Dr Gloom

fucking saviet, de jong - we signed so many shite players who didn't give a shit during the ashley years

harsh. a very limited player technically but he always put a shift in. an average player who wasn't the worst player in a shit team. i can think of a few who were worse for us - des hamilton, pinas, gerorgiades, stephen ireland, bassedas, gonzales off the top of my head. obviously we outgrew hayden long ago and it's nuts that he has been on the books this long, but he always seemed like a good egg to me. he cared, at least. unlike some of the other names i listed.

title-winning sides also have depth at CF, which we lack. but yeah, i don't think we're too many signings away from having a squad capable competing at the every top. we've got the right manager in place. four more signings that can go into the first team and why not? the two things that would slow that from happening are failing to qualify for top four again and psr, which would force us to sell to buy.

the spanish brendan rogers

where did i say that you said that murphy was the answer? it's been apparent for a while that RW is the weakest area of the squad. CF is also an area of concern now that wilson looks finished. we have quality in depth at CB that we lack in those forward areas. you're right that murphy retains the shirt if or when we sign a new RW. for how long depends on his form and the quality of the new signing. eddie does like to bed players in to his style of play and to get them up to the fitness levels required, but some get up to speed quicker than others. isak, for example, pretty much went straight into the side.

murphy is papering over cracks at RW. he's been great in this recent run and has developed a real understanding with isak, backed up by his goal contribution stats. but we've seen spells of form like this from murphy before and he has never previously been able to sustain it. miggy is yesterday's man, has been shit for over a year now and howe no longer fancies him - i wouldn't be surprised if he is the one to leave this window. if that is the case, we will urgently need to recruit in that area. RW remains the weakest area of the squad along with CF where our rotation options include a perma-crock and a kid who howe doesn't trust to use as a sub in important games. we're a serious injury to isak away from no longer being able to compete for the top four. the ideal signing would be a RW who can also provide cover at CF. someone like mbuemo would have been perfect, but i don't think we can afford the fee we'd have to pay for him and i don't think brentford would sell in january. if we don't upgrade CF/RW, our top four chances appear to depend on our starting eleven remaining fit for the rest of the season. we have a real chance to cement top four. investing in this window is a gamble given the financial regulations hanging over us, but if it could be worth a punt - securing the champions league money will also mean we can retain the likes of isak and bruno. time for mitchell to earn his money

I don’t think he’s our player of the season for that reason either. At least, not yet. If he keeps this goal-scoring form up he’ll be in the conversation

Gillespie’s good at putting the bets on and the cones out too

Howe loves him though, for his leadership as well as his defending. He’s been absolutely brilliant since being moved back to his proper position this season. We’ve got a real competition for places at CB, which is great to see. We’re only one top CB away from having four top class options in that position. I’m not sure if Kelly can reach the heights of the others yet but it’s early days for him and he’s fine as fourth choice. You’re right that Schar and Botman are our two best technical players in that position but I think Schar’s place is more vulnerable given his form this season, which has been a bit up and down. It’s Burn’s shirt to lose as things stand. I just hope Howe doesn’t shunt him back to LB again in order to keep him in the side. Hall has excelled in that position and our back four looks so much more balanced now we have proper full backs on both flanks.

i know you’re playing the wind up but I would say no because of his slow start to the season. Looks back to his best now though

Second only to Hall so far in terms of consistency

Ahem

3-1 to us. Goals from Temuri Ketsbaia, Mike Williamson, Carl Cort and David Kelly

i was driving back from a weekend away so had to listen on the radio. sounds like a fairly routine win after their early goal. the radio commentator kept saying isak is injured but i can't find anything online to support this wild claim. anything in it?

Tremendous

If Adidas stocked all old shirts from the 90s they’d make a killing

He must have been given a six year deal just before the takeover went through

From what I’ve seen on social media it looks like he’s given a few of them mini holiday breaks

Is Hayden the last one from the Ashley era we want to shift but can’t? Hendrick and Fraser were hanging around long after they were made to feel welcome too but I think they’re off the books now

antisemite cunt. (Gibson, not you)

There’s zero chance of us selling Isak to a direct rival for a top 4 spot in January. We’re not a selling club anymore. It isn’t happening. Fail to qualify for champions league this season however, and that might change. This lad should be playing champions league football every season, he’s that good. He’s already given us one season without it. He’s coming into his peak years now. We probably will be forced to cash in during the summer if we miss out. It’s a big incentive to make this season count