Out of interest, is that bottom conclusive paragraph based solely on the stats ot based on watching him play? I have not seen him play much and would be wary to come to a conclusion based solely on data. For me though, being good on the ball is a luxury at the moment. Kipre and Ayala are very much old school defenders, neither will bring it out from the back but both can do the basics and defend. The issue with McKenna seems to be the price. Same with full back. Rankin Costello there would give us more going forward compared to Nyambe but even v Doncaster he was run ragged by the winger. We wont stop conceding if we prioritise playing it out from the back over solidity. Not sure on Sarr either. As the "second" centre back maybe but as an actual defender there seems to be more questions than answers surrounding him.

I still am amazed that a fair few thought he improved last season.

Ayala is hardly a ball player either. Ultimately the main priority though is stopping the goals going in but I cant see us getting McKenna for 6 figures.

If that is the case then quite a few EFL clubs wont last that long. Fingers crossed that at least some tester events are allowed to go ahead and everything goes well and we can get back in well before next spring. The game is a shell of what it can be without fans and financially it is not viable.

The usual lines and excuses from Waggott. Blow some smoke up the owners arse, moan about agents, moan about wages, moan about FFP, the whole inferiority complex. Ultimately as @K-Hod touches on, we go into the season with the same defence minus Adarabioyo and actions speak louder than words. We need "a couple" just at centre back. Chuck in a left back, a sub keeper, and then obviously a further wide man, central midfielder and right back in an ideal world. Also, fair play for eventually communicating about this to the local paper, but not sure he has been questioned on his constant inability to provide any communication on the official site to keep supporters up to date.

I cant believe that anyone would happily continue with Pickford in goal. He is far, far worse than either Pope or Henderson.

Not saying that he isnt, but how can you be so sure that Garner is so much better than Buckley? I am not one to turn his nose up at shorter term deals (obviously amidst long term ones too) if it means better results. But just curious as to how you can be so sure that he is so good that you call the comparison "bizarre." I think obviously whilst the contract should never have been given out, and now it has, we should look to get him out as a player unable to contribute on the field anymore for any sort of financial benefit to us. I am not sure that I feel comfortable with the phrase "trashing the morale of the club." There is absolutely no suggestion that he is anything but a good professional aside from a bit of a tongue in cheek tweet, and he deserves a lot of respect for what he has done rather than being made out to be a bad egg.

I think it was done at the World Cup with an acceptance that we didnt have the midfield to compete and basically we could bypass it wasnt it, with 2 number 10's ahead of Henderson. We were very reliant on set pieces even against poorer teams. With the emergence of some players since, especially Winks, Foden, Mount etc who could now potentially be part of that 3 and hopefully help us win the midfield battle more often than not with a bit more technical ability and creativity in there. I dont think 4-3-3 in theory has to leave the front 3 isolated, although in the big games they obviously have to be the 3 match winners, there could be scope for the 2 midfielders either side of the sitter to push on. I definitely agree that we should move away from 3 at the back. Having only 2 midfielders (especially 2 average ones at internation level, both with defensive mindsets) in front of 3 centre backs will not enable us to play through the lines and dominate games with the current players.

And from the looks of things, I bet that had we still been looking for a goalkeeper, ie had Kaminski gone elsewhere or had it not gone through yet, we wouldnt have even moved onto stage 2, ie look to bring in a CB! To be fair, would Mowbray have said that if it was totally unrealistic and indeed would even an agreement have been in place had it been double our current structure? I doubt it. Seems that the speculation about his wage demands was a little bit wayward. That being said, he gets judged on who he does bring in, not who he fails to bring in 100%.

Would have that side but as a 4-3-3 with Winks sitting and Henderson and Foden either side. Would also not have Pickford near the side, Pope for me with Henderson as number 2. Agree that I have no idea what he was doing last night.

