RevidgeBlue

Well to be fair Gallagher seems to have morphed into Shearer in the eyes of many since he's been away!

We started the window with the unenviable task of having to reconstruct the spine of the team. Top class CH CM and main striker. As per the last couple of Windows there's been a bit of tinkering around the edges but arguably the only thing that has changed is that you can now add a first choice keeper to that list, with us having absolutely no idea who we're going to replace Raya with. I also disagree about Reed, I thought he was top class but the Mowbray mismanaged him terribly by a hunting him out wide.

This close season seems to be starting to mirror the last one in terms of stockpiling (average) midfielders. I'm sure we calculated we had 15 midfielders available before the start of last season.

Oh, right then. So if Dack and Lenihan suddenly express a desire to move as well we have to just step aside, rip up their contracts and wave them on their merry way with our blessings? I bet they'll be glad to hear that.

Not really. Just to add a bit of meat on the bones the two players we've signed have a combined age of 67 and the two 'on trial" have a combined age of 61. All will be free transfers and most recently Butterfield got relegated from League 1 whilst out on loan at Bradford. Adam's most recent claims to fame are relegation from the Premier League and then being part of a Stoke squad that subsequently underperformed very badly in the Championship. Up front we appear to be targeting a striker who's never scored more than 11 League goals in a season and who was part of a squad that got us relegated the last time he was here. On the Raya issue, surely no-one can defend him being sold without a replacement already having been lined up and secured. Can they?

Commandment #1 "Tony can never do any wrong therefore thou shalt always find someone else to blame."

Great post.

Yet. Thanks for proving my point. Doesn't really matter if we don't. sign him. Shouldn't be anywhere near here in the first place.

Exactly.

It's an interesting exercise in human psychology on here. If at the end of last season I'd said on here "I know, I have a brilliant idea, let's sign Stewart Downing and Charlie Adam" people would have been calling for the men in white coats. Mowbray does it and many posters seem receptive to the idea and start performing mental gymnastics to justify how it could possibly work. I wonder how bad a potential signing would actually have to be before he received universal condemnation.

I take it from what you say you don't actually want us to sign him. Therefore, what's the benefit of "giving him a run out" thereby preventing us looking at someone else or even having him around the squad. There is none.

Mowbray's taking the **** now. Shades of Robbie Fowler - "Only coming in to train and get fit" - next news he's been handed a deal. If we are actually interested in that Newcastle reserve their fans can't wait to get rid of to replace Raya then part of the deal should be a stipulation Mowbray goes the other way to take over as their manager.

What remotely suggests we won't? Given how our transfer window activity is shaping up I'd snap anyone-s hand off now for 21st before a ball is kicked.

Therein lies the heart of the problem. Mowbray demonstrated last season he doesn-t have the ability, nouse or ambition to take us forward and is starting to wreak damage it may take years to recover from if we are relegated again. We may never recover if the owners eventually get frustrated wirh the lack of progress/regression and take their bat and ball home. with them.

How much did they get for selling That lad to Spurs?

Hopefully nothing in it. That would put the tin hat on it if that happens.

I'm not the one responsible for scouting the markets. As I've said all along QUALITY CB CM main striker needed. Hanley would have been good, I'd have hoped for better than a 32 year old on his way down coming in in midfield, and Assombalonga or Austin would be more like the sort of quality we required up front.

New keeper Bennett Mulgrew Lenihan Williams Downing Evans Johnson Smallwood Dack Graham Not exactly brimming with youthful promise and enthusiasm is it?

Has he played for Boro / us /or us AND Boro before? (Like Chapman)? ?

Eleven goals is as good as it's ever got for him and that was under a manager (Coyle) who prioritised attack over defence. If we want to ever have aspirations of finishing higher than 15th to 21st we need far better for me.

It's not a major thing either way but I don't think it's that difficult to comprehend either. If you know someone personally and address them as "pal" then that would usually indicate that you're being friendly. If you don't know someone from adam and are disagreeing with them (as I think was happening in this instance) and address them as "pal" then that usually indicates you're being patronising or condescending. Sybil Fawlty subject "The bleeding obvious" over and out! ?

No. The proof of the pudding will be in the eating though.

Agreed Jim. Dreadful window for me so far. Raya out - madness. Downing age 35 in - more madness Johnson - jury firmly out. 32 and going into the engine room of midfield. Highly unlikely he'll be as good as Reed. Gallagher - has already proved both here and at Birmingham he isn't good enough at this level. So why are we even looking at him? Long old season coming up.

Who isn't prolific, not a particularly sharp finisher, not particularly quick, not particularly good at holding the ball up, notrparticularly good in the air. Apart from that.......

Agreed Jim. Paying money to replace Raya seems ludicrous to me, he's the least of our problems. It's like saying Dack's not good enough and we need to replace him with better. To the extent the defence is poor imo it's because Mulgrew suddenly hit a brick wall and Bennett and Williams are absolute liabilities when playing at RB and LB respectively. When you've got the likes of Evans in midfield the defence doesn't get any protection off midfield either. Scapegoating Raya and bringing in Newcastle's reserve keeper won't alter that but bring some decent defenders in and there's every chance that either Raya or this other bloke would look very good indeed. P.S. Agree entirely with you on the condescending and patronising use of the word "pal".