The Kraken

The ball boys will be quivering with fear.

I would have liked for lower league clubs to have had much more of an opportunity to obtain Cat A status, without the requirement for a £2.5M annual budget. Its nonsense to suggest that all top players have come through from the top clubs, they haven't. All this new system does is ensure the top clubs can cherry pick youngsters on the cheap across the whole country with complete impunity. Yeah, it favours us, but its still inherently wrong.

As said, you should be allowed a 15 minute grace period. That must have been a monster dump you had DD.

From the teamtalk article that the quotes from Palace's chairman was lifted from: Palace blast Saints' Clyne offer "I don't know what the "reported" compensation offer was for Clyney but I know what the real offer is and yes, Southampton are taking the mick,". "It's a no-brainer for us because what they have offered is so low. "It's annoying that it can't be sorted out sensibly. Nevertheless the compensation should be far more than they have offered."

Yes, I've seen those. I think that'll be the tip of the iceberg, some clubs will think that they simply have to try having an academy but I can easily see two or three academy-player poaches down the line in the next year or two will ask serious questions of whether its actually worth their while. A shame really, it could easily have ticked all of the boxes by having a fair and equitable pricing system. Lower category clubs could have a superstar on the books and lose him for less than £100K. That doesn't sit well with me.

Les Reed was in charge of negotiations.

I first thought the same; but I have 4 mates who are Eagles and all have said they're happy with the price.

I know that, as a Cat A club, we benefit from this. But however you dress it up, its a bloody disgrace really, and completely shafts the lower league clubs who can't afford the £2.5M annual operating budget. I wouldn't be surprised to see a few lower league academies fold in the next few years as it becomes increasingly easy for any Cat A club to come in and poach their best prospects for a relative pittance.

Decent deal for us. And my Palace supporting mates say they're happy with that too.

Junior Hoilett has signed for QPR, £4M apparently. Good signing.

Nonetheless, its incredibly difficult / nigh on impossible to audit something that isn't already in place, whether planned or half built. Facilities only being one of ten criteria (however its weighted) suggest we've done very well in the other categories, although our current facilities aren't exactly third world.

Makes a nice change from the Harry Redknapp "it's only about having good players" cobblers.

what weighting are they given?

Interesting that "facilities" is only one of ten factors they look at, which is good. It shows there's a much greater analysis of how clubs go about coaching/schooling rather than just who has got the most impressive training facilities (reinforced by us not having our extended facilities in place yet but still scoring so highly).

That being the case, will we get re-audited once our new buildings and everything are in place?

I've paid so little attention I probably couldn't even get all the managers right.

Oh dear, I think you've just scuppered your deal there sonny........

Rafa Benitez has let himself go.

I used to think the same way about Alpine. I thought about chucking him on ignore, but then I realised that his general nonsense, how utterly angry he gets all the time, and how he is so consistently often wrong about so many things were things that actually made me laugh more than anything else, and putting him on ignore would deprive me of endless mirth at his expense. There's always an upside.

Oh right. How odd. Yeah, seems little reason to stress the point of ignoring someone if you're actually not (and actually making more of an effort than usual to read what they've said). I find the whole ignore feature a little strange, as if its designed for people who have no self control over what they choose to read and respond to.

How did you know he was disagreeing with you in the first place? I've never been inclined to have anyone on ignore so I don't know how it works (or why people bother).

Bet you can't see this.

What an impact by the substitute!!!!

This is like watching Cameroon v Argentina in World Cup 1990, ridiculous tackles going in everywhere from the over-enthusiastic Africans.

Cortese out. This is symptomatic of us going for the cheap option instead of paying the going rate for proven Premier League apparatus.