benjii

Nice one, thanks. I will edit.

Edit - I didn't even name Gazza. He is bound to be loaned out unless we don't want to register Taylor in the squad.

NB. Josh Sims is under 21 so can be added to the 25 without causing any disruption. Likewise Jake Flannigan qualifies as an U21.

1 Forster* 2 Taylor* 3 McCarthy* 4 Cedric 5 Pied 6 Van Dijk / New 7 Yoshida 8 Stephens* [9 Bednarek] 10 Gardos 11 Bertrand* 12 McQueen* 13 Targett* 14 Romeu 15 Lemina 16 Clasie 17 PEH 18 Davis* 19 JWP* 20 Tadic 21 Redmond* 22 Boufal 23 Gabbi 24 Austin* 25 Long* 26 Gallagher* * = homegrown (I think). We need to name 8 of those in the 25 or give up a place. Edit thanks to Saint Clark: Bednarek was U21 on 1 Jan this year so does not count towards the numbers. I don't think any of the others were under 21 on 1 January this year so we are right on the limit. If we are also looking to bring in a loan GK and maybe another loan player then unless those were under 21 on January 1 we will need to cut players from the above in order to accommodate them. Maybe McCarthy will be cut if his injury is bad. Presumably Gardos / Gallagher / Clasie are the others most at risk.

******** to that. We have the leverage, not him. He's not going to throw five years down the drain and once it dawns on him that he's not going anywhere he will mend his bridges. We can't start negotiating new contracts and nonsense like that. £60m next summer will be well below his value unless he is ****e all season.

If VVD was half the player Allaedine Yahia nearly was he would be twice the player Matthew Bound could have been if he had learned a thing or two from Kevin Moore.

I'd sooner have Gardos than the new chap.

He'll be worth the same amount next summer unless he rules himself out all season. Long contract and all that.

Oh, absolutely. He can have the full "I wanna knooooow, why you're such a ****" then. But until then, don't get sucked into his tactics.

Why sing about him? He's released that statement to try to make his position untenable. By all means help him out if you want to, but at least try to understand something first.

Itchy scrote?

Complete bull. If Virgil hadn't signed a new deal we would let him go. Mane and Wanyama didn't so we sold them.

Mane had two years left on his contract and presumably didn't want to discuss a new one. If Virgil was still on his first contract then I wouldn't be bothered about us selling him now but he signed a NEW SIX YEAR contract. When players first join they usually sign a four year contract. If they do well for two years and don't want to discuss a new contract we will probably sell them after two years.

Never been very impressed with him myself but I bet he's not a complete **** so would be upgrade in some respects.

BBC does seem obsessed with the idea of having a female sports presenter who appears to know **** all about sports on the BBC Breakfast program lately as well. There was that "Sally" girl, I think her name was. Nice but clueless and seemingly a bit dim. The today there was some bird at the athletics who clearly had no clue whatsoever what the Community Shield is.

No, of course we can't sell him to a club he doesn't want to play for. The point is that this makes no difference when it comes to our ability to refuse offers.

I'm guessing Virgil might not be back for this one.

The statement is potentially defamatory - would be funny if we went Rupert Lowe on his ass.

"What a ****!", hopefully.

He spent six months wracked with anguish, turmoil and a burning ambition. A desire to return, rejuvenated, refreshed and at a top club. Rarely has humanity witnessed the desire, the passion, the untempered, raw flame of a triumph yet to be realised... But put in a transfer request when he got fined two weeks wages.

Good point. He would fit in well at Liverpool actually.

Good idea!

Yes, we can hold onto his registration for five years if we want. Which would be quite funny.

Presumably the fine is for leaving the sponsor / photo event and nothing whatsoever to do with training away from the first team which MP has always made clear was a decision taken by him, following discussion with Virgil. And if he was so desperate to leave following his injury then why didn't he hand in the request before the window opened? And if he wants to win stuff then why did he talk to Liverpool? Basically, he comes across as a bigger **** than before.