YorkshireRam

Yeah, it's not like he's slashed the average squad age by promoting youth, brought in some great potential on cheap deals, used the loan market brilliantly and created the foundations for a much more exciting footballing style, all without the same financial backing most previous managers have had... This post is almost the definition of reactionary. A mediocre performance likely hindered by us missing a fair few of our game-changing players isn't going to define our season. I think Frank's got us in an excellent position to challenge for promotion if we can find consistency, but also given us stability so that should we fall short, we're in a fantastic position to try again next season. Compare to Forest or Villa, who have thrown enough money at promotion this season that they'll likely be in a very precarious position should they fail; we're in a better league position having spent a fraction of what they have with a manager currently boasting a grand total of 7 months experience... you must have been feeling very pessimistic to spin that into any sort of negative?

There has to be a means to an end though. Bryson still covers a large amount of ground but I'd argue it's less useful than it was previously. Bennett is tireless with his pressing and willingness to bomb forward in an attempt to create chances for the team, that's more what I meant I guess

Based on twitter, Leeds fans seem to think he's dreadful, while ''decent'' semed to be the consensus from Ipswich supporters. Having to cancel and re-arrange a loan on deadline day makes me think this won't happen, seems a lot of work for a player that's only potentially cover here when he's Ipswich's starting RB?

Not being facetious, but apart from scoring, I'm genuinley struggling to name these ''good things'' he does... No assists in 1890 minutes of league football for a winger is pretty atrocious (Bennett's got 3 in 659 for reference), this kinda confirms that he's either squandering all his chances by shooting or he's not getting in enough dangerous positions, neither is fantastic for the team. I don't dislike him, despite how frustrating he can be, he simply needs to work harder. If he ran with the endeavour of Bennett, he could be one of our most influential players on his day. The game against Southampton demonstrates perfectly that he can play, wonderful assist and sublime goal, however those performances seem to be 1 in 10 now, another being West Brom away. Fans don't tend to mind individual dips in form, as long as it's replaced by visible effort to help the side and turn things round. I feel like Tom does the opposite and lets it get him down, so fans get on his back and thus repeats a vicious circle where neither the player nor the fans are happy which is a bit pointless. Russell was arguably more wasteful than Lawrence and yet cos he covered lots of ground, fans respected his effort and loved him; no reason Lawrence can't be exactly the same in time.

As far as I can remember, Bennett, pretty much on his own, crafted the chances that won the games at Reading and Hull through sheer endeavour. As in, because of him, we're at least 4 points better off. Bennett's 3 assists this season to Lawrence's 0 shows that unless Lawrence scores, he often isn't too effective whereas Bennett may not score as regularly but has created more goals for the team I think he's done well in bit-part roles and always offers energy and running. He seems like a nice alternative to a Lawrence type player, never lets his head drop and will run and try and create things until the last whistle. He's not a world beater yet but it'd be interesting to see how far he can progress with more consistent gametime.

Hot take: I think Mount's been pretty underwhelming for the most part. Clearly a very talented player and at 20 (as of today) has a huge future ahead of him; I just don't think he's impacted games as greatly as I was expecting him to. I'd have thought he'd be on 5 goals with 5 assists or so by this point, being the attacking, creative midfielder. Out of Mount and Wilson, I honestly expected Mount to be the team's standout, let alone between the 2 of them but instead Wilson is the one who seems to look a class above. At Vitesse, Mount seemed to be absolutely dominant, running the show for them practically (Ajax's manager called him the best midfielder in the league...), yet he hasn't been anywhere near as prolific for us. I'm not saying he's been bad by any stretch but I'd like to see more from him in the remainder of the season really.

He's not a poor defender, he's just growing that side of his game. He used to be a winger so it's understandable his ball control and dribbling are superior to most full backs but at 18, he's not going to be the perfect player. As others have said, when Wilson hardly offers any cover, stopping crosses suddenly becomes the hardest task in his position, that doesn't make him ''poor'' and I actually think his defensive capabilities have come a long way in the last 10 games against tough opposition where we've needed to grind out certain results. He's kept Wisdom out of the side all season, a ''poor defender'' categorically couldn't do that...

Pretty sure I remember him saying when he joined for the 2nd time, that the Salzburg season was when he was playing his best football and he thought CB was his best position. Him and Tomori as a centre half pairing would be a bit of a powerhouse duo, good balance of pace and tackling ability

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The financial situation is an unknown, for our management team to claim we've got little to no funds could merely be a bargaining chip which stops other clubs looking to exploit us if they were aware we're willing to invest substantially. That being said, a few players out and suddenly the wage bill will look healthier and may allow us some room for manoeuvre even if we are tightening the belt somewhat compared to previous seasons. Since Wilson is playing as a midfielder atm then signing another quality one permanently probably isn't a bad shout. For the Championship, yes I'm happy with the CB's we've got, athough I would like Ampadu on loan. The issue with buying a striker is that I don't believe in buying a player that isn't good enough to warrant a place in the starting XI; no-one's gonna displace Marriott that's available for <£10m and so buying a backup when forwards are the most expensive position already seems a waste of money to me. Waghorn is more than adequate cover, given he's already proven in this league as a number 9. Midfield is where we're lacking quality currently for me within the permanent squad, and also where our current roster doesn't quite fit the system of play. Targeting a quality CM to support the other 2 defensive and attacking midfielders would be my priority this window, along with a couple of astute loans to hopefully give us the quality to build some consistency and challenge over the course of the rest of the season.

And I would argue 13/14, that 'one season' was arguably his prime, certainly his most effective period as a midfielder. He's not the same player sitting deeper and while yes, he still covers a fair bit of ground, this isn't equating to him having the same impact on games as he used to. Mount kind of occupies the space that Bryson would usually advance into and so I think the current system actually stifles his play a little bit. So yes, I would spend a few extra million and get someone even better in because we should always be looking to improve and in this instance, I think finding a younger individual who fits the system even better than Bryson could be the pivotal signing that really makes this team/system tick.

Sadly it seems though that Bryson's legs have gone. His main strength used to be running beyond the forwards, often Chris Martin, but that system relied on Martin playing almost as a false 9, allowing those runs to be made into space. This season, Marriott is playing off the shoulder of the last defender and so this space that Bryson used to so effectively exploit, isn't there. This, coupled with his age catching up to him somewhat means we haven't had a stand-out performance from Bryson this season really. Holmes would be my preferred option too really, although I still then wonder about being too lightweight because it still leaves Evans as the only physical presence and the only one that can screen the defence and put a tackle in, hence my Kamara suggestion as he seems to be a perfect blend of the 2.

Certainly more mobile than Huddlestone and doesn't shirk from a challenge so seems to fill that role. I'm still slightly worried however about imbalance in the midfield, we need someone to link the CDM to the attackers because Mount and Wilson (as a midfield pairing) are often pushing so high there is a noticeable gap between them and Evans. This is where someone like Glen Kamara would be perfect, not necessarily always being the centre of attention but just neat passes and carrying the ball well to link the whole team together, almost like Hughes did at times for us

Evans?