25 Aug 2026 07:00:17
Ed1, you think there is a slimmest chance that we will bring in a proper DM before the end of transfer window?
{Ed001's Note - sadly, no.}
25 Aug 2026 07:17:02
Why do you think, since Fabinho left, we seem to be ignoring the need to properly replace him with a DM? It seems like we are somehow allergic to having a proper DM.
25 Aug 2026 07:23:42
IR doesn't play with a DM, he plays two centre mids. Last season it was Cook and Scott, and then he plays a 10. He will coach them how to be better in transition.
Honestly, I think people are over reacting. We just need to have someone extra that can get about the pitch, as I don't think McAllister would be good for this, in my opinion.
25 Aug 2026 07:24:43
The club went for Caicedo and then got Endo.
Since Endo came in, I agree the club seems to have transitioned away from a DM.
25 Aug 2026 07:25:13
Current managerial thinking rejects the use of a traditional DM. If we could just get our central kids to use their brains, then we'd probably be OK. We all saw how good Gravenberch was when he played in a disciplined way. Slot knocked that out of him last season, unfortunately.
25 Aug 2026 07:51:52
Central kids? Central Mids!
25 Aug 2026 07:53:39
Grav had one half of a good season and otherwise has looked
distinctly average at best.
We can keep harping on about Slot's great half a season when a few tweaks caught everyone out for less than 6 months, or look at the bigger picture - since Jurgen left there is a vacuum - a side with no soul, a bunch of vanilla players without any real
connection.
Andoni will
change this, but there will be some major casualties - Isak, Wirtz, Frimpong, Gakpo, maybe Virgil won't get a renewal. We are the beginning of a rebuild and of a new era - Andoni and Bezos. God only
knows what it will
bring, but I feel
certain that Andoni will bring some cohesion and identity, which we currently have none of.
25 Aug 2026 08:21:39
Got to trust Ai, it was his first competitive match, he will see where things went wrong and will work on it, give him chance before writing off the season, let's see who comes in.
No one really gets up to full speed until mid September. Just trust the process.
25 Aug 2026 08:32:05
The lack of a true DM wouldn't be as bad if the CMs we have could hold the ball, pass it well and move it forward quickly.
The losses of TAA and a younger Robertson compound the limits of the midfielders we have.
TAA could see an early ball and get us on the front foot, and Robbo wasn't bad either.
The two fullbacks we have now can't do it.
25 Aug 2026 08:39:47
Mfahmee, since Fabinho left, we won the league. Just saying.
25 Aug 2026 08:43:12
Agree with all of that, Rigsby.
25 Aug 2026 09:07:33
I do trust the manager who I don't trust is the people above and too many people on here last season kept saying the same thing... Trust Slot and the process when you could see it from day one. The squad needs supplementing, which isn't an overreaction, it's common sense.
25 Aug 2026 09:12:22
Very true that Rigs about the midfield. Often lost in the chaos of the performance.
25 Aug 2026 09:53:47
The league isn't moving away from DMs. If it's the label you don't like, then call it someone who is accountable for the centre circle and space between the defensive line and forwards.
One way or another, someone has to be accountable for that space. Whether it be inverting fullbacks, a DM, DLP or a CM.
25 Aug 2026 12:16:20
FPF, you've just described the league moving away from true DMs. No decent team has the old destroyer type who could tackle, pass a ball 2 yards, and then go back to his sitting position. What you've described is how we set up, but the players we use are ignoring how the manager tells them to play, which is why we see Grav and Szob in the opposition penalty box at the same time.
One of them is supposed to stay back, which they aren't doing, leaving the defence with zero protection. I'd be tempted to play Szob on the right where he can be more attack minded. Having him and Grav as the central defensive pivot doesn't work.