Ok, that second half aside...

[Nufcian]

Come the summer I?d love to see us go for Douglas Luiz? he had been expected to leave Juve in Jan, after only moving their last summer.

Went there for 21m so there could be a good deal to be had, another Brazilian to add to the middle so he should be able to settle in relatively easily, can play going forward or in a No 6 role.

I just think Willock is too light weight in the middle? if Barnes were to go I?d give him a shot at playing rotation with Gordon after his performance against Brum, but we need someone with a bit more physicality about him.

Miley is coming on, he?s physically developed since last season but he?s still being shifted off the ball to easy.

I?d still sell Longstaff anyway, to balance numbers if nothing else, but I have been saying that for a couple of years now 🤣

[Ragatino]

Come the summer I?d love to see us go for Douglas Luiz? he had been expected to leave Juve in Jan, after only moving their last summer.

Went there for 21m so there could be a good deal to be had, another Brazilian to add to the middle so he should be able to settle in relatively easily, can play going forward or in a No 6 role.

I just think Willock is too light weight in the middle? if Barnes were to go I?d give him a shot at playing rotation with Gordon after his performance against Brum, but we need someone with a bit more physicality about him.

Miley is coming on, he?s physically developed since last season but he?s still being shifted off the ball to easy.

I?d still sell Longstaff anyway, to balance numbers if nothing else, but I have been saying that for a couple of years now 🤣

The Midfield is well stocked. At the start of the season we were all agreed that CMF wasn't a position we needed to do any business.

26 games into the season and we have major question marks over Willock and Wor Longy ... well is Wor Longy.

Miley is on his way to being a World class player who could easily and comfortable feature for England and wouldn't look out of place in a Barcelona or Real Madrid shirt.

Luiz or the Atalanta Midfielder Emerson, with whom we've been persistently connected, would be decent signings to replace Willock.

Joe's become the weakest link in the squad among the CMF options. Great in the first half driving forward, his form is improving after his brace in the cup match. However, whether he still needs more minutes until he can perform at the top level for 70-80mins or he's just too one dimensional and relies on others in the CMF to cover with engine and defensive capabilities is up for debate.

Either way, Luiz or Emerson would be an improvement. Willock has value and he will attract interest from many Premier League teams should he become available.

If possible we need to cash in on Willock in the summer.

Wor "Pure profit" Longy.

How I loath the fact that academy players are now just seen as chips to cash in for pats on the head from the cartel stooges at Prem League HQ.

Sean is good enough to play week in, week out for mid-table Prem team. Unfortunately for him we're no longer a lower/mid table Prem team. We're a top 6 team. Is he good enough to command a spot in the squad long term?

The Geordie boy bonus is important for identity and culture of the club. I would prefer we keep hold of him and sell Willock.

On the wing debate

Barnes is a goal scorer. Off the left he's class. We absolutely need competition for Gordon to keep the levels up. We've seen when the pressure is off due to injuries standards naturally slip. I don't have any issue with Barnes. It's clear he's not a right winger. We'd have seen more impact if Osula had been brought on for Gordon. I understand why Eddie didn't release the Danish Beast as he's a bit of a wild card... Love me a wild card haha but I get it!

Once again the glaring issue is our Right Wing position.

Murph is Murph. he falls into the same box as Longy for me. Better to keep him around as a squady but seriously need an upgrade for the first team starter and also need to bring in a youth prospect with Miley levels of potential.

Being linked to Antonio Cordero is great but again he's a right footer who prefers playing off the left.

With my Football Manager hat on, how I work is have a Prime age first 11 player, a Prem standard 12-22 shadow team and an under 18s 4-5 star potential player in each position.

When the inevitable injuries occur it's plug and play between the 3. That's were in real life we need to get to.