Bailey

I have seen a lot of comments about his introduction but I don't fully agree with him. He did well, but I think he benefitted from a much better side. I didn't think there was an issue with Garner/Onana but once the dead wood had come off (Patterson / Chermitti / Dobbin) we were a much better side and we kept the ball a lot better. That wasn't (solely) because of Gueye, it was because when the ball went forward we kept it. Or when it went down the right channel, we didnt immediately turn the ball over. So did he improve us, yes. Was he the catalyst, no. Should he have passed the bloody ball at the end, absolutely!

Shame to see him go. Lets hope there are some buy back clauses.

If he isnt going to sign a new contract then any money we get is a good deal!

Some were but none of it matters when you have a manager as crap as Lampard!

I think we really need 3 players to make the squad look more complete: 1. RB 2. Number 10 / creative midfielder 3. CB I think this has been one of our best windows for a long time but add any of those and it will just get better and better.

That first half was a shambles but at least we came through it and played like a Premier League side by the end of it. Pickford didnt have much to do, but when he did have to deal with he was solid with. I thought he was too keen to get the ball forward in the first half. When we needed composure, he was basically giving the ball away again. Mykolenko was just rubbish. I hope this will stop people suggesting he should play ahead of Young. Keane and Godfrey weren't awful. I thought the former was most solid and when he did make a mistake he made up for it. Godfrey was a big reason why they had that early chance. I thought he was then solid enough before wobbling again when he was moved to RB. He is definitely 4th in the pecking order. Patterson was so poor yet again. The lad can't pass. Everything is either over hit or under hit. Garner was a big improvement 2nd half. Onana was by far the stand out. He is slowly becoming the player we hoped. He still has levels to go. Garner played well across all 3 positions he found himself in on the whole. There is a chance he is our first choice RB. Doucoure was his usual self. Full of running, some good (assist), some bad (their goal). Dobbin was poor. He showed that his quality levels really arent high enough at the moment. There is only so far a bit of speed gets you. His movement is sharp but he needs time to develop his decision makong and technique. Danjuma wasn't loads better, especially first half. If he hadn't of scored, I was going to say that I do feel like it is coming. I get the feeling he will add goals to his game and I hope this one settles him. He is either a bit toothless or he just needs to find his confidence. Chermiti had a bit of a stinker. For all the good things he showed at the weekend, the ball practically bounced off him today. Welcome to England! Beto made a great introduction. He took his goal well and his header was unlucky. He showed pace, stremgth and a good leap. He looks like he gives a shit and he worked hard, making intelligent runs. He fluffed a really good chance and when he had a chance to put the ball in the box he more or less cleared the pitch. Its early days and time will tell us more. Young came on and he made us more solid in every position he played. Gana did ok, showing who he is in a nutshell at the end by winning possession then holding onto the ball for an eternity when he should have slipped Beto through for his second. The next round against Villa will be a good chance to see if we have learned anything from the other week at least.

I think both players would bring the best out of eachother. I think Garner needs that physical presence next to him, and Onana will be better for having another player alongside him with a good footballing brain.

I think that is what we would want them to do (try and attack us). I don't really see us breaking down a stubborn defence so if we need 20 chances before we score, we have a higher likelihood of that happening if they play to win and leave space for us to exploit.

I sometimes look at Onana and think that he would be so much better in a better team. Some of the things he can do with the ball are on a different level to the players on our team and he can make the game look so easy.

This. We are restructuring our finances in respect of the playing side of the club so that in the years to come we can build from a good base on good wages, rather than desperately needing to sell to buy both on fees and wages as well.

I agree but we have 4 already and we would need to shift one of them which I dont see happening given their profile (bar Branthwaite who we would want to keep and develop). The problem is, I think the main three will all be really hard to shift because of their wages.

I think you would call that a pretty good window on paper if Beto signs. It has addressed the areas we needed most. Yes it would have been better had the signings sooner but it is exactly what was required (within reason).

I thought he did OK. It was actually quite a mature and controlled performance. Same player at heart though, had a chance to help his defender out for the first goal and just left him to it against Sterling!

When I read that, it was because I was thinking that we don't have the money for it this financial year!

They didn't deserve a point from the game but in a weird way it can be easy to look decent in games like that because you just need to sit all your players behind the ball and hope for a break on the counter. How many times have we seen a good battling display with our backs to the wall against a top side, followed by lots of comments like "if we do that next week we will win" only to come unstuck against one of the lower league sides.

Doucoure for me too. He missed a great chance but he was everywhere and I am not sure we create as many chances with him out of the team.

I agree that we need a player that can offer genuine width, albeit Dyche seems to like players cutting inside, however I am not sure how much of an inconvenience it will be to Garner. Where Doucoure pushes forward so quickly, it is still a 3 man midfield. I don't think he gets a lot of help from Patterson though, some of his simple passing is really poor but then in the same breath, Garner also leaves Patterson quite exposed defensively. I don't really see what benefit there is to the team by playing that way.

Do you think he will play that role when everyone is fit?

I agree about the Pickford incident, but like you say Tarkowski should make sure, not just wave it off.

I dont think playing out wide is a good enough excuse for his performances because he does tuck in. It's not like he is playing as a winger, it is more like a wide central midfielder. Plus, his best performance for us was as a right wing back. I am not sure he is a player that has the potential to control a game on his own, that player is Onana. Garner will need support around him. He clearly has quality on the ball and he played a couple of really nice passes. The rest of his game just hasn't been at the levels I would expect of him based on the end of last season. It might just be a slight headache following on from the summer WC combined with the change in position.

I was also impressed when he came on. He just did the basics right which is exactly what we are desperate for in that position. I don't think he needs a strike partner, I think he needs people to be able to run past him and play off him. Lets see how he gets on.

Everton got to him quickly!

This for me too. If he plays regularly, we aren't scoring many goals this season. I think that once McNeil and Harrison are up and running he will probably get a loan somewhere and I expect his performances will at least get that at a decent level.

I still can't fathom what he was doing. All of our CB's are much of a muchness. They all can play decent matches and they can all make errors. Keane and Tarkowski are about the same level, Godfrey is worse and Branthwaite is the unknown but he is learning his trade and it will happen.

I thought that was very impressive and like Zoo says there are definitely Stones-like vibes about him. Lets see how he gets on.