LCFCJohn

Personally I don’t have too much of an issue with selections. The centre midfield is poor but until James has come in, options are limited with Winks being a want away during the window (supposedly). Ayew is not a good striker. He has good qualities but I think he is much better deeper. But the only alternative has been Daka until deadline day. Monga and Page are fine. Monga seems better affecting the game from the bench than starting. He is getting plenty of minutes apart from today. Page started the last couple so can’t do much more. My only real issue is centre back and the exclusion of Nelson based on one poor first half against Huddersfield. Watching Okoli not challenge in the build up to their first goal today and Vestergaard doing Vesty things, well, if Nelson is so much worse than them, just flog him to any buyer in January because he has no future with us if that’s the case!

Is it that or just that a lot of our players are actually rubbish though

Teams out and the ref nowhere to be seen. Shocking

Not going to make comments like send him back but what an utterly thick player on that showing. No need at all.

Good to see we have sign another thick t**t then!

Defensively an absolute shambles. But it’s ok for any of our defenders to be crap and get picked week in week out as long as their name isn’t Ben Nelson of course! Huffing and puffing in attack as well but at least Ayew has done something!

Not a fan of this. It’s a bit odd that a side that finishes 6th can go up finishing 20 odd points behind but it’s been the case for what, 35 years and the numbers show that the better side most often come through. 8th though is much nearer mid table so seems really undeserved.

I suspect so yes. I just wondered whether a combination of not having got another offer and potential bitterness towards Wednesday could make the unusual happen (as very few cross the divide). But I suspect he will hold out for a bigger move. Be interesting to see who goes there. Still potential to have a good season as a few defeats can be turned around, Forest and Blades themselves made the playoffs in the season Forest went up having both had bad starts. As I say, I get what the owners are trying to do but it has been too much too quickly and not worked.

I do sympathise with Sheffield United as I know what they are trying to do. Since 2016, apart from half a season with Slavisa Jokanovic, they have had Chris Wilder and Paul Heckinbottom. They panicked and went back to Heckingbottom when Jokanovic was sacked and likewise to Wilder when Heckingbottom was sacked. Jokanovic was the first ever manager they had that wasn’t from England, Scotland or Wales. In 2021! Obviously Selles is now the second. They clearly want to try and modernise and branch out. They tried in 2021 and it failed so they want back to the tried and tested Yorkshiremen. They have tried again and it has failed. Obviously having home grown managers, as with players, is a good thing. But I can see how they might be feeling a bit limited and trapped given their history. It could be interesting to see whether Rohl would be tempted to cross the city divide or not.

I never said you can force them to go. I agree with your points in terms of the barriers, such as the stupidly high wages we have given, or when we need to cover the amortised fees for players we have overpaid for and you mentioned some others. However, we have had years where we only seem to have sold for big money or players have walked for free. Whilst other clubs have made bits here and there from deadwood. You then have to ask was that totally unavoidable or due to added negligence on the clubs part. You give Tielemans as an example. Yeah ok, probably was the case when he had a year left. Many players at that point, will take the chance of holding out that year. This is why people mention the two year rule, either a new contract or make it clear they are for sale (again not saying it is as simple as making sure that always happens but have we even tried). @honeybradgermakes a great point and gives a counter example to Tielemans with Iverson who has gone on record as wanting to leave to play football but the club messing him around and not entertaining fair values. If you think the club have done everything in their power over the years to stop the amount we have lost on frees then fair enough. I disagree and think this summer does show that we can if we need to. To repeat, I am not saying we should have avoided anyone going on a free, just that we need to do better like we have this summer.

You’re being completely pedantic and you know it. We’ve had so many leave for free that would have been possible to move on even with the points you raise (which I don’t disagree with them as points). You only have to see the business we did this summer, JJ, Ndidi, Coady particularly to see it is possible when the club put their minds to it. Those 3 were all on large wages as well as the other factors yet we made the moves happen which was much improved. I’m not saying it’s easy in every case. But how often have we said that others clubs would manage to shift their dead wood and we can’t. Anyway, the original point was about Nelson so things like high wages and covering amortisation etc won’t apply. A young, English player will have interest so my point was, rather than leave him rotting on the bench until he walks for free, actively at least try and profit from him.

Actually try to sell them before they get to the point where they are out of contract….

Maybe not. But it sure as anything could have been a damn sight worse given the want away players, uncertainty over outgoings and lack of any incomings. Just because on paper, the players are better (are they really though) than most other clubs in the league, the above factors create a situation where that doesn’t necessarily mean anything. The fact he has managed to steady things early on is impressive to be fair.

