Tomaszk

Mad that lip. You'd think if it's possible for a face to split like that you'd have seen it many times in boxing and MMA. Not seen such a clean split that goes so high in well-worn faces used to been walloped.

Remember Bosko playing with boots that seemed to be missing studs. Sliding round all over the place.

They'll rot your brain mate. Can't even imagine the tripe that must be on there. Presume it's just the usual extremes of if we win everyone is great, and crap if we lose.

Don't respond to trolls.

Don't respond to trolls man! How he's got the stamina I don't know. He almost totally disappeared last season at times.

Holding onto this thought and hoping. We definitely haven't been really poor in majority of our games. We've been good against the teams around us. If they come and try to take a point, we'll trash them. If they come to try and win, it could go either way!

They can both play up front right now. Or one of them with Wes. We shouldn't be going to play it next game for me. We've shown we can beat poor teams at home with the 433. The time to try it was Wolves, Leicester, Sheff Utd, teams built to open us up like a tin of beans and games we struggled massively in.

Everton winning with that goal will be funny. We have been absolutely caned by VAR this season. Wow, next three are the bottom three. Simple question to the players before the next three. Do you want to be Premier League players? This is the whole season.

I agree they are always enjoyable. In terms of predictability though, that's exactly the way they've played all season long. I could have named that team and formation for you last Monday. Their squad fits the formation perfectly. Ours doesn't fit Dean's sadly. He's hasn't addressed it, and just continues to try and play it.

Not sure, depends on performances as it always does for me. Lose those and we're down, Pep with Klopp as assistant isn't keeping us up. Smith has shown he can get us out the championship. It was great to watch. I don't know though, and I hope we don't have to find out. His big weakness is refusing to ever change formation. The system isn't the worst ever but the front three are not good enough for what's being asked. It would protect the midfield if the ball would stick with them, they don't and the midfield gets overrun.

I'm glad he missed today because if he'd have started he'd have been blown away and his chance of starting the next game would have been reduced. Hourihane to score and villa win is bet of the match next up.

20th December 2018. John Percy announced we had signed Lovre Kalinic, the keeper we were absolutely desperate for. He arrived 1st of January and only registration admin stopped him playing that day. We need news like that coming in the next 5 days of a striker on his way. Ideally PL admin is slicker and he can be ready to start at Burnley new year's day. Things obviously didn't pan out for Kalinic but the efficiency of the signing gives a bit of hope when we're desperate.

Mad that. Certainly doesn't feel like that to me. We've got absolutely no bonus points we didn't have to work our nuts off for. From the next three games...you have to say 4 points isn't enough. It's 5 absolutely minimum if you promise me we're getting a striker January 1st. 6 is probably the real minimum, we need wins.

Yes to all of those Davis will help when he's back. We need to get Wes out the team. Honestly I think the crowd will get a huge lift if he doesn't start the next game.

I think he's an idealist. It works sometimes so that drives him on to chase perfection but we need to learn to walk, we're trying to sprint all the time. When we're bad, we're very bad. We have some players that are soft as puppy poo who don't help the boss at all. El Ghazi, Lansbury, Targett, Hourihane, Luiz all have ability. They shrivel up constantly, you can see it coming, almost by just reading the fixture on a bit of paper. I think these are talented footballers so Smith gives them chance after chance, and you just know the games they'll disappoint in.

It's going to be a renaissance the likes of which hasn't been seen since...Taylor was dropped. It'll be like we've dropped an anchor when he's dropped if we can get an average striker in position.

As I said in Wes thread... I thought we might be good enough to just about stay up despite Wes based on early promise. Incorrect. Other teams are picking up bonus points every week. If we don't replace him we're down. Not being able to name a striker that can contribute at all is a mess when we've got players that cost £8-12m playing 0 mins every week IMO. It's poor planning. Hope we pick up some wins regardless in the next three. Four points isn't enough, it's got to be six or more. Ah, yes I think you're right on Maupay thinking about it. Dean was wrong sadly, he is worth it, he's also about 5x the footballer of our current #9.

Smith has to talk him up. What's he meant to do when asked about him? "Yes, we've seen him up close and he can't play football. I don't know how we've ended up with him." He should drop him yes, but he can't do anything other than talk him up when asked.

Southampton are awful.

Smith, Suso and Purslow really need to examine the mess we've left ourselves in. Purslow most of all, he's the big dog in charge. The priorities in the summer were wrong. Luckily, I'm confident he will be looking at it with ruthless efficiency. I like Konsa, good buy. I like Engels, good buy. We needed another striker and ended up with two +£8m centre backs, and no plan of ever playing three at the back. If we ran out of money, and it seems like we did because Smith mentioned Maupay being too expensive, there was the problem. Wes being trash is a different issue to him being left as the only striker we have.

It's taken years but someone has come for Bosko Balaban's crown and absolutely booted him off the throne. £22m. Incredible. Can't play football. Fat bloke from the office who comes to 5-a-side, stinks the place out and people wish wouldn't come anymore because no one wants to be on his team. I thought we might be good enough to just about stay up despite him based on early promise. Incorrect. Other teams are picking up bonus points every week. If we don't replace him we're down. What was that story about the agent? Needs looking into. People have made money here, and Villa have been taken to the cleaners.

McGinn also starts.

Wes, Hause, Lansbury, Guilbert, Nakamba all start. Hourihane injured I'm guessing, out of squad.

Very concerning if this just came from an agent.

Linked with Liverpool for £7.5m