Claudio Fannieri

Has he gone?

Absolutely and I wouldn’t be surprised if the Manager and coaching staff have used training to ensure that alternatives are ready to step in to the starting XI on Saturday if required. However I don’t think it will be required as we will have a couple of deals ready to go once the Souttar deal was finalised.

Wonder if we have received an offer very close to our valuation for Skipp or Hamza and have started making serious moves for potential replacements, could we try and gazump Huddersfield’s move for Archie Collins

Isn’t he the CEO?

Shock horror always felt this deal would get done, think this will create a little domino effect that sees us bring in 2 CB’s reckon both deals already in place and will move at pace to be in next 24 to 48 hours

Reckon this must mean we have a deal for a centre back done and dusted to have let this deal go through

Kanu is a great shout. Did well at Walsall last season on loan. Defintiely need at least 1 if not 2 CB’s and I also hope that a few more are on the way out as we are still carrying a number of high earners who clearly want and need to be elsewhere. Busy couple of weeks ahead for McCarron.

I’m not sure, I think it’s more that the club have been guilty in stockpiling academy players, I think circumstances have now dictated that we have to be ruthless and if a player is not deemed to be the required quality then we shift them on and recoup a fee, rather than let them drift in u21’s. I don’t have an issue with this, as I have no doubt the coaching staff will have had an input based on preseason.

I still think Skipp, Okoli, Choudhury, Mavididi and Reid will also depart if suitable permanent or loan options materialise as the window closes.

I am not so sure I think it’s more likely he goes for a fairly nominal fee + some performance related add on and his new club covering his wages

It’s the same with Archie Collins I do wonder if deals in principle are in place but subject to moving certain players out.

I think Mavididi and Choudhury will also go before the window closes, wouldn’t be shocked to see Will Smallbone arrive on a free

Hamer deal agreed back to Cov so wonder if this gives Sheffield United a bit more budget to get a deal agreed for Souttar now.

Let’s hope the club come back with an improved offer and we can move him on ASAP. Yesterday against league two opposition he looked piss poor, rarely beat his man, created very little and offered zero energy or intensity.

I imagine RM will feel the same way, as I am sure Marti did as well, however if we fail to shift certain players, and relative high earners at that, then i think the manager will come under pressure from above to utilise these players and keep them in the shop window for January. It happened last season and will no doubt happen again this season.

Hopefully after yesterday RM has got the measure of a few of our players and we don’t see them in a squad for a long time. Difficult to pick a starting XI at the moment because I genuinely think this week we will see some significant movement out of the club. But if I had to pick a team as it stands today depending on fitness I would go as follows this assumes the new striker signs today as reported - McCarthy JJ Okoli Souttar McFarlane Braybrooke Chaplin Cullen Burns Bristic Watson Subs Stolarcryk Aluko Gray Page Neale Carr Alves

Works hard and is a decent pro but offers so little in possession, especially when you need to break the lines of the opposition press, plays lots of 5-10 yard safe passes but against opposition like yesterday he offers nothing progressive and is incapable of playing anything remotely risky that could get us moving quickly. Really hope we can do a deal to get him gone this week and bring in an athletic no 6 who can also link up play. Personally I would move Braybrooke back into that role and once fit have chaplin and Cullen as the high 8’s/10’s with Burns and Watson or Alves as the wide men.

Biggest concern for me isn’t with the new signings or academy players in playing the way RM wants us to play but it’s the more experienced players still lingering from last season and beyond who worry me. Souttar, Okoli, Skipp, Thomas are all way to uncomfortable, slow and cumbersome in possession to be able move the ball with pace and purpose, Mavididi is just so poor now, looks disinterested and seems incapable of beating his man. Bobby Reid offers nothing and Choudhury managed to show in his little cameo his amazing ability to switch off and lose his man in key areas and then just jog back without a care in the world. These are all players actively scouted and recruited or academy developed and offered long term lucrative contract extensions when it is clear to see they don’t have the required skill set to play the style we have adopted for the past 8 years or so. If we want to play this progressive style pf play and play it a high tempo you simply cannot afford to have this many technically deficient players in your starting XI. Players are making the correct movements and creating space and opportunities but as soon as any of these are involved it naturally slows down, or the pass is misplaced or momentum is lost as they have to take an extra touch and then pass it sideways or backwards and start again. This happened so many times yesterday and will continue to do so. Hopefully changes can and will be made so the majority or all of them are not involved come next weekend.

Not so sure about that, given at times against league 2 opposition yesterday Okoli and Souttar looked absolutely woeful in possession.

I thought he looked decent when we could get him on the ball, he took up some great positions but the trouble was we really struggled to string 4 or 5 passes together to get the ball to him.

It just goes to show how poor our scouting and recruitment has become. Our style of play has been pretty consistent since the days of Puel, and yet yesterday we had both centre backs who can barely play a simple 10 yard pass.

Mavididi, Thomas and Reid look equally as poor every time we drop a level, really hope RM has given them a rocket as that was flat as feck, really laboured in possession. Desperately need a couple of strikers through the door, also Chaplin will make a huge difference when he returns from injury.

Departing hopefully

7 of the younger group of academy included in the squad, plus Watson also on the bench with McFarlane, Chaplin and Bristic still to come in, hopefully will mean the likes of Mavididi, BDCR and Thomas fall by the wayside. Good news that Faes is not involved so hopefully not far away from being moved on.

Any notable absentees …….hoping Faes, Choudhury and Mavididi are left out