The Autopsy?

[superpull]

Added a question mark there, as maybe things aren't quite as bad as i have spent the morning thinking.

Keepers:
Pickford, Travers, King
Basically a 10/10. Is what it is. Very few sides on the planet could cope without their number 1 (and quite a few can cope with their number one)

Right back:
AMN. Rohl, O'Brien
Not great. Not a disaster though, really. We're in an improved position to last year

Left Back:
Myko, Branthwaite
Yeah, this is an unmitigated disaster waiting to happenn

Centre halves:
Branthwaite, Tarks, Obrien, Keane
Same as it ever was. As long as there is some protection in front of them this is a passable defence for a mid-table to lower-Euro-place team

Screening midfielders:
Norgaard, Garner, Hackney
Reasonable number of bodies. Hackney looked decent there, but maybe lacks the ability/experience to fully protect his defence. A lot rests on Norgaard staying fit

Middle of the park:
Garner, Armstrong, Hackney, Rohl
Fully confident in this group of kids and have no qualms. There will be mistakes and bad games over the season - but a lot of future revenue is being developed here

Right wing:
Johnson, Dibling, George
Possibly another left footer on the right in George if/when Johnson is needed up front. Possibly a bit of a weak spot, unless Johnson/Dibling stake a claim to being the occupant (as opposed to the other just stinking the place out)

Left wing:
Grealish, George
Happy with this - old master and young apprentice sharing minutes and two vastly different playstyles

Attacking mid:
KDH, Alcaraz, Grealish, Armstrong
Expectation is KDH plays every game, but happy with any of those deputies

Up front:
Barry, Johnson, George
Moyes was able to get a tune out of Andy Johnson - so i am ok with the two here as back up

[Bumble]

A lot of these young lads will get a lot of minutes this season.

Perfect for them to show that they are good enough at this level.

[Jamokachi]

Added a question mark there, as maybe things aren't quite as bad as i have spent the morning thinking.

Keepers:
Pickford, Travers, King
Basically a 10/10. Is what it is. Very few sides on the planet could cope without their number 1 (and quite a few can cope with their number one)

Right back:
AMN. Rohl, O'Brien
Not great. Not a disaster though, really. We're in an improved position to last year

Left Back:
Myko, Branthwaite
Yeah, this is an unmitigated disaster waiting to happenn

Centre halves:
Branthwaite, Tarks, Obrien, Keane
Same as it ever was. As long as there is some protection in front of them this is a passable defence for a mid-table to lower-Euro-place team

Screening midfielders:
Norgaard, Garner, Hackney
Reasonable number of bodies. Hackney looked decent there, but maybe lacks the ability/experience to fully protect his defence. A lot rests on Norgaard staying fit

Middle of the park:
Garner, Armstrong, Hackney, Rohl
Fully confident in this group of kids and have no qualms. There will be mistakes and bad games over the season - but a lot of future revenue is being developed here

Right wing:
Johnson, Dibling, George
Possibly another left footer on the right in George if/when Johnson is needed up front. Possibly a bit of a weak spot, unless Johnson/Dibling stake a claim to being the occupant (as opposed to the other just stinking the place out)

Left wing:
Grealish, George
Happy with this - old master and young apprentice sharing minutes and two vastly different playstyles

Attacking mid:
KDH, Alcaraz, Grealish, Armstrong
Expectation is KDH plays every game, but happy with any of those deputies

Up front:
Barry, Johnson, George
Moyes was able to get a tune out of Andy Johnson - so i am ok with the two here as back up

I'd broadly agree with that.

[777Kidnappings]

Added a question mark there, as maybe things aren't quite as bad as i have spent the morning thinking.

Keepers:
Pickford, Travers, King
Basically a 10/10. Is what it is. Very few sides on the planet could cope without their number 1 (and quite a few can cope with their number one)

Right back:
AMN. Rohl, O'Brien
Not great. Not a disaster though, really. We're in an improved position to last year

Left Back:
Myko, Branthwaite
Yeah, this is an unmitigated disaster waiting to happenn

Centre halves:
Branthwaite, Tarks, Obrien, Keane
Same as it ever was. As long as there is some protection in front of them this is a passable defence for a mid-table to lower-Euro-place team

Screening midfielders:
Norgaard, Garner, Hackney
Reasonable number of bodies. Hackney looked decent there, but maybe lacks the ability/experience to fully protect his defence. A lot rests on Norgaard staying fit

Middle of the park:
Garner, Armstrong, Hackney, Rohl
Fully confident in this group of kids and have no qualms. There will be mistakes and bad games over the season - but a lot of future revenue is being developed here

Right wing:
Johnson, Dibling, George
Possibly another left footer on the right in George if/when Johnson is needed up front. Possibly a bit of a weak spot, unless Johnson/Dibling stake a claim to being the occupant (as opposed to the other just stinking the place out)

Left wing:
Grealish, George
Happy with this - old master and young apprentice sharing minutes and two vastly different playstyles

