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Yeah been better this half definitely, looked slightly less like a player twice the age he actually is

Almost a year since Skipp joined and we're no closer to discovering what he's actually supposed to be good at. It's Dennis Praet part two except more expensive and somehow even less likely to score or create a goal

Lovely finish

No Patson no party

Good that it gets more players substantial minutes and from an entertainment perspective I like that it cuts down on those situations you get where both teams have changed their entire XI in quick succession and any fluency immediately drains out of the game

Where did he say he thought it would be "highly detrimental to squad cohesion"? He said not playing together won't help players gel, which is inarguably true even if you think - as I am also inclined to - the other benefits of split squads outweigh that. Questioning an opinion usually involves challenging the things a person has actually said.

There will definitely be some people who do believe that, largely on the basis that having a keeper who can pass the ball is modern tippy tappy nonsense and all that matters is making saves (which of course Hermansen is also very good at, but that has to be forgotten for the sake of the argument)

Maybe I am forgetting a lot of scuffs but I personally don't remember Mavididi being an especially bad finisher outside of the Leeds away game when he was not the only one guilty of that. Outperformed his xG that season (last season as well, and indeed 5 of the 6 seasons there is data available for) which, while certainly not definitive proof of anything, doesn't suggest he's stiflingly wasteful considering he's also not the sort of player who's regularly scoring worldies from improbable ranges and angles.

I'm inclined to agree it's similar to 23/24 and I'd be surprised by any radical departure from that setup aside from the obvious, enforced ones. Regardless of how exactly we line up, the lack of goals in the team is probably the biggest concern for me. I'm generally quite sceptical of the value of signing "pure goalscorers" or whatever you want to call them but I think I'm right in saying that of the current squad it's only Mavididi and Daka who have managed double figures in the last decade, and the latter's crisis of confidence now looks pretty terminal. The closest thing we have to a goalscoring midfielder is Ndidi which is a sobering thought.

Well yeah, it's really important that if you don't watch it you've got you let everyone know just how much you're not watching it. That's why I'm always in the Oasis thread saying I don't really like Oasis and the Nintendo Switch thread reminding people I don't have a Nintendo Switch

Fixed for you

The thread so far is mainly people saying the players/women's football are crap or whining about commentators so I say carry on

They've both sold players, Coburn and Gassama + Musaba respectively

I think a good general rule is that if the justification for a signing includes the phrase "if we can keep him fit" or similar, it's probably not a good idea

I think we are yeah, I looked yesterday. Only team not to have signed or sold anyone on a permanent deal at any rate.

If/when Hermansen leaves then it will need addressing as we'll be down to one senior keeper - arguably it already does. Obviously if we end up giving him 50 grand a week or similar then it's mental but otherwise it seems sensible enough.

The 18/19 and 19/20 ones are my favourites from recent years. Adidas have given us some proper shite but the first two home kits were very nice, the latter particularly with the white shorts.

This is the one I was thinking of:

Praet vs Brentford in the cup with that absurd, possibly not totally intentional, through ball that led to Iheanacho scoring

It highlights he recorded the most defensive actions of our centre backs which doesn't come as a huge surprise given he played by far the most minutes, over 1000 ahead of Coady and more than Okoli and Vestergaard combined. If you measure it per 90 minutes then he doesn't come out on top in any category.

Levi Porter

No. There are presumably good reasons why he's not signed a new deal - maybe wages, maybe at 38 he just doesn't fancy another slog through the Championship, maybe he wants a break or a change of scenery, maybe other things, who knows. He could probably still contribute but I would rather see us try to move on with someone younger and more dynamic, someone better able to get about the pitch and more consistently impose themselves on the game in and out of possession. I also think it will be easier both for a new manager to stamp their authority on the squad and for any new striker to establish themselves without him here, though naturally there will be comparisons and expectations to deal with.

I think probably the latter mate

You can go back and rewatch on iPlayer - keepers had one foot on the line for literally all the penalties. It's fine to admit you were wrong and probably a better idea than doubling down when the evidence is so readily available

She's not played 90 minutes since March and went more than two months without playing any football at all before the tournament so I'm guessing she is quite a long way off being fully fit