rjenkins

Reina

Guilbert/Elmo Konsa Mings Targett/Taylor

Luiz Nakamba Hourihane

Anwar Davis Grealish

I think we're done for, but it will only take 90 mins to make everything look much different. Don't know how fit Guilbert or Targett are but I think we need our fullbacks to help us more in attack, so Elmo and Taylor would be my second choices there.

33 minutes ago, danceoftheshamen said:

Wow, if that was the starting line up for us next season i would fear a double drop to League 1! Truly shocking and little wonder we have failed to stay up looking at that.

I'm in two minds about it. It's a big drop off in quality from where we are currently, but how much worse it is than say Cardiff's squad for example who are in a play-off spot currently?

At the end of the day we'll be going into a very unpredictable off-season. It could be nowhere near as as bad as that in terms of player departures. If it is I don't think we should be making excuses either. 

15 minutes ago, Demitri_C said:

In my opinion it would be silly to get rid of Heaton luiz and mcginn. We might as well accept being a pathetic championship club like blose. 

We dont need to sell them. If we get 100m for grealish mings and trez thats all we need for ffp and some money to adf some quality players to the existing squad.  Get gayle and che adams. Along with davis and wesley we easily have the best attackers. 

Wed add a couple wingers  a cm and a cb and we are ready.

I really dont think we need more than 6 players

I don't disagree with you, I was just trying to speculate which of our players would generate transfer interest. I also tend to want to start from the worst case scenario and anything else is a bonus.

This is a strange season to be relegated, as the impact on the transfer market and demand for our players is hard to ascertain with any certainty. I highly suspect that Grealish, McGinn and Mings will find Premier League suitors, and I think Engels, Luiz and Trezeguet will likely move on also for different reasons. Beyond that, I think the next most likely player to leave would be Heaton. Despite the injury he is clearly a Premier League quality keeper and at the very least I could see one of the promoted teams taking a look at him.

Before any signings, we could be looking at a starting XI something like this.

Nyland / Steer

Guilbert Konsa Hause Targett

Nakamba

Jota Lansbury Hourihane El Ghazi

Wesley

If that is anywhere near accurate, then we need a central midfielder on top of the winger(s) we are already crying out for most urgently. I don't know how much the likes of Ramsey and Vassilev can contribute, but someone with real pace would be ideal.  After that, we are light at centre back but should have enough to be competitive everywhere else. We may not even lose as many players as I think, but if we do I feel we're in a better position than when we last got relegated.

30 minutes ago, eddiemunster said:

As I've previously posted, the following players are out of contract by end of June 2018;

Terry, Bunn, Hutton, Samba, Agbonlahor, Sarkic, Watkins, Abdo, Blackett-Taylor, Borg, Pastorek, Prosser, Coates, Cox, Idem, Johansson, Stretch, Boucher, Bazeley-Graham, Williams, Rowe, McKirdy and Doyle-Hayes.

Finnerty and Hall have recently been sold.

That will reduce the wage bill by a fair amount, and we won't (in my opinion) miss too many of them, if any. 

I think a few players in that list may have signed contracts already. I'm sure Sarkic, Blackett-Taylor and Doyle-Hayes are all contracted beyond this summer.

Late rumours that Browns are going to pick Baker Mayfield 1st overall. It can't be, can it? 

2 hours ago, zak said:

you wont be happy with whats widely considered the best player of the draft at 4? picking up Barkley and your preferred QB sounds pretty decent to me. you still have 3 x 2nd round picks (33,35 and 64) to work on other areas. It would have to be a good offer to move down, better than just the bills 2 x 1st round picks for me.

I know it seems odd, but I don't think Barkley will be as good as Elliott and isn't the type of running back the Browns need in my opinion.

We already have a good receiving back in Duke Johnson but what we don't have is a tackle breaker who can run effectively inside.

In a draft where there aren't many tackle prospects with a high rating and multiple needs for Browns on defense still in my opinion, I just think Barkley would have to be fantastic to justify attempting to replace Isaiah Crowell ahead of trying to replace Joe Thomas. 

Cleveland Browns

Who do you realistically want to take?

