Only 2 PL and 1 Cup match in but my early thoughts.
Dubravka. PL level. A good career and stood in for Pope excellently last season.
Walker. PL level. Still got his pace and a great start to his Clarets career.
Ekdal. Jury out. Some dodgy moments at Spurs but has looked very good otherwise.
Esteve. PL level. Just need to keep him. First name on team sheet for me.
Hartman. Jury out. Best LB on books and I’ve been impressed but need to see more.
Sonne. Bench player but improving. Wish he’d overlap more but no idea what he’s been told.
Cullen. PL level. When he back in 2 seasons ago he looked the part. He’s comfortable now.
Ugochukwo. PL level. Very impressed but for what he cost he should be.
Hannibal. Needs improvement but worth his spot.
JBL. Not had the best of starts but looked good 2 years ago so it’s in him.
Anthony. PL level. Exceptional. Lovely first touch and carries at pace just needs to improve finishing. Could have had 3 already.
Foster. Does look better in PL than Championship for whatever reason. Bench player.
Tchaouna. This lad can go all the way. I can see him starting in the near future.
Laurent. Bench player. Great engine and pace, uses his body well to win 1 on 1s but passing is sub-standard.
Flemming. Jury out. A good footballer but I can’t find a role for him.
Roberts. We’ll see but he’s better than Sonne.

Good assessment
Would probably include Hannibal at PL level, must be a pain to play against so long as he doesn`t overdo it.
Overall have really liked our style. Defensive solidarity, quick, incisive breaks ala 2nd v Sunderland

Is Roberts injured atm?

We’ve played a good premier league side and lost 3-0 and played a good championship side and won. Not sure how you can judge anyone this early tbh.

One thing I thought whilst watching last night's game was how important Cullen is to the team. Most other positions we have someone who can fill in who wouldn't necessitate much change but if we lost Cullen for a length of time we'd struggle I reckon.

aggi wrote: ↑

Wed Aug 27, 2025 4:47 pm

One thing I thought whilst watching last night's game was how important Cullen is to the team. Most other positions we have someone who can fill in who wouldn't necessitate much change but if we lost Cullen for a length of time we'd struggle I reckon.

Cullen and Steve.

Don't discount or underestimate the Derby win, we'd have lost that match numerous times over the last 10-15 years.

Any initial thoughts on Banel after his cameo role last night ?

BigF wrote: ↑

Wed Aug 27, 2025 5:23 pm

Any initial thoughts on Banel after his cameo role last night ?

Yeah, someone started a thread here:

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=82823

I know it’s a bit of a cliche, but let’s see where we are after 10 games before we make any judgements.

On the very limited evidence so far, we played okay at Spurs and we had a good second half against Sunderland. Last night told us nothing in my opinion but it was useful to get game time into the legs of our fringe players.

From a transfer perspective, I still think we need to add quality in central midfield and in attack. If I’m being greedy a centre back as well please.

I know it's a fine line and it could have gone to penalties but I think last night told us that we have a much stronger squad than the last time. I can see a good number of last night's squad pressing for regular PL starts and that has to be a good thing considering how well we played on Saturday.