Does sound nuts really. But there has been roughly £40m come in too. Others will leave for less sums I think. Fringe players I expect. But the money is for the money men. Nothing in what they have done so far says they are winging it or can't afford it. Our job is to just get full throated behind them.
Your concerns should imo be - are the best players on the pitch, if thats not Roberts and Mundle then we have improved as a team and that can only be a positive. Knowing mundle he'll be on the physio table more than not anyways so wont be annoyed at a lack of time.
People keep saying they want to see our promotion winning lads given their chance…. They will be in December
I assume you mean how the players feel not being first choice anymore? Because not even halfway through the season they will get a spell of 5/6 games to make a case for themselves. And both of them have spent extended periods being second choice at sunderland, its not a new scenario to them.
I also appreciate the concerns but I'd much prefer to leave the worrying up to the staff happy personally to just see us improving like we needed to
Not sure why they should be bothered. They and Burnley finished over 20 points ahead of us last season, as they keep mentioning.
Do Leeds, Brentford and Palace have any players likely to go to AFCON. It could even up a bit if each of them lose a couple to AFCON as well.
Just the totality of the the club and playing staff, I like these lads and I think squad harmony can often be more effective than simply 11 good players, we see it all the time, Spurs and Man Utd have good squads of players but were sh!te for much of the season as a on-the-field unit. Not to get too philosophical but football isn't just a game, it's a cultural phenomenon, generational localism passed from my great-grandfather right down to me and hopefully my son in the future, we love these lads and we're (and they) not robots, we connect with them sentimentally and I assume we all followed this club in League One just as passionately as we did during our decade in the Premier League. As much as we want success and we do, we don't want it at the expense of losing the club, and at this juncture I'm not saying we are, just that we're moving fast and it gets me in the feels.
I was the same sentimental wise, till I remember most of the young players that are here are all trying to get to the top, so we won't see them here very long if they do play well, so for all we really love them, this is just a club to get them to the next level for most of them
I don't mind the concerns for the lads we have watched for years, its nice to have a group that are likeable for once. But thankfully part of whats made us have such a likeable group is that the recruitment team take a lot of what you have said into consideration - the players coming in need to be the right mix of characters, ability, price, availability etc etc etc. The due diligence is really impressive to try and maintain that harmony and I would like to imagine by the end of the season you will feel the same about these new lads too. For the slight concerns I have about Adingra (not many really), one thing you cannot fault is his attitude. He runs for 90mins, gives 100% at both ends and is a really positive character to have around.
I understand. I agree. I'm not into players like Mundle and Cirkin being tossed aside by fans. I know that's not whats going on consistently, but in the same way I dont like seeing people judge lads like Mayenda or Seelt early, I also don't like us putting a cap on our lads. Taking into account how they'll react to new coaches, hopefully better coaching, better preparation. Plus, imagine how much they will learn from some of our new signings. They can raise their game. Hoping to see Big Rigg on the weights and torturing the likes of Ugarte and Rice.
Some of the promoted lads will be moved on, thats the way football works unfortunately and is necessary at every club to progress. Every single player that were regulars last season will be facing massive competition to keep their places next year and thats how it should be. These new signings arent all going to be guaranteed being in the 11, they'll have to earn it. There are a few players I think will or could step up with us. Mundle, Mayenda, Cirkin, Ballard etc. But they will have to perform to get into the 11, and thats how successful teams operate. These lads aren't just going to be pushed to the side and forgotten about, they'll get more premier league game time here than any of the other 19 teams in the league. Playing with better players should make improve them quicker. Its been said we want a smaller squad to keep competition healthy and once all of the fringe lads are shifted or loaned out, that's what we will have imo. Lets see if any contract news comes out for some of these lads because that will be telling to how last seasons side is feeling.
He looked like he'd had a bit of a growth spurt on his Instagram photos the other day. We've no idea how good he will be this year as his body is still growing he could go up a few levels just like Jobe did last summer.
When you see the corporatisation of some of these clubs, like Anfield or the Emirates being filled with Chinese and Arab tourists etc something is lost and you have to ask is it worth it, the trophies and high league finishes etc, is that worth losing something unique to the club or would I rather be down the leagues but retain something that my grandad would recognise. I don't know the answer but it stirs something in me.