andyc24_uk

No. I'm fed up hearing this '6 defeats = the end of the world' rhetoric - We've had, as far as I'm aware, the toughest opening period of any team in Premier league history (I can't remember any other club ever having played 4 of the previous season's top 5 in their opening 5 fixtures; might have happened but I don't remember it). The Liverpool, City, Arsenal and Leicester games were always going to be defeats - we lost them the second the fixture list came out, and nobody at the club would have been counting on any points from those games. Realistically even if those games had been spaced out through the year, the expectation would be that we would lose them all. The Watford performance was abysmal and players and manager deserve all the criticism they got from that. Against Everton we were significantly better and undone by two individual moments of poor decision-making from Kabak and McLean. So we've actually lost two 'winnable' games, making definite improvements in the second one. We're only 3-6 points behind where we would have realistically hoped to be at this point in the season and, while things absolutely MUST improve fast and anything other than 4 points from our next two games will genuinely start to look worrying - I really don't think it's panic stations yet. There are obviously significant issues, especially in the defence, and I think we need a serious discussion about whether some of the coaching staff are good enough to be working at this level or whether that side of things needs an overhaul. Clearly some players are not premiership quality and completely out of their depth, but - and this is the crucial thing - we have options this year to replace them. Normann looked like a huge upgrade in the middle and a real battler who is going to do big things for us. The likes of Rupp and McLean will know they're probably on their last chances at this point, if they continue to put in poor performances or make moronic schoolboy errors they know they're likely done because there is genuine competition now for places. Pukki, much as I love him, looks off the pace - as he has since that injury late last season. If he can't get his mojo back fast, I can see him starting on the bench sooner rather than later. Same at the back, Williams hasn't impressed me that much to be honest and I'd be surprised if Giannoulis isn't back in for Burnley - Having learned the lesson of what happens when you give a half-ar$ed performance. I do think it's fair to say these next two games are the most important of the season - but writing us off to go down already? No way.

Anyone know when the away and third kits are supposed to be released? I'm holding off on buying a new shirt until I've seen all three of them to pick my favourite, surely can't be the only one doing the same and as I live abroad it would be nice to actually get one through the post before the start of the season. I thought they might release one each week but still waiting...

4th-choice (at best) manager Kane surely on the way out Wouldn't be at all surprised to see Son follow if Kane does go Seemingly no money to invest Ageing squad lacking depth in multiple positions No Champions League Very nice but over-budget stadium financed on the basis of multi-use (NFL, Concerts etc) which isn't going to happen for at least another year-18 months Fans up in arms against Levy due to the whole Superleague nonsense I could genuinely see Spurs ending up nearer the relegation zone than the top 4 this coming season.

The media would love it just so they can run a 'From poker chips to kettle chips' headline... A 1-year deal with someone like Lotus (can't see any other company in Norfolk having 7-figure sponsorship budgets to throw around to be honest) wouldn't be terrible though; A Lotus shirt has the potential to look fantastic and the association with an existing high-end brand if marketed well (something I don't feel we've properly exploited in the past), could grow the club's exposure internationally. if we do stay up we will then be more of a known quantity and in a good position to negotiate a bigger and better deal with a more well-heeled sponsor (realistically one from outside Norfolk) for the following season.

Heise gone, I'd be surprised if we release the others immediately as we'll probably try to find clubs for them, even if it's on a free transfer or another season out on loan but I expect Leitner at least to be paid off and released on a free if he's not moved on by the end of the transfer window. Klose actually I'd probably keep around if nobody else comes in for him, don't register him in the PL squad but he could have value in cup games and as an experienced head and mentor in the dressing room, especially now Tettey has gone. Placheta needs to go out on loan for sure, meaning we probably want to keep Onel around as cover/a different option with some pace. Hugill I don't think is particularly special but hasn;t done anything wrong and offers us a very different option up top for games where it's needed... I think Idah probably needs a season out on loan to be honest, he didn't really get what he needed last year because of his injuries.

I think there are 95-year-olds with one leg who are worth more than two Naismiths...

According to The Athletic, this new deal is worth slightly less than the DafaBet one?! I really hope that's not the case because if we've cancelled one deal early to sign a worse one with this shower of manure then surely heads do indeed need to roll purely for the financial stupidity!

