HertsCanary93

Awful goal to concede.

Would like to see us break with a bit more pace and urgency in the second half. We''ve knocked it round nicely at times but never really attacked with much conviction. We''ve also passed ourselves into a bit of trouble more than once and I think we''re lucky to be level. Not a bad performance by any means though.

Also agree, think Hoolahan could be very effective tomorrow. Mbokani for Wes if we need a goal ot two by 60, if not on for Jerome on 70 if we''re looking safe.

Shelvey was poor against the Swiss but he deserved his call up and I''m sure he''ll prove himself a decent option at this level. It''s hard to gauge our midfield as key players like Wilshere, Henderson and to a lesser extent Delph were all injured. With regards to the whole squad I''m happy with our wide players and should Sturridge get back to his best I think we have good options up front too. I''m very interested to see how the young back four holds up against the bigger teams in the Euro''s. It''s quite a young team which is needed after the phasing out of the ''old guard'' over the last few years. I hope they can step up and give the euro''s a good go. That said, the fact we had no success over the last 12 or so years when we''ve had some genuine top class players doesn''t leave me too hopeful for any finals soon.

Still managed to pick up his token yellow card meaning he''s suspended for their next important game. It was a rubbish and completely unnecessary tackle too. That said, I do hope we can reintegrate him into the squad as he does show glimpses of actually being quite a classy player. Hopefully Neil can do some work on his aggression though, it''s good to get stuck in and battle but it goes too far when you get booked nearly every game.

I can see the 14th-18th spots being very close this year, where even just an extra point or goal difference could easily equate to a place in the table (or two). I''m pretty sure we will be in this zone. I''ll say bang in the middle and go for 16th.

I''m confused... Haven''t we won every qualifier so far? How anyone can try and bemoan the squad''s efforts in these qualifiers is beyond me. I actually think it''s been a very professional job. Yes, completely outclassing our group is nothing to get overly excited about considering the opposition. However, it''s significantly more ridiculous to try and spin it as a negative. The game finished 6-0, it was probably as exciting as this fixture is ever going to be. You can''t have an exciting end-to-end game when one team is guaranteed 75% possession. What on earth did some people expect?

Source? And why? I just can''t see Johnson being the kind of player to not want to fight for a place in the team. He knows he was only a goal or an injury away from a run of starting games.

I''ve said it elsewhere, Johnson started the first game and has appeared in every game since. He definitely had a part to play this season. We can''t base a decision on who is ahead of who this early on. Last season Johnson was ahead of Dorrans, things can change depending on form and injuries. We lost the first game and so we changed the system, we then played well and so kept the system. At Southampton we were poor and I would have been very surprised if Johnson hadn''t started against Bournemouth. As for what we should have sold him for, we shouldn''t have sold him for less than £10m. Is he worth that? Probably not. But is Afobe worth £15m, is Mings worth £8m, is Stones worth £40m? It''s not a question of worth any more, unless we are desperate for the money we shouldn''t be selling useful players unless it is overwhelmingly in our favour. I actually agree with you on our signings, I''m happy with them bar the lack of a CB. I just think the selling of Johnson is an awful piece of business.

I agree that this is nothing compared to what it will be if we lose to Bournemouth... I hope that if we go a goal down the fans will get behind the team, any boo''s directed at management, players or the board and we will capitulate.

He started the first game and has appeared in every game so far this season. I just don''t buy that he left for first team football.

Because no player has ever stepped up from the Championship to the Premier League... On that argument, shouldn''t we just ship out all our players on the assumption that they only played well because they were in the Championip? I can''t comprehend how people are so willing to write him off as not good enough for the prem without ever giving him a chance to play in his preferred attacking position there.

The sky thing was just spending, it didn''t take into account money received from selling. I also assume that in both the ''net spend'' and the ''total spend'' stats, sky omitted the loan fees. £7m for Brady & £3m for Dorrans sounds about right.

One final point, I do agree that we need more than good, popular and committed players to stay up but you certainly don''t need fewer. I will certainly give him a chance, but I don''t think Jarvis is that ''more'' that will take us to another level.

Admittedly I did write that post when I was a bit angry, frustrated and in need of a good rant, but I do stand mostly by what I have said. While yes, we don''t get a fat cheque all at once for the TV money, it is a guaranteed source of income and I doubt we get a straight up cheque for Johnson''s sale either. We''ve never been a big spending club in transfers or wages, we sell out nearly every game and have had a solid few years in the prem with only one year in the championship with some hefty parachute payments. There are championship clubs that have invested more than us, without sanctioning sales. My point here is not that we haven''t spent enough, but is that surely we do not need to sell useful players other than for an exceptional amount of money, which £6m is not any more. Especially with the amount of money for staying up. While for some games yes, our team may be stronger with Johnson not in the 11. But with very few exceptions are any teams going to play the same 11 every game. Half of having a good season is having strength in depth, Johnson had a disappointing first game this season on the left but made a strong cameo as a sub at Southampton and looked better than Howson had all game. I''m certain he would have played a big part in our season. He was a bit of a revelation out wide last year, and I think I am just so disappointed that he won''t get to even try and prove he can step up to the prem.

The squad is undeniably populated with better players now than it was with Lambert''s first go at the Prem. The key difference is that Lamberts team had an outrageously good mind set and was a squad that really fought for each other, the fans and the team. There were plenty of leaders which kept the team fighting even after a few big defeats. It''s a cliche, but there was always that feel good mentality around the fans and the players on the pitch. While I haven''t seen a lot concrete to suggest fallings out in our current squad, the Grabban situation combined with the selling of a popular squad member and leader (Johnson) to be replaced by loan players is disconcerting to me.

£6m is not good business when you''ve barely (comparatively) spent any to begin with. We are no doubt a stronger squad with Johnson than without him and we did not need the money at all. We are not a poor club and have received something like £70m in TV money for this season and there will be even more if we stay up. I just can''t see how £6m for a good, popular and committed player with time on his deal could be seen as a good deal for our club. Even (and i emphasise ''Even'') if for some reason Johnson had to leave to facilitate Jarvis arriving, it''s still in my opinion a weaker squad. I don''t like ranting at our club, but I am just stunned by this evenings business.

This is just far too moronic to be true.

As we are, I agree with those that say an extra CB is needed. Other than that I am happy enough to go as we are. Despite this, if anyone is sold we will need a like for like replacement. For instance, if Grabban is let go we simply have to have another striker lined up.

The only real potential mistake was the first goal. I think it would be hard to argue that we would still have gotten anything from the game even if it had been disallowed.

Don''t think it was offside, got to give the benefit of the doubt to the striker.

He''s a good player, but that was completely moronic from whitts. Cost us dearly here.

[quote user="Feedthewolf"][quote user="HertsCanary93"]he obviously wangs to go to Bournemouth[/quote]Typo of the day [:D][/quote] What typo?

Not sure Grabban would go to Wolves, he obviously wangs to go to Bournemouth for some reason but if that falls through I can''t see him taking a wage and a division drop.

Betfred still offering 12/1 if anyone is interested. We''re now joint favorites on a few other sites.