AKCJ

Again, those on high wages are the players we want to get rid of. I'm not saying it's acceptable. I'm just saying that we're in this shit because we've overpaid on crap players. We shouldn't then pretend we should be doing well because we're overspending on crap players. I'm sure we'll look a lot more potent once we get Bristric up to pace. It's clear that Reid isn't a striker. We all know that he's only in the team because of injuries to Chaplin and the lack of sharpness to Bristric. Once we have a striker that can occupy the back four, the likes of Braybrooke, Alves, Watson, Cullen, Chaplin, Burns, Howell and Page should really shine. There will be a lot more room in the pitch for these players.

That article doesn't point out the obvious difference from last season to the norm and that is that wasted time wasn't being properly added on to games and that referees let teams flood the areas and stop the goalkeeper from collecting long throws and corners. Teams were wasting so much time setting up corners and throw ins. Guarantee that the passes per game go right back up to the average this season now that there are much tighter rules about getting the ball back in play for set pieces.

I'm not saying we shouldn't be aiming to beat Notts County, of course we should. But the money spent on our 11 on Saturday was as follows; McCarthy - Free Joseph - Free Okoli - £12m Souttar - £14.5m Thomas - Academy Skipp - £20m Braybrooke - Academy Burns - £75k Cullen - £2m Alves - Academy Reid - Free Howell - Loan Watson - Loan Choudhury - Academy Bristric - £2m That's a total of about £50m and 95% of it comes from three players I think we'd all happily sell. It's a disingenuous argument to suggest we should be winning games because of the money we spent on player because (other than players signed this summer) I don't think there's a player left in the squad that we paid a transfer fee for that we want to keep.

I'll be worried if we look that disjointed in a month's time. This is essentially a brand new team. 9 incomings, 3 new academy lads with 17 outgoings. "Ultra possession" football clearly has not been sussed out. Every successful team plays this way.

Is that an AI picture of him?

Honestly I think their decision to sell Trafford will cost them millions. He's a fantastic keeper and is already showing it at Leeds.

Oh he is.

What about Jayden Danns on loan?

Mate Howell isn't a defensive midfielder, Choudhury isn't an attacking midfielder and Aluko isn't a winger.

What pisses me off the most about him is that he doesn't really have a redeeming feature to his game. What I mean by that is you can't exactly say "yeah he's shit but at least his crossing is top notch" etc. He's the most plain footballer i've ever seen. Like a bag of salt and shake but you don't add the salt. He's not quick, not a hard worker, not physically capable, can't tackle, can't shoot, can't pass, can't cross and can't stop a cross. Ridiculous that we gave him a 4 year contract last season. Utterly brain dead thinking from Rudkin yet again.

If you want to be a pedant about it then surely the curtain raiser was either Wolves vs Port Vale or Wycombe vs Stevenage?

It's likely he's had his head turned and Martin is keeping him out of the spotlight until it all gets resolved one way or the other. Seen managers do this a million times with young players. If he stays and this is still happening after the window shuts then we should be worried though.

They're still a professional football team that can hold a shape and hurt us on the counter. If we play a single central midfielder then we will lose.

Desperate for a midfielder who is comfortable facing his own goal with the ability control the tempo of a game. It was ****ing hard work watching Skipp routinely tackled due to his own lack of awareness. A commanding midfielder that knows what he's doing in English football would do wonders for us. I would say our priorities are; 1. Commanding defensive midfielder. 2. Centre back happy to have the ball at his feet. 3. Reserve striker, probably a loan. 4. Box to box midfielder (if Page is sold). We have to get at least 1 and 2 in. If we end the window with Souttar, Page, Faes and Mavididi sold then we simply have to sign 1, 2 and 4.

The whole point of a Russell Martin team is to get control. We barely managed it at times with Skipp and Braybrooke. We're not going to get it from only Braybrooke. That team is far too attacking and easy to play against.

I do think he's better on the left but I don't think Burns has looked right yet and Watson has been really impressive every time he's come on. I'd play him centrally with Burns on the right if Chaplin isn't ready.

Stolarcyzk Joseph Okoli Faes McFarlane Skipp Braybrooke Alves Chaplin Watson Bristric

Arsenal look very sharp but it be long until Arteta gets fed up of Guimaraes’ lack of ability though. Lewis Shelly will soon be in this team ahead of him alongside Rice.

The 3-2-4-1 is all well and good when you’ve got the ball and you’re looking to build up attacks but it’s very easy to play through. Runners behind either side of Dias have killed Man City. Neither Anderson or Kovacic have tracked runners either. For the the inverted fullback is over. It’s too easy to play against.

I think it’s a positive that we weren’t really cut open in the game. The players that were shit were all players we know are shit (and they have players to come in and start ahead of them). We looked motivated. Didn’t look like a team that wasn’t trying. The academy lads were genuinely fantastic. Alves in particular was electric. For me there’s enough to go on. The individual mistakes cannot be allowed to continue and the likes of Skipp have to sharpen up. I thought Martin spoke well after the game. Lots to fix and I think he will.

That result has essentially ensured that we will end the day in our worst ever league position.

McCarthy - 4 - Didn't have many saves to make but his distribution was poor. Flapped at a few too. Joseph - 8 - Really solid game. Very excited for him because he looks like he's got potential to play in higher leagues. Okoli - 5 - Better of two poor centre backs. Used his physicality well but hes frighteningly bad on the ball Souttar - 4 - Embarrassing performance for someone supposedly worth 10m. Sell him tonight. Thomas - 2 - Persistently sinks to new lows. Cannot do anything you'd want a professional to do. Skipp - 3 - Everything is so slow through him and he made basic errors all game. Braybrooke - 6 - Playing with Skipp didn't do him many favours and it was probably too physical a game for him. Alves - 9 - Had the right back on toast all game. Really harsh booking didn't help him. Cullen - 2 - Genuinely don't know what he offers. Burns - 5 - Fairly meh. Beat the fullback a few times probably didn't get involved enough. Reid - 3 - Looked better in the 10 when he was doing Cullen's job but he's so poor.

Get up you fanny.

Standing around with your hands up in a league without VAR. Come on lads. Play to the ****ing whistle.

This really hasn't been good enough.