The thing is, Kipre or Ayala would have been very good signings, but ultimately, whether they were realistic enough, affordable enough, whatever, Mowbray and the club couldnt get those deals done. The thing that it doesnt excuse is the lack of recruitment in defence full stop. Even if we had been focusing on getting that main CB in and had failed, that only accounts for one missing defender. We equally need a left back, yet he has seemingly put that on hold for the time being and we now go into a season with Bell at left back which is crazy. Also, we want 2 centre backs, presumably one will be for competition purposes. Why hasnt the secondary centre back come in either? It seems that we are working on one deal at a time and that compounds our failure to get these deals over the line. Its an absolute mess.

Dont forget the one who wasnt part of that defence who was signed by Mowbray and is by far the worst of the lot and the worst left back in the league.

To be fair, I would certainly have Dunk, Tarkowski and maybe one or two others over the uselese Eric Dier.

I will be interested to see if the following line is continued post season ticket release later in the week: "How can you sell tickets for a game that might never happen?"

I dont think that Garner would be someone either feasible or affordable permanently, as with Adarabioyo. No real senior football again a worry. If he is better than what we have though, which I havent a clue, then sure. But lots of questions about that. As it is, seems that half the Championship are linked so presumably nothing in it.

Mowbray when defending Brereton has regularly referenced the considerable price tag, you would think that he would mention if the fee was considerably lower because that could help reduce the expectations perhaps.

https://the72.co.uk/191096/spanish-side-keen-on-recently-released-middlesbrough-defender-swansea-and-stoke-still-interested/ Ayala interesting Cadiz. https://the72.co.uk/191101/bournemouth-eyeing-spurs-defender-luton-town-also-keen/ Carter Vickers interesting Bournemouth and Luton.

No I know, sorry my post included 2 quotes regarding JRC. My quotes to you where more regarding that people are hesitant. Ultimately I think people seem to be excited to see him to be fair but a this stage he has not proven himself as a first team capable wide man, obviously mainly because he has hardly played there, hence why at the moment we cant be sure. The point was, you used the rumour to prove that we had a budget a time when Mowbray said that he had no clarity from India, ie you had the rumour as fact. Now, 7 weeks later and obviously in which time the budget must have been agreed and there is no reason to defend that side of things anymore, the rumour is less a fact and more a source of mockery to you.

As a sign of how contradictory your posts are, you used the initial rumour as proof that Mowbray must have had a budget.

I think fans would have a right not be content should we essentially throw the towel in on any promotion ambition before the season started. Obviously stopping short at phrases like "poisonous atmosphere" and "mob will be angry and frustrated" but I would be unhappy should we take such a mindset, as we have seen at Boro. It isnt as if our current team and many of our key assets arent youngsters anyway, so it isnt as if we are focusing on short term in an attempt to gamble to get a top 6 finish that is less than 50% likely. Armstrong, Travis, Nyambe and although slightly older Dack and Lenihan are the first names on the team sheet. Gallagher plays more often than not, Brereton seems to be getting more and more game time, Rankin Costello seems to be considered a first teamer then we have the likes of Buckley, Davenport and maybe now Wharton as regulars in the first team squad. Theres plenty of scope for players developing there but very much within us naming our best team. I wouldnt want to see us prioritise development over results though, I think we can prioritise results whilst developing with the players mentioned above. i wouldnt want to see Carter chucked in (he was well off when he got a taster last season) for example even if the only alternative was a loan deal, which it isnt, I would prefer an Adarabioyo because he would be a massive upgrade and I care about the team winning games first and foremost. And I dont think thats me being really impatent or being part of a baying mob demanding success now, but you cant put anything above results as the primary priority. World class is laughable. And I think the reason that people are "hesitant" is because at the moment, he has yet to fully establish himself in the first team. There is an element of doubt as to how good and how effective he can be. He has played maybe a dozen first team competitive games, mainly out of position at left back where he let nobody down but it certainly isnt a position he will play long term. He hasnt as of yet really had more than a couple of chances in attacking positions, and when he did he didnt come onto the scene with a bang. You may have been watching him but predominantly for the reserves and until he does it at senior level rather than with the kids and shows that he can get goals and assists there, then people will see him less of a hope for the future and more of a player for the here and now. I would like to see him start the first game, be very much around the first team this season and hopefully he does thrive because that will make everyone happy. I am not sure if Lindsay is within our price range. He joined Stoke for £2-2.5m and I think they were reported as wanting that back, and we cant afford 7 figure fees.

