Bacuna is pony. Flatters to deceive, looks a worldie when on it but it's few and far between. Sh*te mentality. There's probably a manager that can squeeze the talent out of him somewhere though.

Spotted John Mcatee (older brother of James at Sheff Utd) the other night against Pompey. He'll be 25 in the summer and out on loan in League 1... So Luton can't rate him that highly. Perhaps a loan opportunity or being involved in some deal for Sammie or Dolan. He signed for them in 2022. Can't seem to see anything about the length of his contract but some state May this year it ends, guessing they must have an option of another year else they wouldn't have loaned him out. Anyone seen more of this lad? Stats look decent but good enough to do it in the champ?

Oh nice spot. Didn't mention Pompey players because can't see them letting anyone go but as he's on loan with only a year left... Could be a good option.

I keep a eye on league 1 every season to see if there's decent value for us. We've done well from this market in the past... e.g. Rothwell, Dack, Szmodics but this season there's not that much to pick from that wouldn't cost too much. A lot of the top goal scorers are of an age that doesn't offer a lot of resale value. I like Harrison Burrows at Peterborough, think he has the most assists in the league but top 6 champ clubs were sniffing around in Jan. Poku also at Peterborough, tricky, decent amount of goal involvements this season would be a good signing but with both him and Burrows... Their chairman will want top top dollar. Ricardo Santos at Bolton might not be a bad one, think he's in the last year of his contract, Fulham were sniffing around a couple of seasons ago. Big strong centre half. Many have mentioned Miles Leaburn might be worth taking a look at but would be dependant on price of how much of a gamble that would be. Perhaps Karamoko Dembele might finally be a serious consideration after being linked with him last summer. A solid 11 assists and would offer some genuine pace out wide that we've been lacking. Other than those, I'm not sure what else there in that league that would be a good option unless some of you know of any other potential league 1 gems?

Yeah pace helps 100% but surprisingly we're one of the most successful teams on the counter attack. Leeds have it in Summerville and Gnonto but could be nullified. We definitely need more pace out wide and have done for years now.

There's nothing in this league other than mentality. The difference in quality is negligible, it's just having the right manager with the right philosophy for the right players. Plymouth at Ewood looked a far better team than Leeds. It could have been a very different season for us if their mentality/attitude was better.

What's that got to do with in game management? Has he never managed a football team before?

No plan B after conceding the first, 11 men behind the ball, no high press trying to get back into the game. Not that they're better than us just shit tactics, shit mentality, shit preparation and shit performance. Disgrace the lot of them on and off the pitch.

EUSTACE OUT

1-0 down and everyone is behind the ball with 11 men... Where the plan B FFS??? WE'RE F*CKING LOSING EUSTACE.

Absolutely pathetic defending

Looking at Swansea's side today, hardly any that I'd swap for ours, if any at all. Get at them. Winning that midfield battle will be huge, hope Bucky and Moran get hold of it early doors because of they do this lot will crumble. We can get out of trouble potentially in the next 2 games, let's have it today!

People mentioning the Wigan game, I could be wrong but wasn't that when he was thrown in due to injuries? At 25 now I'd like to think his experiences since that game at 23 years old have helped him to improve.

Think you mis-read that one.

Yeah, don't get me wrong, are their better keepers out there? Probably. That we can afford? Probably not. Given his age and the fact he's got plenty of minutes of experience now under his belt, I think it would be silly to watch him go elsewhere and play the best years of his career. Some folk need to give him a fresh start IMO.

I've always been an admirer of this lad and actually thought he was deserving of keeping his place ahead of Kaminski at the time. I argued with many mates who were convinced Whalstedt was a better option when he's clearly not even in the same league. Don't get me wrong, he has made errors in the past and he did make some notable errors last season but he also had some great games that he was never given credit for because people had already made up their minds. Since he's come back in, he's been absolutely brilliant in my opinion. On Saturday he kept us in the game but the fans got on this lads back so quickly when he makes a small mistake. Seems some already made up their mind that they think he's sh*t and to me it just seems a hivemind mentality. I personally feel i'll always give credit and criticism where it's due and this boy for his recent performances deserves a lot more. There was a fella giving him pelters all game on Saturday but not once clapped him or gave him credit for keeping us in the game. An English goalkeeper at 25 years old, giving us performances like he has done recently is someone I see as a real asset, he's made some mistakes but you have to make some to become better and to me he looks like he's improved a lot. Even the small things like watching his near post better, his starting positions and angles when closing down 1 on 1's. His distribution has always been good aswell. Was nice to hear a chant of "England's number 1" and I really hope the fans start to get behind him now because his best years are firmly in front of him. Keep that chant going. Last night's performance was a real display of how good he can be especially when he has the confidence of the fans behind him. Well done Aynsley Pears.

Poor match but much better when Bucky came on, first thing he did was turned someone and played a forward pass getting us into an attack, a lot better and glad to see him back. I think a midfield 3 of Fleck, Buckley and Tronstadt is pretty decent at this level. Buckley played very much the Adam Wharton role and got a hold of the game for us and killed it for them really. Garrett is nowhere near the required level right now, same for Ayari, forget those 2. Fadz was class again, exactly what we needed. MoM Small shout to Pears, didn't have to do too much but cleared his lines well and made saves when required. Seems safe hands to me. Don't get me wrong, it was sh*t to watch but builds some confidence keeping a clean sheet. Hopefully if Bucky can find his feet it makes us a lot better to watch under Eustace and gives us that balance between his defensive style and brings back some ball retention we had under JDT. Get Hedges back in for Norwich and have them bombing forwards like against Stoke and we might get something. Play like we did tonight and we'll get murdered. We need to take more risks against Norwich from the off and give them something to think about. If we stand off them it won't be easy to watch.

Hedges? He could play central. Had a shocker at Brum but so did everyone else.

The team picked on Saturday and at Brum is a lot more of a tougher physical side, I think we showed that on Saturday... Against Brum, we just simply didn't play well, I don't think we got bullied. It's a shame we have JRC out because we really need players like that in the middle for a game like Preston. It's a big loss in my opinion and makes me concerned that we will lose that central midfield battle and ultimately the game. Really hope his injury turns out to be nothing and he insists he wants to play.

I think this speaks volumes about how the players had lost faith in JDT's philosophy.

Anywhere to watch this?

It's down to where he's played. HE IS NOT A WINGER. He doesn't have the genuine pace to play out wide. His best performances have always been when he's played more central, pressing defenders, breaking into the box, turning people whilst playing between the lines. He's an easy player to mark when he's wasted out wide.

Really hope he becomes our version of Sean Dyche. That's the thread of hope I'm clinging on to. Makes us hard to beat and well drilled. Reality is he's probably the next Micheal Appleton. Good look John.

You still pick up the phone just in case.

In the position we're in, if Sam Allardyce says yes... YOU PICK UP THE FECKIN PHONE.