Of course it is, and always was. The lazy, easy option of an FA man trying to be justified by 2 drab glorified friendlies wins v crap sides.

Im not actually sure we have improved our starting 11 this summer in that I only would say/guess at this point that Cantwell and Gueye are probably going to be first 11 players in the near future. The rest will mainly be the usual suspects, a lot of average to decent Championship players, and those 2 would technically be replacing Szmodics and Gallagher. And even though Cantwell is as good as we could expect in that position and Gueye seems an upgrade on Gallagher, simply because of Szmodics being so good and scoring so many, they wont match the 30 goals those 2 had "between" them. Travis being back is key but we did have Wharton until the end of January. The 3 most important signings are perhaps the foreign ones, we need Gueye and Ohashi to score plenty to somewhat offset the Szmodics loss. Amidst the excitement of signing 2 foreign strikers who already are becoming cult heroes, and there are clear positive signs with both, they both do have question marks in certain areas and its hard to tell especially with Gueye how many goals we will get. Toth is the crucial one, if hes no good and/or just a back up, one of our big 2 issues (on the field) last season was in net, both keepers were shocking and cost us so many points. If Toth comes in and proves to be up to the job however, then different story. The second big issue from last season was the lack of depth, no side in the league was as thin as ours. The first 11 (well outfield 10) was competitive but it was beyond that when the problems started. Experienced squad players like Baker, Batth and Weimann might start less than half of the games but they reduce the strain on the first 11. Hopefully the loans such as Cozier-Duberry and Beck can also ensure that the overall squad is much deeper and more well rounded. That will be important because using your subs is so important when you get 5 and we rarely did last year because there was no real options. But moreso as the games go by, injuries and suspensions crop up and we are not having to regularly use players like Garrett, Markanday and Telalovic.

It was standard fare for a game like this. Nothing riding on it, flat atmosphere, very slow football and England just having far more individual quality than a very poor Finland side. Didnt see anything noticeably different to home games under Southgate. Not that I expect such a sudden difference, but that is what you tend to get in these games. Thank god the internationals are over.

I dont think certainly that Cantwell will start nor do I see Cozier Duberry starting. The difference with attacking players is that you can initially bring them off the bench, whereas with Toth he either starts or he almost certainly doesnt feature. Our shit performance v Blackpool robs us of a very useful potential opportunity to give the likes of Cantwell, Cozier-Duberry, Baker, JRC, Sigurdsson etc some much needed game time. Sigurdsson and Cozier-Duberry wont even have been able to play in any bounce games during this break, with Sigurdsson only warming yhe bench for Iceland and I am not sure if Cozier-Duberry featured tonight for England under 20s, but he didnt start.

Im not sure what anyone is getting out of that to be honest. A slow, dull game played at testimonial pace where the players somewhat went through the motions in front of an eery Wembley but could rely on the fact that they obviously are considerably better individually than a very poor Finland side. With so many absentees, the questions regarding how the balance of the team will look once the likes of Bellingham, Foden and Palmer are available again remain. Gordon gives us something totally different but his pull backs are often blocked and he is not close the same quality as those 3 mentioned. Will Carsley/ideally a proper manager be willing to stick with him/someone similar and not try to stick too many of our best players in the same team?

He started the first game for Newcastle and then was sub for the following 2, even though Dan Burn who is often played at left back for Newcastle was needed at centre back due to them not signing a centre back and with Schar out. Not sure we can read much into a game v Austria under 21s. He may well be a talent and he may in time alleviate concerns in that positions, who knows. But specifically with the next World Cup in mind, left back seems to be a definite problem position in the near future. A right back will likely play there tonight and a centre back played there v Ireland.

Of course it doesnt. Combined with the one at home to Ipswich, one away to Ipswich, one away at Preston, 2 away at Plymouth, the first goal at Swansea, Sunderland's second at Ewood, Hull's second at Ewood, if ive not missed any out, its quite a catalogue in 26 games of goals he was directly responsible for. You mention that save against Leciester, he also saved a penalty at home to Stoke too. He is a professional keeper, he isnt totally devoid of any basic ability. But he has proven that he isnt up to this standard and he will and does cost us far more points than he saves. I know I have taken the argument away slightly. And may he improve, of course, but it would have to be significantly. And this season, we have yet to keep a clean sheet and he has already made a few big mistakes when thankfully it didnt lead to a goal. But equally, he hasnt changed into a competent goalkeeper at this level over pre season.

