Saint Mikey

Did this with Van Dijk and benefited from the £75m transfer fee due the 4 years(?) he had on his contract. Seems strange we haven't with others, particularly the two you mentioned. Even Mane too, although not sure he would have signed another contract anyway.

Exactly my thoughts. Probably to gain extra traffic/ad revenue? Every single aspect of Prem football is whored out...

Best keeper we've had in recent times for distribution was Gazzaniga, who was also a decent shot-stopper. Really lacked the presence in the area though and very prone to mistakes/lapses in confidence.

The whole make-up of football income was completely different then. All gate receipts (which was the majority of income for all clubs then) was shared 50% - home and away. That's why we could compete with the likes of Utd/Liverpool/Everton/Arsenal in the 80s. It's why clubs like Derby, Forest, Villa won the league and clubs like us and Watford, Ipswich came second. If you could do some decent scouting and management - you could have a good crack at the league. That changed in the late 80s and when the bigger clubs really started to absolutely dominate. Then came the PL income, Champions League and some clubs generating huge amounts from an overseas fan base - which put them on an untouchable level. You just cannot compare the two - so many things have changed.

Echo the views on this thread. Think that the pod has been really professional the last couple of seasons and I've really enjoyed the analysis, interviews with players, ex-players and the 'Total Recall' feature. It's clear that a lot of effort goes into organising and producing the pod - hope someone else can pick up the reins and shoulders some of the heavy lifting. Thanks Ben and team!

The problem with both of those isn't just the transfer fee. We could push our normal strategy and pay £30m maybe for one (even though Bournemouth are likely to want much more), but what wages does a £30m+ player command? £100k+ p/w. That just isn't going to fit into our wage structure. We bought Redmond when Norwich were relegated last time round for what, about £12m? He'd done OK, but hadn't pulled any trees up. Market has gone through the roof since then though. I like the look of McGinn but looks like we'll priced out there as well.

Didn't hear this mentioned by the commentators (although didn't watch the whole game), but it was good to see an-ex skate/plucky hero - Simon Eastwood, save the decisive penalty!

This jumped out to me too when reading his stats. Why has he not been on loan and had a decent bout of games in League 1 or the Champs? Still can't understand how teams are reluctant to let their young players go out on loan to play games and gain experience when the U21 league is clearly not fit for purpose. It did players like Morgan and Lallana a world of good. By the time they reached the PL, they had 150+ league games under their belt and hit the ground running at that level (more or less). 23 is not that young in footballing standards and he really should have played 100+ senior games.

Lewis Cook was called up to the England squad, earned a cap and then was injured - he hasn't got back to form yet. On form he's a CM who keeps the ball well and someone we could do with. Fits our usual age target, but Bournemouth may want a few quid. Bournemouth have a few players others teams will want or gamble on. Ake, Willson & Brooks (as already mentioned), but I think Lewis Cook, King and Ramsdale will also get PL moves. Billing, Lerma, Solanke, Ibe (who's already left on a free now) have been a big waste of cash.

Exactly. The intention of the programme is to highlight middle-age men's issues with the neglect of their mental & physical health. Some, who have serious addictions that (in Ruddock's case) are driving them to a early grave. Some (like Merson) are trying to turn their life around, and for the moment at least - are achieving it.

Thanks for posting. Very interesting reading. Still basically hamstrung by poor buys on high wages that we can't shift. This has had a knock-on effect with performances, attendance and ultimately overall income.

John 'Budgie' Burridge! Listened to Paul Robinson chat about him on Graham Hunter's podcast recently...

Agree Lee was bad and another terrible Branfoot signing. Was better than Frankie Bennett though - 'the flying waiter', at least Lee went on to have a career as a league footballer.

Jimmy Case?! He played over 200 games for us. Was a very good signing, on the pitch and also helped the young players we had at the time thrive. Branfoot's first mistake was getting rid when he easily could have done another season. Had Cockerill & Hurlock running around trying to fill his boots, and neither were up to the job. In fact, Hurlock is a good candidate for this thread - if not already mentioned.

Paul Allen Speedie & Dixon (can't believe neither have been mentioned!)

Really enjoyed this interview - thanks. Will be good if you can produce more with other players in this format.

Scott Sinclair signed for Preston in January.

I saw this news and was pretty disappointed. I think he made his debut over the Xmas period and Lampard has talked highly of him and was unsure whether they could keep him due to the options they have at RB (particularly the emergence of Reece James). He is pretty short in stature, but looked good on the ball.

Anyone know KWP's contract length at Spurs? Would influence the fee, if he turns out to be decent.

Been enjoying the Pod this season. 'Total Recall' is a good addition! Keep up the good work chaps...

Had £50 at 25/1 for Redmond to give two craps during a game in Sep. Cashed in big time! #fakebets

It still surprised me to see players in that list who are 24/25, never made a first team appearance and nowhere near the first team. Whilst I know the idea is to eventually sell them to a Championship/lower level Prem team, is that really going to cover 6/7 years of pro wages?

It'll be a disgrace if the club turn down this reasonable request, for a man that has done so much for this club and English football. I would expect a bucket collection, and fans to give generously should the club decide not to contribute.

We missed a trick by delaying this, and not getting Dan Ashworth in when he was clearly available. Don't have much confidence that it will be a suitable replacement that will get us out of this rut.

At our current PPG (0.63), we will gain less than 24 pts by the end of the season. Something needs to change, or we are going down - no question. Trying to second guess the club's targets, you'd think we were at least 4 points, or maybe as much as 5/6 points down and it's really early on. Hughes needs to instil some belief, and start getting results otherwise I can see the chop looming before Xmas.