I want us to. The thing I was most looking forward to this season was Nelson at the heart of the defence. But clearly he is not fancied, our fans would seemingly rather see Vestergaard and Faes play. What reason does he have to sign a new contract? Would you if you were him? And on that basis, we either piss around keeping him on the bench until his contract runs out or make some money from him. I agree with your post being the ideal and I agree. But from his point of view, when most of the fans don’t seemingly even want you to be given a chance, it’s time to move on and be loved elsewhere. It’s what I’d do if I was him. And if I was his agent I’d be refusing to sign a new deal. Fan of the club or not.

We need to stop letting players walk for free, especially those we aren’t using. He is still young and well thought of enough (and English) that we can make a decent amount from him hopefully.

It will be interesting to see how the new signings get on and as far as incomings are concerned, it will depend on this and where we are in the table. Outgoings wise, I think just continue to try and shift some that contracts are close to being up and avoid losing for free, whilst ensuring we have enough depth. Sell Daka - if Carranza settles, try and shift. Look to bring someone in based on where we are and whether we look like going up. Winks/Soumare - one would be a result. If we could shift both I would be we would need a further addition if so. Kristiansen - obviously not in his last year but still sell. Nelson - Souttar will be back by then as well. A bit of pure profit as well. In Probably same story as the summer, centre midfield and striker but targets would depend on who we sell and what our ambitions are at that point.

We do need to balance now with the future though. Vestergaard and Faes are proven not to be Premier League quality. Okoli jury is out and Nelson won’t be as we will have stunted his development. If promoted, we will go into the season with no centre backs of Premier League quality and given our lack of investment, relegation would be a foregone conclusion again. Playing Nelson this season would in no way harm our chances of promotion but he’s the only one who could be Premier League quality but won’t be as he isn’t being given a chance. He probably will become a good PL quality defender but needs to move on from us to get there. As well as being less equipped on the pitch, we need to make big sales to sustain ourselves. Nelson would be a good shout for that but we are now in a position we will need to sell him for what we can get in January or next summer or he will walk for free in the summer of 2027. Such poor planning and the amount of fans lapping up Vestergaard and Faes is disappointing.

It’s things like Barnes getting criticism for ‘doing nothing else’ despite getting into double figures for goals in the PL. KDH, when he was on like nearly 30 goal contributions and our most important player in the Championship, people ran out of opportunities to criticise him on the pitch so it because about he’s not one of our own because he’s from Nottingham (born in Nottingham but grew up in Shepshed so yeah, ok) and supports Man U. The bizarre prejudice is there. Maybe as you say, a minority compared to the overall fan base but still a larger minority than it should be.

We just have a lot of fans who go to such lengths to justify the non-inclusion of academy players. Same with Nelson where people are clamouring for Vestergaard and Faes ahead of him. KDH and Barnes took loads of criticism when they were young coming through. Thomas was given all of about 2 games before fans wrote him off and his confidence tanked. Chilwell as well. 3 of those combined raised £125mill or so when sold but if our fans had a say, they’d have been left in the reserves in the first place as they ‘weren’t ready’. And yet when Nelson for example, walks for free when his contract end, these people will be moaning the club is clueless and can’t raise big fees any more! I’m all for bringing players through. For balance, whilst agreeing with your posts on the subject mostly, maybe your expectations are slightly too high but only in the debate as to whether they start or get minutes from the bench. In Evans case, if we aren’t offering the latter, why would he want to stay? We do have such an odd fanbase in many ways but the lack of pride in bringing our own through is quite bizarre. Most clubs and their fans love seeing their own make it whereas ours are constantly pulled down.

Just a good job it wasn’t Forest that they played and beat! If it had been, Forest’s owner would be going to CAS to have Grimsby removed from the competition and them reinstated!

3 keepers out since the end of last season and 2 brought in. Still a trimmed down squad in that area no?

Given he settled down and played well after that, it should have been moved past immediately. We have watched the same players be poor week after week and still get in the side. Yet an academy player has one poor 45 half and that’s their ‘audition failed’. We don’t deserve to keep hold of these talents.

I said this before about him being in the last two years now of his contract. This is the time to get players on a new contract or sell. From his point of view, why would he sign a new contract? In the next 10 years or so as he reaches and goes through his peak and into his 30’s, I’d back him all day long to be consistently be operating at a higher level than the club (when he moves on). The only way to keep him is to build the defence around him and show him he has a future here. As he is fourth choice, I think it would be bad sense from him to commit his medium term future here. I’d love to see him at the heart of the defence but I just think the business sense is to sell in January or the summer. He deserves to play and if that’s not here, he needs to think of his career and move on.

This is true. Look at Nelson as an example. Many seem to have written him off due to one poor 45 against Huddersfield. The same people will be piling on Monga the minute he has a poor game as well.

God, Nelson is really never going to live down that first 45 minutes against Huddersfield is he! He could move on and be playing in the Champions League and for England and there’ll be some on here who will be patting themselves on the back and convincing themselves it was right to move him on as he had ‘that first half against Huddersfield’