The Fish

You'd think, with the quality we have on the flanks in Atsu and Ritchie, it''s begging out for options in the centre. The former might not be great at delivering a cross, but certainly has the quality to get to the by-line and pull a ball back.

After £50m was spent on their squad. Do sunderland have £50m to spend on an overhaul?

Fair enough. Lazaar looks like he has plenty of tricks in his locker and I think Rafa is right in introducing him slowly ('I'm sure Senor Benitez would be relieved to hear he has my support), I was also thinking it's possible Lazaar is being prepped for a left wing role, rather than fullback? Personally I'd play 2 up front at home, certainly against the teams lower in the division. Shelvey and Hayden or Colback are more than capable of controlling most midfields, especially when the opposition are setting out their stall to defend and counter. The pace and quality we have on the flanks in Atsu, Gouffran, Lazaar, Ritchie and Yedlin should be able to put the quality into the box for a combination of Gayle, Mitro and Perez to cause no end of problems for the defence. Darlow seems to have sewn up the 'keeper spot and Clark, the player most people's eyebrows raised highest at, seems to be a really solid centreback at this level. Next 5 league games are against 11th, 17th, 18th, 21st and 13th. Only two are at home and both the top-half sides are away. I would have like it to be the other way around. 3 "easy" away games and a couple of tricky home ties. I know the fixtures have to be played at some point, but it would have been nice to try and pull away from the chasing pack before Xmas, strengthen in January and romp down the home stretch, twatting everyone 6/7-0 I'd like another left back because while Dummett isn't embarrassing himself every game in the Championship, it'd be nice to go into the Premier League season (if we go up) with a left back who can play at that level, already bedded in.

Just said he was in that mould; Busy, quick, a nuisance.

I'd like to see us start with two up front. Especially when Shelvey is stretching the play as much as he is. Atsu, Gouffran Lazaar, Ritchie and Yedlin providing width for two strikers would surely be too much for the majority of the visiting teams? Speaking of which, how were the two full backs in their more advanced positions?

Dunno if Defoe would leave to be honest. He's on a decent wage even with any relegation clause and he'll be 36 next year. He's out of the International scene and I can't imagine he'll have another top flight club coming in for him that can offer the same wages he'll be on. Their biggest problem will be their finances and the fact that there will likely be clubs sniffing around their younger players like Watmore and Pickford. Those two might not be good enough for the Premier League at the minute, but they'll likely be 1st teamers in the Championship. Some mid-table side may fancy taking a punt on a young 'keeper getting plenty of games at the minute, for their bench. And some newly promoted/just survived team may fancy taking a punt on a young forward player in the Shane Long mould.

I wouldn't be surprised to see him at Palace if they finish 16th or lower.

Was Perez better than Diame's been?

There's a thread dividing them on RTG, one half think the current squad would piss the Championship if they went down, the others think they'd struggle to break into the top half.

A write up from a Brentford fan. They've all been very complimentary about their away day, talking up the quality of; our team, our stadium, the people, the pubs and the city. Don't seem to have been massively impressed with the atmosphere mind and the last few times I've been able to make I've thought it was pretty shit as well.

Thanks for all the advice lads

Fancy Brentford to turn us over. 5/1 is decent odds as well.

Poyet in the Guardian Pretty damning.

to be sure to be sure

A lovely new addition to the Masturbatorium. How long before you wonder how to print a 3D mock up of a vagina?

"to dumb"?

Parky really struggling to keep his inner angry gamergater in check here.

When advising Gloomy, could I get some advice too? My dad needs a new phone, he only needs it for phonecalls, and texts and even then he uses it rarely.

yup But, once they're promoted, what next? Bruce isn't good enough in the modern Premier League to achieve much more than survival which, for a club like Aston Villa surely isn't good enough? And the short termism is the problem. Bruce may well get them promoted in a season or two, but they'll remain the same shade of a once proud club that they are now. For me, this appointment relegated Villa into a bracket of clubs like Wigan, Birmingham City, Derby, Norwich, Wolves etc. In a way that appointing Grayson or Rowett wouldn't have. The highest he's ever finished is 10th. He's been relegated twice. He's done ok at unfashionable clubs like Wigan or sunderland because they seem unable to progress beyond that modest position, (and who ultimately succumbed to relegation anyway) but aren't Villa's ambitions loftier than that? Never mind that these two appointments prolong the perception that it's good sense to look for the quick fix.

