We have clicked

[ISpeds00]

The corner has been turned
The team have clicked - Parkers getting it right

More to return to the squad
Potential additions in Jan
Clean sheets aplenty

All signs of a promotion charge now

[Vegas Claret]

Biggest credit I can give Parker is the team spirit looks incredible, some of them must have been broken after last season

[ClaretOfMancunia]

Biggest credit I can give Parker is the team spirit looks incredible, some of them must have been broken after last season

Agree with this. Team morale seems solid, something we appeared bereft of at the end of last season.

[DCWat]

Hoping that we might be able to do some business in January, alongside getting a few more out of the treatment room.

Add a striker and we have another damn good chance at promotion!

I’m loving all of these clean sheets, another on Friday would be superb.

[RVclaret]

6 goals conceded in 18 games is absolutely mental.

[Stonehouse]

One more point than VK after 18 matches.

[Buxtonclaret]

Biggest credit I can give Parker is the team spirit looks incredible, some of them must have been broken after last season

I'd be surprised if the team spirit wasn't better, given the way they were managed last season.

[ISpeds00]

Hoping that we might be able to do some business in January, alongside getting a few more out of the treatment room.

Add a striker and we have another damn good chance at promotion!

I’m loving all of these clean sheets, another on Friday would be superb.

I think even without additions, this current squad is becoming great

Egan Riley - i wanted him out of the team after a couple of games. He now must start
We have Ekdal back soon

Jay - Doing the business, holding up play and releasing the wingers. scoring too

Anyone coming on from the bench isnt even a negative anymore - Houtonji might be a good player we dont know yet

[hoosier-daddy]

Hoping that we might be able to do some business in January, alongside getting a few more out of the treatment room.

Add a striker and we have another damn good chance at promotion!

I’m loving all of these clean sheets, another on Friday would be superb.

Saw this thread late, but completely agree. Ramsey will be pushing for a starting place when he returns. And as you say, bring in 1 or 2 new faces in Jan, and we have one hell of a squad.

[123EasyasBFC]

Hoping that we might be able to do some business in January, alongside getting a few more out of the treatment room.

Add a striker and we have another damn good chance at promotion!

I’m loving all of these clean sheets, another on Friday would be superb.

I would say striker, right wing and left back are the 3 positions we could strengthen in

[RVclaret]

I would say striker, right wing and left back are the 3 positions we could strengthen in

Can’t see a new left back when we’ve got 2 already competing pretty well there. Humphreys is an excellent player with real potential in my view.

[hoosier-daddy]

I would say striker, right wing and left back are the 3 positions we could strengthen in

I don't think we'll go for left back purely because we have Humphreys and Pires. I agree re: right winger, but we also have Redmond back who can play there, so the board might not fancy shelling out for that position. Striker, for sure.

If we only signed 1 striker and didn't sell anybody, I'd be happy.

[123EasyasBFC]

Can’t see a new left back when we’ve got 2 already competing pretty well there. Humphreys is an excellent player with real potential in my view.

I really like Humphreys but he’s not a left back and Pires worries me, yes we are performing excellent at the back but if there’s a position at the back that could be strengthened it’s left back imo

[123EasyasBFC]

I don't think we'll go for left back purely because we have Humphreys and Pires. I agree re: right winger, but we also have Redmond back who can play there, so the board might not fancy shelling out for that position. Striker, for sure.

If we only signed 1 striker and didn't sell anybody, I'd be happy.

If Redmond can be the player he was before he signed for us then I’d agree we don’t need a winger but if we are to let Tresor go for example and maybe loan out hountonji, I would still go for Whittaker even if his form for Plymouth hasn’t been great this season

[RVclaret]

I really like Humphreys but he’s not a left back and Pires worries me, yes we are performing excellent at the back but if there’s a position at the back that could be strengthened it’s left back imo

The whole ‘he’s not a left back’ is an outdated thought now.

As he’s proven with his performances he’s more than capable of playing in this position as his profile is what matters.

