CanadaSaint

I agree completely with that, Dave. My "rider" on this whole thing relates to what Cortese does with the money. We don't need to blow it all - we need to keep some up our sleeves. However, we certainly DO need to spend some of it if we want to challenge this year (which Saturday should have convinced us we can do). If we spend it wisely on the key areas (most agree on them) the AOC transfer would have been a brilliant piece of business. If we sit on the cash, if we get fleeced ourselves, or if we strengthen the wrong places, not so good. I'm looking at the squad rather than the finances.

Dave, I think he's a tremendous talent right now but admittedly only at the League 1 level. At 17 he was giving quite a run-around to some grown men, some of whom tried unsuccessfully to do little more than just clatter him. Whether he can take that to the next level (actually two levels up), and whether "he can learn the lessons he needs to learn" (I agree with you), remain to be seen but he certainly has a potential unlike any other English youngster I've seen recently. If he can make the transition he's potentially worth a lot more than fifteen million, and I think he can do it because he has that extra physique to help him. However, I worry that he's stepping into (or being pushed into, by his father) a cauldron at the Emirates. I just don't agree with the "we fleeced Arsenal" (we won't know for some time) and "Good riddance" (childish) comments.

Jesus Murphy, can't we leave the past in the past and move on? We're one step below the Premier league, and we have strong ownership, a good team, money to invest and a good chance of a strong season. Time to look forward with optimism rather than backward with anger, eh?

Did you even read the post? If you did you neither understood nor thought about about what it said. The whole point is that "the second one can't be proved yet."

Enough of this "We took Arsenal to the cleaners" crap. It probably comes from the same people who said "Good riddance" to Bale and then b*tched after the Milan game because we hadn't negotiated a sell-on fee. We've lost a tremendous talent in AOC but got a very good price for him. Whether Arsenal overpaid will not be known for years. Good luck Alex.

Just as a matter of interest, how do you reconcile a comment like that with your self-professed politics?

I don't think we've picked their pocket CB. He's a great talent and he's going to be a very, very good player - as skilled as Theo or a BWP but with a bit more weight and muscle to back him up. He's just not what their fans think they need right now, and I think they're right. I really hope we get on the high ground here, wish him well, move on and cheer him when he comes back to SMS for a game - maybe next year.

I think it says a lot about his father that he would happily throw his son into that cauldron. Not only does he have to cope with all the expectations that come along with the price tag - he's also becoming the innocent lightning rod for fan anger with Wenger. Think about the pressure on the kid. If there was any doubt that the father's motivation was purely financial, it's all gone now.

We've been dealing with that anyway - either we've sold him and we've got a p*sspot full of money or we haven't sold him because we've got a p*sspot full of money.

Not so fast. I've read many of his posts and when Charlie Wayman starts talking about psychological problems I'm inclined to listen.

You're right, capital. Even if others start throwing big money at their academies, they have a hell of a long way to go to catch us in reputation terms. (E.G. "The Pompey Academy" has the same kind of ring to it as "The George Bush School of Synchronized Swimming")

Disappointed he's going but there's nothing we can realistically do to prevent it because his Dad's got it all planned out. Hell, I suspect AOC would be quite happy to stay here, at least for now. What actually worries me more is that it could trigger a major increase in the number of clubs spending big on their academies - and competing for the best youngsters.

TBF I think everyone will be injury-prone if tackles like that only warrant a yellow card. It's kind of frightening to see that when you support a side full of skill players.

Who said that Turkish? I thought he was knitting things together, verbally and physically, all over the pitch.

I think Hammond's the sort of player who has that special ability, when he plays well, to enable everyone around him to play well. He did that today not just through his (two-way) play but through his leadership. I think our whole season could revolve around his ability to keep playing this way.

For now, at least, I'm sticking to the view that a number of us held last year - that many of our players are better suited to the Championship (and possibly even higher) than to Division 1. We were the better side in most departments - ideas, ingenuity, running off the ball, triangles, overlaps, purposeful passing, maintaining shape, transitional play and so on. Hell, we even defended set pieces pretty well and we very seldom resorted to a hoof. Those, for me, are signs that we'll do well in this division rather than signs that Leeds are bad.

My only frustration in a great day, apart from the weak penalty call at the end, was the feeling that last year, not this year, was the time to give Martin some experience. The fact that NA opted to start him today was IMO clear evidence that he was fully expecting to sign either Jemal or Gorkss before today's game. I still think Martin will come good but this is not a league where we can afford to play him for experience. Perhaps you're right that a loan period would be best.

Hammond was a vital player today - not just for his goal and his all-round offensive and defensive play but (and perhaps most importantly) for the leadership he showed. That leadership area has been a bit of a void for us but I think we're finally seeing it - and the captain figure we thought we'd bought two years ago. His play allowed a lot of others to blossom.

No kidding. And that's from someone berating others (a minority, as far as I can see) for their reactions to any criticism of Cortese. Most of us get frustrated by the needless negativity (before the season has even started!) that is far more bilious than any reaction to it. Andoverian, don't you see any irony - perhaps even hypocrisy - in your post?

I shall still keep refreshing on the off-chance that Dan does lob some kind of rationale into the arena. I'm sure he's clearing his rectum right now ready to do so.

If this happens after losing Jack Cork Eddie Howe will wish he'd taken the job he wasn't offered in the first place.

Mental Note: The football will be better this year but the officiating probably won't - especially when it comes to bald linesmen. Two hideously bad offside decisions that could have changed the game.

After some really annoying hiccups like those you describe, they got their act together and the service improved. Worth the money for sure IMO.

Assuming that the OP's neighbour is telling the truth, a more likely reason IMO would be disciplinary. Keeping the assumption track going, I would assume that all the players have "image rights" clauses built into their contracts, so that an appearance in a club promotional picture could well trigger a payment. The 'news' could be a sign that RL is being penalized on that front for something or other. FWIW I feel that the OP was a legitimate post of interesting information. Whether there's any truth in it is for each of us to think about - or we could ignore the post, if that's our choice. Either way, this kind of thing is happening all the time at clubs all over the county without the 'news' ever leaking out.

Didn't see it, obviously, but if only we could keep Connolly fit!