Just have a KFC and stop lying to yourself.

The trouble with starting a post like this is that there's so much wrong with the recent appointments, I'm worried I'll drone on before getting to my point; these are both unambitious choices which reek of ignorance and short-termism. So I've put it there, front and centre in the first paragraph. Both Aston Villa and Derby are at a crossroads in their existence and while it makes some sense to plot the road most traveled to get promotion, it doesn't suggest they've a plan once that journey comes to an end. Aston Villa have the stadium, the fan base, the history and the finances, to punch their weight in the top half of the top flight. They tried throwing money at their malaise for decades with little success. There needs to be a new approach. Shed the husk of the old Aston Villa, the beige, the boring, and emerge as a dynamic progressive entity. Instead of the zombie of a club that eventually succumbed to relegation. Derby would need a seismic shift in the footballing landscape to do much more than flirt with 9th or 10th in the Premier League. Derby have a decent Youth system, a big population to draw from and a decent reputation in the game, but they're limited. They've a lot of clubs on their doorstep, they don't have the financial muscle that others do and their squad isn't the finished article. That said, it's not impossible, look at Southampton, at Swansea or Spurs. They've ignored the outmoded hierarchy and usurped traditionally bigger clubs who haven't evolved. Now, both Bruce & McClaren have proven incapable in the modern Premier League. While McClaren hasn't suffered the ignominy of relegation he's left clubs upon the precipice. His brand of football and avuncular charm may well work for players in that envelope between the top 2 flights when striving for promotion, it just won't cut it in the crucible of England's top flight. Derby know that Steve McClaren will get them into the Play Off conversation and would rather get back into bed with him than risk a new relationship. Bruce has a proven, irrefutable ability to get teams promoted from the 2nd tier, but has been found woefully lacking the next season. Aston Villa aren't going to get promoted this season. Lets be clear on this, they're 15pts off the leaders, they're 10 points off the playoff positions and they've an unbalanced, discouraged side. So, if that's accepted, this year is a dead-rubber. The kind of clubs that should be courting these two men are the likes of Bristol, or Birmingham, clubs who's ambitions are to become that yo-yo club and benefit from the Premier League's absurd tv deals. They could bounce between the leagues for a few years, (as Norwich have) until they're promoted with a squad too good for the Championship and short only 1-3 players who'll lock in their Premier League survival. If I were Dr Xia, the kind of man I'd be looking for is Wagner, or Rowett, or Grayson. A new breed of manager who's potential is unclear, they could strip out the deadwood at Villa Park, bring in a fresh approach, with fresh coaches and fresh ideas. Wagner has turned Huddersfield into a mid-table or better Championship team with 1 decent summer and a clear vision. They have the financial clout to spend another year outside the top flight, especially if they can lose a lot of the high earners. If I were Mel Morris I'd have fled from any meeting with McClaren. This is the guy that failed to get his club promoted after a cataclysmic end to the season, a guy that spectacularly failed in the Premier League despite spending a fortune on stars from abroad and closer to home. Players who have since left the club for eye watering sums to play for clubs who're playing at the upper reaches of football's pyramid. Yes, he knows the club and the league, but isn't that part of the problem? Both are decent managers, but both are uninspiring. Both have experience in the Championship, but both have failed in the league the club is aiming to make their home. It's like asking your mates where you fancy going for dinner and because of anxiety and ignorance you all end up going to Nandos.

Happy non-birthday.

My one real complaint about that podcast is the sound quality is usually awful. They need to sort out some decent mics and whatnot.