Lighthouse

They would have got a large development fee had he been out of contract, which we would not for Mané. Wanyama and Clyne left for £12m with a year to go, we'd have been in the same boat with Mané this summer. £38m was a fair price, deal with it. The £50m plus prices people are talking about now are reserved for world superstars and English wonder kids. Mané was neither, he was a decent player who went missing for half the season. £50m should get you one of the best players in the League, which Mané was not. He may be worth that now but that's not the point.

I don't mind performances and results like that at Anfield, I just wish we weren't repeating them for home games against Hull, Bournemouth and Be'er Sheva. Don't think I've ever been less interested going into a game against a big team TBH.

I really don't think we will get any of these players, the likes of Spurs and Liverpool will offer them far more money than we will. Also I really don't get the desperation to offload FF and replace him with Pickford. It's easy (relatively) to look good pulling off the Hollywood saves behind a sh*t defence, like theirs. Much harder to command your area and orchestrate an organised defence. Just look at Kelvin. I'm not saying Pickford has the same flaws but Sunderland haven't exactly been air tight at the back.

Wasn't a patch on Yoann Folly.

What almost everyone I've spoken too found embarrassing was being knocked out of a cup semi final, "by your own academy." Nothing remotely embarrassing from our POV. If anything it's embarrassing for them, talking about being one of the European greats whilst buying all their players from a mid table team.

Saw all the reports of an emergency meeting and a bunch of people on Twitter saying he'd popped his clogs. Not sure why this announcement needed an 'emergency' meeting anyway. Personally I think the idea that the head of state and their consort should work to death is outdated, surely they should be allowed to retire like the rest of us. Give Charlie a go, he's got to be the worlds oldest work experience boy.

Good shout, how could I forget Boruc. Bart on the bench, with Pied, Griffit, Kosowski, Nilsson, Pericard and Hajto.

... using only 3 countries, not including English players. I'll set the bar with France, Sweden and Poland. Bart Ostlund - Svensson - Jakobsson - Vignal Morgan - Folly Fernandes - Saganowski - Svensson Rasiak

Just don't let your wife sit at the Pardew table.

Is Sturridge fit for this? He's usually good for one goal against in this fixture. Incidentally, I saw an article (possibly BS) claiming Liverpool are willing to sell him for £40m. Are they mental, or just hoping somebody else out there is? I know clubs and agents like pushing fees up but still...

If I was a sad gimp with no life, I'd go trawling back through the forum for all those threads under Koeman and Poch, stating how boring 7th and 8th was and how it would be much better to finishing 15th and have a cup final. I wonder how much overlap there would be between those saying that and those who now want Puel out. As it is, I'm only a slightly melancholy gimp with no life but work that needs doing. I'll leave it to someone else.

It's a bit like a team who wants to win the League hiring a mid table manager with 'no plan B'. That's what Spurs did, nobody is laughing at them now. I have no idea how well he could do with more resources but them how would Puel have done with Morgan, Wanyama, a fit Virgil, Mané etc. I'd be tempted to give Puel another season but with better resources.

Has anyone mentioned Cedric's little Cruyff turn in the second half? The one where he fell over the ball and somehow came out facing the right way in clear space.

Remember 3 summers ago when we had Morgan, Wanyama, Fonte, Toby, Clyne, Mané and Pellè and people were talking about relegation. Them were funny days.

My thoughts precisely when watching that dross yesterday. We didn't play a negative team or negative tactics as such, the team as a whole just looked lazy and unwilling to make any kind of positive run or pass. No amount of coaching will compensate for a team which just isn't trying. Actually he just said to name the ones we want sold. As it happens, there is considerable overlap in that particular Venn diagram.

Gardos, Martina, Long, J Rod, Clasie, Taylor, Isgrove and Reed are all surplus IMO. Wouldn't be too fussed if Austin and Davis left either.

Dreadful performance, it was like they weren't even trying. Pretty much summed up by a move where we broke 2 on 2 first half and the move ended with Yoshida passing it back to Forster. Such a lazy performance, no effort either mental or physical. Whenever we got possession everyone was just stood there waiting. Won't go into individual performances because they were all sub standard, with the possible exception of Romeu.

A 5 month contract at £850k works out as less than £50kpw. Either article could indeed be BS.

Incredible. Not one of those facts is correct.

Yes. Why he thought I'd want to see pictures of him doing THAT with a butternut squash, I've no idea.

He is a highly rated English player and as such won't be coming here. More likely someone like Spurs or Liverpool for a massively inflated price.

Again, all assumptions based on nothing. We aren't reluctant to spend money. Forster, Virgil, Hojbjerg, Bertrand, Tadic, Long and Redmond were all in £10m territory. Gabbi and Boufal around £15m. We could easily put out a team worth over £100m. There is nothing to suggest Les can't complete a deal. In summer we filled all the positions which needed filling; 5 player in total. The board quite clearly do see the need to sign another defender as we obviously tried in January, then brought in MC as an emergency top gap.

Not this again. Just because Hojbjerg is white, doesn't mean he can't be Vic replacement. No he's not as physical but he did have other attributes. Yep. We had Austin, J Rod, Long, Tadic, Redmond, Boufal. Six players for three forward positions, with promising youngsters like Sims and Hesketh. The fact that Long, J Rod and Boufal have all massively failed to deliver and Austin has had a long term injury is neither Reed nor Puel's fault. J Rod we all had doubts over but as a squad we should have had enough.

Because Yoshida and JS are the best centre halves we have available and are likely to be the ones called upon next season, in the event of an injury. I wouldn't be advocating playing JS if we had 2 fit Virgils but when it's a choice between him and Caceres, who hasn't played for a year, is primarily a RB and wont be here next season, I'm saying play Jack.

This really isn't complicated. Fonte (and if necessary Virgil) will need replacing in the summer. We will need two competent players as back up. Yoshida is a competent player Stevens NOW has proven to be a competent player. Had he not made a single Prem start, he would not have been proven as a competent player. Caceres will not be here come what May, in the most literal translation of the term.