GMorrison183

I give our offseason a 1/10; and not trying to troll. Here's my .02: - I would've sold Stones for 40 mil. Not popular I know, but I just don't think we need a CB more than we need the money. While it would've rocked the boat regarding 'our ambitions' (with folks like Mirallas and Lukaku), it's incredibly risk averse to assume we can't do better with the money. - I'm not giving a free pass on failing to address the number 10 role. Horrible scouting to know what talent was available, and we left Yarmolenko way too late in the window (ironic after Roberto's comments). Plus, we failed to recruit others while after Yarmolenko. This was the most important need and is what will keep us outside the top 8. - I'm glad to have Deulofeu back, but basically if he develops as we hope Barcelona are getting a bargain back. Capping our potential profit at 8-10 million for 2 years of development isn't a stellar deal. - Why didn't we sell Naismith for 8 mil?!?!?! Move Kone to the bench, Lennon at RW, and pocket the 8 mil while you can still get it. - One other point I forgot: we didn't reduce our wage bill in places that make sense for a non-Euro squad (looking at Mcgeady, Pienaar, Gibson, Hibbert, even Osman). - Roberto's comment afterwards is a -10/10. It confirmed that he's more interested in spinning a story vs. acknowledging we failed to deliver...a theme of his tenure. Net/net: Our leadership is making decisions like passionate fans vs. a well thought out business strategy. Nothing new, but this transfer window highlighted it.

His effort was a key part of Lukaku's first goal with the run he made. If he can develop a little more composure in front of goal, I think he can be a more well rounded version of Ossie.

Things have changed quite a bit since when I first signed up here 8 years ago...from scrapping the depths of the internet for a low quality feed to now full BPL HD coverage . Now if BeIN sports would just get rid of their awful Ligue 1 announcer...then us American fans will be set.

Normally I stick to lurking (I use to post back in '07), but if this game doesn't change how Martinez looks at some of his players, then I hold him solely accountable moving forward. Leon Osman should never see the pitch unless he's a 2nd half sub against the bottom half or lesser opponents in the cups. Everyone will focus on the 1st goal (and rightly so), but Ossie consistently commits the same cardinal sins all game and has since last year (not to mention every fan can see he only lasts 45-60 minutes tops). Box: box he positions himself in front of the attacker when defending but he simply doesn't know how to put in a good challenge. This lets attackers pick out some quality passes/crosses, and a few of the missed opportunities today were because he doesn't pressure. As a knock on effect, because of how Ossie positions himself Distin and Baines relax because they think an attacker is covered if they make a run. Unfortunately that's 100% not the case with Ossie. His marking has and always will be poor, which has gotten worse since he's lost pace. Last, he offers nothing as a outlet when we regain possession in our box because he doesn't have the pace or positioning to ever break. This forces defenders to make bad clearances because he doesn't make himself available as a good option to push forward. What compounded and spotlighted Osman's ineffectiveness were the tactics behind 2 substitutions: Atsu and McGeady. I actually do think both are quality players, but Bobby has to have the situational awareness to say as a final instruction you have to track back. I don't think it's fair to have a go at either of them because we don't know if tactically Martinez instructed that, but regardless of the culprit it was a bad decision. The last 20 minutes was filled with 3v2s against Coleman/McCarthy and 3v1.5's against Baines and Osman (I'm willing to give a .5 because Ossie can create the illusion someone's marked if the passer is under pressure). Last, while I'm not willing to overreact and throw the towel in on the Jagielka/Distin partnership, their willingness to accept taking wild clearances/swings at the ball (at a much higher rate than last year) is a sign of either fatigue, being off the pace, or old habits coming back. I counted 4+ giveaways by Jags in the first 30 minutes alone and Distin wasn't much better. I'll stop my venting there, but how Martinez responds going forward will tell me a lot about how much I should trust him.

The problem with Osman is he can't drop deeper...he doesn't really know how to. He is a center-mid who likes to attack. Bily is almost scoring at a 1 goal every 3 game clip. 2nd to only Saha I believe. He should still be starting even when Arteta comes back (dropping Ossie to the bench).

The best position for Bily is in the middle behind the striker. Problem is, Cahill happens to play that position, even Osman to a lesser degree. Honestly Cahill hasn't been in the best of form lately so I wish we would use Bily to push him as a sub to open games up where we are stuck in long ball mode.

It was Rodwell for me, always pushing our team forward. He deserves to be in the starting 11 if he keeps playing like he has. Once Arteta is back, Moyes will surely have a selection headache, even for the bench! Arteta Bily Cahill Pienaar Fellaini Rodwell Neville Osman Gosling

Oooooh how we needed that :thumbsup_anim:

To help put some balance, I voted for Saha. Tracked back numerous times, quality in his passing and is lethal in front of the goal with his accuracy.

When Saha is healthy, he is clearly world class. Don't conceed and we'll be golden.

Someone needs their nap Agreed, very lazy journalism. All we need now is Riqueleme being spotted at the airport and this transfer window will be complete

Honestly the only thing I think we need (besides depth across the board) is a RB who isn't a liability and a classy winger. For our sakes, lets just say we got Miguel and someone like a Ricardo Quaresma (I still rate him although he's had a bad run since the Inter move. To me, this is actually a top 4 lineup. --------------Howard--------------- Miguel----Jags----Lescott----Baines -------------Neville--------------- Quaresma------Arteta--------Pienaar --------------Cahill--------------- --------------Yakubu--------------- Bench Nash (needs upgrade) Yobo Osman (needs upgrade) Fellaini Saha Jo Rest of Squad Hibbert Rodwell Gosling Vaughan Anichebe Probably forgetting someone..but oh well. The bench isn't deep still, but that starting 11 could compete with the best.

I know it'll get some neagtive feedback here, but why not put in a 4mil bid for Landon Donovan? He has some pace, looks comfortable on the ball and can put in a good cross. I'm not saying he would be the first one in the starting 11 but he's versatile, has leadership qualities and would be a good squad player to have. Not sure if MLS would give up the face of their league though (besides Beckham).

Landon Donovan for the MLS Allstars even said that we were treating this as a regular game (tackling wise).

Seeing Cahill on the wing just proves how badly we need someone like Elm in the transfer market. The Yobo Lescott pairing has looked dodgy...but it is preseason.