He did look particularly succeptible in the air, seems to be that quite a few recall in the same way. I fear that he must be still quite a bit off the standard if hes currently playing in non League. Platt was doing likewise last season and he ended up leaving permanently to try and make a career for himself lower down the pyramid.

He must have improved plenty since his time here, of course it was a tough time but his football was mind numbingly bad and he cost us a semi final at Wembley.

I wonder if Mowbray would prefer the game to be on or off. It could be a valuable opportunity to get a start under the belts of Dack and Travis, for the likes of Davenport, Dolan and one or two other squad players to push themselves for a more regular place, and even for one or two youngsters to make the manager aware of what they can do. Conversely, we dont want any injuries and the defence will be beyond patched up.

100% agree with this. They seem to have taken us for granted.

Mowbray mentioned that Travis and Dack will start on Saturday which I agree with to get them match sharp, he did suggest that Dack might still not be ready to start games (the usual intensity waffle) so maybe he wont start the following weekend but it seems a perfect chance to give them a start v inferior opposition. A few of the senior players have been given a few games off, I would certainly rest Armstrong and Elliott and give Pears a run out. Davenport should also get another start to potentially make a play for a start again with Travis v Stoke. That would potentially mean being unable to give Trybull/Downing/Buckley a start but so be it. Defence is obviously the bomb scare, especially if a loanee isnt brought in by the weekend. I dont think we can risk Lenihan or Nyambe if he is even available so it will probably mean 2 left backs who dont cover themselves in glory on either side and 2 kids in the middle, which could be a big problem even v lower league opposition. V Oldham last year Grayson and Platt for example looked well out of their depth and Carter did at the end of the season. Johnson isnt able there either. There was mention on the club feed that it is free to air via the FA app but it seems unless im missing something that you can only watch it via phone/tablet which is a shame.

Theres definitely something in that, hes often prone to excessive step overs when they arent needed too. The key to his development may be chanelling his raw flair and skill to use it more usefully which I hope will come in time.

There are examples of young defenders (not necessarily exactly 18) especially via the loan market, Guehi at Swansea has been outstanding, Adarabioyo was good here, Tomori was key for Derby a couple of years ago, there are also defenders like Nathan Collins and Cabango impressing. For me a big problem with loaning a kid is knowing with any certainty that they are what you need when signing them, you are taking a stab in the dark. Under 23 football is by its very nature sanitised and totally different from the competitive nature of League football. With an attacking player there is more scope for flexibility, they can start off with cameos off the bench etc whereas with a centre back they will be coming to slot straight in and you cant know beforehand whether they will be able to cope with the physicality having only faced young strikers who lack the physicality or the know how to give them a tough time playing with the kids, you might have a clear picture of how neat and tidy they can be on the ball but thats hardly the priority. This Everton defender for example has only played 13 career games, 9 at League 2 level and thats probably more to go off than most in a similar position so it is such a stab in the dark.

I remember that v Wigan and also at Sheffield Wednesday in the following game where he looked miles out of his depth sadly. That Leicester game will go down in folklore for him but the key word is friendly and it was hardly hustle and bustle.

With Nyambe, I think there is an acceptance that he probably will go for peanuts via a tribunal fee sadly. Will be a big and totally unnecessary loss. Rothwell far less so, we do have an automatic clause to extend his deal anyway but he flatters to deceive far too much to make him a big loss, I doubt teams are queuing around the block for him.

Even things like this where they are seemingly trying to be inventive just seem well off the mark. Surely such a prize could be a reward for those who have bought season tickets in uncertain times, who is seriously going to spend £100 in January amidst a pandemic on overpriced tat in the club shop?

Its minimal in the grand scheme of things, 9 games at Carlisle is barely "doing the hard graft" and only 4 games for Everton. Like anyone at that age, it is a massive risk to put so much onus on an untested kid with the expectations of merely being "better than Bradley Johnson at centre back." Even Charlie Mulgrew would just about be better than Johnson there and hes nowhere near good enough! Sadly, it seems to be the only market we can afford to go into.

