Saint Mikey

Agreed. I'd be happy to kit the entire team out with Ruskies or players from Russian teams - if it got us promotion and kept us up. Side point: We've been here before with a player we tried to sign from Dnipro - he was supposed to be quality but we couldn't get a work permit. Anyone remember who that was? It was under Nichol and (maybe) before we signed Cherednik and Gotsmanov.

Number 3. Rubio has a heart of glass and is always hanging on the telephone. 😉

Paul Allen Micky Adam(s) Ian Andrew(s) Alan Curtis

We keep falling at the last hurdle.

That Newcastle team also kept hold of Colloccini who was a current Argentinean international - which I though was mental at the time. Leicester kept hold of Vardy, but age played a big part there. Can't think of too many other examples though.

I don't know if Wikipedia is right, but it reckons 4 year deal in Aug 2021 for a reported £15m. Then a further 3 years from Aug 2024. So would be something like: £2.5m in value on the books, which would represent some profit depending on the fee we would get.

As I understand it, there's always something, but it's ever diminishing. The remaining amount left is amortised over the new contract. Example: £10m on initial 4 year deal. £2.5m amortised over 4 years. New contract extension at end of year 2 for further 2 years. £5m remaining value then amortised again (£1.25m )over 4 years of contract left. In this example, if we sold at year 3 - his value on the books would be £3.75m. Year 4 £2.5m etc.

Preceded by another Liverpool loanee, Darren Potter who also did OK in that Burley side.

Good point. Maybe the old geezers could enlighten us?!

With the news of Keith Andrews imminent promotion at Brentford got me thinking about all the the success we've had at doing this over the years: 1. Stuart Gray 2. Steve Wigley 3. Dodd/Gorman 4. Selles 5. Rusk Only one remotely good decision was Merrington, who had a tough job but kept us up, just. Then got the chop for his efforts. What was your favourite of these (mostly) serial No 2's??

Transfer thread check list: 1. Rudi Skacel 2. Martin O'Neil's house in Winchester 3. Ex-players bound to return due to their undying love of the club (JWP, Ings, etc.) 4. Promes, and other missed targets (De Pedro, Piper etc.) 5. Oliver Bierhoff What am I missing?

Anyone know if technically Charles, Edwards or Armstrong have been available to us since the end of their season? Not suggesting it's a good idea, as the group we have is already too big with the likes of Fraser, Gronbaek, ABK and Taylor not getting into the matchday squad. Just wondered if they are back training, or we just said - enjoy your holiday lads and come back next year...

Just like players, every club is for sale - at the right price. Depends if Dragan is willing to admit defeat and take a haircut.

We've won two already. FFS. The entitlement of fans these days! In my day, you were grateful for defeats week after week. You just got on with it, kept your head down, and didn’t complain. No fancy expectations, just the privilege of watching your team get battered every Saturday afternoon. Winning? That was for clubs with ambition - not for us! We took pride in our noble mediocrity, clinging to the hope that one day, we might get world-class catering or, if we really dreamed big - our very own radio station. Now? People expect a team that wins! Unbelievable.

There's no doubt that our whole recruitment process, whether that's scouting, or offering players the right money to sign - has not been fit for purpose for a (predominantly) PL club. However, you make a good point that our development of said players has also been poor. Whether that's down to the manager's style and keep swapping as alluded above, or it's just poor coaching I don't know. As an example, we signed a number of players that you thought 'ok, bit raw but there may be a player there in time'. Sulemana is one now, but Djenepo showed some initial promise. These players seem to go backwards, Djenepo was a worse player when he left than when he arrived! If you look at Brighton and similar players who look a little rough around the edges, Bissouma, Baliba being two that jump out - they actually manage to progress them. As we'll always be in the business of mostly buying players that aren't out and out PL quality to begin with, we also have to get better at developing the players we do bring in.

A bad one, but didn't get relegated. Summer 23 was pretty gash too. Bazunu as 1st choice, Larios, Mara etc. When was the last window we actually had more hits than misses?

Looks like he has good feet and a decent strike. Whether he can be as effective against Prem level defenders, I guess we'll find out soon enough.

Henderson will have a colossal tax bill if he returns to the UK too soon after his Saudi earnings (think he was on £800k+ a week there). That's why he ended up at Ajax. Not sure how long he has to wait, but it's a few years I think.

That was like Lampard against Germany. So far over the line.

That's a blast from the past. I bumped into him once in a kebab joint in Bedford Place late on a Sat. Nice chap. Probably helped we'd won away that day, but can't remember against who.

I don't disagree, but at the point when we bought them - Redmond, Adams and Long would walk into our team now. That's how poor our 1st XI and squad is.

He also had a decent game against Leeds at home when we blew them away in the first half. I was hoping to see more of that for the rest of the Championship season but he was pretty poor throughout. Appreciate he had some disruption with injury and Russball didn't suit his style, but we really are clutching at straws if we think he's going to contribute much.

3 games? 1st team selection and 20 mins into the 1st game I reckon...

I've previously thought that Potter would be unrealistic, but it depends if he wants to get back into management and the PL. The only jobs realistically available at any point soon are: 1. Newcastle. Unlikely Howe is going to get the chop mid-season and you'd fancy them to want a higher profile manager. 2. West Ham. The board do tend to back managers, so Lopetegui has probably got til the end of the season as they won't get relegated. 3. Wolves. Most likely IMO if O'Neill doesn't get them properly clear. There's enough in the squad for any manager to fancy keeping them up. 4. Everton. Potentially, if Dyche gets the chop but the squad there isn't great and they're banking on the takeover to cure all ills. Still a better prospect than us. 5. Palace. See Steve Cooper, would be onto a hiding to nothing with his Brighton connections. Squad has enough though. 6. Us. He's got a sure fire relegation on his CV if he takes the job and then it's a rebuild in the Champ, so he'd need to be bought into the longish term. I'd say it's unlikely for any other job in the PL to be available this season. So, whilst I still think it's unlikely. It's not like he's got an array of options, so it may come down to timing. Of course, he could go abroad or, end up like Alan Curbishley - turning down jobs until people forget that he's a manager and then stop getting offers.

Fuck me. Is this what football has become? The worst result of the season is beating your bitter city rivals, in a game when you're the underdog, in the FA Cup Final? I know football is about progress and Utd don't want to be where they are, but it's also about moments. That win will stay in the mind longer of those fans than having an improved season and finishing 3rd or 4th in the league.