LAM09

Lack of competition doesn't mean player is of less value or should be seen that way. He parted ways with agent shortly after and sealed his move to Gala himself (if reports are to believed). Either way, he'll see at the end of the season if going with just NJ for another season was smart or not.

Fair deal? He was on high wages, which the club wasn't willing to meet or get relatively close to. If there was any real interest in KK, we'd face the same issues. We're not like Real Madrid, where players will gladly come even if it means taking a wage reduction. Two of the names given were signed using the loophole. Last I checked, it was a thing of the past, so I wouldn't expect a £100 million signing in the near future.

Seeing Acheampong on the bench is interesting. He must have gone up quite a bit in Maresca's estimation.

They are so clean. I prefer kits so much more without an ugly sponsor stuck right in the middle.

We couldn't get a deal done for Osimhen but some believe there's a chance we'll sign Kvaratskhelia. It ain't happening.

I feel Guehi will be signed one way or another. Not exactly thrilled by the prospect, especially at the rumoured £50m price tag. I'm sure Marmoush will start one way or another for City, as a WF or alongside Haaland. At £50m, it seems like a smart move, and it doesn't surprise me that most top sides in the EPL have some interest in him. The timing of the next AFCON (starts in Dec '25 because of the CWC) could certainly be an issue considering how our squad is, though.

We've lack real leaders for years & nothing has been done to address that. As things stand, the club have a wage structure and age limit in place where new players are concerned, so these issues will most likely remain for the foreseeable future. Money comes first with this board.

We signed players in two of those three positions. The issue is neither are/were upgrades right then, which doesn't help us at the current point in time. I'd don't expect the club to shy away from their "project", so expect more teens to come.

To be fair, the club clearly made strides to get one, but they ultimately are the ones to blame for not getting one signed, mainly down to money. CF & GK are two positions that can effectively win you games, so you shouldn't be trying to cut corners to save pennies.

I don't know why comparisons have to be made between both, as they couldn't be more different putting aside where they come from. DD was playing in the CL before joining us while NJ was a relative nobody prior to his move. I'll stand by what I've say for months - Jackson's movement would make him a useful winger to stretch defences, but he misses far too many chances (I personally don't see that changing) to lead the line for a club wanting to win trophies at this level.

At least they are continuing to cover their backs with such clause on the off chance.

No, and that one was key reason I was worried about appointing him in the hope he would "learn on the job." I guess we'll find out quick enough how much the board support him doing so should results continue. Once again, I'm not disagreeing. It's just that Roman wanted the best of the best or at least the next best thing. Whatever predicament we might have been in had he still here, it wouldn't have been this one. Do the board support this "project" or not? Time will tell.

I didn't want to jinx it earlier on, but this match went almost exactly as our home fixture against them.

I didn't agree with that. They just aren't comparable to this novice.

Grant was his mate, AVB had just won everything with Porto. Maresca hasn't even managed a full season.

Nothing new there and some say we don't need another CF.

He wouldn't have been appointed to begin with, tbh.

No shot on target since Palmer's goal. Exactly the same as our fixture V Fulham.

We've had a few big chances since scoring. We need to be clinical.

Games played has no relevance at all. Once again, we lost a midfielder, we gained one. The concept isn't difficult to understand.

Jackson should have hit the target at the very least and made the GK work.

He really is ice cold. The composure to take his time and tuck it away with easy. Lets build on his goal today.

We sold a midfielder, KDH was brought in to fill that void. That's why I'm mentioning the two. KDH should have never been bought & screamed Drinkwater vibes the moment the rumour started to circulate. I'm talking about the players they were brought into replace, not what is currently at the club. Tosin came on a free, so his signing was a no-brainer. Half of the players you mentioned are exactly that - limited.

At least Maresca is learning from some of his line up choices from previous weeks and is starting a natural RB. I hope Josh hits the ground running on his first PL start as well.

I'd say so, with TAA being the obvious other name who can't defend to save his life. James' subpar performances at times for us have come when managers want to limit him at RCB, which is such a waste of talent. The better weather might help him with his injury problems like it has done with Kante. Either way, the Saudis want a marquee English signing, and he would be exactly that, injury history or not.