murphy

We have not been fortunate at all. We have dropped points due to individual errors. We should be higher and we will improve.

Remind me. Which of those has played well?

I expected and still expect promotion because we have the best squad in the league. The problem is that the majority of them were bought to play in the Premier League. They've shown that they are not good enough for that but overall, few, if any have a better squad in this league..

But replacing an attacking midfielder with a defensive one is the problem imo, regardless of the personnel. We chose to retreat when we were dominant with a quarter of the match still to play. Maybe I'm naive but I believe that if you're on top you press on regardless of the scoreline. We handed the initiative and momentum over to Wrexham on a platter.

You could be right in that we are less than the sum of our parts (as yet) and I still fail to comprehend the arrogance of not properly addressing the striker issue.. That said, I still believe we have one of the best squads in the league and I am still hopeful that the manager will get us purring and we will get promoted. As for Ipswich, they too should be demanding more of their squad.

Probably close, but we have finished above them twice running. They have spent in the summer but as we know, spending doesn't necessarily mean improvement. So , if that's it. I stand by my claim that we have one of the best squads in this league.

We should absolutely not admit that. We should recognise that we have probably the best squad in this league and be demanding more from them. If you don't believe that, I would ask you (or anyone) to name a club that has a better squad than we do.

If he had been he would have surely been starting when the other options are Ayew and Dana.

PSR or not, I can't believe that with £60m coming in, we couldn't afford £2.5m. Beggars belief that they never learn and thought that we could get by without buying a proper striker. That will cost us very dear.

It was the other Chuckle Brother last week wasn't it?

I disagree. The squad might be 'average' but it is still one of the best in this league. We have been dropping points left, right and centre and we should be disappointed with what we are seeing. We are below where we should be. I still think we are a work in progress with this manager however and I still think we will get promoted as this league is dreadful.

So did most of FT. I could not understand why the last window was roundly praised here when it failed to address the absolutely glaring problem of not having a striker fit for purpose.

If you had read it properly I was talking about the scandalous failure to bring in a half-decent striker during the summer.

This is not on Marti but I can't believe this has passed us by with barely a murmur. We should be raging. We knew for months that we had a glaring void up front that needed filling urgently and despite £60m coming in we have managed to only bring in the one striker that is even worse than what we had. Absolute dereliction of duty.

Bringing on Skipp was effectively declaring at 1-0 up. Hate that. Effectively choosing to retreat when you had previously been dominating.

No!

My old knackered 2012 vivaro camper van conversion has a warning light on the dashboard. I took it to the garage and they fitted a new ABS sensor. However after that was done the warning light remained. The mechanic scanned it with that plug-in machine thing and it revealed error codes for refrigeration and for air conditioning. The thing is, my van is not refrigerated (never was) and does not have air conditioning so the mechanic was unable tofu it and turn off the warning light. I would like to sell it at some point so that warning light is a proper pain. I know this is a long shot since it has confounded a proper mechanic, but does anyone have any ideas?

If I were taking on Wout Faes for free, I'd want change.

Stolarcyk is going to be quality, not just 'fine' or 'alright'. He is also still developing. We'll look back at this thread in years to come and laugh at the mugs that don't see it.

Not exempt, but developing youth generally, should not be held to the same account as seasoned pros. They are, in the most part, taking a big leap from academy to men's football. Fans need to be patient. In the case of Nelson specifically, we know that he has already impressed at this level, regardless of a poor hal, coming back from injury against Huddersfield, so the risks are fewer and hence the clamour for his inclusion. The other reason being that we want him to sign a new contract and playing him is our best chance of securing that.

I agree with much of what you're saying here but I can't help feeling that the only reason that you're saying that Reid is of any use whatsoever is because you haven't seen hm play for a while. Give it a couple of weeks...

Promotions followed by relegations keeps us in touch. It's the best we can hope for at the moment until we are able to build a competitive team and become financially more secure. The alternative is a slow heat death as we sink into becoming another West Brom

This is true. It is mad to think that without Deeney Day, the title probably wouldn't have happened. However, there is a difference, Pearson's side were a team on an upward trajectory. 2025 vintage hasn't even started the rebuild yet. I think that promotion is vital to clear up our financial mess. I don't expect us to stay up. If we are smart, we go down again with in a position to spend. The longer we stay down, the weaker we become and the likelier we are to become another West Brom.

You would have thought so, but I'm not sure the recent transfer window backs up that assumption. OK, that's a well-argued point but it fails to recognise that in Nelson's case, he has already passed the audition. If we believe what they tell us in Oxfordland, Nelson consistently aced it last year so the idea that he might potemntially lurch from 4/10 to 8/10 is probably unlikely.

But it doesn't maximise asset value surely. Quite the opposite. Faes and Vestergaard are not saleable.