Chez

What I've never understood is, if the powers that be in China didn't want money leaving China for another English football club, why did he continue to buy the club using his own money? If they didn't want more clubs, why buy one, and why invest in one you couldn't really afford? Why didn't he just back out? I guess it matter little.

the modern day Dixon and Speedie

£47m according to the BBC website. But still...

I just cant get my head around these figures in the current climate. We have had to take out at £70m loan to pay the bills. Every other club has had the same financial hit, yet prices seem to be rising. I guess there are few clubs that are covid-proof due to the affluence of owners

No matter how good your recruitment is, you will still only get a percentage right. So the danger is always that you go backwards.

fag packet maths...and I know it has little bearing on reality, but... Grealish £100m Buendia £38m Bailey £30m JWP £35m???? Can't see that being enough

£65m. That seems like bonkers money to me. You could well be right about Villa's ceiling being below our valuation though.

Fair point, but Villa have a way to go before they reach the Man City level of the football pyramid. Leicester have sold their best player about three years on a row, but they seem to be getting better...going places?

they look all set for the start of the season next week. 😂

I plucked that number out of the air and if that was the figure, it would just be the interest payment. The debt wouldn't go down. How about we pay £25m a year? Is that still nothing?

do you really think he is worth £50m? If we were Villa and had their money, and looking to progress, would you spend £50m of JWP?

the fact we are linked to midfielders but keep saying we are not signing one, suggests we will play hard ball with Villa over JWP, but eventually sell, probably two minutes after announcing a new midfielder.

in five years time, unless we have made payments it will be well over £100m. Imagine going down with that millstone round our neck. No matter how you put it, the budget (wages and transfer fees) is less if you have to pay £10m??? each year on repayments that you didn't before.

its a good thing that teams come in for our players. When they don't, it means we have fuck all talent. Sell high, buy cheaper. A self sustaining club relies on deals like this. The question will be, can we bring in talent that is of an equal standard or maybe even better given time.

I can live with him going. I can live with all players going so long as we get lots of wedge nd we buy the right replacement. our financial model depends on it. if the recruitment can be trusted then these sales are a godsend. I actually see the club playing it pretty hard ball here and demanding a very decent fee. Villa will have the cash, but they will have to spend it. Villa seem to be going forward, so no reason why JWP wouldn't want to join them, but at the same time I don't see him forcing the move. Me being naive again perhaps. I have been critical of JWP in the past, but in the last two years he has upped his game and moving him into the middle has meant his lack of pace across the ground is not exposed. He actually impacts opponents now where before he used to just do doggies between players. there are a lot comments about his lack of forward passing, but he is a very good footballer. Not irreplaceable, but don't underestimate his ability.

I didn't see Bridge leaving us. Broke my heart seeing the story in the paper that he was joining Chelsea. Didn't imagine Lallana would leave either. Thought he was going to take Le Tiss' mantle and be a one club man. I guess I was pretty naive on both occasions. These days I expect players to depart as soon as they have a good season. Why on earth wouldn't they? More money, more prestige, more money...I suspect the thing that helps retain players most (at a club like us) is their family life. It certainly isn't loyalty. Doesn't exist, either way.

firstly, he cant play at full back. He certainly tries hard, but he just doesn't understand the position, where to be, distances, when to tackle when to hold. He ain't got it. I think he could play there for five years and still not understand it. Obviously we are a little short handed at this moment, but right now Ralph is ruining his preseason by not getting him running at full backs, taking players on, crossing, shooting etc. To be honest I get a little fed up of flair players being mistreated at Saints. He, like many others before him, need an arm round them and confidence boosted to the max. Play them every week, get them the ball and have them doing stuff that gets bums off seats. But this never happens. They get half a game here and there. Have a good game, get in the side, don't take the world by storm in the next game and dropped. You will never get the best out of flair players like that . Got to trust them and back them. You don't see any other position treated like this.

I agree with this.

They have to throw some alternative options into the mix to show that they can walk away from an Ings transfer negotiation. If it becomes obvious they only want Ings, then we can drive a slightly harder bargain. Considering the quality of the goals Ings has scored against Spurs in particular, I'd be very surprised if was not their number 1 target, all be it they may be signing two strikers not just one.

was there anything like that from Ings? I dont think so. I saw him play poorly, have a bad game, but I didn't see a lack of effort, just a lack of fitness and his touch elude him.

until someone makes us an offer, we don't have any decision to make and that remains the case until his contract expires. I've said it a few times. If he doesn't sign a deal with us, which he hasn't and it doesn't look like he ever will, then the club simply can't afford for him to walk on a free. If an offer comes in, its simply a case of what do we hold out for. Whats the lowest we will accept. Buying clubs know this and have us over a barrel. The only situation that brings things back into our favour is if the buyer is Spurs, and they just sold Kane, and have little time to replace him, and Ings is their man. We then can drive a better bargain.

He got injured and came back when not fully fit. His lack of fitness meant he wasn't as sharp, failed to control some `difficult' balls, when previously he was able to, and the chances were lost. He showed frustration at himself for his body not letting him do what he had before. He wasn't good in that period, you are right there, but saying he was `completely disinterested' is inaccurate IMO. As a collective we were fucking terrible and every player wanting to win ought to have looked fed up and very annoyed. If you don't care, are not interested, then you don't show frustration and throw your hands up. he wanted to win, wanted to play better. Thats my take any way. I've seen a disinterested Saints player - Nigel fucking Quashie standing on the half way line with his hands on hips at Loftus road watching us concede without bothering to track back. He left for WBA two days later. Not a strop, no hands thrown in the air, nothing. He could not give a fuck.

I'd argue that in order to score goal we have to push too many forward exposing us at the back, which led to lots of goals. Our lack of talent to create chances therefore may actually be the problem, nit simply that defenders aren't good enough. Stop fullback bombing on for example and you will tighten at the back, but then watch us score fuck all. That said, having the likes of Bednerak playing right back and the likes of marking Saint Maximin absolutely killed us last season - so strengthening there is also required. Honestly, I keep reading that we are well set in all these positions, but in reality we aren't. We may have the right number, but the right quality? Not for me. Finding better on ur budget is a different matter of course.

Vestergaard out, Simeu in therefore? Our transfer policy would then be buy young talent and work them into the side as the older more established players depart. Ever so slightly scary, but could work if that young talent is the real deal and the transition period is jus right. I guess we have been doing that for some time to degree with Gunn (failed), Djenepo, Diallo, Salisu, Tella and now Perraud and Simeu.

a good window would be someone comes in and pays over the odds for a couple of our players that we aren't that fussed about, enabling us to strengthen, rather than just replace. Pigs might fly.