Dr Gloom

it didn't prevent the old recruitment team from getting business done with time to spare. they signed bruno and trippier in a january window when relegation was on the cards. the new set up might yet get it right, but they're cutting it fine. if the window closed tomorrow, it would be the worst since the takeover. that's why people are moaning on social media.

the club aren't paying me to identify and sign the players

yup, we've had months to upgrade two positions which clearly need addressing. chelsea slightly fucked up our pursuit of a RW by gazumping us on tosen but it has felt a bit rudderless since then. we are getting into panic-buy territory now. i hope they still have long-term targets which they have managed to keep under wraps which they will announce before the window closes.

disagree, like i said. i like schar and burn. i could grow to like kelly. murphy and miggy starting at RW makes me want to smoke crack

guehi and a RW on loan isn't the worst outcome. both positions need to be improved

no idea, but they have had months to figure all of this out. we have days left of the window now. they need to do something - in both positions - but it looks like the time invested in the guehi "saga" has been time wasted. hopefully they don't end up panic-buying. it's not something we've seen since the takeover so far, which i why i think people are questioning the new recruitment system. it's in its infancy, so they're might be a period of adjustment while eales and mitchell find their feet, but we never saw anything like this play out when amanda was in charge. deals were concluded without the media getting wind of it and most signings were concluded so the players could be bedded in with a bit of pre-season behind them.

i'm going to respectfully disagree. burn and schar are good players. we are led to believe kelly is too. krafth is an emergency option and has played more often in that role than we would have liked - solid defender, but he doesn't have the technical ability required to be called upon regularly, which is why i think a loan signing or a younger centre back with potential could fill the gap until botman and lascelles return. murphy and miggy man - do i need to say more? they're not good enough anymore. maybe barnes/gordon is the solution down the right, but we haven't seen much evidence that howe fancies either player in that position so far. it feels like murphy and miggy are the players he is going to use in his sytem at RW - not good enough, sorry.

yeah, i for one cant wait to get back to talking about the shitty ticketing ballot system

is guehi better than anderson? let's forget about the english player tax for a minute. i'm not sure. perhaps @The Fish can give is another player comparison.

i mean we do have cover in that position - we have Schar, Burn, Kelly, Krafth and A Murphy to cover two positions - plus Botman and Lascelles to return half way through the season. a stop gap loan or a cheaper younger player with potential, to eventually replace Schar, would give us the cover we need until the other two get back from injury. it would also mean we have more to invest on a much-needed RW. i hope we can do both. we need a RW and a CB. i think the window is a failure however if we begin yet another season with miggy and murphy at RW as they're no longer good enough for where we aspire to be. the ideal scenario is they secure Guehi (if he is indeed their top target) AND a quality RW, but the mood music around the club doesn't suggest that will happen and i think that would be a mistake

You literally just said we started two full backs at CB in the last game. I was under the impression that Kelly was signed as a CB who could provide occasional cover at LB, a bit like Dan Burn so I won't dig him out too much for struggling at LB the other day. Hopefully he'll be able to do a job in that position in some games, a bit like Burn can.

yeah, and the hope was miggy would continue his form last season but it was obviously a once in a career purple patch and he has since reverted to type. i'm still haunted by that tap in into an open goal he fluffed because he couldn't bring himself to use his right foot. it really is time to upgrade that position

Burn isn't a fullback man, howay. we've done that one to death. krafth is an emergency option. I would prefer to see kelly in there.

i won't care either if we sign him at that price and he turns out to be mint. i just think we're desprate for a RW. it's the weakest area of the squad. unless howe starts playing gordon out there - i think he has to if we don't upgrade that position this window.

yeah, let's go into another season with murphy and miggy as first choice RW (six goals between them last season) - they're sure to fire us back into top four contention. i like both players, they're honest grafters and always try but let's get real - they should be rotation options. if our saudi overlords are to be believed and they want us to get to number one, we can't be going into another season with steve bruce-era players fighting it out to start in a key forward position.

No one questioned Isak because a) he's a striker and you have to pay more for the players who put the ball in the net and b) he was clearly an elite player plenty of people questioned the gordon transfer for the price (i was among them). it seemed a lot for a young player with potential but the recruitment team were proved right on that case. i hope if they do spend £70m on guehi they will be proved right again but it does feel like a massive roll of the dice to me

i'm no expert either but i don't think you need to be. you can make an educated guess based on what players of similar or greater ability have been traded for in recent seasons. only four defenders have ever been sold for £70m or more: maguire (flop at that price to Man U who have a history of overpaying), gvardiol (hit), VVD (hit) and Fofana (to chelsea who tend to overpay under their batshit new owner)

I don't think they need to sell him. They just got £50m for Olisse. The only way he goes is if we pay massively over the odds. Okay, it might be a draw, as TP puts it, if both sides eventually agree, but someone always wins really, let's be honest. It might be us in the longterm if he turns out to be a big hit but it's a massive transfer fee for a young player to be carrying around on their shoulders - particularly a defender.

@Gemmill i'll put it to you - do you think guehi is worth £70m? if we signed him and he turns out to be an amazing player for us, i'll be happy to admit i was wrong. all transfers carry an element of risk but that would feel like a massive roll of the dice. i think it's telling that no one else has entered a bidding war for him at the price mooted. it's the sort of crazy fee only the likes of man u and chelsea tend to pay. i wasn't under the impression that we have the psr headroom to be competing at that end of the market. or if we are, it will come at the expense of signing a RW, which i think would be a mistake. i will be happy to eat my words if we sign guehi and a quality RW before the window closes.

no, i think i agree with them - we haven't paid what palace are demanding

i just saw the tweet that someone shared on here. didn't read the article and i don't give the mail any clicks unless i have to - so hope was telling porkies, was he?

it's a fair point. isak, bruno and gordon are elite players. they won't wait around forever for the project to catch up with their ambitions. they're all good enough to be playing champions league football. we need to sign another player or two this window at their level or next time liverpool or man city come calling their heads really will be turned.

Schar is class - he's been one of our best and most consistent players since the takeover - and I would be happy to see him as first choice CB for another two seasons, especially since he retired form international football to focus on his club career. Some reinforcements in that position would be great, ideally a promising understudy, who can eventually step into his role. However, I don't see it as much as priority as RW and I question the judgement in spunking our entire summer budget (if Hope is to be believed) on that position when RW remains the one area not to be upgraded since the takeover. If Kelly isn't a true CB, then I'm going to question why we signed him too, because he looked dogshit at LB against Bournemouth

that's not exactly what i said. £70m would a lot for mbeumo too - i think his value is probably closer to £50-60m. what i said was i would rather that kind of money was splashed around on a RW than a defender if psr means we don't have the capital to burn on both positions. that's not the sort of money that typically gets splashed around on defenders - it's what you pay for elite forwards. i know you don't want to hear it but £70m feels like a big overspend on guehi, it would feel like less of an overspend on a forward.