Saint Mikey

Some people just need to worry. For these people, supporting us is an excellent choice as there is plenty to piss your pants over, should you feel like it.

Two good ones. Jack Rodwell is another who’s career dived after moving to City, was a England player before that. Danny Drinkwater’s crash was pretty spectacular too.

I'm not sure this was ever an option? He'd just signed a 5 year deal and had a decent loan spell in the Eredivisie. He's also been at the club since the age of nine, so they will know all about his potential. Unlikely, in my mind, that they would have let him go for peanuts.

The thing is, Ralph and the club are also completely vindicated with selling Gallagher, as he's turned into a decent Championship player and no more. It's hard to make a case that he would have done anything of note in the Prem had we kept him.

Clinton Morrison was one that Redknapp was chasing after we were relegated. I didn’t rate him, so was glad he went elsewhere (back to Palace, I think).

Neither, I’ve heard it’s made out of hemp.

Whilst I'd love this rumour to be true, as I think he'd add real quality to the side. Surely it's unlikely? 1. Others clubs who'd also be interested if he's available - West Ham/Everton (at least). West Ham, he wouldn't travel too far for training and offer European football and Lampard could have an influence at Everton. 2. Wages: He's on over £100k a week, so refer to above for more clubs who'll be willing to subsidise more wages. Offering 1st Team football is probably our biggest selling point, but the others could do that too - so it's not a USP.

I’ll raise you: Stephen Crainey. Since our PL return though, every signing from the SPL has been spot on. Forster, Van Dijk, Wanyama, Armstrong and Davis.

Is the guy in the glasses our new striker? Guess the club have listened to this board and signed some experience.

I wonder if that ends our interest in DaMarcus Beasley?

I'm hoping that the multi-club structure (if it happens) will be a huge plus for us. We can identify players early, pay smaller fees and allow them to develop away from the league, but within a framework that we influence. Brighton will start to reap the rewards of Union SG (Bloom's other club) in this way. They've had players on loan there and one (Undav) looks like he'll get a crack this year, in pre-season, at least.

So, 10 years completed in the PL. Apart from the COVID disrupted season, we've clearly been unable to recover from the poor transfer dealings and managerial appointments post 2017. It's disappointing that we achieved less points than our 1st season in three seasons. Guess the league has also changed in that time. The margins in the transfer markets have narrowed and that has been compounded by our own financial constraints. Other teams have also stepped up with more financial clout. Should we be happy that we've stayed in the league the last 10 years, given our slump into League 1? Were the top-half finishes a result of a timely exploitation of market conditions, conditions that have now changed? Are we likely to post a sequence of top-half finishes anytime soon? Is any club 'our size' likely to?

Super Army Soldiers (SAS).

Here's something to cheer you all up before the game tonight. Something like this could happen again, couldn't it?! Can't find the 4-2 one from Feb 1994.

The whole deal with wages, signing on and agents fees is reportedly c. £300m. Mental.

I like him and think he'd be a good acquisition for us. Transfermarkt reckon c.£20m. Has a deal until 2024 with an option for another year, so even if they go down it'll be top dollar, as other sides would certainly be interested.

That comment 'whooshed' so quickly over your head - it must have given you a haircut! 😉

Yeah, he seemed to improve the trajectory at Stoke, making it more flat than loopy and more like corners. I don’t know of any player who’s been able to achieve that type of throw before or since - was very effective at causing mayhem in the box.

I agree with most of your points, but I never feel that confident when he steps up to take pens - maybe it's because he has missed a couple. It's not like when Le Tiss, Beatts or Ricky were about. As soon as the decision was given, you'd be confident it was a goal.

I was disappointed to see a lack of yellow and blue jester hats last night. A sea of these would send a strong message to Putin, something he surely couldn’t ignore. 😐

Players adapt though and it can prolong a player’s career. Not saying JWP will, but players like Giggs, Scholes, Beckham, Rooney all adapted from attacking positions to the holding midfield role. I think it’s a position where you need a good range of passing and tackling combined with excellent positioning, reading of the game and quick decision making, usually under pressure. JWP certainly has some of these attributes already.

Ok, so taken a look at this as it didn’t seem right. Whilst only 3 teams outside the so called top 6 have won the FA Cup this century (Leicester, Wigan and another no-mark lower division club), I counted 12 other clubs who were finalists. Villa (twice), Stoke, West Ham (twice), Watford, Palace, Hull, Cardiff, Everton, Millwall, perennial Lg 1 playoff losers also got to another and of course, we were there in 2003. There were a lot of narrow losses in there, including our own final. So, whilst no-one thinks it’s highly likely we will win it, some are saying there’s a chance at some point of getting to the final and then it’s down to the day. Also, Top 6 Spurs have not made a final since 1991. How heavily funded have they been in that time?

My first thought was Potter, although he has been in the league a little while now. He has done a similar job to Ralph in terms of having a definite style of play and improving the connection to the supporters.

Looking at this from a very cold business perspective, do football clubs insure themselves against such events? The evidence seems pretty damning and Utd could be losing an asset that was 'worth' 10's of millions. I know clubs are insured against career ending injuries, so assume that there's something for this type of eventuality (same with City and Everton recently) - given that they have little control over their players' personal lives?

😆 The scoreboard we bought 2nd hand from Everton! Blast from the past.