AshtonRobin21

No sign of a bid yet. Richard Forrester (Bristol Live) was at the Under 21's match earlier, and reported that Semenyo was doing individual training (and looking very sharp).

I believe we will get interest from a few clubs that could cause the fee to rise. Palace, Brentford and Southampton all seem to be realistic destinations, and have a need for a player like Semenyo. At palace it's clear that they lack options up top following the sale of Benteke. Semenyo would suit Brentford's style of play perfectly, and would challenge Mbeumo and cover Toney. Southampton lack quality up front. Che Adams has been linked to Prem clubs this summer, whereas Adam Armstrong hasn't hit the heights he once did at Blackburn. I reckon the fee could end up being close to £14m + add on's eventually.

I certainly don't want him to leave. But am realistic enough to see that he probably won't be here beyond next year anyway. If we were to recoup a decent fee for him, then it could lead to 2-3 key positions being strengthened. Something we won't be able to do without a sale. Our front line is still scoring goals, our defence needs sorting out. This could allow us to do that.

They relied on loans last season, so have been somewhat forced into buying a large quantity of players this summer. I've been impressed with the quality of their signings. Dennis and Kouyate signed last night. Maupay (Brighton) and Frueller (Atalanta) set to sign also. Linked to Aouar (Lyon) and Sow (Frankfurt) today, who are both central midfielders. They look very dangerous so far today, and could surprise a few this season. Their fans are well up for it as well. Think they could do with an extra Centre back and Left back though.

FWIW, I think Nige would be given a fair chunk to spend, and I fully believe we have targets lined up. We need to invest where possible, and perhaps this is what Nige has been anticipating. Keeping both Scott and Semenyo would be fantastic, but if asked at the start of the transfer window, I would have expected at least one to depart. If we can retain Scott, then I'm happy. This would be the first opportunity that Nige has had decent funds available to improve the squad, so I would be interested to see what moves we would make.

I think this one has legs. Palace are rumoured to have been monitoring Semenyo for some time. It seems realistic that they would now make their move. I don't want to see it happen, but accept that him leaving for a prem club is too good to turn down. Palace would be the perfect move for him (and potentially us in regards to a sell on %). Any money received needs to be reinvested (where possible) to bulk up this squad. We are too thin on numbers in key areas. A Semenyo replacement, A centre midfielder and a centre back are priorities.

My word that was a difficult watch. No desire at all to win that game. We looked beat the second their goal went in. Too many passengers today.

First corner of the game, in the 88th minute, and we play it short. Get it in the box and hope someone gets on the end of it.

First 15 mins we were brilliant. Since then we've produced nothing.

Brilliant team goal!! Tommy Conway take a bow, that pass was fantastic. Weimann is on fire.

I think it's just a step in the right direction, and a nice boost that shows the players at the club are capable of those types of performances. Great to see that we can make 5 changes and have players challenge for places. All players who can into the side made an impact and put themselves in the frame for the Wigan game.

We made 5 changes ourselves, so the arguement goes both ways.

A couple of interesting points: - Conway is knocking on the door, early in the season. Could get an opportunity at some point. - Weimann in the '10' position offers us much more when we are out of possession. He can drop into the midfield to be the extra body. - Wilson at Right-Wing Back offers more of a balance between attack and defence. - Scott in the '8' position may be required during James' absence. I wouldnt be surprised to see Saturday's starting XI look like: Bentley Wilson, Vyner, Naismith, Atkinson, Dasilva Williams, Scott Weimann Martin, Conway - I don't think Sykes has done anything wrong, but bringing in Wilson might help shore up the defence. - Sykes may start in the '10' position, allowing Weimann to play as a striker.

4 goals for city on a Wednesday night against a decent championship side, and into the next round of the cup. - Competition for places heating up, and players proving their value to the club. - An academy product scoring twice. - And a dominant performance from start to finish. Yet some describe us as "a mess". Too all the fans who stayed positive - enjoy that one, and let's look forward to the next one on Saturday. And too all the negative 'fans' - there doesn't seem to be much noise coming from you tonight... Up the City!!

Pring gave a really good account of himself tonight. When he's in form, he can push Dasilva all the way. And likewise for Jay. We need that healthy competition within the squad, where players aren't comfortable that they will be starting every week. Conway's goals will also keep the frontline on their toes (although they are all in-form themselves). Competition for places within a small squad could do wonders for results/performances moving forward.

In his pre-game press conference, Nige mentioned that two players were suffering with illness this week. My obvious guess would be Klose and Martin. Both should be fine for Saturday.

Making a statement tonight! Some big individual performances as well.

Good start so far, let's kick-start our season tonight!

Vyner now has to spend 89 minutes on a yellow card. He isn't helping himself.

That first season may aswell be wiped clean, as he had zero input on a bloated squad that was hampered by injuries to key players, and no opportunity to bring in his own staff/players. Last season was balanced, and pretty expected. This season will be more of an indication as you mention, but he is up against it in regards to resources, so I'm still backing him.

Personally, I think Pring performed well last season. He looked good in the left Wing-back role. He does tend to exhaust all his energy around the 60 minute mark (can be common for wing-backs), so there's always the question of needing to sub him during the game. I don't believe Nige has problem with Pring, but definitely wants to see abit more from him. Nige does like to challenge players who aren't currently in the starting 11 (seen with Bentley, Dasilva and Atkinson previously). But as you mention, Pring is now trying to catch up on match fitness, and will feature at some point. Pring certainly has the ability to force himself back in.

Pearson seemed frustrated during pre-season. Pring withdrew himself from a friendly saying that he wasn't fit to play. Add in the fact that Pring often needs to be subbed after 60 minutes as he is knackered. I think Pearson wants players who will push through the pain barrier. However that said, I do not think he has a problem with Pring. I think Pring just needs to earn his place back in the squad. I thought it was odd that we have had two right wing backs on the bench instead of Pring in recent weeks. FWIW, the standard of questioning in the press conference was very poor. A lot of topics were repeated, and a few journalists answered their own questions.

If you can't support us through our struggles, you don't deserve to enjoy our success!

How many of those games were in the season he took over from Holden? He didn't even have the chance to make a dent in the squad at that point.

Everyone knows our financial situation, yet continues to repeat themselves over "what a mess we are in". The truth is, we aren't a mess, we are simply suffering with the financial effects of COVID, and the contracts that the smiling brummie assassin dished out. We will recover. Mark Ashton splashed the cash and put us in a difficult position, then ran off into the sunset the first opportunity he got. He is the cause of the problem. However, it's not all doom and gloom as some like to paint the picture. Nige is slowly but surely steadying the ship, and reversing the damage caused by previous regimes. He has had no money to work with, and won't have any for some time. But he doesn't complain about it. People may see that we have lost our first 2 games and will have a moan. But yet it doesn't tell the full story. We should have won, or at least got a point away at Hull, but for some criminal refereeing. And on the weekend against Sunderland individual mistakes cost us. Let's look at the positives. As an attacking unit, we look good. We score goals regularly, and our main three attackers work in perfect unison. We have bright youngsters in Scott and Semenyo, who bring quality to the side. And if they were to depart, will boost us financially. We have a fantastic academy system that produces players every single year. We have coaching staff that genuinely care about the club and want to see us do well. From Brian Tinnion, Alex Ball to Mickey Bell, they all know what this club means. This is our club, and we should all be encouraging the players and coaching team and showing that we are right behind them. If people want to moan at every opportunity, your not fans. Take yourselves over to the blue few and enjoy the tent.