shurlock

At the recent fan event, Gao said we were looking to bring in Chinese/Vietnamese playmaker, Yu Phat Kok and younger brother Yu Dim Phuc. Supposedly Asia's answer to the Touré brothers.

Lemar and Balde are wingers. Lemar HCDAJFU, though. Balde came with a big price tag and alot of hype but is having Sadio Mané growing pains. Falcao’s the only real striker with pedigree. By contrast, Monaco fans think Diakhaby’s absolute dogs**t.

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Not every single play: pass interference and holding calls which are some of the most controversial and game-changing calls aren't reviewable, for instance.

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Relax pal. CB Fry will be on here soon with an update.

Does he have multiple log-ins too?

Thought I recognised him - called that fat bald steward at the end of the game a s**t Alan Carr.

It literally is an event pitched for fans (球迷), not some local student outreach or meet and greet etc. Not sure whether it’s for chinese football fans as a whole or dedicated chinese saints fans (as if such a thing exists in real numbers) - likely half have got Ibra shirts on under their jackets.

Not exactly Pat from Poole or Trevor from Totton is it. The posters in the background suggest its to coincide with the upcoming Chinese New Year (16 Feb). Its likely he'll be out of service during that period and won't be in the UK - possibly when big decisions need to be made...

Reading the Monaco forum comments, they say he's much less effective in deeper positions when asked to hold up the ball or provide an outlet when the team is under the cosh. Basically he comes alive in the box: if the team enjoys plenty of the ball and likes to get crosses in, he can be very effective.

Given his main asset is his ability in the air, it will be interesting to see how he makes it in a more physical league. No doubt there are things he did in Argentina and France, he won't be able to do here. Remember some stats showing that Hoedt had won the most headers in Italy or something. Don't get me wrong he's no slouch in the air -he's very good; but he's also been bullied at times.

The DT article suggests we also want a creative wide player with pace (again what the doctor ordered). Wouldn't be surprised if get someone in.

It depends. I doubt we moved Mane, Wanyama etc because of a historical debt problem - rather the players were pining for a move. Arguably VVD too would have been allowed to go if he, his agent and Liverpool hadn't acted like c**ts in the summer. The Hoedt purchase was partly funded by the Fonte money and no doubt with an eye on replacing VVD and the money that would be coming our way. Lemina was brought in because DM was widely seen as our Achilles Heel, with the club having whiffed on several midfielders (PEH's return to some form has been one of the better stories this season). The new TV money has no doubt allowed all clubs to be a bit more aggressive in the transfer market. That all said and whatever the reason, last summer was a pleasant change.

Reading the Monaco forum comments in greater detail, that comparison works on plenty of levels. Many think his feet and technique are terrible, though he's outstanding in the air. If the sport was named headball rather than football, one poster notes dryly, he'd be world champion. Like Longy, he's very much a Marmite player, though he's chipped in with some important goals, especially last season and his commitment and willingness to work for the team are second to none.

Reluctant doesn't mean would not. Its ambiguous.

Cheers

How did you come up with £200m?

How many of those appearances were starts vs. as a sub?

With double the petrol money (i.e. wages).

It was Redmond and Boufal for Juanmi and Mané.

Without invoking the Lord D defence that we finished 8th and got to a cup final, I think most people felt relatively optimistic about the new season (look no further than the preseason predictions thread). We had just come out of our first summer without any major departures and had strengthened the squad. Most people felt we had underperformed under Puel and we’re exoecting a positive bump from the new manager (I don’t count you here as I know your thoughts on the squad vs. manager debate). I similarly thought our squad was weaker than generally claimed; nonetheless I never saw us being one point above the relegation places.

It wasn’t at Pompey levels. Pompey had no infrastructure to show for their spending; their squad was made up of foreign mercenaries with little to no resale value. They continued to spend and spend whereas it’s standard practice for newly promoted sides to invest heavily up front to make the transition to the PL before that investment tapering off in subsequent seasons. And most important the value of our club exceeded the debt accumulated, should KL have wanted to exit her investment and realise the capital gains. The differences go on and on. Then again you think the Gaos only bought the club to redevelop the land around the stadium

Leeds was a spectacular collapse so much so that doing a Leeds has entered the English language. Inevitably there was a massive fan backlash. Nobody was telling them to grow a pair. At the same time, the collapse was hardly surprising - it was always a matter of when, not if the club would return to earth after racking up unsustainable debts.

Blackpool? They we’re promoted and went immediately back down. Bolton? They finished 16, 13, 14, 14 before they were relegated. Wigan finished 11, 16, 16, 15 before they went down. I’ll give you Blackburn, though one could argue it’s feet were built of clay - dependent as it was on a local businessman’s largesse and ageing big name players in a world of increasingly globalised money.