shurlock

Money -or more accurately value for money- is one thing; FFP is another. FFP has nothing to do with whether we keep one player like Ramirez.

If you set aside the second half of last season, clyne was excellent for us. At the very least, with him in the side, few teams were able to counter on us as well.

Perhaps been posted elsewhere, found this quite interesting on @nufc_online. Usual caveats apply (and formatting a bit off).

Actually found the second half more disappointing in certain respects - apart from a few setpieces, we created even less from open play than in the first half, despite having to go for it a bit more. It was suggested at the beginning of the season that our attack was significantly stronger this season; but there has little evidence of that to date. The problem, implicit in your post, is take it for granted that new signings/the return of injured players will change things. They might do but there is no reason to think that Juanmi will step up or Tadic will rediscover the firm he showed over just a handful of games. The only players we can 'bank on', insofar as they have a more consistent track record, are Bertrand who will definitely give us width on the left and Jrod's full rehabilitation, though even that's a wildcard. That said, Jrod's return does little to address the link between midfield and attack where people, again, are putting a lot of faith in Clasie successfully transitioning to a position he's never played before (even assuming Koeman has that role in mind for Clasie). Romeu looks very good and has cultured distribution, though his lack of mobility is also pretty striking. The result is that the two DMs seem camped deeper than ever before. Out of the two, Wanyama probably has more potential to drive forward, though you'll remember Schneiderlin saying it took him and Wanyama a whole season to get on the same wavelength given the natural instinct to take up similar positions.

Good test and early marker - this time last season (before the mané/toby signings), we did a comprehensive job on wham that did much to dispel the doom and gloom of the previous game.

We've been toothless for ages; just our defense isn't as strong to eke games out by the odd goal.

Box of frogs

Caulker got better as the game went on (or as the Danes dropped off) and was always dangerous from setpieces but made two or three glaring mistakes that could have been very costly. Not very mobile and his distribution is gash.

Longy!!!

Our attack has been one-dimensional i.e. reliant on the direct ball to Pelle for a long time.

Caulker too tight there and got done easily.

Caulker....

They obviously still see us as top 4 contenders.

You really think half the tickets (conservative estimate) ended up in others hands? No doubt, there were quite a few who couldn't go; but ultimately they were bought with season tickets with plenty of aways on them. At some point, the original season ticket holders would have had to do the miles (unless there's a huge, underground group that just rents its season tickets out to collect aways - news to me) -suggesting theyre not the types to readily turn down a trip to Europe without good reason. If it is more than half, then that's pretty staggering.

Not any old 1500, though: largely the most committed segment of the fanbase.

Why would we sell the wop lee chapman?

Tinpot.

Guess at your soggy age, 11 years seems like yesterday.

Where does wee Ross fit in?

Would you like my last rolo?

Mané is technically gifted and has been out most consistent attacking player since Xmas. Unlike Tadic he's willing to roll his sleeves and defend from the front, even if it can be a bit undisciplined. And ultimately he's prem-proven (well more so than the likes of pedro, memphis and di maria) - hence the premium.

You had a car crash down that dead-end last summer.

Are the Tories that more pragmatic? They had to go through Hague, IDS and Howard -all to the right of the party- before they returned to terra firma and settled on the pragmatism of Cameron.

Depay's control made it look good - very few players would have been able to take down a ball fizzed in at chest height like that.