LCFCJohn

An injury free Souttar is a top defender in this division. Let’s not mix up the injuries themselves, the fact we signed him as a PL club and the fact he doesn’t suit our style (we don’t do defending so he doesn’t fit) with his actually ability at what he is there to do. The points I have listed mean it was a poor/odd signing. But he was a rock for Sheffield United last season before injury.

They will both be in heavy demand. It doesn’t have to be a big boy either. Take Nelson, if he stays in the side and does well, there’s other PL sides who could offer first team football. I’d actually think he is a bit of a mug if he does stay to be honest as he can do better than scrapping around the foot of the Championship (best case). Monga is much younger but again, there would be PL sides who could give him minutes or even a move and a loan is better career progression. It feels like staying here is a year thing and possible longer if we had got promoted. Stay in the Championship or relegation to L1 and better options are available. I don’t necessarily think we’d lose the others (Page, Evans etc) but I feel these two are gone regardless.

Actually, at the point Faes did that, Barry Bannan has been sent off so it was just the kids

He above us now and out of reach. Going well at Stoke and would require buying out even if he was willing to chuck in what he is building there to come here. In summary, not ever going to happen!

Without ‘piling on’. You refer to this being our natural level. Even if you discount the recent, unprecedented success of the past 10 years, winning the top flight and FA cup for the first time, our level has been lower top tier/upper second tier. We have the record number of second tier titles, a few more seasons in the second tier than the first but relatively equal over our history and one single season outside the top two tiers. Floating round in the bottom half of the second tier, 1 win in 10 and looking over our shoulders to relegation to the third tier would always be considered bad for us regardless of the last 10 years. Secondly, wage bills for the league were posted somewhere on here a day or so ago. We were something like £10 mill clear of the next side (Southampton) and about 4 times plus more than most other sides, many of those above us in the table. Apply that logic to any league and whilst money is not everything, if you are spending so much more than your competitors, that should be reflected somewhat in the league standings. All this shows that the club is in a terrible place and is massively underperforming on any measure you choose, historical standings and general principles of how much we are spending. It has nothing to do with winning the PL in 2016 and FA cup in 2021. All those achievements do is highlight just how bad the fall has been.

I suspect Monga and Nelson will leave. Monga, it always felt like he would give us one year and get snapped up. Nelson, I think the damage has been done and it’s too little too late. I reckon promotion back to the PL would have been the only way of holding on to them anyway. Also, I will believe that Daka, Soumare, Ayew and Winks all go when I see it. This is the club that gave Vestergaard 3 more years as his contract was finally over and 3 extra years to Luke Thomas with a pay rise to boot. Winks I reckon has enough about him to want to go elsewhere. Ayew with our lack of forwards and being in last pay day territory will likely be offered and accept a new contract. Daka and Soumare is hard to call. Hopefully they want out as much as we want them out.

Aiyawatt Rudkin Faes Vestergaard Ayew Soumare Daka BDR VK Thomas Skipp I ran out of room for Winks and he has some uses.

It still feels irrelevant to me. Let’s say the outcomes would be the same which we will never know. Playing Nelson would still be a better strategic decision in terms of long term value to the team or incoming transfer fee. You're right about our attack being worthless. That’s why we’d need a Burnley like defence to stand a chance and with Faes/Vestegaard errors, we haven’t had that.

No way was there that many. Probably including season tickets that did attend. Looked more like 24/25k at most.

Aiyawatt do a Marikanas! He wouldn’t even be able to intimidate my 2 year old daughter (she’d have him in tears with just some well chosen words).

Just can’t see any way we win here. The slide is terminal. They literally don’t know how to win. 1-0 up at home and Boro with a man sent off in stoppage time. If you aren’t going to win in that scenario, when are you?

More and more likely by the week. We can’t buy a win. Those saying it won’t happen are saying so based off nothing other than ‘there must be 3 worse sides than us’. Football don’t work that!

Has it really warranted this many yellows for us? Ref seems very whistle happy in their favour…

The standards we measure by nowadays eh

Yeah that was a free kick just outside Most of those behind the goal didn’t even get up either when it went in

Why do they bother with pre-season then if it’s that simple?

To be fair, the other supporters were one of the first things that I stopped enjoying about going. I went home and away for years growing up and stripped it back when I moved away, and set up home and family etc which are the priority. But all the years I was growing up, yes it was lower attendances and there were loads of seats around as were in the Championship and League 1. Obviously it started picking up as we were looking to get back into the PL and the woodwork lot come back out! But I found I was suddenly surrounded by people who were utterly clueless and coming out with such nonsense all game. The experience became less enjoyable than when you knew the people around and they were good, knowledgeable supporters.

Blueprints are technical, detailed plans. I’d say the way to beat us only need a toddlers scribbles!

In all seriousness. Kids will be grown up some day and you may look back at these sort of decisions. I have taken the view of family first now. As for food in the ground, for anyone who does go, at least get food and drink from elsewhere and cut off this source of revenue for Aiyawatt. Please!

I wouldn’t say Robins is a realistic shout. I mentioned him previously before he went to Stoke but now he is there, and doing well, that ship has sailed. We wouldn’t pay compensation for an in work manager (which would be on reason why Challinor wouldn’t be coming either) but also Robins is now building something at Stoke and why would he leave that. With the open nature of the league, they have to be a good shout for promotion after years of being crap.

It goes back to Barnes, Chilwell and KDH too. Barnes was slated for being too quiet on the pitch. ‘All’ he did was score and assist goals. We’d love some of that now KDH, when they couldn’t find fault with him on the pitch, people turned to smearing him with digs that he isn’t one of our own being born in Nottingham and allegedly supporting Man Utd as a child. And like you say, Page as well. I can’t remember an academy player who was fully accepted, in my lifetime anyway. Was Heskey? He came through before my time so I don’t know. Which is why I don’t agree Nelson will be accepted, supported and given time. The amount of references to the Huddersfield game are a massive red flag in that respect. In my view, there’s far too much scrutiny and too much of a spotlight on him due to his bizarre treatment so far. That will have heaped so much more pressure on his involvement. There will be those who are expecting him to instantly fix our issues and those looking for any fault to justify why he wasn’t included before. With the bad injury before as well, I see a young player who the decks are stacked against.

I understand our fanbase just perfectly

Because he had a bad injury last season. Having had no minutes at all for 2 and a half months, of course he is high risk. He needs essentially a pre-season, a few minutes here and there to build up. That won’t apply to the likes of Evans and Aluko who have been playing regularly for the development side. They could drop straight in from a fitness and match practice point of view. Can’t agree on the last bit. People will be expecting him to hit the ground running and he will be getting the Huddersfield first half thrown back on his face at the first sign of an error.

It’ll be a poor decision if he is put in at this stage. You can’t put a young guy in who hasn’t had any minutes since mid-August, straight in, with the pressure both of the teams form and also the spotlight over his own inclusion (or lack there of) and expect him to hit the ground running. Not to mention injury risk coming in from the cold. It will either end up with him getting injured or having large sections of the fan base turn on him for making mistakes. Marti has made his bed and he needs to deal with it.

I get excited about the next season when the current one goes to shit But sadly you are likely right. I live in hope that we can let Daka, Soumare, Winks and Ayew go without feeling the urge to offer new contracts. Unfortunately, Vestergaard and Faes are 2027 so I have nightmares that they are our starting defence against next year! BDR, VK, Thomas (even though we could have been rid) and Skipp are the worst ones that will be left.