After the last few games it should at least be clear to Webber what is needed

If any recruits this summer do not include a few strong, fast, physical players then we won't have learnt very much. That's one of the key ingredients to adapting to life in the premier league. We need a few more six foot plus players and we need a bit more genuine pace on the wing.

I thought we played pretty well for much of last night and I think had that team played more often before the confidence was sapped out of them we may have picked up a few more results. Stiepermann did pretty well as the link between midfield and attack and gave us a bit more physical presence up front. but as usual, the inability to do the basics in defence undermined everything again. That's Farke's mission as coach, to sort that out so that if we do manage to get up again it is not the story of our season again. I've come to terms with relegation now. We've been pathetic since the re-start and don't deserve to stay up. We are not going to suffer last minute relegation heartbreak so have a few weeks to properly prepare ourselves now for next season.

But as talented as Lewis and Max are (and with all the potential they have) they are not good enough defensively for an inexperienced team in this league (one maybe you get away with but in hindsight not in tandem). If good money is on the table this season then (despite this going against my better instincts) selling one of them kind of makes sense as I don't think we can play with them both if we do happen to get back up again. Tettey and Godfrey are the only defensive players we have who are really are up to the physical challenge of playing against mid table and bottom half teams at this level. Whilst I like Klose (and to give him the benefit of the doubt he's only just back) I don;t know if he has the edge to his game any more.

The good news is that team is still capable of playing some decent stuff and the bulk of it will still be with us next season i'm sure. A midfield at championship level with Onel, Stiepermann, Vrancic and Tettey in it is a good start even before we add to the squad. But last night equally showed that (aside from Byram if he can stay fit) not a single one of the players we brought in this season has improved us or indeed arguably was as good as we already had. Webber has to prove himself again this summer.

Posted By: Jim, Jul 8, 08:51:35