Saint86

Openda out performed (albeit similar) Broja at vitesse (last season) and has a bit more first team experience than broja did when he joined us. He still a bit raw but has a lot of potential. He's 22 years old, pacey, composed, very strong, and a good finisher. Would suit our system and will be available for circa £10m. Scored 19 goals in 37 games last year (often making it look easy) and does not want to go back to Brugge. Hope we're at least looking at him! Reckon he's going to be one of those players that gets picked up by midtier club and in a few years is making his name in both European and international football. Could certainly do a job for us given our current strikers' outputs. Also,

Want Openda!!

Love it 😅🤣

Have we ever teased a new contract?

I thought that only applied to under 16s who hadn't signed professional deals?

If they went to longer kit terms, they'd likely have to charge mroe money. Would people pay £75 in say the first season if it was stated it would be a 2 year kit? Then a reduced price for year 2?

The bottom 4 rows cover us to 2010....the rest covers our entire history. Highlights the absolute piss take of regular kit changes.

Ah i didn't realise that infrastructure spend offset it. I always thought that infrastructure spend was excluded - Either way, it means a rich owner could fund improvements to training and stadium works etc, but not pump money in for player wages, agents fees, transfer fees etc. If Everton do not spend they are in trouble. They've lost basically their best players without replacing them. And Lampard is far from convincing as a manger.

He won't be happy, and you also know that MLG will get Jelly at the mere hint that Supersaint posts the twitter links faster 😎

This is my understanding (MLG or someone is free to correct me as i'd genuinley be interested in how it all works) - 😞😬 Regardless of how much their owners are worth, there is a rolling 3year (I think but not sure) cycle. Everton needed to make a sale to meet the spending rules. If they now go out and spend all that money, they'll be in a similar boat next summer. They need to raise extra revenues to increase spending and meet the financial limits. I.e. They basically need to balance their spend over a rolling 3 year period or run foul of the rules. As it is they've sold their best player, and regardless of the rumoured takeover, they can't really strengthen much medium term as it stands.

Still think we should go out and get Openda. Kid has no interest in staying at brugge and is future Belgium no. 9.

I don't know if it actually makes that much difference. Ultimatley its a league and over the course of the season you expect the top clubs to beat the bottom clubs, and then incrementally the better squads and managers will fill in the table in order. With no subs you'd expect to lose to city, and with 3 subs you'd expect to lose to them. I don't think it will actually make that much difference. We need to focus on outperforming the teams at our level (and we can't sit here and say that say Crystal Palace have a bunch of world class players to bring in off the bench). Do this well and combine with clever player trading - and we will incrementally improve and move up the table. Also, an awful lot had been made about how this change will benefit man City. Will it? Or does it actually benefit teams with a limited number of key players? Having 5 subs means clubs at our level can better protect their key players over congested runs - and also offer more game time / experience around the squad. In short, I am not convinced it's the poisoned change people make it out to be.

Sell them for 80million before anyone else realises 🤗

Forget broja, what Newcastle want to do is go and sign Sunderland's best player and stick him on the bench 🤗.

First impression... I don't like the overall kit - it doesn't particulary feel like a saints kit and the central striped shirt and black shorts with side details just seem imbalanced. I thnk its too white or the central stripe is too narrow or something. Also dislike looking like Fulham from the back.

Looks better than half our team already, although sadly not romeu and jwp. He would provide excellent competition and cover for those 2. I'd take him for less than 10m in a heartbeat.

Its actually bizzare how some can be quite so negative about him. He's did well in the face of extreme adversity. Needs to be tested at a higher level (which clearly isn't league 1), but could have a bright future.

He stayed untill the end despite having the rug being totally ripped from under him and all his hard work being undermined - and despite that, he still gave it a very good go of staying up. The Derby fans loved him and have been all over the place saying that despite everything, rooney gave them the happiest season many could remember. Given that, I'd say "Appalled" is a bit strong... 😅 They're on the cusp on being taken over now but have had their squad ravished and still aren't in a position to rebuild. I think it's fair enough that he feels exhausted by it and wants to step away having done all he could last year as a new manager. Regardless, he's a young manager to watch and it will be interesting what job he goes for next.

Signed for a shite manager and got stuck playing second fiddle behind nacho and vardy. Was a bad move for him as vardy has got at least another season in him.

I wouldn't be against Rooney as manager at some point. The annoying thing is that if he does well he'd be poached by Everton. Think he's going to make it as a good manager tbh.

In all seriousness, the hallmark of winning managers is that they have favourites and they have players they don't like - whom they won't waste time dealing with or even actively get rid of. Almost impossible to keep everyone happy and be a winner in football imo - unless you have a perfectly balanced squad.

Didn't someone say it was being released at midday on Friday?

2 years is the last resort time a club should be selling a player imo - at least if you rely on player trading to make significant income. If you know a player wants to leave or won't renew, you can't afford to let them stay longer financially. Saints should certainly be operating on that basis given our strategy. It's why I am wondering whether we should be shifting salisu as he is yet to sign a new contract and next summer his value will have dropped a lot (with 1 year left) / our position will be significantly weaker.