Josh Rosen was my preferred choice, but in recent weeks I've cooled on him.

I think, when it is all said and done, he could be the best QB in this draft. However, I think it will depend greatly on whether he lands in the right spot. Of the Top 4 guys, he's the one I think has the highest bust potential in Cleveland.

Every time I have listened to Rosen's interviews I think it's clear he is hoping to go the Giants. Maybe he'll prove me wrong, but as of right now I would probably take Josh Allen or Sam Darnold and hope like hell that Tyrod plays well enough / stays fit so that they won't have to see the field in their first season.

Who do you think you will actually take?

I think it's going to be Sam Darnold. I think John Dorsey has known his pick for a while and in all likelihood it'll be him. At 4? Who knows. A trade down is probably likely.

Who do you want to completely avoid?

Saquon Barkley. This draft class appears to be deep in the RB position, and I just don't think Barkley provides value at #4

Thank you both for the feedback.

It helps to know I'm not choosing between two options with massive red flags. This is the longest I've stuck with an old handset which is maybe why I'm more enticed by something new and shiny!

On 3/29/2018 at 08:47, Brumerican said:

Cody Kessler to us for a 2019 7th pick.

I like it.

A good move for all parties I think. Nothing wrong with Cody Kessler as a back-up.

Sorry if this has been asked before in this group, but what is the general opinion of Huawei phones?

My upgrade date is coming up in the next week or so, and I was originally looking at the new Sony XZ2 handset, but the P20 Pro seems like quite a bit more phone for a similar contract spend based on my layman understanding.

My main requirement of the phone is battery life and good storage, as I drive for work and so Spotify is heavily used. I'm also in a couple of Xbox online leagues so I have GroupMe running along with WhatsApp quite a lot. I'm not a big photo taker, so a camera isn't the be all and end all really.

What do you guys think?

2 hours ago, tonyh29 said:

Can the Jets re-trade the trade if someone else comes in and really wants that third pick on the day  ?

As far as I am aware, they can. The Browns got the Number 8 pick in the 2015 draft from the Eagles, and traded that pick again to move down to 15 and get more picks, which I suppose is the same principle.

7 minutes ago, Brumerican said:

A healthy Bradford is an improvement on Palmer . 

I am definitely having a fiver each way on the Cards at 100/1 

Agree with you re: Bradford (if he can stay healthy).

I think their division will be ridiculously tough next year though.

3 hours ago, Tegis said:

Browns sign Donald Stephenson, arguably the worst right tackle I've ever seen in a Broncos jersey.

Dorsey drafted him apparently. I think he's the back up for the guy we just got from the Steelers, and Coleman will shuffle back to LT from RT to cover Thomas or start if Joe retires.

On 2/21/2018 at 20:56, Xela said:

As things stand...

Darnold and Barkley

If they signs Cousins then i'll have to revisit! 

I can't see Cousins coming to Cleveland, but we have the cap space so I suppose anything is possible.

I'm a bit surprised it's so unanimous in mocks for Darnold over Rosen, but I haven't watched enough of either yet.

I know this is incredibly early, but in the interests of fun...

It's draft night... you're the Browns GM... You have two top five picks... What do you do?

I feel like the Cousins market won't be as competitive as we're led to believe.

If we're being honest, when you look at QB-needy teams, there are a number of reasons why they may not want to give up all that much for him.

Arizona - Aging team which needs rebuilding in some key areas. It would be a lot of cap to tie up in a QB under those circumstances

Denver - Is Cousins good enough for Broncos to make the jump in that division?

Minnesota - Will Cousins bridge the gap that Keenum couldn't?

At his age I can't see him going to teams which are more than 1 year away from competing either, which would rule out Bills, Browns, Jets etc.

20 hours ago, Xela said:

I think the top 2 QB's may not want to be drafted by the Browns!

I think Cleveland need to 1) get an experienced QB in - be it Cousins, Smith or Bradford and 2) get rid of Hue - you can't keep someone who has gone 1-31

I can't believe Hue is still in a job, to be honest.

I think you are completely right about what Cleveland need to do. What we will end up doing, of course, is trading for AJ McCarron and keeping Hue until the point next season when he inevitably loses the support of the team.

