Saint_clark

I'd still rather keep him now, never mind looking back in 6 months after he's banged in a Champions League brace to knock out Arsenal. £15million, not all of it up front, not really worth it for me. Still, in Still I Still trust.

Great player for us overall, no ill feeling towards him leaving, no particular warm feelings either though as he wasn't part of any great success. He'll go down as a solid servant who did his job, for me.

Honestly if you're trying to write a story for the documentary, them losing the opening game away to a recent Prem side would be the perfect reality check triggering an episode or two of "we're desperate to get some real quality in" before they sign Danny Ings and Jonny Evans on free transfers.

I don't care about the accuracy of it, I just don't want to give them the chance to say it.

Wouldn't want to give them an opportunity to say they stopped us from going up.

They are different shades yeah, at first I thought it was just because the shoulders wrapped around the other side so it "doubled up" whereas the stripes only had one layer of red, but even when looking through the shoulder panels themselves it's clearly a darker hue. Weird choice.

Glad to get the two Pompey games out the way early. Wouldn't want a game against them in the end of season run in.

That's the last time I jimmy a shirt on a hanger around to get a decent picture for you lot. Edit; on second thoughts I better go tidy it back up, the missus made the bed this morning.

Bizarrely mine has turned up from DHGate before it's even been officially released - and with no sponsor to boot!

I don't care if he was top scorer for us. He banged them in prior to us signing him and then scores 3 goals in 2 seasons in the Prem. He still only has 3 Prem goals. He's Championship standard and anyone with any footballing sense can see that, there should have been no element of giving him a chance - it cost us our place in the Prem.

Definitely be Wrexham v Leicester. Sky babbling on about non-league to hosting former Prem champions, etc.

Yes but unlike Hammond and Sharp, Armstrong had proven previously that he couldn't handle the step up to the Prem. In the case of the first two, we made a (overall, correct) assessment of their ability and improved their positions in the team. In the case of Armstrong we ignored all the evidence of the past.

9 more times actually. He went on loan somewhere else then came back and got another 6.

If we're talking purely contributions during the loan spell then Saganowski is up there. Was pretty meh when we signed him permanently but he looked like Aguero when he was on loan.

Maybe 5 years ago but wouldn't want him now.

So you're saying that in the most important developmental stage of his career, in the biggest step up in quality he's faced, literally nothing around him has been consistent and/or stable? 😉

Release clause for what we paid for him if we don't get promoted would be my guess.

That's the kind of signing we need to be making. If we take the money from selling those two and get him in exchange, then I'll be happy with that.

They're not fake ones, they're sent direct from the manufacturer (well via falling off the back of a lorry in China I'm sure). They'll have been in production for a while now.

So £15million then. If we're going to get rid of him and Onuachu for a combined £21million then honestly i'd hope we'd take that money and throw it at whichever player was top scorer outside the promoted sides last season (Josh Sargent?) I don't want to see it used to bring in 3 or 4 players to "strengthen the squad".

Absolutely. My point is that if you can't afford players that are great athletes and great footballers, you need a mix of players who are both. Wanyama was awful technically but unstoppable as a DM because of his physicality. Lallana had no strength or pace about him but his positioning, anticipation and first touch meant it didn't matter.

If it was a choice between Sulemana and one of Bernando Silva, Iniesta or Xavi I assure you I wouldn't take Sulemana and nor would anyone else. When it comes to the technically gifted but physically limited players we aren't shopping in that range - ours is more players like Boufal, Ramirez and Alcaraz. Trouble is they get slated as well just for different reasons, fans want the full package and we can't afford that, so we end up with players who are average at everything and exceptional at nothing. In fact the one thing all these players have in common is that they were all signed relatively young, written off pretty quick and sold while they were still relatively young. Sulemana despite feeling like he's been around for ages will be leaving at only 23 years old - if he never signed for us and we bought him tomorrow at that age, we'd be saying give him a couple of years before he'll be at his best.

I'm just sick and tired of money being wasted because players are written off so easily. People get so wrapped up in this new age obsession with players that can do every aspect of the game to at least an average level, that players who are dangerous for specialist situations/styles of play are dying out.

Or maybe, just maybe, in a side that allows wingers to actually be wingers professional football managers recognise that at 23 years old he shows great promise.

25 league appearances at 1045 minutes total, average of 43 minutes per appearance (so essentially less than 12 full games in terms of minutes on the pitch). 4 goals and an assist. Take that record across the whole season he's into double figures for goals.