Pick Good Name Later

He wasn’t as awful today as some are making out. Tough debut, admittedly. Room to grow. He needs time, and games, but we shouldn’t be writing him off. The writing was on the wall today when Doucoure outpaced him on a 10yd sprint when he was 5yds behind. He didn’t look quick. There is a player in there somewhere though.

Watching the NLD earlier and watching how Arteta closed out the game defending a single goal lead. Made changes, but kept the same shape, structure and players playing in their proper positions. Admittedly sat back with 5 to play but never looked in any danger of conceding. The narrative of bringing on defensive reinforcements to see out games when you’ve had a structure and formation that’s served you well for 85+ minutes and got you to the scoreline makes little sense. Throw in a couple of individuals that have had zero game time, will clearly be off the pace and are playing hopelessly out of position you must ask yourself, why? What logic concludes this is a good plan? Cooper - Take a note on what your piers are doing. Learn and ffs, be better. Be a lot better.

How do you defend this? Inept at best. to go from having good control (credit where credit is due) to conceding a game with this ‘game management’ I believe we have a squad good enough to survive. That said, our undoing will not be our ability, but the chap entrusted with ensuring our safety. I struggle to see how this is defensible.

Agreed. And whilst Ayew and BDR aren’t going to get us off our seats. They’ve represented success at clubs that we are wanting to emulate this season. Clubs which the main goal has been survival. Not saying for a moment the strategy is a guaranteed success. That will be down to Cooper and how he reads the broader picture and recognises the need for a blended approach. This, for me, is the question mark and not our approach of bringing in experience to the squad.

Linking in a couple of threads here. I don’t believe we’ve had the worst transfer window. We’ve acquired better players than we currently have at our disposal. Skipp is an upgrade. Okali will absorb the reliance on a questionable CB partnership. Buonanotte offers a layer of creativity that has been missing. El Khannouss, again, will add creative depth. Ayew, for all of the question marks has been there and done it, season after season for a team that calling a spade a spade, is an outfit we want to look to emulate this season. Edouard, I believe will provide a goal threat. My overriding question mark from the first three matches. What’s our identity? What are we trying to achieve in the 90 minutes? We have a squad that should have the capability to survive, and better yet, win games. I question the intent and understanding of Cooper to ensure this happens. Sometimes, it’s better you act quickly and address something before it becomes untenable. Rodgers case in point. I worry under Cooper. Has he got a game plan?

I hear the argument. Surely doing this with the security of Premier league safety is the way to do this though? It’ll become significantly more difficult either in the Championsip or falling into the ‘yo-yo’ bracket.

If he plays a part in us staying if the PL come the end of the season, quite frankly, I couldn’t give a f**k on his cost, wage, age, perception, lack of goal return, sexy signing or any other doubt. It’ll be worth it. We’re not in a position to build for the future. We have to live in the here and now. This is the reality. We need to get behind this it and trust in the recruitment process. We’re not the club we once were. We’re in an utter dog fight and this is the profile that is most fitting to where we realistically are.

Zero link to ourselves and may not be the correct thread. Kurt Zouma without a club after a move to the Saudi league fell through. Is this the type of free we should be considering? Captained WHU last season. Proven premier league quality and good experience. A mark up I would argue on our CB’s.

He’s not s**t really though is he? You, or I, would be s**t playing at this level. He’s crafting a career as a professional football which less than 1% of our population make it. Not only this, he’s played at a level which is the top level of elite sport in this country. He’s even represented his country. He may not be Philipp Lahm, Roberto Carlos or Ashley Cole, but he’s not s**t. I think a bit of perspective is needed here. 👍🏻

Released on a free from Inter yesterday. https://www.inter.it/en/news/inter-farewell-sensi-thank-you-stefano

Danny Röhl at Sheff Wednesday has done wonders. From where they were when appointed to bringing them to safety cannot be underestimated. Similar to Maresca in that he has a very good coaching pedigree (Leipzig, Bayern, German National team). Only 35 and seems to be in that club of young European managers coming through and doing well. I believe we wouldn’t go far wrong here.

The way he has gelled this squad together, playing a brand of football almost foreign to most players has been beyond most people’s expectations. For me, a bigger challenge exists. We have a squad that is short on PL players quality. I don’t buy in to the transitioning ‘with ease’ next season suggestion. I’m looking forward with cautious optimism how he builds for next seasons challenge. How he moulds the team. A huge challenge but one I believe he’s well placed to lead.

https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11095/12997167/sheffield-wednesday-owner-dejphon-chansiri-calls-for-fans-to-raise-2m-to-save-the-club-from-three-window-transfer-ban Not sure of the best place to post but found the reading of this article eye opening. We’ve had our moans at the ownership. No more than last season. This however is a pretty bold statement to make.

I don’t disagree on your points re squad depth and young players. Re our form dropping off a cliff. I’d hope not, but it’s possible. I’m not sure this explains why Ipswich could be caught though?

A 17 point gap is insurmountable but if Ipswich win they’re within 2 points of us. Yet we can’t be caught but Ipswich maybe can? They’ve looked equally as impressive as us, if not more at times. Struggling with this.