Holmes_and_Watson

I'd not be giving SR any left field ideas, they could take literally. 🙂

How much would a modern day Martin Peters be worth?

Southgate has been in charge a long time now. Getting a win, however narrowly, in the first game is exactly what's important to him. Of course, he'd love us to get more than that. But is happy that we take as few risks as possible, once that lead is in place. The next game will be the same. England need a point to definitely progress. Southgate will be focused on that. And risks will be taken accordingly. He's not there to have the side express themselves and attack all the time. He's there to get the side through. Which is what he's done.

We could. THB is £20million already (although say spread at £5million over a 4 year deal). We will be carrying the amortisation costs of previous purchases into the current 3 year period though. Downes, if he arrives, might be in tha same area. We have all the loanees coming back on nice premier league wages again. So, that is going to bloat our squad and cost us, until we can ship a few out. The others will have their wages boosted too from last season. In 22/23 we we already at 75% of wages against income. No doubt SR will want that lower. But it's a massive drain on our available funds. Then there's club debts to payoff/ service, depending on what the debts are for. We made a £87 million loss in 22/23. Hopefully that was, as you say, offset against sales. And should we go back down anyway, we'd be looking to offload costs again, to keep in with EFL rules. And next time, clubs will know you are sailing close to PRS, and look to take advantage. I'm hoping it's something we do this season. When I were young, £80 million meant £80 million. Not like these days... 🙂

Overall, Southgate will be pleased his tournament set up got a win, easing off pressure for the next 2 games significantly. Few chances for England, as they looked to capitalise on mistakes, with their lead, rather than push a very strong, physical Serbia back. That approach did mean we got to see some of England's weaknesses. We needed control and central dominance after the lead. TAA doesn't offer that, and Bellingham was given duties other than supporting Rice. TAA offered a lot of mobility, when some direct steel was needed. Gallagher came on, doing better in that regard, but it's not the best part of his game either. It's the squad's biggest weakness. Glad I'm not the only one finding Foden to be droppable. Obviously, to get where he is, he must be excellent technically. But I don't watch much City, and he rarely drives England. He complained about others not controlling possession, but didn't do it himself. Gordon offers more direct threat. Pickford had to make some saves, and the defensive unit looked as though it could be unlocked. Enough done in an excellent opening spell to get the win, and onto the next match.

Bellingham a class apart. Saka causing them all sorts of issues. Kane hardly in it, but taking up all the attention of one of their defenders, moving opponents out of the way. Few chances. Solid, apart from a Trent misplaced pass. As they push forward at some point, Southgate will be looking to exploit the space. Tators fawned a bit over Trent at one point. He's not the specialist in midfield you'd ideally want. But no one has been poor.

Ah. I wondered if that's what you meant. No, the 105 million is the cap. Ours is lower at 81 million. We're playing to a smaller total than those who've been up across the 3 seasons.

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5203371/2024/01/15/nottingham-forest-and-alleged-psr-breaches-what-are-rules-when-will-punishment-be-known/

Tea

£105 over 3 years. We were down a division, so that cap is £83 million for us. (£35 million per Prem season plus £13 for Championship) So, we're not able to make up all our lost ground. SR have tried to push the wage bill down. We also have zero wages to pay departed players and loaners. However, they will have to be replaced. Also, promotion bonuses/wage returns to premier League levels will have kicked in. A couple of seasons back, I read that Villa were in flexible position when going up. They had a Championship wage base that was miles lower, and they could recruit without too much overpaid baggage. They just stayed up IIRC. Chelsea exploited a loophole getting players over massively long contracts. They also have their player farm, offsetting the costs. Forest got caught in the end, but had also lost a load of players that they wheeled and dealed to replace. But from a Championship wage base.

There was an Australian guru, Lynton Crosby, at the heart of Teresa May's 2017 campaign. They were so certain of success, that we got the dementia tax. The Price of Politics podcast said that May's own cabinet didn't get to contribute, or possibly even see, May's manifesto.

Fox

Go SaintsWeb! Wait. You meant that in a bad way, didn't you?... 🙂

Oh, how we'll laugh when he's unveiled as Russ' successor when that time comes. 🙂 (hopefully a good while away)

Perfect. I was looking for something to go with my Joker make-up.

So unfair on Rishi, the mastermind behind giving someone £3000 to volunteer to go to Rwanda. At a cut rate, bargain overall cost of just hundreds of millions.

SaintsWeb Poll: You've pulled a Turkish. Is this? The end of a good night out? The end of a bad night out? Something you should stop, before you go blind?

Since we need re-enforcements there anyway, and relied on Downes being fit last season, hopefully the plan B option is well underway.

I'd like to think Charles is getting, and is receptive to, a lot of specialist training in pre season. Martin tried him, and was reluctant to use him for his core position. On one hand, he got 15 league starts and 17 sub appearances for a promoted Championship side. Excellent for his age. On the other, he was out of contention at the end, and will get even less time in the PL. It would be great to see him adapt to Martin's requirements, and compete for that position.

Disappointingly not a section on the online club shop. 🙂

A like wasn't enough for this one. Like a number of players, Che's overall game improved under Martin. Or we got to see other areas of it under that system. He already does a lot of the things Martin is looking for in that position. While always happy to see the squad improved, Che did enough to still be a part of it. I'd prefer to see us upgrade on Mara and Stewart (fitness), while keeping Che here.

These. No one should be the target of this. For any reason, and certainly not when standing for office. Whatever the party they are legally standing for. Simply drags our democracy down. Hypo's mention of acid reminded me of Jo Brand's 2019 comment: "Certain unpleasant characters are being thrown to the fore and they’re very, very easy to hate and I’m kind of thinking: “Why bother with a milkshake when you could get some battery acid?” She added: "That’s just me, sorry. I’m not gonna do it, it’s purely a fantasy, but I think milkshakes are pathetic, I honestly do. Sorry." I caught the show at the time. I remember a very uncomfortable silence. The part beginning "That's just me..." was what Brand said as the audience were still quiet, with the odd unsettled chuckle. It was a terrible comment, and everyone there knew it. It should never have been broadcast, as it feeds into the normalisation or targeting, with violence, of certain views.

Now why would I be clicking a link, clearly for the premier League? Oh yes, we're now in it. Contented purr... Any excuse really. 🙂

But taking that to the highest level, it would mean not being able to politically control events across the lifetimes of supreme judges, whether you were in power or not. Madness!

It seems to be a bit of everything, much like some other positions. Not just holding it up, but dropping deep to set up passing angles or collect and pass it. Not just be in the box, but provide an outlet right through the middle. I've seen him instinctively take up finishing positions in the box, when the ball hasn't reached him. As you say he can miss some of those, yet instinctively finish when it drops to him further out. He's not as clinical as some others. Although we have gone through periods where his conversion rate would have to have been fantastic, considering the service. Sometimes, he isn't where you'd expect. Sometimes, that's definitely the system. He's dropped back to set up the move. That sort of inconsistency is about what I'd expect for players in the system, and at the level we're at. There's a lot he does well, and some less so. Arguably, like Baz, it's what you'd think of as the key bit, that's not quite there. I think that's Martin's frustration. All those games where we created, but couldn't finish the chances. That's not just down to Che though.