theAnticlough

Yeah, now we're in L1 that's the target market so to speak. It's far rarer for Championship clubs to spend the the money trickling down on players 2 levels below. I think we'll need a few more sales over the next couple of seasons to sustain our upward progress. It'll need coordination between the coach and recruitment to 'feature' certain players for a while, with solid replacements waiting in the wings.

My crystal ball shows some relegation-threatened Championship side making a big move for the Rolls-Royce Nessy - Portsmouth, Bristol City or similar With such strength in depth at the CB position, it's the kind of thing the club should be hoping for

Welcome @scottdench-smith to PON. Brilliant timing, what a season we have ahead of us.

Yes agree, he couldn't get close enough to Alves (who was class) but in the overall battle between the two I think Tsaroulla won it, which really say something. He constatntly made himslef available to receive and he's that rare thing in the modern game - a brilliant ball carrier. I think that really excites fans and makes a change from the usual safe passing. Another point is that it seems the club really does improve players. When he first arrived at Notts, he very rarely went on the outside down the right and was much more predictable. Now he can go both ways and goes down the line far more frequently and effectively. I always remember Chris Waddle talking about the importance of being able to go both ways and it can transform a player's level. I don't think he could have had that (near) assist with his cross for Acquah two years ago so credit to him and the club for the clear improvement. I'm really looking forward to watching NT this season

I think on reflection you're probably right...the sponsors got it right with Tsaroulla. I'll stick with my Lipsiuc vote though and focus on the sheer amount of positive work and energy. No.3 IMO would be Ness - with Baker, Platt and McDonald waiting in the wings the club might be hoping that Ness continues to play to his full potential over the coming months. He's got the class a Championship club might be willing to pay a lot for....

Yeah he should take the Geordie Messi tag :) a bit more literally and practice controlling, deciding, releasing and moving on in a second or less. L1 is not going to give him time on the ball, in first halves especially. Just sharper in his general play, we know he's going to be one of our main dangermen

A generous sprinkling of 8/10s I think...and when you have those, you're going to do OK Back 3 and WBs were the strength of the team I thought The 4 subs that came on were greatt - Mustapha will now know he's in mens football and I think he'll rise to the challenge. Smith was fine. Looked out of wind towards the end of the first half, but then came out and gave his best 15-20mins before going off. For the next few games, might subs who outperformed starters get picked instead? This would be Grant and Robertson for Roberts and Evans... Apart from the excellent long-range effort early on, too many of Cal's touches were disappointing. He'll have to work on being sharper or MP will go elsewhere.

Hi Robbie, thanks for posting the MoM A lot of candidates today, we had a whole host of great performers I thought. Ness picked up where he left off last season Bedeau back to best it seems - great captain's performance. Tsaroulla - wow, he looks like a L1/Championship player All subs were good, but special mention to Grant of course. Let's hope a goal in the first game sets him off on a much better season statistically. But I was blown away by Lipsiuc - I know fans say they saw this at Burnley (I didn't) but that a first choice L1 LWB right there on that evidence. What an athlete, bombing up and down for 95mins and with quality in all he does (I won't blame him too much for the goal, it was a reasonable attempt to block, their player had luck on his side).

Great game - we really were the better side overall. It looked like we'd be the victims of our own poor finishing, but the equaliser deservedly came and I think we'll gladly take a point against the league favourites.

Big 2 league jump for RR. Good luck to him

I think we will give a good account of ourselves....but, like last season, doesn't it seem inevitable that we will have a little hole to dig ourselves out of after the first few games? I'm expecting a loss I think fans would take a draw if offered now, right? A win would feel like setting up our entire season and would give our confidence a major boost

It's a tough league and adjusting to the point we can really compete takes time. The Mustapha signing has boosted my confidence a bit. As usual, the squad will change through the season. I see us pulling clear of the relegation scrap to finish 18th

be shocked if he wasn't - he has the directness, power and pace to terrify teams if he's on song

Congrats on the MoT @Fan of Big Tone, as for those prices though... For 575 quid I will stand outside your house whenever you're out. Have we got a deal?

