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If he continues to bench Ayew and Soumaré on the bench, that will be a plus in his column. No issue with them coming on as subs if need be this season, but they should not be starters. Again, a lack of Nelson in the squad is concerning. But otherwise I think he's working with what he's got. It won't happen, but if we signed an actual striker and a superior left back in January, I think that would help Cifuentes immensely.

I'm really keen on Thierry Small. Don't think he'd move in Jan though.

2 starts, 2 goals, 1 assist. What a lovely start that is 😍.

Withholding judgement until he at least gets a start at some point...but so far, not seen much to warrant him getting one. Feels like a 3rd choice striker at the moment, rather than the first choice we desperately need.

This is pretty much exactly what Jed Wallace said on the NTT20 podcast last week: Reverse fixtures are going to be very, very different for teams like Cov and Boro. Not to say they can't still maintain this form, but teams will treat them quite differently, and the stakes will have changed re: what other teams are gunning for.

Reasonably happy with that lineup. Disappointed Nelson isn't even in the squad again, but on paper that team should be pretty much our best 11. Fingers crossed we get a good win here. And if it's a good performance, all the better. 🤞🏻

1-0 Wolves

Aluko and Page starting, so definitely not in the squad for Swansea. Sigh.

He's losing me. In fact, he might have lost me. I don't think he has what it takes to get the most out of this squad. I get that we're not very good, but the chance creation and attacking threat is abysmal.

1 shot on target all game is disgraceful.

Unfortunately, I think this is the start of Marti losing me. We're not very good, and he's not making us any better.

Really poor subs from Cifuentes. FFS.

Oh dear

Equaliser!

Trying not to be cynical, but a bit worried about this game. We're not creating many (if any) clear cut chances at the moment, and when we do there's nobody to finish them off. I think Ricardo might be our top scorer at the moment? Also a bit concerned about playing a high line against Wrexham. They'll love sitting deep and countering, getting crosses in behind our defensive line for forwards to run on to. I think Vestergaard has played relatively well so far this season, but his lack of pace is going to get exposed. Hoping it all just clicks, but not sure how or what might trigger that at the moment.

I think Soumaré had an okay game, aside from the error that lead to the goal...and a few misplaced passes. But he doesn't offer a lot of drive or energy in midfield (at least not until the last 15), and we really needed a player grabbing the game by the scruff of the neck. I think JJ can do that. Soumaré cannot.

Whatever happened on the training ground must have been rough, that brace thing he was wearing today did not look fun! At least it's healed up, and seeing him on the pitch I wondered if he would show us anything to give Thomas some competition. I had, however, forgotten that he is poor with bouncing balls over the top..and so it proved. I don't know why, but I had so much hope for him when he signed. Don't understand what's happened to that player, and the one that played well for Bologna not long ago.

Hope Owynn or someone asks why we took off JJ at half time. He was knitting play together nicely at times, and just needed dropping deeper.

What frustrated me the most about that game was how many times, under no pressure at all, we just passed straight to the opposition. Guys, you're considered reasonably talented, highly paid professionals in your sport. How can you not pass effectively?!

Not good at all. Started the game well, went behind to a great goal, helped by a Faes/Soumaré brain fart. Then did **** all for most of the rest of the game. We lack ideas. We lack cutting edge. Three draws in a row now. Marti needs to buck his ideas up.

I'll give him more time, but he's starting to lose me a bit. I don't understand what we're trying to do. No threat going forward whatsoever, and a concerted press has largely vanished.

I keep forgetting Ayew is even playing. We are playing alright, but there's no focal point. Ricardo drifting in from right back looks more like a striker than anyone else on the pitch right now. Ridiculous. He can't do everything! As for the goal, Faes shouldn't have gone down, but I think it was Soumaré who completely lost his man.

The starting 11, I kind of get. But no place for Nelson, Page, or Aluko on the bench over BDCR and Kristiansen is pretty disappointing. Fingers crossed we get an early goal, make it comfortable, and Carranza can come on to force his way into that 11.

Assist for Sammy!

You can see why Ayew has played out wide so much in his career in that sense, as he always seems to drift out that way. I'm really, really hoping Carranza is set to start next game, and that Cifuentes has just been trying to bed him in. Ayew is just not a number nine, and far from the focal point we need to succeed this season. Edit: On topic, you've got to love the impact Monga makes when he comes off the bench. Think the crowd love it too.