OTF

Results this season are not often going as expected.

I can't see Ramsdale being the long term option if we wish to proceed. He could be a long term backup option though if he's happy to have a Harperesque career here. Otherwise it looks likely that he'll continue to be a journeyman keeper. At this stage I reckon we could push to get Trafford in in January if Man City are ok with Ortega as their backup.

He looks exhausted out there. He'd never say it himself but Howe needs to give him a rest. It's not like we're killing it in the set pieces with/because of him. I like that Howe is using Miley more, though it's Joelinton who has been most sloppy pretty much all season.

Shit result. What a strike that was by Bruno. I've criticised his ability to hit a shot in the past but that was majestic.

Meanwhile Gordon is starting on his own up front.

We'd be silly to accept an offer like that, he has been improved in his time here and given he has the physical attributes to be the perfect player to fit in Howe's system. Has another 3 years on his contract and is still a young 22 in terms of development and football maturing. By the time you consider signing and loyalty bonuses there would be stuff all profit in selling him for €20m. He's a good player to have on the bench at this stage of his career, and for us, with our lack of striking options we can't afford to sell without replacing.

It's right there in the name, you have to trust him. Also, I will now be hoping for DR Congo to win the whole thing!

Just reading "Pope side-step" makes me nervous.

Here's hoping the specialists can identify the cause and have an appropriate treatment plan. The great luxury of not needing him to play with our depth means there is no need to hurry his back. Meanwhile Wissa...

Pope indisputably makes some brilliant saves through his positioning, reach and anticipation.

Agree totally, I don't think either are our mid-long term solution. Pope has been great for us in patches but he's too volatile and has directly cost us on multiple occassions. Ramsdale historically is also prone to mistakes and isn't big enough in an Eddie Howe team. Trafford is still a good shout, he's more or less the same height as Pope and is better with the ball at his feet. Man City having signed Donnarumma on a 5 year deal puts pay to him making a claim for top spot there so for every good reason he'll be wanting to go somewhere where he will genuinely be backed to be first choice. For that he won't get a higher profile option than us. Do wonder what sort of wages he'd be on at City and how much they'd be looking at for the transfer.

2/3" is 0.7cm or do you mean 2-3" (5-7.5cm). There's apparently 10cm difference in their heights; 1.88 versus 1.98m. But the key differentiator is that Nick Pope is taller than pretty much all outfield players in the league (apart from being the same height as one in our team and slightly shorter than another in our team!). Whereas just about all teams have a couple of players as tall or taller than Ramsdale. There's more difference when you take into to account arms as the taller you are generally the longer your arms (Pickford aside). Height is generally a big advantage for keepers as long as they're still relatively agile and can get down. My point is that Pope has an advantage in regards to commanding the box and Ramsdale will never be able to overcome that. That said I don't think Pope is particularly great at commanding the box given his size, he should be catching more than he does.

Yes, and you can make different decisions if you're taller and bigger than all of the opposing players.

This is really mosly due to Pope being a few inches taller and a bigger frame.