13 Mar 2026 14:39:38
I'm going to withhold judgment on LR at least til the end of the season but the eye test says we're playing better offensively and the stats back that up by saying we've created the most xG in the PL since he joined and we've outperformed that xG too.

Defensively we're still suspect but pretty much everyone on here agrees we need a better GK and a CB, so unless we switch to parking 10 men behind the ball, we're likely to still see mistakes at the back until we make signings.

Most of our dropped points since LR's come in can be attributed to Red cards which were an issue before he joined too. So given all of that I struggle to see how LR's being written off already. Do I think he's the long term manager for us? Most likely not. Is he an improvement on Maresca? Possibly but it's too soon to tell. Will we challenge for cups/titles under him? It depends on signings imo. If we were to get Luis Enrique in the summer but stay with the exact same squad now, we'd undoubtedly see some improvement but we'd likely still be in a similar position we are now.

1.) 13 Mar 2026
13 Mar 2026 15:16:12
Fuser, as always, enjoyed your post, mate.

2.) 13 Mar 2026
13 Mar 2026 16:10:08
Fuser, you make some good points. As for signings, I don't expect any that will excite the fans or immediately improve the squad. Also, we must accept that we are not at the top table anymore; top class players want to win trophies and often want to play for elite coaches.

The best we can hope for is to keep our better players like Enzo and Palmer.

3.) 14 Mar 2026
13 Mar 2026 23:04:48
I agree about signings Jimbo. Personally I'm stuck in 2 minds, at least in terms of GK. I haven't really watched much of Penders but he was highly rated before we signed him and he's apparently done well at Strasbourg on loan. There's also interest in him from other sides such as Tottenham etc. So it's a tough call there. If he's willing to go out on loan again next season or 2, I'd perhaps look at an Oblak or Kobel maybe to come in for a season or two (although I don't think either are the play out of the back type keepers needed for the type of football we want to play). If he's not then I think we should probably try integrate him and he becomes our no1 at some point next season with Sanchez dropping to no2 as I don't see Jorgensen wanting to stay. There isn't many standouts out there except maybe the Porto GK, who I haven't really seen either. But if we sign him I imagine Penders will want to leave.

At CB, we definitely need a clear out. Disasi, Badiashile, Tosin all need to go imo. Chalobah too perhaps but he'd be the last of the 4 i'd sell. M.Sarr has looked okay so far in his minimal minutes & Anselmino was playing well at Dortmund so I could see one being integrated into the team and the other going on loan. I'd also look to Achaempong going out on loan to be a starter somewhere as he needs to be getting more minutes than he currently does.

I don't think the likes of Bastoni will leave Italy, and I'm not too sure what other peak CB's are out there. Schlotterbeck maybe but he's more of a LCB and we need to probably be looking more for a RCB imo to partner Colwill (and I think Schlotterbecks had quite a few injuries too). I'm not too sure how well he's been playing over the last year or so, but perhaps Rudiger on a free to provide some experience?

I don't really see us signing a ST or selling one except Jackson. Guiu will likely go on loan, and so we'll have Delap, Pedro & Emegha as our options imo. I know some on here want Delap gone as he hasn't really hit the ground running but we need him in order to meet HG quotas, so I don't see him leaving, which means I don't see another signing.

We could potentially see some movement in CM & LW but it all depends on interest in our players and availability of targets imo. Quality wise I think we have enough options at CM, the issue is injuries. Essugo has looked pretty decent when on the pitch and everyone knows Lavia's quality. But if they get injured between now & the start of next season we will probably need to cut ties and look for someone else. Fernandez is linked with RM, but I'm not sure I see them paying €100m for him and I'm not sure we sell for anything less than that but we shall see.

LW is a problem position. Garnacho has actually slightly impressed me. He's certainly played better than I've expected but I'd have him more as a rotation option than a starter. Gittens has been well below par but I just don't think there's anyone out there who will take him off our hands except a loan.

I think we might see Barco or Moreira come in from Strasbourg in either case but honestly I don't think we'll necessarily see any big names come in. If Fernandez leaves, maybe we go for Anderson but he's only 23 so not that peak experienced player everyone's crying out for.

I think most on this board will likely be very disappointed with our summer transfers.

4.) 14 Mar 2026
14 Mar 2026 09:20:19
Fuser, I think that most on here agree that Sanchez and Jorgensen aren't good enough. It seems that the club are pinning their hopes on Penders. He has had good reports but I have never seen him play. Is he ready to be No 1 keeper next season? Another season of Sanchez will finish me off.

If it was down to me, I would go for the Sunderland keeper, Roefs, and get rid of Sanchez and Jorgensen. As for Anderson, a very good player, I think he will end up at Man U or Liverpool.