John McGinn - signed (Captain)

[Mister E]

From on twitter

John McGinn: “I honestly think the break has been good for us mentally. I played with Douglas Luiz for the first half of the season before I got injured and he genuinely couldn’t understand a word I said.” [daily record]
“I don’t know if he spent the lockdown with his tutor online but fair play to him because it helps so much when he can understand ‘man on!’. I don’t think they know what ‘man on’ is in Brazil.”
“There were a lot of players all from different leagues and countries kind of flung together and because of the money that was spent, people just expected us to gel instantly.”
“But it really doesn’t work like that, especially in a league where you get punished for making mistakes. The break has been good for us. It has made us appreciate the situation we are in and we have 10 games now to get ourselves out of it.”

Totally unsurprising.
The good news is that the issue of familiarity is acknowledged, has been recognised and - hopefully - dealt with during the lockdown.
Second seasons usually expose the kind of players bought in the season before ... if the players are still around and have not been sold on!

[paul_e]

If we stay up we should just aim for 3-4 new signings this summer. A commanding CB alongside Mings, a good quality wide player and a midfielder who can read the game and stick his foot in would make a world of difference to us and would propel us to the giddy heights of 10th or 11th.

I'm not sure about the centre back, I like Engels and I think Konsa has a lot of potential so I'm pretty happy with us there. I'd go with a defensive midfielder, a left back and a wide player, with Lansbury, Taylor and Jota leaving to make space for them. After that it would just be one out, one in if anyone wants to leave.

[Footy-Vill]

Ok. Well he can't be 90minute match fit.
And he has to get to a level to retain that fitness .
Maybe he could even play a full 90 on Wednesday and Sunday but then he'll start experiencing fatigue and struggle v Newcastle.
The ideal way would be to play him for an hour slowly build it up and again Vs Chelsea and have him do the whole 90mins away at Newcastle or the following Saturday morning v Wolves

Whatever way can't wait to see him in action though must be extra careful with him

As I suspected and have been saying.
Dean Smith said
"It’s great to have him back but I have to manage him accordingly. It’s easy for me to go and throw him straight into the battle, knowing the sort of lad he is, but the players have had 14 weeks without a game. He has had over six months without a game. He has managed to get minutes in the West Brom and Leicester [friendly] games [this month] but I have to be a little bit mindful of where he’s been and where he’s come from.”

[Drummond]

From on twitter

John McGinn: “I honestly think the break has been good for us mentally. I played with Douglas Luiz for the first half of the season before I got injured and he genuinely couldn’t understand a word I said.” [daily record]
“I don’t know if he spent the lockdown with his tutor online but fair play to him because it helps so much when he can understand ‘man on!’. I don’t think they know what ‘man on’ is in Brazil.”
“There were a lot of players all from different leagues and countries kind of flung together and because of the money that was spent, people just expected us to gel instantly.”
“But it really doesn’t work like that, especially in a league where you get punished for making mistakes. The break has been good for us. It has made us appreciate the situation we are in and we have 10 games now to get ourselves out of it.”

I'm hoping that the enforced break will have helped us massively. The pressure is back on again now but the last few weeks of training will have allowed everyone to get to know each other better. I always thought that if we could get through this season and get a full pre-season under our belts we'd be far better off next season. Now's the time to see.

[Flin5tone]

He wasn't very good the few weeks leading up to his injury and returned today in the same form

[Sexual Ealing]

He wasn't very good the few weeks leading up to his injury and returned today in the same form

He was better than you were in the weeks leading up to your resignation.

[PeterWithesShin]

I know whose return i'm happier about.

[Smithy]

He was quite rusty, and looked a little overweight (might just be the haircut!), but it was good to have him back out there. He will only get better with some proper game time under his belt.  I just hope he can get up to proper match fitness quickly, we need the old SJM back sooner rather than later...

[mr underhill]

understandably miles off the pace last night but great to see him back

[brontebilly]

Being rusty is understandable but McGinn seems to have piled on the pounds. Is there any excuse for his poor conditioning?

[kippaxvilla2]

Yes there’s these new pie ranges at Tesco a home tried them?

[Drummond]

Being rusty is understandable but McGinn seems to have piled on the pounds. Is there any excuse for his poor conditioning?

He had a broken ankle and a number of months out. It takes time to get back up to speed.

[SoccerHQ]

Far too early for him to be starting games.

[Flamingo Lane]

Far too early for him to be starting games.

Indeed it has been proven to be the case, so who and by what process was it decided that he should not only start but stay on the pitch for the majority of these two games?  Good as he is, he was no more than a passenger in these games.  Could he not perhaps have been brought on for the last 20 minutes in each game?   

[olaftab]

OK he has two games now under his belt so I expect he will will be fully match for tomorrow.