I appreciate I have been a glumbucket and an 'Elijah of doom' about our prospects and accordingly villified. I suspect my sentiments below will fall into this category.

To my mind where we are at present is the best we will be for the foreseeable future.Should we remain in the PL during this time, we will have to accept that we will be mid-table at best and probably much lower with relegation part of the debate amongst supporters.
The narrative of 'Top 8' and 'Europe' is just 'Pie in the sky'.

We will of course be hoping that some gems emerges from the academy but alas it is unlikely that there will be a steady stream of lads staking a first team place in the PL.

This is of course hardly an upbeat assessment but I believe I am being realistic.I of course will be delighted if our 'Direction of travel' is at variance with my doom laden prognostication !

Edited by Willo (06 Jan 2023 10.15am)

We need a manager with better experience than Vieira, it's that simple. He can't adapt.

I appreciate I have been a glumbucket and an 'Elijah of doom' about our prospects and accordingly villified. I suspect my sentiments below will fall into this category.

To my mind where we are at present is the best we will be for the foreseeable future.Should we remain in the PL during this time, we will have to accept that we will be mid-table at best and probably much lower with relegation part of the debate amongst supporters.
The narrative of 'Top 8' and 'Europe' is just 'Pie in the sky'.

We will of course be hoping that some gems emerges from the academy but alas it is unlikely that there will be a steady stream of lads staking a first team place in the PL.

This is of course hardly an upbeat assessment but I believe I am being realistic.I of course will be delighted if our 'Direction of travel' is at variance with my doom laden prognostication !

Edited by Willo (06 Jan 2023 10.15am)

What a mad thread. Last season we conceded our fewest ever Premier League goals, scored our second most ever and played a far better brand of football than under Roy who, at times, made hari-kari seem an attractive option.

The simple fact is that we haven't backed Vieira anywhere near enough and we're being punished for it. I'd argue that we're overperforming actually.

We responded to the long term injury of James McArthur and the departure of Gallagher by signing Doucoure who, although I love him, is nowhere near enough. There is no way Schlupp should be starting in our midfield after 10 years in the division. At least two additional players are required there.

Then there is Ayew. Regardless of how hard he works, like Schlupp, he shouldn't be starting up front for us at this point. We haven't had a top class striker since Murray and he left 8 years ago.

Two key chances in the first half came to Ayew last night. The first, when he was played through, he miscontrolled and lost the ball. The second he opted to shoot from a tight position, rather than playing a short ball to Olise who was clear and would have been favourite to score. If we'd converted either of those chances it could have been a different game.

It is a disgrace that, with Mitchell injured, we have no left back cover and Joel Ward, who is a questionable choice at right back these days, has to fill in.

I legitimately think we need a decent striker, two midfielders, a right back, a left back and cover in central defence. Plus their is the looming spectre of Zaha leaving for nothing who won't be cheap to replace. There's no way we're doing this business in January and I am skeptical we will in the summer either.

Andersen, Guehi, Doucoure, Zaha, Eze and Olise is the core of an outstanding team but they need more support ASAP.

Vieira is doing a good job with his hands tied, like most of our managers have to, and without serious investment over the next couple of windows, I imagine he'll bugger off before long.

Ideal January? Gallagher back on loan and get Danny Ings who, although 30, is a year younger than Ayew and is a proven goalscorer in the Prem.

Edited by Canterbury Palace (05 Jan 2023 11.01am)

To be honest I am beginning to give up on that happening. We seem to prefer buying in youngsters in the hope they will be good enough for the PL e.g Plange and Ebiowei, than trust in our own. Unless we have an injury crisis none of the academy hopefuls are likely to get more than a 10 minute cameo off the bench.