Squad status for Shady

Taiwo has a massively superior scoring record in a significantly worse team. In fact, if you look at both players' overall Premier League records he's a better producer of goals:

Delap: 13 goals in 3700 minutes
Awoniyi: 21 goals in 3350 minutes

I am supportive of replacing Taiwo, because I agree with your assessment of his skills, and his durability is not good. But Delap does not look like an upgrade in anyway except his fitness. You can tell me about the eye test if you like but strikers are paid to score goals, you don't pay £45M for a guy who creates space.

Our goalie situation is largely unchanged.

We've weakened our defense by asking our best players to assume roles that they aren't used to playing, and brought in a 30 year old to play the most physically demanding position in football.

We've sold our best midfielder and asked a guy who has so far looked a mile off the standard required for the Premier League to replace him (granted he's looked better than expected, at least for periods).

We've rendered our surfeit of wingers even more pointless by no longer using any.

We've maybe improved up front but it's a big gamble that at the moment you're all pinning hopes and dreams on.

Sorry, I'm not seeing the improvement here.

I think the fact we’ve got a proven good manager rather than Ange and then Dyche should at least be worth something.

Isn't @JRs_Cigarette just reverting to his pretend optimist bit after people complained about his negativity?

The last winger we had that was worthy of a place in the team was Elanga.

Genuinely no.

(In response to Simon)

I find myself somewhere between the two positions, but erring slightly towards positivity.

However, I've followed Forest long enough to be wary of early-season optimism. Some of our most catastrophic campaigns have, from memory, begun amid positive vibes.

CHO is a proven Premier League quality winger. So is Hutchinson (at least using the logic that everyone seems so keen to apply to Delap). Ndoye is proven on both the international stage and in Serie A, and has shown flashes at Forest. Bakwa presumably showed enough in Ligue 1 to justify us spending £35M on him.

I'm of the view that the failing is not the players.

The 4 different managers last season plus the one (so far) this season?

Did someone say Delap is no better than Taiwo?

Taiwo at his peak was good, and better than people give him credit for. But Delap has far more potential. He is not Collymore-lite, Collymore was far better on the ball and had a far better touch. He is Shearer-lite, in that he can push the ball and run and thwack the shit out of it, or Lukaku-like (not light) but with more workmate. He is a battering ram capable of pushing the ball and chasing it at speed, bulldozing people and whacking it. Awoniyi wasn't anyone lite, he is probably someone heavy.

I'd put it more down to the continuing change rather than the specific managers (Ange excluded, obviously). Dumping Pereira to throw the bag at the guy who everyone in Europe looked at and went "nah, this Man U failure is a safer bet" was particularly head scratching.

I can't escape the feeling that this season is the one that about 15 other Premier League teams have been desperately waiting for from us.

I'm similarly not getting bogged down, but I have never seen "suttoning" before and I highly approve.

Relegation?