Ex Lion Tamer

He won't get his transfer if he refuses to sign a contract because we have an exclusive option to buy. He'd have to stay at Augsburg. I'd imagine the contract terms are already agreed to prevent us having him over a barrel. If he pulls a Toby i could see us buying him and them immediately selling him on for a higher fee. Or is that banned now?

The point being that we didnt really think we were going to sign him (or anyone else?) until it suddenly became concrete on the last day?

I think we've played this quite well. We've given him a fair chance to leave and if it doesnt happen then he'll have to come back and reintegrate

I don't know how these things work. Would they pay his wages as well as the fee?

And Les got pelters in both scenarios

You only think they are top quality because he has made them that way. How many of his Saints players went on to be good at other clubs/Liverpool?

Plus Poch has the team overperforming and if he leaves, it could all fall apart quite dramatically

What all of this is is a negotiation. Both sides are trying to make the other one blink. A compromise will be found

Good example, though we're getting away from the point that people are whinging about players having too much power when players actually have less power than 90% of employees

I meant outside of the sporting industry

Like any other job. Football clubs actually have more power over their employees than in any other industry I can think of

Couple of brilliant goals at the start of this:

Or just reduce the transfer fee so the buying club can afford his wages?

You're right to question some of the players named but: Boufal - celebrated mockingly in front of his manager after scoring a goal, refused to warm up in another game Lemina - we've only heard his side of the story - the "promise" received may not have been quite so concrete as he is making out Cedric - Pretty clear from ITK info that Ralph was unimpressed by his attitude. E.g. spending time on his phone in the treatment room rather than talking to a fellow player. Perhaps there are other things as I can't believe he would have been banished from the squad solely on playing ability

His knees won't allow him to train properly, so you take what you get with him, a la Paul McGrath

Because we have a bloated squad with average players on big wages? Bmouth may have a smaller ground than us but that's almost irrelevant in an age where TV money dwarfs gate receipts

What's his approach play like? To be honest you can get away with not scoring goals these days if you knit the team together

Are Championship level full backs going at £12m these days?

His wages would have been less if he had come to us to be fair. Everton blew us out of the water

Not sure Ralph is the TLC type either. He won't take any nonsense or indiscipline

Predictable result. We struggle against crap teams that sit deep but make up for it against the better teams.

No I'm not schooled in that stuff so thanks, that's helpful. Is it not still the case though that although he had had two serious injuries when we signed him, it wasn't inevitable that he would be injury prone for the rest of his career? And while it looks bad now that we've seen his problems this season, it is also not inevitable that he will have the same sort of season next time round?

Everton have 8 clean sheets in the last 10 league games. Silva is doing well

Ings had two serious long term injuries at Liverpool which is different to the smaller niggly injuries he's had this season. People saying he's injury prone are conflating two different things.