12 Feb 2026 10:15:15
Saw a post that Barry was unlucky with his chances against Bournemouth, particularly the 1st one because the ball was coming back to him on a slippy surface.
They literally play on a carpet, one that is purposefully watered every game. Not to mention the fact that Petrovic took all the pace out of Jimmy's shot. The ball literally didn't touch the "slippy" surface between hitting his gloves and Barry's shin.
For some context on the chance, it got given a 0.72 XG rating. Bear in mind that a penalty is only 0.76.
The second chance, yes, was good defending from Jiminez to get across but he should never have been given the chance to get there in time. Barry waiting for a bus, instead of going meeting Nidaye's ball like all top strikers would. The ball was not hit with any great pace, so it could have been lashed home by any competent striker imo.
The lad is garbage and I think BlueMike summed him up in a brilliant post below.
12 Feb 2026 12:05:17
The game should have been done and dusted by half time, how can you be 6 yards out in front of goal and hit it nearly 10 yards wide. As you said any decent striker does not miss them chances and in my opinion it cost us the game, fuming still here. Barry just does not have any solid attributes as others have mentioned.
can't control a ball, can't hold up a ball to bring others into play, hopeless in the air, gets brushed off it too easily, one on ones he gets caught or his touch is crap, and has no awareness around him and does not anticipate anything, so frustrating as I genuinely think we would be in top 5 if we had a decent proven striker.
12 Feb 2026 12:24:27
Totally agree, BN, two shocking misses for me. Time waits for no man, so why didn't he bust a gut to get to the ball first? That's how he will generate power when connecting with the cross, you don't get that by standing there and waiting for the ball to get to your feet.
For me, he's too passive in his approach, almost to the point of arrogance. I think he holds it up better than Beto but every other aspect of his game is a bit suspect for this level. He has fooled us with a bit of a purple patch, much like Beto did when Moyes first came back, which probably made the club think he will be ok until the end of this season, resulting in no strengthening of our forward line.
This season was always going to be about stabilising the club both on and off the pitch. FM took us to the brink with psr issues and we are now well clear of them. Replacing 13 players in the summer was a tall order too but the club seems to be heading in the right direction. We have both mentioned it before, numerous times, but getting in two full backs, left and right, would make a massive difference to this team. Ones that can overlap, attack and defend with purpose, and actually get a decent cross in from the byline. Obviously, as I mentioned before, a forward who knows where the net is would also help!
The summer can't come quick enough for me. Ship out the dead wood and replace them with better quality. I've ben on the fence over European qualification, have we got enough about us to compete both at home and abroad? Probably not with the current squad but, as others including ed25 have pointed out, qualifying will bring in a better calibre of player. If we can improve our home record then Europe definitely beckons. Hopefully, our recruitment team will click into place by then mate!
{Ed025's Note - spot on for me BP, kudos mate..
12 Feb 2026 12:59:55
Spot on Col and BP, impossible to disagree with any of that tbh Gents.
6 out of contract in the summer BP. I think Kean, Myko, Gana, George loan, Grealish loan and Coleman. I don't think we should be keeping any of them on into next season tbh mate (loans aside) .
The bench seems to have certainly improved now that we have everyone back, other than Grealish. The issue is however, that Moyes doesn't really use it. I think the likes of Rohl, Tim, Armstrong or Alcaraz could have all come on and brought some energy to the middle on Tuesday. There were plenty of players that were not having the best of games but he seems to have his favourites that he refuses to bring off.
With regards to Europe, 100% it allows us to attract better players but I am not sure if it would come a season too early given the level and size of the squad. Regardless of if we make Europe or not, the pull of the PL, wages we can offer compared to foreign leagues, the stadium, finishing in the top half (hopefully) , we should still be able to attract decent players that improve us. You only have to look at the likes of Brighton, Brentford and Bournemouth to see that it is possible. The common denominator of them 3 is that their recruitment team seems top drawer.
If reports are true, we didn't have ours in place until the end of the summer window and some after the window closed. We have also been told that we have bought in top individuals. I wonder if the reluctance to do too much business in January is down to TFG not wanting to commit bringing players in for a manager that they might not want here from the summer onwards.
As you say though mate, I can't wait to get to the summer and hopefully we see the improvements that we have needed for so long. Mainly a 2 quality full-backs and a striker that can either offer goals or can get the best of the players around him a la' Firmino.
Personally, I want us to go and raid Hoffenheim for one of their lads. Asllani or Lemperle would be my bet or even Cardoso from Leipzig.
12 Feb 2026 14:11:54
Couldn't agree more, BN. Out of those 6, I'd definitely wave good-bye to MK and VM, thanks for your effort and good luck for the future. Gana could be of use off the bench, I'd take Jack back on a permanent if we can get value for money from city, not the 50m that's been quoted.
George I need to see more of, especially with a decent left back behind him. The amount of times he waited for VM to overlap him last game was madness. He played a great ball down the wing after waiting for him to get on his toes, but VM stopped running! Let's see what he brings to the table between now and the end of the season mate.
I get the bit about DM and not subbing certain players but I think that will change next season when he has players on the pitch that he can trust 100 %, too many of our squad are stealing a living right now. I'm happy with the rebuild so far although I'd have liked two full backs and another striker in January but, as you say, I think they were waiting for the summer to address these positions for whatever reason. I'm confident that this will be sorted in the summer.
I think DM is here to stay for another season at least, much to the dismay of some people in this forum! There are things that he has done right and things that he has done wrong but we are in a healthier position now than we could have expected. Fan expectations are key to this, we shouldn't get too carried away with wins and not get disheartened by defeats, we are a year into a rebuild that seen us lose 13 players last summer. Only a few positions need immediate attention otherwise we have the basis of a decent squad.
There is more to be pleased about than to worry about imo mate. It feels like we have been in transition since Martinez walked through the doors and patience is wearing thin. But we will get there in the end!
Ed25, cheers mate. Have you heard anything about Jack coming back and a renegotiation of the agreed terms? I know it's a bit soon what with his injury, but I'd like to think this new recruitment team were getting all their ducks in a row as from now!
12 Feb 2026 14:25:16
Agree with everything there BP. There is certainly more to be pleased about for sure. I think most fans gripes, mine included is due to the missed opportunities this season. We have had plenty of them. It appears that Moyes seems to perform better when the chips are down and he is forced into making decisions due to injuries, suspensions or other.
Those substitutions on Tuesday were baffling to me mate. Bringing a winger off to put a CM out there. Bringing a striker off for your 2nd striker, only to then bring a CB on to play two up top.
There is no doubt that we are in a better spot since Moyes has come in but he doesn't half let him down with his stubbornness and lack of ability to think outside the box and take some risks mate.
12 Feb 2026 18:04:17
Seems to be an agreement between most of us on here that we will need in the summer as a minimum a RB (don't seemed to have looked very hard up until now) , a LB (on the basis he isn't going to bother with Aznou) , and a centre forward.
Let's hope the recruitment team are ready to start their work very soon, to hit the ground running once the summer window opens, rather than have the usual last minute panics.
{Ed025's Note - absolutely FG..