Pereira and Adarabioyo the only two relegated players we've been linked with who I'd be interested in honestly. All three of those teams coming down have a lot of overrated players who are there for the cash grab - These two strike me as having a bit more about them and I think Farke could get the best out of them. Realistically I suspect whoever we bring in will not be on many fans' radars as yet though, as Emi wasn't the summer he came in. Webber will have a succession plan for Emi already lined up though - We know they scout players for months, even years sometimes before signing them so likely there are a few out there who we've been keeping tabs on since at least this time last year and sooner or later, they'll pull the trigger on one of them - perhaps after the Euros if anyone in the mix is playing there.

Omobamidele I hope will be in and around the first team squad - I think he can handle the step up from what we saw of him in the last couple of months of the season. As good a servant as he's been, Zimmermann wasn't premiership quality 2 years ago if we're being brutally honest and he's not likely improved in that time. It's been made pretty clear that we'll be bringing in another CB in the summer to compete with Gibson and Hanley; Keep Omobamidele around to gain experience alongside the three of them and let Zimbo go out on loan to Germany or back to the championship so he's still available if we go down and need him again the following season.

We don't know for certain that this failure of due diligence was Kensell's responsibility, so I'd be a little cautious about hanging him out to dry until the facts are established - That said, clearly somebody has not done their job properly and questions need to be asked over why that was and over that person's future role. I suspect the club are currently talking to their lawyers to see if there's any way out of this contract (if BK8 misrepresented themselves in any way in negotiations, or there is a clause about either party's actions damaging the reputation of the other, then that's not beyond the realms of possibility). But I do think Kensell - if indeed it was his ultimate responsibility to make checks on these things - has to stand up and accept that he made a mistake that is going to cost the club both in money and reputation. Whether that necessitates him being fired is another matter - but a public apology from the club and the individual responsible is an absolute must. This also needs to be turned into something more positive - I'd like to see the club donate £10 from each shirt sold to charities that support vulnerable women and work to end gender based violence. That would show that lessons have been learned and would go some way towards rebuilding a little of the trust that's been lost here in a way that has some meaning instead of just empty words.

South Korea

I'm guessing there must be more to it with Hondermarck in particular - perhaps he feels that rather than spend another couple of seasons in our development side he'd rather try for first team football at a lower level? Although looking at his stats he only made 3 appearances for Harrogate last season and one of them was only 8 minutes, so could be he just didn't live up to his initial promise...

Palace have been very average for a long while and unless they invest this summer they'll definitely struggle next season. Newcastle if they keep Bruce and his miserable football I can't see them finishing outside the bottom 3. Find a dynamic new manager from somewhere and they have decent players though. Burnley are dull as ditchwater but have money now theoretically... Not sure they'll be able to attract players to keep them up though. Brighton I think will be fine, if thy can pick up a goalscorer they might be a surprise package next season. Southampton, Wolves, Leeds all good enough for mid table. Watford probably similar to us will be in and around the relegation fight but hoping to pull ourselves out of it and end up somewhere in the middle Whoever comes up through the playoffs will struggle I think - Not much real quality in there. Swansea might make a fight of it, cant see any of the others doing well. Villa are the side I suspect might do a Sheffield united next season - They've had a good season but aren't all that special beyond a couple of players, and with several big clubs likely to be in the market for rebuilding with young English talent this summer I wouldn't be totally surprised to see Grealish move on. Palace, Playoff Winners and on from Newcastle, Burnley and Villa to go down for me. I think we'll end up around 15th.

Celtic and Rangers would be relegation fodder in any 'British League' - They're mid-to-lower championship standard fare at the best. Most of the other SPL sides would struggle to get out of League 2. Not going to happen in a month of sundays.

Idah will go on loan to a Championship team and with an injury-free season absolutely light it up Omobamidele will follow in the footsteps of Aarons and be completely unfazed by the big stage; he'll be a first choice starter and big clubs will be chasing him by the end of the season Aarons will go to Bayern but Mumba will step up in his place Emi will surprisingly stay despite endless transfer speculation and be superb all season, pushing his value even higher and getting an Argentina callup and a move to someone like Real or Barcelona at the end of the season We'll break our transfer record to bring in a very good striker - and unlike with RVW or Naismith we'll finally get it right this time We'll have a great start, surprise everyone by keeping pace with the top teams until mid october, then fade as legs get tired and ultimately finish mid-table Cup run to the semi-finals of one or other cup.

He's still young enough to not be counted towards the squad limit next season if I'm not mistaken; so I'd expect to see him at Carrow Road as LB cover ahead of Quintilla, as that frees up a squad spot for us elsewhere. A shame in some ways as I rate Quintilla and another season in the Championship would probably be better for McCallum but we'll likely need to be smart with who gets those 25 senior player spots.