Some amazing Hindolo Mustapha videos on Youtube - you can see why Monty had him as a top target

Norwich City 2-1 WBA Infantino Portsmouth 1-1 QPR Bradford City 3-1 Peterborough Leyton Orient 2-0 Sheff Weds Gillingham 1-2 Walsall York City 1-2 Bristol Rovers Solihull Moors 2-1 Boston Southend 2-0 Scunthorpe My Infantino / Joker is on the Norwich game to double the points, like he'll double the World Cup each time - 192 country World Cup Saudi Arabia, 2034

Mustapha attacking midfielder - as we've been saying for weeks

Definitely, we've been waiting for these but most new arrivals have been defenders and deeper midfielders. I think the club have deviated away from a balanced recruitment strategy, spooked by... - going into the new season with 2 long-term injuries in defence - having each season at L2 hit by losing our entire starting midfield at different times. Sanders' injury would have rung this alarm again - needing options and depth in defence/midfield in case players get exposed like Rawlo, Brindley, Cameron and Baldwin were. So insurance in these positions is seen as a must I think. Added to this, the hardest area of recruitment is strikers and other players who can put it in the onion bag. Hopefully it's a case of using the entire window to get the right players in instead of being panicked into taking a punt against the data model. But as things stand you have to agree with the pundits, a season scoring profile of something like....Roberts 12, Smyth ?, Acquah 5, Ndlovu 5, Jones ? Cooper 4, Grant 3, Tsaroulla 3, plus defenders and mids is only going to go one way. As MP said a couple of interviews back, we absolutely need to do more to replace the goals lost from Jatta/Dennis/Hall/Luker/Iorpenda departures.

Good keeper. 8 million seems shocking. Lower end Prem/Top of Championship is another financial world

It was only the final I caught in Argentina. I'm pretty well travelled but the treatment I got as a visitor there was the best I've ever seen. So relaxed and accepting, they know you're not local but treat you just like one, some interest, lots of friendly chat but no fuss at all. Lovely place, but it was provincial an not B.A.

It'd be a gamble because he's hardly played any senior games at all. Whatever he brings will be with a lot of inconsistency. There's an injury history there too. I think we'd still need JJ.

Thanks @Fan of Big Tone, dropped Chris a line yesterday. It was a wrench to be off the site with so much going on and I missed the community. Varifocals might be where I'm heading too. I might be in denial about my distance viewing, which was always great. The worry though was only one day. I'd had a few beers the day before and then went on a long distance drive the next day with a mild hangover. I couldn't make out some road signs but could as normal the day after. I'll watch out for that in the future.

Hi All, yes holiday is my excuse :) but back as of yesterday and I like this thread a lot. The next few days will be grim for me - too many practical things to catch up on. Gardening is one. Yes Starkers, everything's looking horribly yellow and dry - kind of heartbreaking to see. Travels included catching the World Cup final in Argentina. Lovely atmosphere, despite the result, and the locals took the defeat really well I'd say (their actual team was only going to go down kicking and screaming) Caught up on a few Youtube vids this morning. Neutrals L1 watchers seem to be predicting a bleak season for us. I think they're underestimating us but I can understand where they're coming from.

Just got back from a long trip away - the Jodi Jones saga was a bit of a black cloud hanging over it... I'll chip in now though Before I left I was at Alfreton. Tbh it looked like he'd had a great summer! Pity the game was only 3 days or so after they'd reported back. I have to say he looked a lot bigger than his usual match shape and wasn't very mobile. After his role in our promotion I don't begrudge him that 'good summer'. But if i'm right, that could lead to the injuries under MP's regime. No one knows if JJ overplayed his hand in what he asked for. The data won't always be in his favour. Last season, he played more poor games that good ones, despite the heights he can hit. Fans are not analysts though, just as they should never be bean-counters. We can leave those roles to Montague and Palmer. But in turn, the club shouldn't lose sight of what the game is all about - 'glory' as Danny Blanchflower once famously said. The season before last he set a remarkable new assists record for any league. 24!!! beating Thierry Henry's and De Bruyne's record. He saved us from penalties with his winner against Boreham Wood, and before that certain defeat with his assist for Baldwin. And then a key pressure pen in the Wembley fianl. If all of that didn't make him a club legend then his masterclass to finally put Salford in its place surely should. His assist for Jatta was a work of art, De Bruyne would struggle to pull off. As MP said, he's a magician, and fans usually love that type of player. My hope is that the club can remember what football is all about, think like a fan for just a moment and reach a compromise with JJ. Lord knows we'll need a game-changer in the tough season ahead. His special moments and top performances are worth precious points.

I missed it sleeping (my alarm didn't work!) but BBC2 had a nice full replay starting at 7. Thrilling game. Woke up today to the great news of USA 1 Belgium 4 Balogan won the free-kick for their goal. I hope Belgium make the point that without that equaliser they might have gone on to win easier, 0-5 or 0-6 and have had the chance to rest players ahead of the QF with Spain. So the damage to the integrity of the tournamnet is done. USA got a big advantage in keeping the score down, so it was worth Trump using his influence over Infantino to get the ban lifted. I wonder if countries like Congo, Uzbekistan, Iran could have got any bans lifted. Guess we'll never know.