icouldtelltheworld

Strange signing really. I'm not convinced we really need him, but I think signing him is going to be a good thing for us overall. Even if he is past his best, its a clear sign of intent and gives an indication of where we're trying to get to. Interested to see who else we bring in over the summer, and think we might be surprised by one or two who leave

Forest Green have released a really scathing statement about it, said all the discussions have been completely behind their back. Odd choice for him tbh, if they aren't top of the league after about 6 games he'll be fired and could well see his stock fall massively

All sounds very Tony Xia to me... Excellent stuff!

Lump on another 7-2 lads, absolutely nailed on

We were all over them and they just couldn't handle him. Remember him having an excellent game the season before in the Sunderland 6-1 game too. Sad how it all turned out

Was finished as a footballer after Lamberts second season, never really came back from that injury he got falling over the advertising boards against Liverpool. He'd been in OK form though for a year or so leading up to that. If he'd left after that season we'd all have a very different view of his time at the club. Everything that came after that point has tainted things badly really. Part of his problem is that football changed and as he lost a bit of pace his limitations got exposed. He was useful as a second striker supporting Carew, but never had the technical ability to play up front alone or as a wide forward.

Definitely safe walking back to town but might be a bit far for a 9 year old (will take about an hour). My advice would be head for Aston station after the game and get the bus from Lichfield Road opposite the station (65 or 67) back to town - you'll know you're in the right place because you'll see the huge queues for Aston train station on the other side of the road. If you walk one bus stop further back along the road away from town (literally a 30 second walk) you will beat the queue of people waiting for the bus. Might be useful to download the Network West Midlands app beforehand to get an idea of where you're heading - signal is crap around the stadium. Hope you both have a great day

Yeah last season it even got to the point where noses that I know wanted him starting for England. I think he'll come good for City next year but don't think he'll ever hit form like he was in for us the first half of last season again, he was incredible. Had us looking like outside condenders for CL football before the Covid outbreak.

This aged spectacularly. DM me for betting tips lads!

Tbh Bailey only looks an odd signing in hindsight because of his fitness issues, subsequent lack of form and us changing to a manager who doesn't play with wingers. While we've needed a DM for a while, we also lacked a bit of pace in the side last year which I think Bailey was intended to address. I reckon the plan was Buendia on the right, Bailey on the left and Grealish moving into the middle with Watkins up front - and on paper last summer that will have looked a very strong front four. It's only Ings which seems to have been a bit of a panic buy

Could've saved yourself a fair bit of time if you'd just said the bit in bold first

Tbh I looked out of curiosity more than anything else and was surprised that our form had been that bad. I hope there's an improvement between now and the end of the season, but if things carry on as they have been then I very much doubt we will still be 10th in the form table since his arrival when we take stock at the end of the season

I'm not sure this is a fair comparison, if there is no significant up turn in form between now and the end of the season, we could end the year on a 21 game run in which we've barely mustered a point per game (with that 3 game winning run very much a statistical anomaly). Smith was rightly criticised for the poor run from the start of 2021, which carried on into this season and ultimately led to his sacking. There is every danger that we repeat the cycle this year and waste more time and money, with the potential to set our progress back even further. I hope there is an improvement, but as it stands I've not seen enough personally to have faith that Gerrard is the man to overhaul the squad and move us forward.

Over our last 15 league games, only Watford, Everton and Norwich have taken fewer points than us. That is relegation form over a sustained period of time and we are no better than we were when Smith was sacked, with several players having dropped off noticeably. He really needs a strong finish to the season and if things don't improve then serious questions need to be asked, currently he has done very little to suggest he should be trusted with a major squad overhaul

It's a fair point. I think he works very well up front for a team playing counter attacking football, could well be another who doesn't really suit the role he's being asked to play

Fantastic footballer on his day, but I'm not sure he's worth the outlay and am not convinced we'd end up regretting it particularly if he doesn't sign permanently

I thought he had a decent enough game when compared with his general performance level this season, but really today highlighted the good and the bad with him. He will work hard and get himself in great positions, but he's just miles off it in terms of the technical ability which is required for the PL. As such, most those chances will be squandered and come to nothing. Hes a likeable footballer, but also an incredibly frustrating one too.

I think we need one more win to guarantee safety, until we achieve that win then we are in a relegation battle of sorts (FWIW I think there's practically a 0% chance of us getting relegated). Lose the next two games and I'll start to get a bit nervous though, and the longer we go without picking up points the more nervy things will get. You just know that Burnley will win at least one of their games against us, I also can't help feeling that Norwich will beat us on Smith's return. As it stands, I reckon we finish 15th/16th and possibly only 4 or 5 points above the relegation zone. Frankly, that would be a disgrace. (Watch us turn Leicester over tomorrow now and completely change my outlook).

ITK over on scum heath alliance seems pretty adamant that this is bollocks

If he'd broken into the team during our time in the Championship, we'd likely all have a very different opinion of his time with us. A very talented player, just not at PL level. Bit like Peter Whittingham

They also get relegated as soon as they come up, Burnley are only an established PL team because of Dyche. They won't be back without him any time soon

100% this. You get some very condescending takes towards Dyche and Burnley, but he and his players have done a fantastic job during their time in the PL

Looks as though Burnley have sacked Dyche. Crazy decision if so, that's them down

We finish on 44 points or less and I think serious questions would have to be asked. If we were to end up around 14th/15th I wouldn't be of the opinion that he has been enough of an improvement on Smith to be trusted with a significant summer budget

Tbf, so did the rest of us! Still get a bit annoyed that the media narrative around us that season was generally that we were going down because we gambled on a load of French players, rather than going into the season with Tim Sherwood as manager and Micah Richards and Gabby Agbonlahor as our club captains