Surely its not as simple as being "confident" in finishing top 6 and if not, then playing loads of kids. If individuals are good enough, by all means play them but unless for example you have 10/15 games left and you are comfortably in mid table, when by all means start to experiment, but you cant just go and play too many kids off the bat at the start of the season unless they are genuinely amidst your best 11. Even if you think you have a 25% chance of a top 6 finish, you have to push for it for what the potential reward is rather than prioritising development too much over results. Although to be honest, we have a young side anyway so there are plenty of players who develop even whilst playing our best team without pushing it too far. It isnt in the youngsters best interests either to chuck too many in together and it is in the best interest of everyone to get enough experience amidst it all. Not that I am endorsing becoming over reliant on loan players, as you said they should be the final push to get the over line which I totally agree with. I also dont think we should be loaning Stoke reserves as has been suggested. The main issue with us is how we have spent money under Mowbray all in attacking areas, and theres not that base of permanent defenders whereby a loan like Adarabioyo is the cherry on top of the cake. Even if somehow we could get him again, which I would welcome even on loan, we still need at least one permanent CB and LB for it to make sense. A good example would be Boro. They finished 7th under Pulis without really using the academy, then flipped 180 degrees and made a big deal about playing kids under Woodgate as the primary objective so surely last season was more successful than the season before and Woodgate should have stayed on? Pulis was solely short term, no consideration to playing youth and so close to a top 6 finish. Whereas Woodgate was solely prioritising playing kids and results become almost a secondary objective. The ideal approach is a hybrid but closer to Pulis than Woodgate, you cant prioritise development to the point when results are not of primary importance. To go off on a tangent, the key is to judge the manager on who he signs (and when) rather than getting too caught up in the rumours on what he might have tried to do. The mystery second defender that we have missed out on has been revealed as both Ayala and Mawson within a couple of pages, and Ayalas potential wage has varied by 20k. Rumours aside, all that matters is who we do bring in.

For me, the idea of Venkys having enough of an interest and indeed knowledge of specific positons to insist on no defender purchases seems crazy. The most obvious reason for our recent reluctance to buy defenders is the manager. He has shown the same negligent towards his defence at previous jobs including his last one. He deserves the blame. Prior to him, we had Hanley who serves us well from the academy, paid good money for Dann and when he was sold, paid a fee for Duffy who again was a success. Then there was a period when the assets all over the pitch were sold and replaced by frees then we had Lenihan again from the academy and Mulgrew. Also, it would make little sense spending a fee on Pears to be number 2. An experienced freebie makes more sense compared to buying someone who needs to develop, not sit on a bench.

We have lost players from our squad totalling 29.1% of the minutes played.

Why does he? Because it benefits us? King may not have had an offer at all yet, or if he has, an offer that he considers to be worthwhile both in terms of club and finances. We cant rely on things like that regarding our own budget. If he or any other player we have a sell on clause regarding moves on, it should be treat as a bonus as and when it occurs, not as something we wait around for and are reliant on. Compensation is massively reduced abroad I think but I have no reason to suspect that Nyambe wouldnt sign a new deal and it is probably our own lack of having our house in order that has let him get into the last year of his deal, baring in mind he is one of only 2 competent defenders that we have.

It would be crazy to hold off doing any business on the hope that a player at another club gets sold and we get a small chunk of it, what happens if he isnt sold? What happens if he gets sold on the last day of the window? We have struggled in the past to get deals over the line, to work on more than one deal at once and to appreciate the need for a fast start to a season. I very much doubt that we are waiting for a transfer to happen elsewhere to kick start things as some sort of strategy.