DangerousSausage

A "key" transfer? How about this bloke? https://www.transfermarkt.com/matthew-lock/profil/spieler/476061 Fighting Camels are now my second favourite team.

I never thought it would happen, to be honest - I thought they'd be the latest in a long line of prospective owners who just vanish at the eleventh hour, leaving us wondering whether they'd ever existed at all. And the fact they hadn't even been named didn't make me optimistic. So the day the takeover was finally announced seemed almost dreamlike, and the way they've gone about their business is in marked contrast to their predecessors. Just hope they have the chance to guide the club through the Proper Leagues soon.

That is awesome! Reminds me of the stuff Google Translate used to spit out ten years ago. If you like that, give https://www.engrish.com/ a visit!

I thought the same initially, but until last season he'd never even reached double figures for a season - it was more like 6 or 7. So it may well be a case of cashing in while his stock is high, especially if Wrexham really did offer triple what Cambridge did. Grimsby will be gutted they missed out on that one.

Roberts and Rodriguez will score plenty if they both stay fit, but Wootton does need some competition. The trouble is, Wootton is hugely important to this team and will play whenever he's fit - and so whoever is brought in will spend a good part of the season on the bench. So I wouldn't expect a marquee signing in that area. Wrexham's signing of Paul Mullin, who scored 32 goals for Cambridge last season, puts this in the shade, but I wouldn't panic about either. There's no guarantee it'll work out when a striker joins a new club - how many have we signed who were prolific elsewhere but couldn't hit a barn door for us?

Interesting one. I think variants 2 and 3 are quite likely - a 343 shape allows us to play both Rodders and Roberts alongside / just behind Wootton, at the price of making us lighter in midfield. Alternatively, we could stick with last season's shape with a number 10 just behind Wootton. Rodders is excellent in that role, and Roberts surely would be too - but then we'd have two of our best players competing for one spot. I don't like the idea of Roberts as a wing back. A lot depends on how our new-look midfield performs, but I'm already liking the look of this team better than last season's.

That home kit is nice! Clean, elegant and a big improvement on last season's effort. Will most likely be having one. Like the fact that we've had white socks three years running too, looks so much better than the predominantly black kits we've had IMO. Didn't realise white flashes on the inside of shorts were a thing, but it's only minor. As for the green away shirt, yuck! Some seem to love it though. There's no accounting for taste

He's clearly had a good football education, but the proof of the pudding is in the eating. All the stuff about his England youth appearances sounds impressive, but so many players with a back story like that just end up drifting into the local leagues or out of the game altogether. Patching is one example but there are plenty more. However, Francis has more senior experience and I expect that our recruitment team have done their homework on him. Looking forward to seeing him in action.

Bit of a slope innit?

So when does the proper football start?

Football is a contact sport @Chris, being touched doesn't make it a foul. The contact was nowhere near enough to bring him down, and that's the near unanimous opinion of all those without their England goggles on too. Still, I've got to laugh at people on social media rooting for Italy because England are divers. It's like we've entered a parallel universe. Italy have already won Eurovision this year. They shouldn't be greedy.

It was never a penalty, but to be fair their free kick shouldn't have stood either and without that it would have been a different game. The better team certainly won though. And I'm relieved we didn't have to face Kasper in a penalty shoot-out! So it's final day. Is football coming home? Personally a think Italy will have too much for us, but it's a one-off and you never know. It's fantastic that we've made it this far. How are you all watching the match? This afternoon I'll be heading to my favourite Italian restaurant in my England shirt, before changing into my lucky shirt (that I haven't washed all tournament) and watching at home.

I'm not too worried, we've still got well over a month. Ideally you'd want most of the team in place for pre-season, but there's still plenty of time. Hopefully a couple of new faces (ideally midfielders and wing backs) will turn up at training to run the rule over.

I don't get too excited about this any more, opening fixtures that look tough in theory can turn out to be straightforward in the event, or vice versa. It might not be such a bad thing to be playing Wrexham early on, before their new signings have really settled in. Can't we switch the venues for the Torquay match? Torquay away in August is what football is all about.

Erm, plenty of us have been cheated on (and that's just conjecture anyway) and managed not to assault anyone. And you don't give someone a fractured cheekbone by accident. Hope he sorts himself out.