Im not convinced that we can wait too long. There are 4 league games this month of which Ayala will miss them all and we cannot afford to play them all with our current lack of options. We need someone in before the Stoke game a week on Saturday.

For fans abroad who can presumably watch games now much more easily, how much of the experience as fans reliant on watching on TV does the games being behind closed doors lose? Obviously part of my reduction in enthusiasm comes from knowing that I cannot personally attend but the game I have possibly enjoyed most this season was Brentford, in that there were at least a couple of thousands fans in the ground, it felt like it had more meaning.

Can totally understand people being wary towards us signing a raw kid to try and solve our problems in defence. There is of course examples of young defenders on loan, Guehi at Swansea for example is really good, but its a risky market (presumably the only one we can afford to deal in) and ball playing ability cant be the priority, from all the names mentioned, it seems a non starter but Kipre was the best in that he has proven himself at this level. Closer to home, Adarabioyo was a good loan addition although perhaps proof that a solitary kid wont fix the defence and with the problems elsewhere notably at left back I suspect that the goals might still be going in, but defensive reinforcements are a must.

Its too simplistic to be reluctant to sign loans in case the season doesnt result in a top 6 finish. I appreciate the logic but if we were unwilling to sign a loanee to fix a blatant area of weakness on that basis then that would essentially be throwing in the towel half way through the season.

I find some of the backlash towards Kipre totally bizarre. He did what every single person would have in the same position but because it was our club that missed out, some seem personally offended. Its not the decision made of a mercenary even if money was a major factor, no one in their right mind would have no temptation towards having their salary doubled. There was no reason for Kipre to automatically assume that he would struggle for game time and anyone would choose the challenge of the Premier League. Rich Sharpe has denied that we are interested anyway for what its worth but I would much prefer a player lile him who has proven his quality at this level rather than an untested kid.

Kipre did what everyone would have done in his position, he went to a higher division for more money. In regards to potentially signing, he is a player who excelled at this level last season which would perhaps put him ahead of very young centre backs with little experience that may be available elsewhere, therefore it would be cutting our nose off to spite our face to dismiss the possibility out of pettiness that he didnt join in the first place.

Its not a wonderful thing when hes failed to fix the defence time after time. How people perceived them at the time is irrelevant.

Are the 2 mutually exclusive? Cant we keep the top scorer in the league and bring through the kids as and when deemed the correct time?

Not when at least 2 are made of glass and one was a kid Mowbray didnt trust at that time. Poor recruitment again compounded by Douglas not being up to it.

We seemingly didnt allow Williams to join Swansea due to an inability to match our fee, but Williams has always been below the quality required to go where we supposedly want to go, and he has always had repeated injury problems and an aura of a player who you would not want beside you on the trenches. To replace a departing centre back who pretty much was available every week last season with one solitary replacement with serious injury problems was negligent whichever way you look at it. We have Lenihan, Ayala and Williams all with serious injury histories, if we was to go down the route of signing Ayala and not selling Williams, which was risky, surely you'd sign one more rather than signing TWO central midfielders, one who has had minimal impact in Trybull and one in Downing who Mowbray doesnt seem to consider for starts. There is no defence (ironically) for such negligence and no excuses. Either way, a third summer in a row passed with a failure to assemble a defence capable of having the quality and depth to last the season and keep the goals out. Mowbray didnt even know if he was going to keep Wharton around at the start of the season!

If a sub comes on, scores and does nothing else, he has had a massive impact.

Sorry I meant central defence. Douglas has merely added a player not of a competent level to compete with Bell for a place based on who is the least bad!

In regards to any talk of the referee, has anyone seen back the incident in the first half where they looked to have a strong penalty appeal for a trip by Bell prior to us scoring on the break?

Ayala is out for 4 more weeks with a hamstring strain. Hes becoming a bit of a disaster of a signing in that he was the sole addition to a defence that lost Adarabioyo and hes made of glass. If we are left with Johnson at CB for any period of time it will cost us.