egg

I disagree. React to Al Qaeda by all means, but occupy and enforce societal and regime change? Anyone with any sense could see that'll breed fundamentalism, terrorism, and goodness knows what. It's been a car crash, sure some of it can only be seen with hindsight, but a fair amount should have been foreseeable. Regardless, we haven't learned from it and in not many years time we'll be talking of another country we've meddled in, how we've supported different sides of the dispute, how a new terror group has been formed as a result, and how we've left a clusterfuck behind.

Our issue was with Al Qaeda. That's a separate issue to enforcing regime change, and democracy. It's not just Afghanistan. We later meddled in Syria and look at the state of that. Before that Iraq. Along the way we've created ISIS, flip flopped from supporting one side to the other, created divisions amongst nato nations (look at who's camp turkey are in on a crisis by crisis basis), etc. Then look at what caused the Al Qaeda situation to begin with. It goes back to earlier meddling. We're not here to impose our will and our ways on other cultures and societies. It rarely ends well.

Agreed, but better still, don't try to impose your will on other countries. Not our circus, not our animals.

Yep, but still a man short in midfield for me.

Lacks any gravitas at all.

Horrific situation, and no obvious solution. Hindsight is a wonderful thing, but we should have never have laid boots on the ground. 20 years to see the Taliban replace the Taliban, all whilst seeing the creation of ISIS, exposing many people to the wrath of the Taliban and their newly built lives and lifestyles left in tatters. Sad times.

The only part of that I disagree with is that any of this is FF fault. Nobody is to blame for saying yes to a lucrative contract, and nobody in their right mind would walk away from it. He's a bright lad, well advised, and understandably he'll happily take what we agreed to pay him. Now the idiots that have him that deal, that's a other thing!

I don't think he was Collins. Antrim, yes.

If we buy out a contract, we pay the wages in full up to the end of the contract unless a player takes less money - neither would agree to that.

I suspect we are. A mere £7m over his 2 year deal 😕 Not the smartest but if business we've done recently, but like Long and Forster, it's done and we're stuck with it.

Sorry, I didn't realise this was a hindsight discussion. He's here, belly aching about it doesn't get his wages off the books and/or free up cash for a keeper. It's a daft thread frankly, and the obvious point has been made that we either can't afford or justify more wages for another keeper.

Eh? What's Theo got to do with it, he still has to be paid if we get a keeper in! As others have said, we're paying shite and shiter £150k PW, so it's pretty obvious that we ain't getting a new keeper in.

We see this differently. Firstly, I'm glad you're not one of the idiots that thought Jankewitz got sent off differently, and see nothing wrong with him seeking a move. However, there are people who think differently. Onto Small. I've not sure if we've read different things, but i had read that he not return for pre season AND LATER cancelled his scholarship. Regardless, if we had a youngster on a scholarship and he walked out before it finished, we'd be pretty pissed off. Sure, it's legally acceptable, but it's not playing with the straightest of bats.

One chance. One. If he was good enough to get that chance on a massive stage, he was good enough for another. Regardless, it doesn't sit right with me that people applaud Small for how he's conducted himself, but criticise Jankewitz for asking for a move so he can play football.

You're missing the point. Both were players wanting to move to get first team football. One asked for a transfer. The other didn't, and in doing so didn’t show up for training. One gets pelted, one gets applauded.

He was a free agent, so any "sell on" will be a cut of any future transfer fee to himself. Everton only get development compensation.

However you choose to dress it up, the lad chose not to turn up for training, and ripped up his scholarship to get his move. Some may think that's the right thing to do, others think it's poor form. Jankewitz has been mentioned. He wanted to play football and believed he was good enough. He asked to leave so as he wanted to play. The people on here who slaughtered him for that attitude are probably applauding Small and Livramento for doing the same thing, although not as aggressively as Small did.

He didn't turn up for pre season at Everton so can't be anywhere near match fit.

Our wage bill needed to come down massively. It has, and that will hopefully stop us having to use the loan to pay the wages / bills. It doesn't give us extra buying power though, at least not until we're in a better financial state. Our model is self sufficiency. If that involves paying all transfer related expenditure from transfer sale proceeds, so be it. How much we've actually received and actually paid out are other issues. There's been talk that the Armstrong fee went up if Obafemi didn't go to Blackburn. That may be the case, and his refusal to go may have limited our buying power. All guess work, but the bottom line is I suspect that we would have loved to have spent £25m+ on a decent CB, but we've got we've got, and are spending accordingly. We see this one differently. All I hope is that Lyanco is not as shit as I fear he will be.

Yep. Nothing complicated at all, just get the ball and men up the field, ball into the box, runners supporting. Lots of pace and power in the team though, and a fair bit of skill. They're a decent team, and very well drilled. They'll surprise a few this season.

Ah, didn't realise he played tonight. Bednarek plus 1 of the other 2 then. Agree though, the 9 subs from yesterday plus 2 others ought to have enough to win.

I'd imagine that it'll be something like that. I wander if we might see Simeu alongside Bednarek.

It's about what you have left to spend out of what you sell for. If you're skint you pay the sale costs out of what you sell for, whereas the better off ones shoulder those costs. What other clubs can afford is bollox. We're not other clubs. We're the skint one. It's pretty staggering frankly that people refuse to understand that we can only afford to spend the net sale proceeds rather than the gross sale proceeds. Sure, its shit, but that's our reality.

Yep. Soyuncu doesn't get bullied too often, but he did tonight. Brilliant performance.

I understand Bertrand had covid. Vestergaard I'd imagine is unwell or injured.