Pre Season 24-25

[SB]

I was really pleasantly surprised with Gravenberch in the No 6 role. He saw plenty of the ball & didn’t going hiding at all. I know it was **** opposition but it was certainly one of his best matches for us.

[BigChief]

Diaz, Jota and Mo, with Elliott in behind, picks itself for Ipswich I reckon.

Elliot has made it difficult for the manager to not start him. But that would be at the expense of Szob. Gravo has earned his place next to McA.

[SB]

I think when the players started to return from holidays none of us imagined that Carvalho had a future with us after a mixed season out on loan. He did ok in the Championship but he failed to impress anyone in Germany. If we’d have been offered anything around £10-12m I think we’d have considered it but by putting him in the shop window out of necessity due to the stars returning later we’ve managed to double the asking price & also have a sell on clause in case he does find the form we initially thought he was capable of ( like Solanke )

Gravenberch is another player that divided opinion but he’s looked better in preseason than most thought possible. If Slot can unlock the potential that has been evident since his Ajax days we could be on a winner.

The big winner out of PS seems to have been Trey Nyoni. Every PS someone steps up & blows us away ( previously it’s been Gordon or Doak or Quansah or Bradley ) & this year it’s Nyoni. For someone so young he seems so mature & refreshingly he doesn’t rely on pace alone. I hope we keep him & let him continue in the 21’s with the odd Cup match or cameo as I’d like to see him learn Slots methods.

So bye bye Carvalho, hopefully it’s just loan deals for Doak, Clarke & Gordon , sell Rhys & Phillips & get Zubimendi & a good CB for starters & hopefully a surprise or two.

[Harv]

I think when the players started to return from holidays none of us imagined that Carvalho had a future with us after a mixed season out on loan. He did ok in the Championship but he failed to impress anyone in Germany. If we’d have been offered anything around £10-12m I think we’d have considered it but by putting him in the shop window out of necessity due to the stars returning later we’ve managed to double the asking price & also have a sell on clause in case he does find the form we initially thought he was capable of ( like Solanke )

Gravenberch is another player that divided opinion but he’s looked better in preseason than most thought possible. If Slot can unlock the potential that has been evident since his Ajax days we could be on a winner.

The big winner out of PS seems to have been Trey Nyoni. Every PS someone steps up & blows us away ( previously it’s been Gordon or Doak or Quansah or Bradley ) & this year it’s Nyoni. For someone so young he seems so mature & refreshingly he doesn’t rely on pace alone. I hope we keep him & let him continue in the 21’s with the odd Cup match or cameo as I’d like to see him learn Slots methods.

So bye bye Carvalho, hopefully it’s just loan deals for Doak, Clarke & Gordon , sell Rhys & Phillips & get Zubimendi & a good CB for starters & hopefully a surprise or two.

Im not surprised he's looked better tbh. We'll be playing a system that actually suits him. A quicker passing tempo, smarter movement Dutch midfield and less of the running around like a headless chicken Klopp midfield. I think Grav and Macca will really shine. Jones less so.

[Rich]

I was at the game yesterday. A couple of things shone out at me that I’ve not really clocked via TV before.

1 - Diaz is like liquid mercury, easily had the fastest feet on the pitch. I’m not a fan of his due to lack of end product but there’s a lot of fear when he’s on the ball.

2 - Jota’s ‘clumsy’ but I think it’s on purpose and that’s why he picks up injuries. Noticed this more too, he seems to either actively want to clash with a player or just does it anyway. So he ends up in a tangle more times than other players. A bit Suarez like but he’s not built like Terminator.

3 - Macca’s positional play. Just exceptional, always seemed to be in the right spot.

[SB]

Im not surprised he's looked better tbh. We'll be playing a system that actually suits him. A quicker passing tempo, smarter movement Dutch midfield and less of the running around like a headless chicken Klopp midfield. I think Grav and Macca will really shine. Jones less so.

Tbh I’ve always thought there was a footballer in there but I didn’t think we’d see him play as a 6. He thrived in the middle & I genuinely liked what I saw.

[SB]

I was at the game yesterday. A couple of things shone out at me that I’ve not really clocked via TV before.

1 - Diaz is like liquid mercury, easily had the fastest feet on the pitch. I’m not a fan of his due to lack of end product but there’s a lot of fear when he’s on the ball.

2 - Jota’s ‘clumsy’ but I think it’s on purpose and that’s why he picks up injuries. Noticed this more too, he seems to either actively want to clash with a player or just does it anyway. So he ends up in a tangle more times than other players. A bit Suarez like but he’s not built like Terminator.

3 - Macca’s positional play. Just exceptional, always seemed to be in the right spot.

It’d be great to see Diaz get numbers similar to prime Mane instead of us being so reliant on Mo for goals. I know what you mean about Jota & seemingly wanting to just run straight over his opponent & getting injured in the process.