to the window for them. Their only pedigreed striker has been sold (alright he's currently injured), and in his place they've signed a 24-year-old with one good season in the Ukrainian league and three strikers under 21 that have five senior goals between them. If Rusyn doesn't work out they're in for a long old season. It was the kind of shit Ashley would do to cut costs. Speculate on prospects and hope one paid off. The two French lads have some pedigree, so that's a plus, but they probably need to figure out a succession plan for Tony Mowbray too because he sounded disgruntled over the Stewart situation.

Genuinely the first 18-20 seconds of that are terrifying. There's a 6-7 second period where he doesn't move a muscle.

The Rest Is Football feels like sitting on the table next to them in a pub.