CB Fry

When signing a goalkeeper for ten million pounds you don't even need a gentleman's agreement. Of course he's the bloody first choice.

Potential banana skin giant killing to be fair.

I said very specifically the timing of the Lambert deal was a monumental error, the day after Ralph's media blitz. No problem saying that. They didn't get everything right. Let's remember you pick me up on things you think I said, I pick you up on things you actually did say: the club are abusing us. Don't kid yourself about a few fans getting upset changing the world. It will go down in forum bulls hit folklore but that won't ever make it true.

You are effing nuts mate. As I said I couldn't even remember the post you were on about. If people want to character assassinate me they have my blessing. I replied to that post. I think I might slowly back out of the room, maintaining eye contact at all times. Cuckoo. Cuckoo.

Clicked the link. Um, I replied to it. You really aren't well are you?

I think we all know what sources you like, and the great resources you utilise. Haven't clicked that link yet: no idea what I am supposed to have run away from. Hint: was probably busy.

I thought you hated the mainstream media? Just a load of media filler on a nothing story. Popular show beats meaningless match. Gee fu cking Willikers.

No idea what Bletch said about me. It's sweet that you do. And no idea why you have searched, copied and pasted all those links which seem to be just repeating the point that, well, you made in the first place. You're not a well man, are you?

Struggling to see any intellectual or cultural superiority or import of a meaningless late summer international football friendly versus an episode of a pretty well put together mass - appeal TV series. I didn't watch either yesterday but I would suggest the quality of Bake Off as a program/piece of entertainment might just win out over England's pyrite generation puffing about in a match of no consequence whatsoever.

How did what work for Borrini? He didn't seem to want to move. Shane Long did. There are shades of grey in all negotiations. I'd find it highly unlikely Long moved for twelve million quid and then happily took a pay cut. At absolute worst, he's on the same money. You make it sound like all he wanted to do was move South with his wife and Saints were the only option. There are countless different ways Long could have left Hull. Being a twelve million pound transfer - 40/50% increase in fee in six months - and taking a pay cut is unlikely to be one of them.

He's not moving just for money but he sure as hell would have got more. Sooo, you're prepared to pay £12m for my boy Long, eh? Well £12m footballers cost this a week. Cough up.

Early reports had it an an eye watering £160k which even in today's mental world is high - but that gross figure of somewhere in the region of £100-20k sounds plausible and chimes with pretty much all the reports from all outlets anywhere. Fifty grand a week for the most expensive teenager in world football - when Joleon Lescott was on £90k at MCFC among other mentalness - seems fanciful beyond belief and would be a news story in itself.

Saint Ed does seem to be swerving that point.

As I say, you post absolute drivel. Well done on maintaining the standard. You've moved on from "pundits use value to measure how good players are" to some ramble about Manchester United making god only knows what point. Drivel.

Don't worry about what I think. Worry about what you think.

I'll leave it.

You tend to post absolute drivel most of the time. Most pundits don't use the market value to as "a widely used measure" of whether or not they think player x is good or not. They tend to use their opinion on their footballing ability. Fees/value is just background context. Better players are often more expensive but that doesn't mean all players can be ranked by price, for the reasons outlined in my previous post. Pundits definitely don't do that, so it is anything but a "widely used measure". Man U paid high for Shaw not because he is right now the best Left Back in the world - he ain't - but because he is young, English and could give them a decade of service. He's the most expensive teenager ever, on your "widely used measure" he's the best teenage footballer in the world? Is he? Anyway, as I said, you post utter drivel.

So, Shane Long with a (comparative) modest pay rise to £50k a week would be on what our "I know Luke Shaw I do" friend is saying the worlds richest club Manchester United are paying their £27m major summer signing. Hmm, plausible. (The Luke Shaw bit. I am sure Long probably is on £50k).

Correct. The most laughable issue throughout the summer was the constant accusations that Reed, Ralph and Co were lying to us ("Abusing us" according to one forum genius) while the white lies and double talk from the players was swallowed whole. Far too many dim fans happy to swallow the "I would have stayed but the ambition changed" tripe while at the same time calling out Reed for lying and thinking how jolly clever they are. The departing players played the gullible fans like a dream and strolled off to their six figure weekly wages no problem.

He wasn't an England International when we sold him so it means no such thing.

You post consistent tosh, fair play. There are plenty of factors influencing price, length of contract, players age, potential, affluence of selling club and buying club, nationality, current wages, etc etc. Your "theory" (something nags at me that you might not be an actual real professor) is so crudely facile it is barely worth scrutiny. But one pointless example: we replaced Adam Lallana who cost us fifty grand from Bournemouth with Tadic for 200 times more. So Tadic 200 times better. Easy.

Not just about the centre backs, though is it. You'd think he would embed it into the team front to back. We only had one good centre back in pre season but we still played with two.

Do people think we will convert to 3-5-2 over time? If so, seems odd that he hasn't played it so far, surely pre season would be the time to embed that system.

They've got a point. Newcastle at home is typically a result we can always bank on. Definite bogey trip for them.

Selling Lambert the day after a media blitz constitutes a mixed message. That was a definite balls up.