Funnily enough his profile is the exact type I want at full back if we go back up - athletic, physical, two footed, tidy on the ball.

[123EasyasBFC]

The whole ‘he’s not a left back’ is an outdated thought now.

As he’s proven with his performances he’s more than capable of playing in this position as his profile is what matters.

Funnily enough his profile is the exact type I want at full back if we go back up - athletic, physical, two footed, tidy on the ball.

He is 100% a left sided centre back, Parker has himself said it that Humphreys is a cb playing full back, so it’s not out dated at all it’s a fact

[hoosier-daddy]

If Redmond can be the player he was before he signed for us then I’d agree we don’t need a winger but if we are to let Tresor go for example and maybe loan out hountonji, I would still go for Whittaker even if his form for Plymouth hasn’t been great this season

I wouldn't loan out Hountonji. He looks to have a bit about him and all it takes is Jay Rod to take a bump and with Foster out for most games, we're knackered. We need him as a bit of insurance even if we sign a striker.

It would be nice if we can get a decent fee for Tresor and spend it on a striker, but for me that's all we are missing.

[123EasyasBFC]

I wouldn't loan out Hountonji. He looks to have a bit about him and all it takes is Jay Rod to take a bump and with Foster out for most games, we're knackered. We need him as a bit of insurance even if we sign a striker.

It would be nice if we can get a decent fee for Tresor and spend it on a striker, but for me that's all we are missing.

It’s not his fault but hountonji just isn’t the level for me, even against Coventry when the ball was played forwards he really struggled to hold it up, yes he had a run and good strike but I don’t see him ever being the level

[Anonymous Claret]

Biggest credit I can give Parker is the team spirit looks incredible, some of them must have been broken after last season

I said this to my mate at the end of the game yesterday. Winning obviously helps but there looked a real togetherness within the team. I can't remember who but there were 1 or 2 players encouraged SP to come over to the fans to thank the fans. Although he was smiling all over he looked a little sheepish doing the fist pump thing.

[KateR]

I really like Humphreys but he’s not a left back and Pires worries me, yes we are performing excellent at the back but if there’s a position at the back that could be strengthened it’s left back imo

It's somewhat strange when we are saying anyone in the back 5 is a worry, given the performances and the number of goals that the opposition have scored to date! Many people were very worried about having ER play in a crucial role in the back line, I think there's been a lot of converts this last month or so, just IMO of course. For me it's a striker by a long way, and I'd be happy if we bring just that one position in to strengthen.

[kaptin1]

We need to make sure we hang on to Trafford, Esteve, Brownhill and Roberts in the January transfer window, even though the latter two are out of contract at the end of the season. Another striker would be helpful as would a right back as Sambo clearly not fancied yet and we don’t really have alternative cover for Roberts.

[HurstGrangeClaret]

It's somewhat strange when we are saying anyone in the back 5 is a worry, given the performances and the number of goals that the opposition have scored to date! Many people were very worried about having ER play in a crucial role in the back line, I think there's been a lot of converts this last month or so, just IMO of course. For me it's a striker by a long way, and I'd be happy if we bring just that one position in to strengthen.

This sums it up perfectly for me.

[Conroy92]

Sometimes there's a moment in a season you can pin point as the turning point. The last minute penalty Rodriguez scored and win a few weeks ago could well be that.

[Vino blanco]

I’m not certain that we have clicked fully just yet, though we are improving every game in a sensible and progressive way. You have to give Scott Parker massive credit here for primarily working on the defensive shape and then concentrating on our attacking play. At the beginning of the season Mrs Vino (I appreciate she is only a woman on football matters) kept saying that when we attack we have no players in the box to pass to. In the last three games this has changed and Parker now has got us attacking the opposition penalty area sometimes with four and even five players up there.
Also our off the ball pressing and closing down has improved greatly in the last few matches. The Stoke commentators on TV commented on this several times during the matching yesterday, saying that their team simply couldn’t get the ball forward because we always had three or four players closing down their forward play. Again, credit to Parker and coaching team.

