Panto_Villan

I feel like your posts should be less levelheaded given your username / creepy Lange smile avatar.

It's good to see that VAR is starting to look a bit better this season, given it seems to have been successfully adopted by every other sport ever. It'll probably take a few years before they find the sweet spot where it improves decisions without slowing games unnecessarily, but it's a price worth paying imo. I find the VAR actually makes things more interesting in rugby when there's a try with dubious grounding etc because watching all the camera views is kinda cool, especially in the stadium when you didn't necessarily get a great view first time. The other thing I'd like to see that works well in rugby is players being cited after the game. I think it's kinda crazy that there isn't an official inquest when one player badly injures another (i.e. what happened to Wesley) and long suspensions being handed out for any foul / reckless play. If used sensibly it could really help cut down on blatant diving, too, which could only be a good thing.

I'm hoping the board don't consider Dele to be a surprise midfield statement signing that will put us on the map!

I guess it depends whether you think "target" means something aspirational or whether it's the minimum expected from us. I use it to mean the latter. You've got to feel that the top 8 last year are a lock to be top half this year, which means there's only two spots up for grabs in the top half. Leaving aside the (very significant) luck factor, are we really one of the strongest two of the remaining 12 teams? Better than say Everton? We probably over performed with our squad last season, and I think keeping Grealish and our new signings solidify us to a position where I now expect us to be out of the relegation fight. Top half seems a stretch and I think Dean would be rightly annoyed if that were his target.

Agreed, but the flip side of that is that patience is required. If someone is being assessed on the final league position then you can't really form an opinion of their performance until that is known. I'm sure that's how the board will see it too - set the manager a target, and unless we're adrift at the bottom of the PL at Christmas then he'll have the time to either succeed or fail. And I think as fans we owe him the same. I don't think there's any chance we'll be in the top ten this season, and I doubt our owners expect it either!

I suspect PL players and managers don't spent much time reading the opinions of fabs on online forums, so I think they'll have plenty of time to bed in this season. Even if the fans turn against the players it won't really be obvious for a number of months, so a more measured approach is kinda going to be enforced this season imo.

To echo what Kenji said above, I don't think 17th is going to be acceptable this season. I think the board will get rid of Dean if he hasn't progressed up to 14th by the end of the season - they've spent a lot of money and they'll want to see clear upward progress. Much as I like Dean I think that would be entirely fair.

You've certainly come to the right place

I think that's a smart move from the club. No use him sitting on the bench here at that age.

Out of interest, how many of those clubs were newly promoted? I feel like there's a difference in prospects between clubs on a downward spiral and those surviving the jump up from a lower division, and I'd be interested if the stats bore that out?

Really interesting post. Logged in just to say thanks!

We barely touched the ball for most of the first half. I think there was an alternate timeline where we put away another of those chances after the red card and the self-belief of the team (and fans) continued to grow, leaving us well placed for the tough games we have coming up ... but it didn't happen. Problem now is that we're going to need to nick some unlikely points against the bigger teams if we're going to stay up. I still believe we'll do it - particularly as both Samatta and Davis looked tidy - but we've made life a lot harder for ourselves today.

I thought he looked great today. Loved that turn and take and it's great to see a headed goal. We're almost certainly going to need a huge performance from him for the rest of the season if we're going to stay up, so it's good to see him get off to such a bright start.

F*ckin yes! Think Samatta is going to be great for us.

Be interesting to see if a replacement centre back appears too. I'm sure they're looking for someone?

Lots of people have said it already, but if he's cheap (even better if he's on a free transfer as suggested) then I think bringing him in is a good move. We need squad depth and he doesn't have to set the world on fire. I would have liked a bigger name but the club have made some good signings recently, so I'll trust their choice. Welcome Borja!

Yeah, this I how I feel too. I seem to remember there were extended periods where people called him the "Belgian Heskey" back in the day too, because he was crap for us for a while too. I mean, he can't have just forgotten how to play football, right? If we're going to give someone an extended run in the first team then the ideal is a proven PL quality striker - problem is there don't seem to be any of them on the table right now. In the absence of that it's a question of whether you get someone trying to recapture past glories or someone trying to deliver on unproven talents, and I'm not necessarily averse to the first option. Edit: Rose tinted glasses aside, I'm quite a bit less keen if he is indeed currently injured as the poster above said. It's important whoever we get is able to slot into the team now.

Dunno, a lot of people here seem to agree with you too. But the way I see it, we're not exactly flush options and we're also signing a highly promising child who may mature into an excellent striker in 2-3 years, so the fact Benteke will be over the hill in a few years doesn't bother me so much. Don't get me wrong, I think it's perfectly valid to question whether he'll be able to deliver for us based on his form over the past few years. I just think form is temporary and class is permanent, and for strikers a lot just comes down to confidence and outright blind luck. But yeah, he'd be a roll of the dice.

I'd **** love it if Benteke came back. If he was even half the player he was back in the day he'd be a great addition to the squad. Man was an absolute beast. Did a lot more than just score goals when he was on the pitch too. That said, I'd also very much like him not to be the only (grown adult) striker we sign this transfer window.

The most excited I've been since we signed Jordan Bowery!

I rather liked Aly and I wish him well at his new club.

I'm seriously glad it's the Americans that have decided to take on FIFA's corruption issues - the FBI et. al don't mess around. I imagine there will be a lot of people in FIFA who are sh***ing bricks right now, and I'm loving it!

I had a LOT of doubts when Sherwood took over, but he's really done well. Good on him, and long may it continue!

Caught it on MOTD and we thought looked pretty good - impressed by Benteke's and Hutton in particular. (But then that's based entirely on highlights.)