CSA96

On the coaching staff and speculation about his brothers... "I had the last word to say yes to these. I've always worked well working with different people. "I think I need feedback and if something's not right, then I need people to tell me that something's not right. Trolls has got the experience. He knows what it takes to get out of this league and be competitive. "Adam has got that experience of a player, he's won everything there is to win. He's incredibly eager to learn and to be in and around the place so that's brilliant. Carl's still here and he's got great skills working with the players. "I worked with my brothers last season, which was brilliant, but their family reasons kept them in Belgium - close to their newly born children. "That's fine. But like I said, when I took over in Reims, it was a fully new staff to me. When I took over in Belgium, it was a fully new staff then. "I'm used to it, it takes me out of my comfort zone and sets me on the right foot so it's interesting. The first week here has confirmed that it's good."

Oh my... can you imagine how much ol' Rupes would love this in his boardroom

His direct rival for the USA #9 is moving to the Championship...

Positional rival to Damion Downs at USA level is moving to Derby - has been starting games in the Gold Cup, with Downs coming off the bench

The announcement was scheduled for this morning but the EFL postponed it until this afternoon when the Diogo Jota news broke shortly before and then postponed it again further, until tomorrow Saints had set up their post to go live automatically at the previously agreed time but forgot to remove/change it in their schedule once the EFL told clubs they would hold off until tomorrow, which is why it was very briefly live before getting taken down earlier today It’s just Ipswich and Pompey moving, in addition to the previously announced earlier kickoff for the Wrexham game

Two games with new KO times for TV - no other changes until October's games Sun Aug 17 at 12pm - Ipswich Town (a) Sun Sept 14 at 12pm - Portsmouth (h)

Nobody is saying you aren't allowed to feel it's crass, put your pearls down

How?

USA won 2-1, meaning he'll stay with them until after the final, which is set for Monday, July 7

When there's only three more friendlies before the season starts. Right now they've been training for two days and don't play a game for another 10 days, so still early days. Then the latter stage of the window is once the league games have started and there's about three/four weeks until the deadline

They seem to think it's Birmingham City

He only scored 15 in League One, to be fair. He stacked up a bunch of penalties on top, fair enough because Rickie Lambert benefitted from that too, but Rickie also scored far more often from open play. All the cash for 15 open play goals in League One doesn't feel like an amazing return... even though they got the job done last season

New manager wants to keep the players under one roof and get to know them in his first week, I guess

Birmingham overpaying at their level for Stansfield to score 15 goals (excl pens) in League One doesn’t really have anything to do with £6.8m not being cheap for a second division team, though If £6.8m is the opening offer then presumably that will climb too before there’s an agreement In recent Championship seasons anything between £5m-£10m is still a significant outlay, whether Downs will prove to be worth it or not is to be seen of course

I'm not sure anyone who moves for a fee approaching £10m in the second tier is a cheap gamble, really

Starting preseason in London

I wonder how Shea Charles/Saints have been implicated by that, and whether they've met their obligations to pay whatever % of his wages was agreed in the loan deal, or whether Saints have been making up the shortfalls for Charles if he has been left high and dry in part by SWFC

But that’s also not ‘could barely get a game’ Sorry, felt a bit MLG there. Off for a cold shower

He made 25 appearances? The Austrian Bundesliga season runs for 32 games, he played in 17 of those, plus six UCL games and two domestic cup games

I'd love him to come here but I imagine he costs the best part of £30m and has his sights set higher than us

Moved to Salzburg for £10m to play for Klopp's old asst Pep Lijnders, who has since been sacked. Made 14 appearances under Klopp at Liverpool but believe his Dad (Lee Clark; ex-Newcastle and Fulham midfielder) had been suggesting that a return to the UK may be on the cards after the change of direction after Lijnders left