47er

Did we ever get to Round 3 under Mowbray? Genuine question--can't remember.

We're good at everything but actually getting the players to sign!

Mentioned him a few weeks back. Good buy at that price. Would have been good for us. Shouldn't have stopped us going for Van Hecke either because we need 2. Once again we wait...

Don't know that anyone is obsessed about it! I have good memories of it last season when we were on our good run, that's all really. If we can win without it---good. But we've conceded 6 in 2 games!

We all would and quick! I'm not judging JDT at all by the way. He has to do his best with a squad that was manifestly inadequate. As for Broughton I don't see how "there's a lot of promise so far". I'd have thought there wasn't! But, like you, I'll wait ---because I have no choice!

So we're on another journey?

I would toss away the "we prefer " bit and sign Van Hecke right now, any how we can. Work out the future as the season goes on. Could make an enormous difference to our prospects for this season. We need a lift.

Is 4 enough? The model is clearly broken. Our wages ceiling is too low to attract top players ie promotion standard, and too low to keep the ones we develop. Yet curiously our ticket prices are at the higher end and, in particular, higher than our local rivals. Crazy. Seriously we look like becoming a yo-yo club---but between the Championship and the 1st Div.

Madness would be letting him go for next to nothing. Or more accurately, it would be yet another example of madness.

Won't get any fee for Dack till he can prove his fitness.

Looking at or defence I think I'd be going for 3 at the back.

And its not as if this is an unexpected crisis--we have known for months that key players were off. Every window is the same---too little, too late. Then the rest of the season to regret it. We think problems will be resolved in January and they never are. Just bloody sick of it.

"The dismay is totally proportionate" is how I would put it!

Can we now officially panic?

You do realise we think this every year don't you?!!

I feel very foolish. I assumed with the new set-up things would be different this time. But they're not, its the same every year, we'll be scrambling in the final days or even hours of the window. Nothing's changed except the calibre of the coach who sadly has to work with what he has got.

System stinks.

We shop in Barnsley, Crewe and Peterborough these days but hope for promotion! Does not compute. We ask why do we have such difficulty signing players every window? Why do they end up somewhere else? The answer just has to be money--both in terms of wages and fees. I don't see anything changing with Venkys in charge. The caching and planning can be top class but you have to have the quality to start with.

And I'll bet that Sunderland can't either. Its taken them longer than that to get out of Div 1!

Well he won't get any 1st team opportunities at Spurs! I think its a matter of agreeing a wage both sides feel that they can justify and then gradually bringing him on. We'll get a big pay-off in the end and he'll be a top star.

Bad guess! I think its people saying what a crap manager we had.

Only 23 though. After 5 years still a very saleable proposition for a centre-back.

Hopefully Spurs were watching.

You'd have to hope so. Dead loss.

I wouldn't pay £5M for Gallacher but we did!