SWLondon Saint

Pretty sure there is no 100m shortfall this time, unlike previously everyone will now be on much reduced wages, and with the sale of Dibling we'll be up to around 80m in sales already. Fernandes may well go anyway, but it won't be because we're desperate for cash. Sporting Lisbon usually put massive sell-on clauses in anyway so it would help a lot less.

Hoping we've got our incomings lined up before they let him go out the door 🤞🏼 Fair deal all round, the thing I'd worry about overall is his final ball / decision making is still a work in process and they probably won't be that patient having shelled out a fee like that...

I feel weirdly confident that Still will get the best out of the team. Everything is still settling, you can see the players aren't up to full fitness yet and are getting used to the new, tougher regime - which means they'll get better. The spirit and fitness of the team seem miles better than before and at times in the first half against Ipswich you could see what he wants - possession, but dynamic possession with a clear plan to get forward and attack the danger zones. Just in case anyone is getting worried, Leeds opened last season very ropey with a draw at home against newly promoted P*mpey and were only in the playoff positions after about 2 months.

Nah, it clearly isn't, there are lots of Japan players in the Eredivisie and plenty in the championship from last year - Leeds, Blackburn etc. It'll be Fernandes. Sugawara hasn't even made the Japan squad recently, they have plenty of options. We'll either take a significant loss, he'll be loaned, or we'll be stuck with him.

Honestly, this is what I don't get - multiple people have said he's the worst full back they've ever seen, why do you think any team on earth is going to pay £6 let alone £6m for him?! I wouldn't be surprised if he gets loaned out with us paying the wages because anyone who can afford £6m is going to either have someone better already or have better alternatives.

KWP would have been on the left, like he was for a good chunk of the season anyway...

This is the thing I don't get, everyone thinks Suga is terrible but somehow he's gonna be easy to sell??

Honestly, what is wrong with people - he would probably have started for us last season and definitely better than Bree and Suga, who the hell do people think we're going to sign?

Not a hint then a really solid signing, boom 👍🏼 He's played a lot of games in the Prem for a very decent Brentford side, what's not to like? *Edit* I would assume that means one of Bree or Suga is off, presumably Suga, but who on earth is gonna buy him?

It certainly felt like it the way we played, particularly against pressing sides like Brentford...

Anyone else wondering what the actual was going on last season?!? 😑

I did a job with a guy who'd studied and worked in Russia back in the 80's, and he said the key to understanding them is that nobody ever means anything they say, and they'll just deny it all anyway. Like being at the airport shop and asking for a bar of chocolate he could see and being told they don't sell chocolate, but when he just pointed and said 'That thing' they'd sell it to him. Basically they're probably looking for some kind of sneaky backhander and it'll either get sorted and there will no problem and they'll all be sweetness and light, or it won't and they'll say there was no offer, it was all just fake news. Or something like that.

Well that's the thing, they're literally just wasting everyone's time if they're just saying 'he's not as good as you think he is so here's what we think he's worth', so why bother?

Well exactly, and that was without him playing a minute in the Prem. £50m completely reasonable expectation, so spuds probably offered £25m as usual.

The West Ham fans I know just think this is typical of their owners who they can't stand - lowball pissing around wasting everyone's time basically. I mean 2 years ago with Moyes you could see why JWP would want to go - stable, he has a clear role in a Moyes team, got a ton of assists from his set pieces. Now? If they came up with the cash and let him have a relegation release clause, I guess Fernandes would probably go, but given he said it was a very difficult season last year when interviewed after euro U21, I do wonder if he'd really want to walk into another relegation battle with manager instability.

Agree on it being bloody annoying but not sure I feel much sympathy for Sportswashing United in any case! If they and the entitled Scousers could both lose that would be perfect but not sure how...

I'd go with that. Reckon the GK and one of the attacking signings would be a loan though and also I think Sesay could make the step up to back up CM.

I honestly don't give a monkey's what he gets up to as long as he stays far away from any position here - but as I mentioned on another thread, it does make me think he actually broke BBD and Archer and badly damaged the spirit and confidence, not to mention the fitness, of the vast majority of our players. Will Still mentioned some players need to remember they're good - watching some of the Rangers players just looking lost and ragged reminded me of our players last season.

I said it last year a few games in, but he is just so painfully out of his depth it's unbelievable. Hope the players of ours that he broke - BBD and Archer in particular - are watching and realising that he was the problem, not them.

I just remember thinking with the whole Man city 'link ups' with Shields and Wilcox thinking it was all pretty dodgy regardless of 'gardening leave'. Bloody hell, I want to forget!

Fair enough, I thought he had 'input' on Jan 23 but guess I was wrong!

You mean like those great Wilcox signings Larios, Small, Mara, Orsic, Sulemana, Tall Paul, and Bazunu? 🤔

Well, one point to consider is Everton and West Ham look like they're gonna be struggling this season. Not sure that's gonna be appealing to Dibling or Fernandes, serial relegation battles isn't much fun...

I think there's a high chance he'd have got another season just like Farke did if we'd lost closely in the playoff final, and Rasmus would probably still be in charge unless we failed to get promoted again - which to be fair would have been quite likely, so now we'd be out of parachute payments and up shit creek.

If we'd stayed down and got promoted last season instead, Russell Martin would still be manager and we'd be about to experience Martin-ball in the PL which, however well we planned or bought, I am 100% sure would end in complete disaster as it did.