Hopefully we'll get another season at least with Farke in charge, but I'd like the club to get Tettey into the coaching setup after this season working alongside Farke and have him step up whenever DF heads elsewhere. Perfect manager material IMHO, bleeds yellow and green and 100% buys into the way we/Farke like to play.

I'd like to see us pursuing a formal link-up with Kings Lynn to be honest, having a feeder club at that level which is geographically close by, well-run and managed and we can send young players to for competitive football at a decent level on a long-term basis instead of randomly sending players out to clubs with which we have little connection or influence would surely benefit the development process, and at the same time could help Lynn stabilize as a Conference side. I think we're going to see a lot of these these kind of links, essentially some teams becoming 'partnered' with the big clubs, in the next few years as the big boys want more competitive games for their youngsters, fans don't want to see B teams, and there are a lot of teams who are frankly going to need something like this to keep themselves afloat. Let's get ahead of the inevitable curve and start the process of making Kings Lynn our 'junior' team now. I'd quite like us to make a similar deal with one of these Belgian or Dutch second tier teams as well, someone like Telstar maybe - We've loaned a few players over there now and it's working out well; but surely would be better to build a stronger partnership with one club the way Man City do with Girona for example.

That's just a regular tern... This is a long tern!

Didn't Stiepermann play a bunch of games at left-back when he first joined us? Not particularly great there if I recall but he at least knows the role. Maybe drop him back there if Rupp/Aarons are unavailable and move Sorensen to RB? I think I'd be more comfortable with one of the youngsters up front than in defence if we had to go that route, although Nizet does look potentially very good. Or possibly stick Placheta up front just for his pure pace and see if he can cause the Luton defence some headaches? McGovern Sorensen Hanley Gibson Stiepermann Tettey Skipp Buendia Vrancic Martin Placheta Subs : Anyone still capable of standing upright for half an hour

I wonder if that was the whole point? Webber and Farke are smart, I wouldnt put it past them to have planned that comment to sow doubt and put off transfer interest in a couple of players they didn't want to sell...

Bringing either Gunn or Forster back seems like a no-brainer really if the finances are reasonable - We need cover for, and potentially a long term successor to, Krul as McGovern is nowhere near Championship standard and surely won't be given a new contract next season. Both Gunn and Forster had good spells here, have plenty of talent but have found themselves stuck down the pecking order in the top flight, and were popular with our fans, and neither would likely be commanding huge wages.

Maybe a bit more homework is required? I'll give you a grade C+; you got 3/4 correct... Realistically though I would be very surprised if we don't finish in the top 6 and realistically got to be looking at a top 2 finish for automatic promotion. We've done what we should have done last season and strengthened in the areas where we were lacking, thus far the core of the squad has been kept together - although of course still 3 weeks for that to change - which few of the other big clubs in the Championship have managed to do; and despite every team being hit by the current Covid clusterphuck, our parachute payments and EPL prize money, even for last place, plus a sensible financial position probably makes us one of the few clubs in a position to spend decent money if and when it's needed.

We definitely need to bring in another option at CB. Even if you take the view that last season was a desperately unlucky one with all three of our main CBs suffering overlapping injuries virtually throughout the season, Looking to the promotion season that was our weakness too - as someone already mentioned, we won the title despite being quite poor at the back and conceding a record number of goals. Defence has been a weakness for a long time, one area the current regime haven't got to grips with as yet. Clearly Zimmermann and Godfrey are talented, Klose unfortunately didn't look like he still has what it takes after the last injury but certainly has value as a backup option, and Hanley is probably our best defender when the stars align but seems to be a bit hit and miss sometimes. Out of those, only Godfrey is a young, long term prospect as well. If we go into a second straight season without improving the CB position despite it being glaringly obvious this year, as it was 14 months ago, that we need reinforcements there, I think serious questions have to be asked of Webber. Saying that, overspending on a 'statement' signing is not the way to go - We've recruited well this season I think; no need to spoil everything by wasting money on a player on 'name' basis alone. I like Gibson and would be happy to see him join but hopefully they've got their eye on a younger talent none of us are expecting to see come in.

Last season we weren't willing to spend anything to give ourselves a fighting chance in the Premier League; now we're considering dropping 5m on West Ham's 5th choice striker, a player whose goalscoring record at this level can be best described as 'poor to average'. If he were 22 I could maybe see the investment potential but at 28? No thanks!