The timeline makes no sense, nor do Tomasson's surprise that another body didnt come in despite what Broughton had said, which was 3 players in talks. But either way, both of our opinions are seemingly resulting in no scope for any freebies.

Has he been playing football there?

That doesnt make any sense. Otherwise Tomasson would have never been under the impression that we would sign anyone else which Broughton publically expected with 24 hours to go. Moran was the 5th of 7 signings and Buckley left in the last hours.

How can you possibly know his current fitness levels?

Apparently a 46 game season does NOT result in a table showing teams in order of how they have played over a season. This seems to be a weird growing narrative as if results are almost an irrrlevant by product. What does playing well even mean in that case? One for the stat nerds I suppose.

Probably none are realistic, seeing as deals individually need the green light from the owners and Buckley went without bringing someone in so the massive wage budget slashing has left no room for manouevre. Even if we could afford a freebie, it would be difficult to find a good one, free for a reason at this stage and miles away from match fitness. Whilst we do need experience, most on that list are too far gone and havent played much football in years, players like Dann, Grabban, Lyle Taylor, Martin etc, some of whom that have been mentioned who would be beyond desperate. The most obvious gaps in the squad are perhaps left back, central midfield now Buckley has gone and wide right. You are going to struggle to find a freebie to improve the squad especially on that list. Fosu is the most obvious winger but usually plays on the left, wouldnt give us the pace we need and wouldnt really get many goals or assists. Josh Onomah is a decent player and somewhat impressed at PNE (and has had part of a pre season at Stoke) but has had big questions about his attitude and fitness. Bertrand would be ideal but would be unobtainable Id suggest. If there was any worthwhile freebies and in the unlikely scenario that the owners let us have another body on the wage bill. I suspect the value would be on players we have never heard of or at least seen ourselves that have been released by foreign clubs.

It was said before then that we had no money to spend so I do at least know that bidding millions on any player simply didnt happen.

Not that he shouldnt try but as if theyd listen. They are a lost cause.

This summer, we started with no money and somehow ended with less. Not only that, a mid window pulling out of the rug, a lack of communication, individual deals needing signing off and deals of experienced players flatly refused. We had no money to spend. His hands were tied. Regardless of how much Broughton and Waggott are paid, and comparisons to the fan base are totally meaningless. The desperation signings are solely a result of the owners. I think the nonsense about the Adams bid looking post window is proven to be absolute nonsense. We didnt have that sort of money at any point this summer.

You seem to focus the blame all on Broughton and no mention of the owners.

That could potentially explain Wahlstedt if Odd have been in there. But not why Hill has, Moran hasnt and Telalovic has.

If a couple of minutes in the Bundesliga counts, why doesnt Moran playing a similar amount in the Prem count? But Hill does? In reality, their combined top flight game time wouldnt make 90 minutes. And there is a valid question as to whether the Dutch league is stronger than the Championship, never mind the Norweigian league.

Have they played at a higher level? Unless a few minutes counts. Ennis - no. Telalovic - no, unless a couple of minutes counts. Sigurdsson - mixed bag. Tiny bit of game time in Serie A but couldnt make the team of a side that went down in a brief spell. Swedish league, definitely not. Russian league probably lower too albeit occasional Champions League games. Tronstad - unsure how the Dutch league compares. Wahlstedt - no. Hill - a cameo in the Prem, otherwise League 1 and SPL. Moran - barely any senior football.

Pochettino has got a poisoned chalice there, so much money spent on a squad that is no closer to the elite in the league. He has always seemingly had the reputation of one of the very best managers which has always seemed over the top to me.

I think your summary of those positions will be a common one. When you see it like that it really does highlight the neglect. Where we are weak, we are very weak. One left back, an average right winger and one who doesnt look up to it etc. Where we don't look as weak, we are unhealthily reliant on players who have not proven themselves at anything like Championship level. Central midfield, if Wharton can not sustain his levels over a schedule he has never seen before, we look very, very thin. In net, unless the newbie makes the step up instantly, we are stuck with Pears. And its similar relying on a young striker from the German fourth tier and/or a striker from League 1 made of glass. Same with a winger from the Swedish League.

The key issue with direct comparisons to last year is that last seasons squad was the smallest in the league, it wasn't big enough. We slipped away in last couple of months, again.

When you look at the squad listing on the website, you see how light we are. There is now an expectation on players with minimal senior experience (Telalovic, Garrett, Markanday, Leonard, Batty, even Wharton) featuring very regularly which is a huge ask of players who haven't experienced the 2 game a week intense schedule of Championship football.

Attaching blame to Pears for yesterday is totally justified, he made a big mistake for the second, an even bigger mistake for the third and made other errors that went unpunished. Obviously there has to be some context. Was he the only problem, the only poor player or the sole reason we lost? Obviously not. Hes simply not that good. Hes not awful, hes a decent number 2. He isnt as good as Kaminski, that doesnt imply that Kaminski or indeed anyone is perfect, and ultimately we dont know about the new keeper. But as our biggest summer purchase, knowing over a lengthy spell that Pears is not a top half/play off aspiring Championship regular standard, he is worth a go. Also, we obviously cant expect from individuals more than 100%. But we should expect more from our club than merely players who give their all. Our motto is not merely labore. Hedges is a decent squad player, but as with in other positions, failings at the top mean he likely will play the majority of games.

No reason not to expect a play off place. Well expect for: An even thinner squad than last seasons which was the smallest in the league. A squad with 28 year old Ryan Hedges as the oldest head, highlighting a lack of experience to the frustration of the manager. Addressing the lack of goals last season by losing the man who scored twice that of anyone else, and being so financially restricted that we have turned to a young lad playing in the German fourth tier and a freebie from Plymouth made of glass.

Theyve also obviously been signed under the restriction of having buttons to spend and with experience and anyone wanting reasonable wages off the agenda. So best available under those restrictions and a significant improvement dont necessarily fall in line.

Says the person who thinks that Venkys are top 10% owners and that smashing a League 2 reserve side puts Tomasson above managers that had us top 6 in the Premier League and/or won a trophy here.

In an ideal world, Telalovic or Ennis and Sigurdsson will be able to start although I suspect not on either. Hedges, Moran and Szmodics will equate to neat and tidy passing up until a certain point but no punch in attack. Travis needs to stay in, we need his leadership and his energy and he has been our best player this season. Hopefully Rankin Costello is also fit and the inclusion of the new keeper is obviously critical. Ideally: Wahlstedt Rankin Costello Carter Hyam Pickering Travis Wharton Moran Szmodics Sigurdsson Ennis With Telalovic starting if Ennis isnt fit enough. Sadly, I expect Pears in net, Gallagher up top, Hedges for Sigurdsson who with Ennis will still not be fit enough to take part. Telalovic at a push on the bench.

The goal at Millwall split people as to whether Pears took any blame, obviously Pickering didn't deal with it but those of us questioning Pears also pointed to the fact that indecision between him and the defence had happened a few times in the weeks before albeit never leading to a goal, but often unnecessary and dangerous set pieces deep in our half. He has a big weakness in communication with his defence when the ball goes in behind. His spill for the second actually was a second one in 5/10 minutes albeit the first luckily only led to a corner. The only reason anyone said he was on par/better than Kaminski was to echo the choice of the manager.

They did go on to open sale, but I am sure that most were bought before that point.

Id take the Glazers here any day.