[CrosspoolClarets]

Probably only at about 70% of this squad’s potential, despite the improvement, and that is a really good thing (it is also a thing that shows the huge gulf between the parachutists and the rest, which is a big concern, but given we currently benefit I’ll ignore it ).

Saying that though, of the 4 teams with parachute money only us and Leeds seem to have retained a squad of great value. Blades and Luton have lost their big assets (as we have on the whole) but they don’t have as much left behind. We have between £50m and £100m of value not in the starting lineup. That is huge credit to the board who managed through a crisis well.

[lakesider]

The corner has been turned
The team have clicked - Parkers getting it right

More to return to the squad
Potential additions in Jan
Clean sheets aplenty

All signs of a promotion charge now

Agree with all of the above. We shouldn't be surprised it's taken a few months to basically build a squad from scratch. If SP gets us up I fancy our chances in the prem a lot more than I did with Vincent.

[redwasp]

Yes team spirit looks great. Seeing Trafford sprint the full length of the pitch when J Rod scored was great to see. I don't know if anybody counted but there was a spell in the first half when we had ten players camped in their half and passed the ball around for what seemed ages.

[hoosier-daddy]

Yes team spirit looks great. Seeing Trafford sprint the full length of the pitch when J Rod scored was great to see. I don't know if anybody counted but there was a spell in the first half when we had ten players camped in their half and passed the ball around for what seemed ages.

I've noticed we gain confidence as the game goes on. You mention about us having 10 players in their half, we seem to do that when we look more confident. And I've said it before, as the season as gone on, we've looked more confident passing it around at the back. Trafford has looked more confident on the ball. We've just improved everywhere and it's great to see. I have fewer panic attacks as well.

[123EasyasBFC]

It's somewhat strange when we are saying anyone in the back 5 is a worry, given the performances and the number of goals that the opposition have scored to date! Many people were very worried about having ER play in a crucial role in the back line, I think there's been a lot of converts this last month or so, just IMO of course. For me it's a striker by a long way, and I'd be happy if we bring just that one position in to strengthen.

For me at left back it’s going forward to, minus Luton first game of season where Pires had a wide open pass to brownhill and a corner, he’s not actually created very much and Humphreys is a good defender but against isn’t very creative, we had a left back leave on a free in the summer that would of been perfect for us this season. I’d have Charlie Taylor back on loan in January in a heartbeat

[Firthy]

As well as Jay played yesterday we still need a striker who can score goals.

[hoosier-daddy]

As well as Jay played yesterday we still need a striker who can score goals.

Agreed. As I've said, if we bring in a goalscorer I'm not sure we need anybody else. Keep our best players, sign a striker, players back from injury... sorted.

[taio]

Agreed. As I've said, if we bring in a goalscorer I'm not sure we need anybody else. Keep our best players, sign a striker, players back from injury... sorted.

Agree with this. In the main - striker excepted - we stick with what we've got.

[Hedontplayforyou]

Whoever mentioned Humphreys - I believe he will be a fine centre half in the future and possibly our next in line to replace Esteve when he inevitably gets his big move. Rotating currently at left back he shows signs of real quality whilst not being a natural fullback. Coming from the bench too , helping shore up a lead late in is a very useful option to have. One which Parker is using well.

[Woodleyclaret]

As I came off v Coventry I turned to the guy next to me and said top by Christmas
I stand by this and see us pulling away from the rest Stoke is a difficult place for us to go and winning these games is Championship winning form.

[hoosier-daddy]

As I came off v Coventry I turned to the guy next to me and said top by Christmas
I stand by this and see us pulling away from the rest Stoke is a difficult place for us to go and winning these games is Championship winning form.

Leeds don't look like stopping though. Pulling away from 3rd, I'd go with though.

[kentonclaret]

As I came off v Coventry I turned to the guy next to me and said top by Christmas
I stand by this and see us pulling away from the rest Stoke is a difficult place for us to go and winning these games is Championship winning form.

Currently priced up by Sky Bet as 3rd favourites to win the Championship at 11/2.