revolution saint

Not sure pace in itself is the answer in the ten position (although it doesn't do any harm). Stuart Armstrong is our best player in the position but I wouldn't say he was that quick. Problem with Moi is that he's slow and also not really able to beat any players with skill. Plus, half the time we compress the play so much that there's no space for anyone to run into even if they did have any pace. Not really sure what the answer is. I liked the look of Christoph Baumgartner - he looked perfect for the role but aside from an Athletic article suggesting we should sign him there hasn't been any serious links. I reckon we're looking at people that haven't been mentioned yet - the Aribo one smacks of agent trying to get his name out there so everyone knows he's available.

All the business we've done so far has been relatively simple in that selling club hasn't been reliant on the player and needing a replacement (except Bella-Kotchap) so in that regard it's been fairly easy. Bigger deals are going to need everyone involved in the chain getting their ducks in a row. Imagine Chelsea won't sell or loan Broja until they've sorted out their attack with Lukaku now off. Same with Colwill - won't sell him until they get a couple of CBs in first.

Nah, looks naff as all hell. Obviously a subjective opinion so fair play anyone that does like it but willing to hazard a guess there's more that don't.

I think the Tino buy back clause gets complicated by the fact that there's also a sell on percentage owed to Chelsea. So what happens is that Chelsea have a buy back of, say 50M, but they're also owed 20% of the profit which in this case would be 9M. So although technically they've bought the player for 50M they actually only ended up paying 41M. I don't know the exact numbers so those above are just an example.

Pot, kettle, black: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-62025541

Yeah, I guess it's luck of the draw but majority have been well aware of things outside the US. I've not travelled to quite so many states but done a fair number. I'm also pretty fucking clever and I guess some of that is bound to rub off a bit 😎

Yeah, Gabriel Sterling came out with some interesting stuff at the recent hearings. He's republican deputy head of state for Georgia and had to investigate all the claims of voter fraud. He said that in conversations with fellow republicans, friends and family, he could counter and disprove every claim made and at the end they would say that they just knew in their hearts that the election had been stolen. How do you argue against that? It's impossible when people simply refuse to listen to facts and rely on an emotional gut feeling that has nothing to back it up except empty rhetoric. On a side note I was in Florida in May for a couple of weeks and pretty much everyone I spoke with was well balanced and pretty clued up on events both within the US and outside it. I know we all have this idea that Americans are largely clueless but in my experience the majority are pretty knowledgeable, unfailingly polite and well grounded. Obviously not all of them but I love America, I think it's amazing, and it's a shame that the obvious nutters tend to give us a skewed idea of what it's like out there.

Yeah, definitely got that vibe. I think it's a bit too Hawaiian for my liking -the kind of thing Alfie Moon would wear on a stag do in Portsmouth.

Just goes to show we all have different tastes. I completely hate that, it's messy and looks tacky.

Sorry but I don't recall him being really bad. Functional and a bit one dimensional most of the time maybe but I can't really remember him being much of a target for the crowd. To be honest if it wasn't for the price tag then he'd be one of those you barely remember (at least for me). Ripley, Kenton, McCann and Ferndandes all seemed to have more detractors than fans (although I really rated Fernandes). Delap was a bit meh but that's just my recollection.

Why is MLG having a break for tea and biscuits. What evidence do you have for this? Why? Why? Why?

10M release clause for Aribo. Palace and Fulham both interested.

Yes, does look pretty impressive. I think the fact that we're looking at another right back either on loan or permanently shows this is not a normal transfer window. In previous years we'd have probably made do with what we already had because there were other priorities. Same goes for our supposed interest in Levi Colwill and (hopefully) the signing of Lavia. They're positions we don't necessarily have to strengthen if it came at the expense of other more pressing areas, like the number 10 positions or up front. I'm assuming the relative lack of rumours on the 10s and strikers is because we've identified our key targets and are waiting on other clubs and the transfer merry go round to get into full swing. Can't believe we won't get players in to strengthen these positions. I guess we might see a bit of movement now the U19 tournament is over and if our interest in Harvey Vale and Liam Delap is real. Shaping up to be a transformational transfer window which is what we need. I don't think the current squad is actually that bad but it's been together for a while now and definitely needs freshening up.

I’d like it to become more of a reciprocal arrangement whereby they take some of our players in return. Pep has always liked Redmond and with Sterling off it makes sense for both clubs 😉

Most saintsy? Delap on loan. More likely is Sasa Kalajdzic I reckon. If we have the money then you don’t ignore a striker with his record, yeah, he’s a big lad and a threat on set pieces but also has a strikers instinct. Last season he was slightly above one in three games after injury curtailed him but season before that he was nearly one in two in the bundesliga. As I said, if it’s feasible then you simply can’t turn that down.

Yes, very good player and would probably fit in very well. Problem with loans for the more experienced players is how much the loan would cost. I don't know what Chelsea would be asking but if the loan fee plus wages hits, say, 10M then at what point do you start wondering whether it's cost effective. As I say, I really have no idea how much loans cost so may be way off the mark. The loans for kids I would imagine is likely to be far less so not so much of an issue there. Don't doubt CHO would be quality though.

Weird isn't it? I think it's one of the better kits of the last 30 odd years. Certainly better than the bra efforts, the all red thing we had when we first got promoted and the horrendous pony tick kit. All a matter of opinion though and I virtually never buy/wear kits so doubt I'm the target demographic anyway.

Yes, I'm hoping that Perraud is one of those that shows up with a good second season. He's been steady but definitely room for improvement. Takes a while for some players, new club, new league, new system etc etc. Other thing to bear in mind is that the left side in front of him hasn't been our strongest so it might be that we get someone in that is better than what we've currently got and makes that left flank a bit more stable and more dangerous going forward.

Crossing impressed me the most. Seems to make good decisions albeit YouTube only shows the things that came off.

On the other hand you've got players like Cornet and Dennis who weren't far off getting the same number of goals in worse teams supposedly available for 17.5M and 20M respectively.

I'd agree that the players we're signing or linked with do appear on face value to be pretty decent but it's difficult to tell just how good they'll be (to be fair that's the case with any new player not just kids). There is a tendency to over hype young players though - over successive seasons many people buy into the hype of how good the younger players are or will be, and it's not that long ago you were saying how good Jankewitz was and look how that turned out. I can also remember arguing with people saying Valery was going to be a future star, or that Smallbone was going to be a replacement for Hoijberg. Until they've been tested in first team football no one really knows how they'll fare. Take Delap - physically the lad is a monster at youth level and he's clearly got some talent but who knows how it'll work out when he can't bully his way through games. I think the approach we're taking is absolutely the way to go but I'm not going to get too carried away just yet.

Alex Clapham seems to concentrate on analysing and coaching set pieces as well as doing a lot of work for various academies. Also written a few pieces for the Guardian on various academies and how they produce players.

Generally quite like that. Not sure about those geometric lines on the white parts of the kit but they don't stand out too much so not a big deal.

Yeah, I fucking hate it when teams stay up just because they scored more goals, or won more games than the relegated teams. Makes a mockery of the game we all love.

So we've been linked with or some people would like us to sign: Pope, Mee, Tarkowski, Brownhill, Dwight McNeil and Cornet. It's a wonder they ever got relegated. Has someone mentioned Sean Dyche as a replacement for Ralph?