Matt C

He really doesn't look good enough

It's hard to see what they saw in him tbh

He looks like a franny jeffers to me. Loads of goals in kids football but not sure what his outstanding attributes are

From the ltd amount I've seen he's a way off. Mind you barely seen him in a year

Wd this be James Wright as things stand?

I was a Pau sceptic so declare my prejudice. In his first season I think the pros outweighed the cons (some not direct goal involvements but he was crucial in gaining supremacy generally). But for me now I'm not sure it does. Unfortunately Mings has looked dozy in pre season tho

In his last two games it really struck home that we don't have a player like that, without Asensio.

With Hemmings I don't see the point him going to say Lincoln and seeing the ball disappear over his head for 90 mins. He's clearly learning from Unai and probably Tielemans. Maybe a loan to Holland, Belgium or similar?

I agree with all you've said here. Including that Tielemans / Maatsen / Pau is a triangle down the LHS that I don't want to see too often (but which featured more than I remembered tail end of last season)

Couple of suggested topics if it's not too late.

The defence (and do the mix of players work)

Rogers - where best to play him? We improved a lot when he moved him away from no 10 even if we don't like him on the right. He gives it away too much?

Does Onana need to be in the team?

Here Konsa advances. But without a back three / Carlos behind him, when he gives it away cheaply suddenly they're just through and we're in trouble.

On another day we concede four and there's a meltdown today

Here youve got a) a weak defensive line and then the striker just eases Pau off the ball and should score and then b) like man city away he's just not aggressive enough box defending

I think it's a combo of some familiar issues plus we're now pushing both full backs on more. But the screenshots I took here illustrate my concerns. The gap between Konsa and Pau is just too big here and they run straight through it

He looks really good and like mcginn very lean

The defensive set up is worrying me a bit. Pau and Konsa together. Pau and Maatsen together. The spaces we are leaving as both full backs advance. Hopefully when the real action starts we will be more disciplined and aggressive.

I've changed my mind re Bailey. He's still badly out of form

He's a profile we don't have otherwise. And for those of us who aren't convinced that Rogers is best off as the ten if we can keep him that's intriguing

You're reeling off a list of my teenage crushes

On the plus side ollie looks razor sharp, buendia is doing well, and Emi has kept us in it. Youri and aloba shown some nice touches.

Very unsure how we line up v Newcastle esp if Rogers is out

Hmm. On another day wed be 3 down. I thought that was pretty poor. V like some of the passive away performances last ssn. Maybe we're deliberately trying to avoid another game like yday. But the konsa Pau - Tielemans kamara set up has been sliced open time and again. Onana needs to play atm for me

Hmm. Very open so far.

Yeah I had a few tactical questions going into the summer and don't think any of them have been answered really

I think it might be Maatsen because he could really get at trippier again

I keep changing my mind on a couple of them

I think you'd have to play Maatsen and then a winger, so I am not sure Mcginn gets in? Not at home anyway

Decisions decisions

As an aside, I would not be gobsmacked if Bailey plays v Newcastle

Agree. Either jimoh or guessand I imagine

Watching the youth Cup final the emery style of play was clearly visible

I'm also a bit surprised we haven't seen much of Tielemans in the ten position. We're a bit light on options there and Onana is making a strong case to start alongside Kamara imv

Would you say a similar profile to Tielemans Jacob? It hadn't occurred to me until yday but it was like having a mini Tielemans in there at times

Yes me too. I'd be tempted to do that v Newcastle. But we've not really seen it so far

Yes me too. But problem for me is that cash doesn't have that quality on the ball and that with both full backs pushing on we look vulnerable. Also with Rogers as a ten the ball breaks down a fair bit. All of that seemed the plan last season too but it never quite worked for me

Yeah it's interesting that malen is playing as a 9. It might simply be the lack of alternatives to Watkins. But we're not seeing much to test whether he can play on the right and fit in

It was another reminder of how much we miss watkins when he's not playing. Couldn't really get out in that second half. Malen is a danger but he's not a starter for me atm