Midfield_General

That’s where he played against Bordeaux - he was much further up, carrying the ball, running at people or looking for the through ball, and he did well. A bit more Stu Armstrong-style.

Fair play, that long-haul flight from Southampton to France can really take it out of you.

Moira Stewart always had a very composed delivery. Swap deal?

Only saw the last 25 mins but based on that: - Yuki looks terrific; fits into our system well, works hard, good on the ball, great eye for a pass. More than once he played exactly the right ball but none of the others had got into the right place to capitalise on it. He looks a great addition and is going to be very popular I think - Smallbone looked decent playing further up, was playing with his head up, carrying the ball up the pitch well and getting some good passes and crosses in. Corner delivery from the left was generally quite dangerous if we had someone to attack them properly in the air. Should have scored the end - Edozie was getting on the ball plenty but same old story of tending to lack the final ball - Defence overall looked sloppy and disorganised. Would have conceded two late ones if Bordeaux could finish instead of hitting the post each time when they should have scored - Sulemana did absolutely fuck all except for getting himself into a good position once and then dithering until they blocked it instead of smashing it in from quite close range Only really a training session at this stage of course, but some positives to take along with some very familiar weaknesses. We look like we still need quality adding all the way through the side, but then we already knew that. I wonder if Yuki has any former team-mates he can recommend, as his quality level was noticeably higher than most of the others in what little I saw and we need a lot more of that.

Tbf we did try that before with Delgado and Kleber Chala

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I know we all need to show patience and everything, but these linked players are all proper Pound Shop stuff, it’s hilarious. I’m surprised this year’s kit manufacturer isn’t Pep and Co.

Do you think our budget is unlimited then?

Worked hard, put himself about, too often comical in front of goal. The now legendary miss at Wolves remains one of the most incomprehensible things I’ve ever seen on a professional football pitch, while that goal against Man City was a belter when he didn’t have time to think about it. Been some real ups and downs. Time to draw a line under it. Good luck to him.

It’s not just about how it’s amortised though. I think the point is that we still have a limited pot of money to spend, and for a club like us, £12m is a big chunk of that to spend on a signing that on paper looks pretty underwhelming, especially when we have a screaming need for quality in other areas that don’t come cheap e.g. strikers. £12m spent on this lad is £12m less to spend on a goalscorer (or two).

I strongly suspect that Bree was basically just brought in by Jones so he had someone he knew and trusted to be his eyes and ears in a dressing room that he was rightly paranoid to think had absolutely no respect for him and was probably undermining him behind his back. We’ve had plenty of managers who’ve brought in a very limited player who they’ve worked with before and put them in the side, often continuing to pick them when it’s clear that much better options are available. Presumably the quid pro quo is that the player is then so grateful to be there that they’ll keep the manager briefed on what the chat amongst the players about the manager is. Burley had Jermaine Wright, Strachan had Telfer etc. Manning also looked like that sort of signing for Martin. The lesson to learn from this? Never tell a bang average full-back your secrets, they’re all grasses.

Certainly looks like a reputable source, can see why people would believe this. Pretty sure @Whugdz took over as Chief Football Writer at the Telegraph after Henry Winter left. Welcome home, Danny!

Ramsdale’s on £120k pw at Arsenal so I don’t think we’d be in a position to match that as a perm even if he was up for the move in principle. Would be an excellent loan though if we could find a chunk of that and they keep paying a bit too.

I believe the phrase that best describes that is "low effort". I know the profit margins on all football shirts are obscene but seriously, how much are they charging for that piece of market-quality tat?

Ronnie Edwards and Nathan Wood have both signed. Edit: Beaten to it by MLG

Not until we've got a starting keeper who is demonstrably better than Macca. Taylor, Sugawara and Edwards all look kind of decent enough on paper but they aren't world-beaters, by Prem standards they are bargain bucket signings, and it also looks like we're also going to lose KWP, the one defender we do have who has consistently proven himself as solid PL-quality. If that's the defence then we're still going to face a lot of shots, and if we don't have a proper Prem keeper then we still look to me like we're going to concede a hell of a lot.

Also plenty of rumours that West Ham have made Wan-Bissaka their first choice RB target and are about to make a bid. Would surely mean they don’t need KWP as well if so: https://www.claretandhugh.info/bid-within-days-west-ham-make-right-back-decision/

Renew Adams on the 5-year, £250k a week deal he so sorely deserves

Ah - my bad, fair enough

Alcaraz will be away with Argentina at the Copa America

Yeah he's gone - £5m permanent transfer confirmed https://www.dailyecho.co.uk/sport/24438673.lyon-confirm-permanent-transfer-southampton-defender/

Apparently when he shows off his Hollywood balls in training it's quite something to behold

I’ve seen that figure in a couple of places: https://www.capology.com/player/callum-wilson-33661/ https://www.footballfancast.com/newcastle-united-player-wages-salaries-ranked/ No idea how reliable they are of course (or maybe they’re pre-extension?) but that does seem to be the figure that’s out there. Agree it seems like suspiciously excellent value in today’s mad market if true.

If we’re in the market for a CF I wonder if Callum Wilson is one we’d take a look at. 32, English. 88 goals from 221 PL games. 9 from 20 last season. Had some injuries but nothing that sounds dangerously serious. £46k per week, valued at £13-£15m as now going into the last year of his contract and Newcastle want rid so they can sign Calvert-Lewin.