19 hours ago, Brumerican said:

Cleveland can't possibly mess this draft up IMO. The new boss knows what he's doing and I don't think he'll go for a QB with picks 1 or 4 . This is the guy who drafted Fisher IIRC so he may want to find a replacement for Thomas and I don't think they'd pass on Barkley as he'd kill it behind Cleveland's O Line. 

Next year HAS to be the turning point for them IMO and if they get at least a 50% hit rate from their picks they could be dangerous.

1: R1P1

 

RB SAQUON BARKLEY

PENN STATE

4: R1P4

 

OT CONNOR WILLIAMS

TEXAS

33: R2P1

 

QB MASON RUDOLPH

OKLAHOMA STATE

36: R2P4

 

CB CARLTON DAVIS

AUBURN

64: R2P32

 

LB JEROME BAKER

OHIO STATE

65: R3P1

 

DL TAVEN BRYAN

FLORIDA

103: R4P1

 

WR D.J. CHARK

LSU

126: R4P24

 

RB NICK CHUBB

GEORGIA

140: R5P1

 

CB HOLTON HILL

TEXAS

164: R5P25

 

EDGE K.J. SMITH

BAYLOR

179: R6P1

 

C SCOTT QUESSENBERRY

UCLA

220: R7P1

 

QB J.T. BARRETT

OHIO STATE

I think John Dorsey will be under a ton of pressure to take a QB first overall in the upcoming draft. Aside from that (and the fact that Hue Jackson will still be coaching whoever we draft) I like your mock.

I keep veering between being really excited and terrified for the Browns vs. Ravens game.

Our roster is actually looking pretty promising in most spots now, I thought we played well against the Steelers, but Kizer isn't going to find it easy against that Ravens defense.

At this point I'm just hoping that the Bengals really were that bad...

I finished watching Twin Peaks: The Return on Monday, and I still haven't recovered!

I was interested to see what others made of it and I can totally understand the very different reactions. Showtime definitely have to be given a lot of credit for financing the project and allowing David Lynch and Mark Frost so much creative freedom, because at times The Return was like nothing else I've ever seen.

Although I loved the original Twin Peaks series, I do find some David Lynch films very frustrating and there were certainly parts of this series which didn't work for me, particularly in the first half-hour or so of the finale but in other places too.

Overall, though, I think The Return has been brilliant. I'm not sure how much of it I really understand, or if it can indeed be understood fully, but the journey and the atmosphere is probably more important I feel, and I could have stayed in the universe of Twin Peaks for another 18 hours easily. 

I've not being enjoying the show as much this season so far. I'm also watching Twin Peaks: The Return at the moment and I wish now that I'd saved one to watch later rather than trying to be invested in both at the same time.

That being said, this week's show was the strongest of the current series by far in my opinion. I enjoyed Arya's scenes, the return of Bronn and of course the battle at the end from a visual standpoint.

I can't escape the feeling though that the show is ducking out of killing off characters more than ever now, which means it doesn't have the same tension as before. I can understand that there are perfectly good reasons for keeping Bronn, Ellaria, Jamie and Yara alive, but the fact that a major death hasn't yet happened has left me feeling like there is no peril in each battle set-piece.

I feel as though I'm less impressed by Steer than I am unimpressed by Johnstone at this point, but I think we have a competition for the No. 1 jersey on our hands this season.

Both have done well on loan at this level before (Johnstone at Preston and Steer at Huddersfield if I'm not mistaken?) and were highly rated at one point a couple of years ago.

In one sense I'd like Steer to win that battle as he's our player but it would seem ridiculous then to be paying to loan a keeper to sit on the bench. 

We're looking really good so far. I feel like, minus Kodjia, this could be our strongest XI too.

I think this is a deal which makes sense for all parties, although I would have liked us to get a little more money for him. I seem to recall that Clark went for more last summer, and I think Baker is the better player.

The reality is that Nathan Baker is a good centre-half at this level, but he isn't an automatic starter for us and at his age it's totally understandable that he would want to be. In the long run we were always going to move him on eventually. From a buyer's perspective, Bristol City are getting an experienced player that they know plenty about for a reasonable price.