I imagine that it would be rather boring watching training anyday. But ultimately my point was that even after a long time training with those defenders, they cant possibly trust him due to the mistakes he makes. The main way that Toth can build an understanding with them is in game, and if he isnt making a mistake every other game then they will automatically feel more confident in him than they evee have with Pears.

He just made errors as he had been doing all season, albeit more high profile ones. He certainly cant put it down to criticism aimed at him at the ground, so unless he is a regular on here or more likely on social media reading tweets, he likely will be oblivious.

But the point is, even after ages training with those defenders, Pears will not give those defenders any confidence due to his constant errors and inability to command his defence.

@J*B is there an issue with multiquotes at the moment? It wont let me press the plus button to quote someone on my phone.

I dont have any, thats my point. We are very short at left back, unless Shaw suddenly becomes robust in the next 2 years then its going to again be a problem position as we dont have anyone even close to a top standard. @roverandout doesnt Hall struggle to make the Newcastle side? @joey_big_nose I think that we need to look at phasing Kane out of being a guaranteed starter. In the Euros he was a big hindrance and summed up lethargic and sluggish displays across our front line. Watkins isnt a top level striker but his running in behind may open up space for our other players, many of whom like to get on the ball rather than running beyond it. Walker like Trippier and Maguire should all be excluded going forward, obviously Trippier has now retired.

If they are the standard of left backs we have then thats going to be a massive problem looking into the next tournament. I have no idea why Maguire has managed to get back into the side. Hopefully when he inevitably struggles for game time behind De Ligt and Martinez, he wont linger like a bad smell in the England set up. We still have Stones but there is also Guehi, Konsa and when back, Branthwaite. There should be a natural trimming of fat between each tournament and Walker, Trippier and Maguire should be left behind. Stones might struggle for game time at City in which case his England career should depend accordingly and Kane should also not be as integral as his body seems to be starting to catch up on him.

That would imply that Pears has built a healthy understanding with his defence, when in fact I imagine they are constantly in fear of yet another howler. How we play? Keep the ball out of the net, something Pears struggles with. That understanding will only likely strengthen in actual games anyway, not in training where much of the work for goalkeepers will be seperate.

Pears doesnt seem to have gelled with that same back 4 despite working with them for ages. Not only individual mistakes but creating panic amongst them. The thing is if/when Pears continues, does Toth suddenly then go in after the next international break in which he will again be away? Why specifically then?

Walker is past it now, and our attacking players might thrive more with Watkins up front compared to Kane in 2 years. Which is what its all about, these games prior (including qualifiers I imagine such is the ease of qualifying for ever increasing tournaments) are just a means to an end.

I would tend to agree that Wharton is possibly the best of the 3. But is it not hypocritical to suggest that Gomes cant be that good if he isnt currently at one of the big clubs before then being so strong on this opinion? Mainoo is better than Gallagher especially on the ball but I do think he is a little overrated.

I dont get why it has to be labelled as hate. People just have seen over a period of time him making such a quantity of mistakes that he has shown himself not to be of the required standard and is the weak player in the team. As supporters, we obviously want the team to do well, thus replace the weakest player. Nothing personal and he like the rest of the team will be backed regardless of those opinions if he plays. If he suddenly started performing at a good level without many mistakes then obviously the narrative around him would change. But the evidence we have is that it would take an incredible and sudden improvement.

The money he would cost, and the fact that he is a regular at Premier League level, no way is he coming to the Championship on loan.

They would all be playing in the same position, so they will be directly comparable.

But my point is more, with a limited number of slots and seemingly a number of targets that would need them, surely signings we make using them should be ones for the first team?

Surely we dont have to register him? He isnt a first team player. And if we do, surely you would prioritise those slots for first teamers.

Even with Sigurdsson, isnt it only him, Toth and Ohashi that have ESC slots?

Even if we do let anyone go to clear up a space, and I am guessing that would be Sigurdsson. Venkys dont do Januarys.

Why were we scrambling around for loans for a winger if we has received all that money and had found one for just over £1m who had been identified. Venkys wont spend that in January.