Boys in Blue

Do you think he’s back up for Hunt? I know we’ve got a few defenders but if Hunt got injured or sold, we’d be relying on Nepomuceno. I don’t think that’s Nepomuceno’s best position so I think left back cover is needed.

Maybe not as much as a striker, but needed

Is Andrew Taylor the sort of steady left back that we need? I don’t know much about him

Depends who else was in for him. He obviously wanted to prove himself over here & it’s not worked out for him. He’s back where he was so I don’t it did his career much good long term.

surprised we got a fee

Me too! Trouser raising stuff, that! 

Or his goal at Anfield.

Who cares if it was done over the phone? Would it be better to do it in the arrivals of Manchester airport?

If someone wants to understand the term ‘poor form’, they should’ve seen January or April/May. That was poor form.

Get yourself on standby for England! 

Listening to Wellens, I think he might be the one who turned down reduced terms. Heavily linked with Millwall at Christmas.

Just made me question if he was fit and just not selected at the end of the season. It wouldn’t make sense for the club to offer him a new deal if Wellens didn’t fancy him.

I really like him so would be very happy if he re-signed for us. 

Played for NI yesterday. Was he injured towards the end of the year? Seems odd that he’d risk get injured again- when he’s effectively out of contract- to play an international friendly.

Anyone know?

31 games is not much to judge on.

The point about all the takeover as a distraction is fair. 

That said, AL has backed Wellens very strongly and when I look at our squad it should be doing better than it is. For me, our squad is better than Plymouth, Bristol, Gillingham and a good few others that are way ahead of us.

On the other hand, should Wellens get sacked because other managers overachieve?

He’s not done a great job, but it’s not the worst job for someone who is learning the job and managing at a difficult time for the club- training must be an odd place, with Omrani, Mouache and the other unpronounceables being around but not really being part of it all.

Wellens must have some wherewithal to have convinced AL to sign Byrne, Doyle & Pringle rather than put in more foreign lads, but it’s fair to think that he could have done a better job with those players once he’d got them in.

I’m 50/50

I thought he was very good last night and did very well- having been booked early on- against Blackburn.

Got forward better than he has for ages and made good decisions. 

Wasn't there today- but just like Lloris last week- that second goal was awful. Gerrard not quick enough but most League 1 keepers save those.

IF some players have played carrying injuries or illness, that moment must've been demoralising. Keeper is a must before Tuesday. Rob Green about to sign for Hudds- I'd take Coleman back if possible 

This might make it more tricky to ship players out cheaply. If players know that there's money coming in they might be more likely to want their contract paid up before they leave. 

I can't help but feel that Shez knew about probable investment but expected it to be done by now- hence his frustration.

I can't imagine that he'd sign a Belgian winger if he thought that would take him to the top of an EFL imposed salary cap. Surely he'd prioritise other areas of the team.

It makes me nervous that we're obviously waiting for money to clear before officially signing new players- hence the keeper has a done deal that isn't official.

Dont know if this is an issue with proof of funds to EFL or the money not having arrived yet.

Think you can sign players under an embargo as long as they're free. Bolton are still under embargo and were under it all last year but still signed players.

Wiki page says he signed for Dale. Hopefully it's wrong, but that's pretty quick for someone from Rochdale. Think they only just got running water so one of them reading and writing is a miracle 

I came away from Saturday really disappointed with the match and where the season is probably heading, but the fault lies with Sheridan. 

The board have put money and commitment in the summer by giving longer contracts to important players like Clarke, brought it decent prospects like Duffus & signed experienced players in Gardner & Davies.

The issue on Saturday is that the squad and team are unbalanced. One (maybe two-I haven't seen enough of the Belgian) left footed player, midfielders that can only perform as part of a three man midfield & a keeper that looks like what you get if you're signing someone the day before the season.

I'd love to see more investment from Corney, but it'd help massively if Shez didn't go to the Harry Redknapp school of Maths. He knew the budget but seems surprised that he spent it all. There are some players who signed this summer who might not get much game time & that's poor planning. Heard Tony Carrs saying that Wagner was successful at Hudds because they had a way that they were going to play and were precise about who would fit in with that. I don't feel like we've done that & Saturday suggests that Shez doesn't know his best team...yet.

Corney will have to find more money to improve things, but Shez will need to get in exactly what he needs or it'll be a long season.

Always got the impression that Kean didn't really love football. Seemed to go through the motions but he'd made his breakthrough at Championship (maybe Prem level?) so people better qualified than me saw something in him. He was average in that loan spell but might be in a better frame of mind now.

John Eyre? 

Dale Stephens took a long time to get going- bit like Kieron Lee- but went on to bigger & better when it looked like he might not. Not rated by manager at the time. 

Watched training then got his Klok out.

Would you all stick with 3 at the back then?

Seems Wilson was good so would you stick with him and keep one of Gerrard or Burgess?

Can't see us signing another defender when we need a striker so badly, unless we shift a few wages.

How did we line up?

I was confused by starting XI!