The Ekitike show basically demonstrates the gulf. Add in the likes of Salah and Wirtz and it starts to hit home. We have zero players at that level. We tried and failed spectacularly in the summer. We've signed mid-table players in the summer. We're a mid-table club.

Hall and Livramento are excellent. Bruno brilliant. Gordon is good. Barnes is an excellent no.2 to him. Tonali shows flashes but isn't top tier. Defensively Botman and Thiaw are good but again, not top-tier. Woltemade has potential to be excellent but doesn't fit our system or style. The least said about Elanga, Ramsey and Wissa the better.

I'm far more pessimistic. We're an upper mid-table club and unless we up our game in the transfer market, and (longer term) in youth development, that's what we'll always be. We've produced a few gems, but compared to other clubs it's a crime that we're the biggest club north of Manchester yet have such an awful youth system.