On the list to come back to. Mini-report in my notes from earlier this season reads: Seen LW. Powerful runner w/ good combination-play. Very variable performance, turns it over a lot.

Cala so difficult to follow since the Odegaard sub. Soucek a natural channel-filling expert but unavailable. Limited choices to resolve from 0-1 down, when natural response to swap a forward off for a defender would feel like conceding the game.

Many others that could/should make this list but these were the big winners from the first french footage trawl of the season.

Fave U23 Ligue 1 players by position, excluding PSG:

GK: Obed Nkambadio
RB: Kojo Peprah Oppong (No outstanding RB option)
RCB: Mamadou Sarr
LCB: Abdoulaye Faye
LB: Quentin Merlin
DM: Aladji Bamba
CM: Kevin Danois
CM: Dermane Karim
RW: Maghnes Akliouche
ST: Matthis Abline
LW: Matias Fernandez-Pardo

21yo Magassa on for the final 15, his second sub app in the PL, and producing the worst performance level I've ever seen from him while both FBs go high (before a CB eventually goes up top too) = a neat microcosm of our problems.

Is all of this a consequence of years of haphazard decision-making and poor squad building? Yes.

Do I think Potter is a good manager that would find a way out of this eventually? Yes.

Is the environment stable enough to allow the kind of steady development required? No, I don't think so.

This doesn't mean that the ideas chosen in moments are wrong. They're often good ideas. The issue is that they usually work for 15 minutes until the opposition figure things out.

Being flexible is a good thing but I think it might be inhibiting longer term development right now.

Will be tuning into Lyon/Angers this evening to check on 18yo Prosper Peter who starts up front for Angers. Really only there for when Dejeux stops messing about and gets the main man Abdelli on though. Anything for Pirate Bay Dembele.

Didn't really have enough space to cover Bamba properly. Still very early but incredibly dominant in midfield against Auxerre with an incredible amount of risk/progression balanced with outstanding accuracy. 11/16 duels. Silly level for a 19-y-o on first start.

Siwe/Bamba both got their first starts last GW. More...

Melvin Bard (LB, 24, Nice)
Still banging this drum.

Kevin Danois (CM, 21, Auxerre)
Second ball winner, line-breaker and chance creator. Next Mac Allister?

Felix Correia (LW, 24, Lille)
Good combinations, progression + pace. Um... R. Nelson?

Radar app still lookin a tad wonky but we take these

Spent a couple days looking for that sort of player a while back. Not much out there. Had we added someone like V. Atangana in midf then we could be more flexi dropping Magassa back + going for younger players in rotation. Now probably just pressure on a couple of kids to play consistently.

I don't have much time to post on any social media platform any more but happy to chuck more random thoughts/comments here from time to time.

Couple of interesting data shouts. Think Marseille were interested in Mykhavko before going for Aguerd. Potentially high upside there w/ super impressive data in Ukraine. Saw some bits vs England U21s, looks good on the ball.

Think my other final-year-of-contract-WCB-lefties are just... not that great.