Gillies Apprentice

Anyone who saw Johnson’s nightmare display at CB against Forest recently wouldn’t have him near the first team .In the last game he was pushed out to right back again with Knight and Pascanu in the middle - either of them would be far better

It certainly was uninspiring stuff and whilst I understand why both King and James played ,their presence didn’t add anything to the spectacle.The two things that struck me were that Pascanu looks a quality player and clearly gained a lot of confidence from his call up to the full Romania squad , and that the dearth of strikers extends well below our first team - seeing Knight pushed up front and scoring the winner took me back to the days of Walshie and Matt Elliott .If the recruitment masterplan is indeed to finesse George Hirst from OH Leuven , I hope it pays off ,because as it stands ,the cupboard looks pretty bare .

Was subbed off at HT in the U 23s game tonight ,which could mean he’ll be in the squad to play Watford on Sat

I think too much reliance has been put on Maddison being the fulcrum of our three attacking midfielders , such that when he's been injured/gone off the boil/been suspended , we haven't been able to replace him effectively. His two yellows against Brighton were totally out of character and , my guess is , were borne out of frustration . Whilst the stellar rise that his best mate Chilwell has achieved in recent months will ,undoubtedly, have delighted him ,the stark contrast in his fortunes over the same period must be a cause of huge frustration.The comedown from his first England call up to his embarrassing dismissal at Brighton has been massive and it will be a real test of Puel's man management to get his head right for Saturday . If we get a fit , sensibly motivated and back to form Maddison between now and Christmas our creativity and results will improve significantly ,if not it will be a pretty bleak outlook . Whilst I'm by no means a Puel hater , I think it is a misjudgement to rely so heavily on a 22 year old , in his first season in the Premier League and , so far ,not be flexible enough to change our formation when he's not available or playing well.

Sorry but can’t agree with you - although none of us would have predicted that starting line up ,Claude picks the team on what he’s seen in training and info from his technical advisors. I was at the game and saw a virtually heroic performance to hold out with 10 men and then ,with well judged subs , snatch a draw and nearly win it . To try and spin today’s game in an anti Puel post is well wide of the mark .

Yes , I seem to recall reports that we had an offer accepted for him a couple of years ago and he turned us down

I’ve not watched it ,but some friends and family have and wish they hadn’t .Surely it should be taken offline as it graphically shows people about to die horrifically .

The Planning Committee agenda for next Thursday recommends approval .It can still be refused by the Members but if it is ,an appeal would be highly likely to succeed.

Harry has starred for England in a back three and he has clearly loved playing in that system ,so I think he will be far more inclined to move if we don't adopt it now.

Surely Maguire must .

I wonder if he had his time again whether DD would still push for the move ,but I suppose financial gain will always outweigh a ruined career

This makes it even more certain that Boufal will be offloaded ,who Claude signed when he was there

9:20 Looks like we will know soon enough :-_ FELLAINI CLOSE TO EXIT Manchester United midfielder Marouane Fellaini is in advanced negotiations with another top Premier League club. Press Association Sport is reporting that the Belgium international is edging towards leaving Old Trafford following strong interest from a rival team.

Valencia at home on 1st Aug just been announced