Sibierski

My reservations last summer was he needed another season learning, so was happy to sign if it was a loan out. Just never could start him from word go. He's now having that extra season and is improving his game.

Think all these contract extensions are with a view of getting a few £million for them in summer.

Hojlund just doesn't shoot anywhere near as much as a striker should. It's an easy cop out to say lack of service, but he's a contributing factor to it too. For me, if both were available, Nunez would be preferred option even if I don't rate him because he's shown more in his career that he can create stuff on his own. Hojlund can't and often needs space to run into to be most effective. Don't think age is really relevant when it comes to a striker if they haven't got the fundamentals, it's just the consistency that comes with age. Like as Haaland has got older, nothing about his game has improved since he was at Dortmund.

He was also way out performing his xg which does raise eyebrows. When someone does that, you want to see another season to see what the mean is, instead of jumping the gun and thinking it's a Messi type player that's got to be snapped up before others come.

PSR for me isn't about getting close to the levels of Arsenal/Manchester/Liverpool, it's about getting to levels of Spurs at a minimum. Operating on sums that Spurs have, you should be regularly challenging top 4 and having the odd title challenge if you've got the right manager and set up. At those funds, you can sign players at the good end, maintain your superstars and have depth that's experienced. Beyond those levels, you are just simply overpaying to keep players, having your depth on bloated deals and can spend bigger sums on players that are no more a success strike.

Ineos will be taking out similar payments in future years too, giving their cost cutting across all over divisions.

Signed Ugarte, Hojlund, Zirkzee, Yoro all young, got rid of overpaid passengers in Varane, McTominay, Martial, AWB and the needle hasn’t moved. Do think Man Utd fans get themselves too tied up in thinking ‘Young signings = the way to go’, just because some of their other signings have been average at best. A younger side can just mean the floor drops further, so when it’s not working the results are even worse. Like Doug looks energetic, but quite limited on the ball. Early days, but doesn’t really much difference in their technical play compared to AWB.

I don't think it's even the players learning it. For me, they're doing what's being asked and it's showing how poor a system it is. Doesn't matter if you replaced Casemiro with Ugarte yesterday, or even had the best CDM in the world, when they're on their own because Fernandes is being asked to go far right, teams will exploit it. Wing backs are then easily pinned back because every side in this league will have wingers that are capable of exploiting the space, so it's then three attackers often isolated up top. The attackers are probably the one area I can give some credence that it's the players, because Hojlund is regularly shit at most things to do with football, Zirkzee as wonderful his touches are, moves like Casemiro and then it's a clearly out of form Garnacho. Better attackers, they score yesterday and win, but it completely masks the fundamentals that are broken. Something that was obvious under ETH for like 12+ months to the majority. People in media will fall over themselves by blaming the players, manager needs backing etc. rather than actually argue the fundamentals are wrong. There's been no upturn in performances after like 20 games which you'd really start to expect by now. He needs a good final 25% of season, otherwise I do believe Ratcliffe will want some heads to roll if there's no Europe. Guy took over with them 4 points of 3rd, and I highly doubt it was with a remit of "This season can be write off, don't worry if you don't get Europe, it's all good".

What’s key for our games, is getting the first goal. We don’t seem very good at coming from behind at home to get a win.

Genuinely can’t call this game. On paper, they should beat us with their pace on counter and us likely going to be more open due to it being at home. But then they’re also not really a good team, like a solid mid table side across the season where those sides we should be beating at home. But then we’ve lost to Brighton, West Ham and Bournemouth at home all to different styles. At this stage of season, I just want wins. Performances are in the dirt now, just about grinding out the results.

They dropped out as soon as they signed Gonzalez. More natural transfer for him now would be Barcelona / Real because they’re crying out for a CDM who can progress the ball long term. Him tracking back has never been his good point, we all know this for the past 24 months. Guy has little pace but also not the awareness to sniff out danger before it happens so can be one step ahead to make up the pace which true CDMs have. He’s more of an advanced CM that’s over time ended up playing deeper, and as a result will be exposed to weaknesses more in a side that has no pace at the back to deal with transitions. Giving him a faster defence and with two more players (CM/RW) that can receive the ball in tight spaces, he’ll become a better player.

He’s reached Trippier levels for me. On giving day he’s still immense, but being rolled out each game, limitations are more on show and more bad games are coming on average. If he wanted to stay on a one year deal, I’d still keep him as the backup RCB otherwise this is his last season and I bloody hope he ends with a cup because he has been the best CB in my lifetime (like 97 onwards).

This is the part I regularly get annoyed with when it comes to our midfield set up. 30 seconds into the game, already Foden is in so much space and the pass is easily played to him as there’s no pressure. If there’s no pressure, we can’t be having a flat midfield.

Agree. He deserves to be giving like 3 new first team players (GK/CB/RW) with 2 squad players that can be useful (RB/CM) and be told to deliver a step forward. As annoying as our league form has been this season, he’s doing as much as you can expect from same personal with us still being up there and in a cup final. He needs to be giving some more top players (like Tonali level) and then we can expect Howe to evolve and improve. If he doesn’t, then I feel things can be 100% questioned with no push back.

Think the writing is on the wall for him if there’s interest around £20m mark. You’d like to think at that price point, you back ourselves to sign a squad player that has a higher ceiling, with Miley / Joelinton the LCMs.

Start of season if you said Man Utd and Spurs would be bottom half, and us top half with 13 to go, you’d think we would be a banker for Europe. Yet here we are Miss out on Europe last season because Man City turned up to the final pissed, going to miss out this season to Forest and Bournemouth

Yea, it’s time he’s giving a run. He’s the future so give him game time.

Frustrating day. All on the cups, please deliver one Howe or that’s it I feel

Christ we need a response next week now.

So annoyed. Probably the worst Man City side we will face away, and we’ve turned up and again gifted goals. Yet again this season, we’ve lost, and lost comfortably from us being proper shit and not the opposition needing to bring their A game. Not going to get Europe via league with this. UCL we can forget about for now.

We somehow look worse this season when we have longer rests

This is shit. No point in league cup final at this rate.

Got to get at that right side of Lewis and that shit CB who can’t even speak English. Just constant attacks there with Gordon / Isak / Willock.

Get Riyadh Season all around the ground for £80m

Think they would follow a similar strategy to what Burnley and Ipswich have done. Spend all the money, but on the younger players where at worse you are getting money back/very good player in Championship, at best a big profit sale. Best strategy for a newly promoted side in modern game IMO. Enough young talent in English game and enough finances to sign them from abroad too over established named sides in European leagues.