Attacking mid:
KDH, Alcaraz, Grealish, Armstrong
Expectation is KDH plays every game, but happy with any of those deputies

Up front:
Barry, Johnson, George
Moyes was able to get a tune out of Andy Johnson - so i am ok with the two here as back up

Right back is a disaster. We dont have 1, not really
Left back is a disaster if we get an injury
Centre half is a diaster if Branthwaite or mykolenko get injured
We have a decent if slightly unbalanced midfield
Wings are good unless grealish gets injured
Strikers are a diaster. Barry isnt very consistent and now the cover is Johnson

Its all okay apart from right back and upfront unless we get an injury

[Bumble]

We received £200m worth of bids the past few days. Rejected half, sold half. Branthwaite and Barry alone now would probably bring in another £100m if had wanted to sell them.

Lots of talent still in there. They will all get a chance to play and even rotate through a few positions which will give them more minutes.

Of course it could be better but compared to where we were a few years ago it's night and day.

[TheRam]

“Moyes was able to get a tune out of Andy Johnson”

Yeah, cool, but that was like 20 years ago.

[Audrey Horne]

Id say you have been brainwashed if you think any of this is okay.

[superpull]

Right back is a disaster. We dont have 1, not really
Left back is a disaster if we get an injury
Centre half is a diaster if Branthwaite or mykolenko get injured
We have a decent if slightly unbalanced midfield
Wings are good unless grealish gets injured
Strikers are a diaster. Barry isnt very consistent and now the cover is Johnson

Its all okay apart from right back and upfront unless we get an injury

Without disagreeing with a single word you have said:
Outside of Arsenal and City, who could handle injuries to their starting left back, centre half, winger and striker simultaneously?

Myko is the only proper worry for me. Even at Right back & upfront we have people who can *do a job* if needed. I really dont want to see Branthwaite out on the left.

You may say ANM isn't "really" a right back. But he is by virtue of of where he plays. This is the last three years by the way:

Screenshot 2026-09-02 132057.png

[TheRam]

Outside of the numbers, my biggest fear is a lot of the younger talent aren’t as good as we’d hope.

George for example, looks great, very talented but I wouldn’t be surprised at all if he starts to frustrate with his lack of productivity.

Hackney as well, seems decent enough but I don’t see him really making his mark in the midfield.

I think we’ll see Rohl upfront before we see Johnson or George there as well.

[superpull]

In summary:
we are "alright" and barring a catastrophic injury crisis, top half should still be the goal

[Kerryblueboy]

Doesn’t have to be catastrophic an injury to myko fucks us

[Surax]

On AMN let's be honest here, we've signed what should be a 2nd or 3rd string right back to be the only actual right back at the club. He may have said he wasn't a RB years ago, but he's gone on to learn and apply his trade there so he is, in fact, a RB. Is he a good one? Should he be a starting RB for a decent prem team...well, no. It's a absolute disgrace that it came down to the wire, after years of needing a right back, that the closest we've come is Tete and AMN...neither of who are starting RB quality for a middle table Premier League team.

Never mind the Balogun fiasco and leaving ourselves short upfront and left back for absolutely no fucking reason. It's not OK at all, it's absolutely disgraceful. I would bite your hand off for 13th place right now, which is depressing in itself, but we are literally one injury away from being in severe trouble. Heads need to roll for this.

[superpull]

Doesn’t have to be catastrophic an injury to myko fucks us

Yeah, i did say that is actually my one huge worry. More than Beto, letting Aznou leave looks to be the most damning mistake we have made.

@TheRam , "you pay for youth with points not pounds".
It will happen. I am hoping (vainly, probably) that the crowd appreciate what we need to do here - which is give the raw talent the time and patience it needs to just become regular talent.
Doesn't matter how long ago it was. I'm not sure he deserves his reputation of only having one way to play (his reputation of sticking to his favourites until injuries make him try something new is valid though...)


I'm ok - we can name a formidable first 11. We DO have some actual options from the bench, which we have been lacking since forever.
We're a bit light and so will need a bit of luck.
SImple as that

[777Kidnappings]

Without disagreeing with a single word you have said:
Outside of Arsenal and City, who could handle injuries to their starting left back, centre half, winger and striker simultaneously?

Myko is the only proper worry for me. Even at Right back & upfront we have people who can *do a job* if needed. I really dont want to see Branthwaite out on the left.

You may say ANM isn't "really" a right back. But he is by virtue of of where he plays. This is the last three years by the way:

Screenshot 2026-09-02 132057.png

We cant really handle injuries to any of them not all of them. ANM was originally a midfielder wasnt he? We shall see how good or bad he is. Im not passing judgement because im not sure ive ever seen him play.

[777Kidnappings]

If we lose barry johnson plays upfront but who comes off the bench?

If we lose mykolenko does branthwaite play left back?

Surely at some point in the season even if its only for a game or 2 we are going to be without barry and johnson or branthwaite and mykolenko.

I actually think we are okay until anyone gets injured. Then suddenly weve got square pegs in round holes and no option on the bench