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Alonso has a lot of work to do right now to set this season up right, nevermind next year. We have no European football. That's a gift to him on having more time with the players to work, less travel, less game minutes, in theory less injuries. He has a few problems to fix and he also cannot be married to his system. The more I think on it the more he I feel he will have no choice but to make the back 3 his back up system. If he cannot work out a first 11 that has all of Palmer, Rogers and Estevao starting and forming a potentially unbelievable attacking trip off a striker it would be a huge failing. We need to see that worked on once Estevao is fully fit, and he is getting close.

For now it is ok as Estevao builds back up from his injury. However a player of his talent is too good to be getting so few minutes from the bench longer term. It's a good problem to have but it is a problem for Alonso. He will have to find a way to fit in Palmer, Rogers and Estevao in to the same team regularly, and that does not mean one of them plays wingback, otherwise we do risk Estevao deciding to Leave us. Estevao has to be giving a staring, central role to this team.

Someone should pull them on that, because his foot was absolutely nowhere near the ball. The ball was on the ground ffs ... he knew exactly where the ball was ... it was practically between his own knees .. right in front of his f**king eyes !!!

No way James or Pedro play Penders Josh Lecroix Colwill Gusto Nicolle-Jaz Barco Quenda Estevao Rogers Welbeck

I was hoping he was going to be this seasons Victor Moses. Bang average winger turned brilliant wingback. Not looking likely....

I am not out here stating Neto is world class. We agree Palmer is, however you are saying it is acceptable because Palmer has produced constant world class performances. In the league, I genuinely don’t remember one game where Palmer has had a top performance against any of the top teams. It should be expected he does more than Neto yesterday. He played RWB you absolute buffoon. Is it a surprise he had 0 shots on target? He had a good effort that was unlucky not to go in. Yes I am defending him from imbeciles like you who troll this thread, still behaving like the class clown, and rather than give encouragement, just write nonsense. Maybe your wife will take you back when you mature a bit. Or maybe she thinks your username reflects your real life ability…

Big question is midfield again of course, don’t think Lavia or James go again. Barco is short and Leeds are a big team so need to pair him with some height behind and alongside. Hoping to see Quenda.

I'm indifferent. A part of me feels Rogers needs to be stronger there. Literally grabbed and tossed like a rag doll. Rice and Lewis-Skelly getting away with cheap fouls Pep Guardiola would be proud of and not getting punished is what bothered me the most.

I think you are right. I'd expect Penders to get the cup games though, as well as no Reece after 90 minutes plus yesterday and Lavia cannot play 2 games so close together. Maybe he sticks with Cole, Rogers and JP though. Would be safer, though I feel all of Welbeck, Estevao and Quenda need the game time to be more ready when we need to call on them. I guess Alonso could give them Hull instead.

Well apparently having ZERO shots on target constitutes one of the best players on the pitch for us. Just going to ignore the rest of it? Oh i forgot, running in a straight line and losing the ball is all that really matters. PSG club world cup final. Away from home. 2 goals 1 assist. MOTM. Now show me Lomba's MOTM performance. Look, of all the players to die on the hill protecting you've picked the funniest one. Of the 4 PL seasons Garnacho has under his belt, he scored more than Neto's best ever PL total lmao. I'm happy to say Garnacho was ass, you're the one still tugging one out over someone who can't even match his stats as a 19 year old. "he stole your missus" f**kin hell mate you got me there, not sure how i'll recover from that one. Bet they love that at the mental asylum.

To be fair, as short as we are in midfield we did buy a midfielder in the summer in Barco and Alonso still didn't bring him on so that's on him.

Dear c**ts, buy a midfield.

Wow, so having two shots on target constitutes having a good game. Fantatic analysis. Let’s praise anyone who takes a shot outside the area and gets it on target as having a good game… No it is not the Palmer thread but how about you show the same level of criticism to other players who don’t turn up. So our best player who has had multiple ‘world class’ seasons gets a reprieve because of this. He should be able to live to those standards and perform in big games. Name me one big game Palmer has performed in the league away from home? I dont mean Tottenham btw… You just any reason you criticise him. Doing so yesterday is just petulant. Anyway, it doesn’t surprise me coming from someone who thought Garnacho was going to be a top player. I don’t swing that way but I am assuming you envy is looks or he stole your missus…

That is a Cup game though, and he will definitely start. I just don’t think he will hang around post Jan playing 10-15 in PL games. That also applies to Quenda & Gittens. If the manager insists on playing 3-4-3, he needs to be able to offer his options more than 15mins each game.

Dates confirmed. 23 September 2026 - Austria Vienna (H) 8pm 30 September 2026 - OL Lyonnes (A) 8pm 28 October 2026 - AS Roma (H) 5.45pm 10 November 2026 - BK Hacken (A) 5.45pm 18 November 2026 - Paris Saint-Germain (H) 8pm 16 December 2026 - OH Leuven (A) 8pm

It was a tough one yesterday. I would like to have seen Estevao and Welbeck introduced earlier yesterday, but Alonso probably thought go too gung-ho and they get a third and then it's definitely game over. But I agree with Pedro. Bar a couple of moments, he was well off it yesterday and that is a slight concern as it seems to happen in all of our "big" games. With Palmer, unless he was having an absolute shocker or of course picked up a knock, I would be loathe to take him off as he IS the player that can make something happen. He was okay yesterday but didn't get enough of the ball in the danger areas - not helped by Pedro dropping deep so often. That's why a wish we had signed Wharton. He would be feeding all three of our attackers rather than them having to come and look for the ball.

I agree, it's not enough minutes, but I guess they are mindful of the injury and to be fair, the team has been performing pretty well. But he definitely should have come on earlier yesterday and it would be good to see him get at least 45 minutes v Leeds mid-week.

Doesnt offer enough end product. I dont really have an issue with him as he has survived the summer cull and the manager obviously see's something in his game. Im genuinely interested to see what Alonso can do. IMO Neto is a far less effective Willian. Dare I say it, but I'd much rather have kept George, who on here wasnt good enough, but had more redeeming qualities than Neto and would have saved us spending on Gittens, Garnacho and Neto (circa 150 million). Always do this, but probably good to compare how both George and Pedro handle the season and finish with the better stats. Put George in my Fantasy team ahead of Neto so that's my take on it. It's also why Im keen for Alonso to work some magic with the squad he has (if possible) and be given 18 months to sort out the mess he has inherited from the past 3 seasons. Madueke hasnt kicked on since moving to Arsenal, didnt really impress at the world cup, glad he's no longer here, think I'll eventually say the same about Neto, but hope he can up his game while he's here, he's probably a demon on the five a side kick abouts.

Judging from these first 3 games, there is no comfort in our backline or defensive shape whatsoever. We could have 10 defenders on the pitch, and it would be more of the same. This will take the most time to sort out.

Expecting another strong team here like Luton.

+ Bruno and Merino. I think I am starting to agree that it should be Scott + Wharton instead of one or the other. Not sure why Alonso didn't bring on Barco, especially for some creativity, needing a goal.

They're paid to just agree with whatever the on field decision is. Its embarrassing and everyone sees through it.

Yup, and that muppet Tim Sherwood saying Emi made to much of it. Honestly, the levels of punditry and officiating are in the gutter.

Dermott Gallagher buy any chance? The blokes an over stretched scrotum.