UpweySaint

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2020/sep/23/ryan-reynolds-rob-mcelhenney-shock-bid-to-invest-in-wrexham-football Not strictly saints but interesting takeover news elsewhere ... Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney make shock bid for Wrexham AFC

For what it's worth I had an Athletic subscription bought for me as a birthday present and I quite like it. Preferred Carl to Dan but he engages with fans and tries to get their questions answered in pressers so it's good in that sense. The pricepoint is minimal and the quality holds up .... Re: takeovers I think we'd all prefer somebody who has money they wish to put into the club but currently I would suggest no money but a reasonable plan to progress the club is an improvement on what we currently have. Have to say I'm in the pro RB Southampton camp. A focus on youth, clever scouting, reasonable levels of financial support are worth the RB initials at the front of our name and scorn from other fans.

Fair points well made. I do understand a lot of the pessimism but you do wonder how some on here get out of bed in the mornings! If we're still struggling for points seven or eight games in I'll panic/resign myself to this being our year (we can't say it's not been coming with the drift post Koeman/Poch/Nige). Ralph being able to get one or two new faces in would hopefully lift the mood for all concerned. We all now we're short, particularly in CM.

Agree Ralph's got this wrong but blame all around. Our bench is such a sad reflection of where we currently are. This is largely the same squad that have been struggling for 3+ seasons.

He dithered and got stuck in two minds. If we are going to persist with such a high line any keeper we use will need to be playing as a 'sweeper keeper'.

1. Fair point but I expect most of us said/felt the same about Ings. I can admit I thought the Ings deal was a poor one when it first happened. 2. You are right it would be quite unlikely but not impossible. The Chelsea midfield is stacked so crazier things have happened. If he only stays for a year but does well while we develop the likes of Jankewitz into a first team player without relying on him prematurely then it's a win-win. 3. I would suggest he's quite versatile and if Ralph feels he has attributes that could work in his system it could work. Ralph shifted Armstrong's position/role and he's come on leaps and bounds. 4. Yhep, you're right his injury record is a real minus. If he didn't have it we wouldn't even be able to consider signing him. A 24 year old England international at a top four club on £120,000 a week. No chance. I can see why others would not agree but I would be excited if this came to fruition!

Tell that to Mike Ashley. English and still a c*nt. The Glazers at Utd, American but not exactly beloved. Is it possible to dislike people who buy football clubs with borrowed finance and invest/contribute nothing of any significant value? Financial or otherwise? If the owner isn't going to contribute meaningfully you would at least hope it would be somebody who shares the fans affinity with the club. How many times has our owner even made the trip to watch a game? How much effort has he made to engage with the fanbase? Frankly I don't care about their nationality/ethnicity/gender/sexuality or even their favourite flavour of m&ms (the answer is crispy by the way). Could we have a worse only? Probably, just look at SISU for the alternative reality saints. Could we quite easily have it better? Absolutely! Playing the 'racism' card is poor here. The forum probably has it's share of narrow minded helmets much as anywhere but I think you're wide of the mark here.

I tried posting last night and hit a few error messages, refreshed this morning and alas ...

Looks a really interesting take on it though FF is something of a crowded market. Best of luck to him!

Looks a really interesting take on it though FF is something of a crowded market. Best of luck to him!

True, any respectable side would have alternatives and move on if the deal was so unfavourable.

Very true but also begs the question of why we didn't sign Carrillo on loan with an option. I can't think of many examples of us doing this (Danso, Ings and Alderweireld spring to mind) but it's becoming more common in the past few seasons.

Possible but I'd see them more likely to move for Rico Henry at Brentford. After a few injury hit seasons he's really cracked on and looked promising, 100% will be a prem player sooner or later ..

Bit harsh. He's gone on loans spells at home and abroad in recent seasons to try and reignite his career. Hugo Lloris is prone to the odd poor spell and Hart might fancy he can push for starts should that happen and/or in cup competition. Depending on confidence/form I would certainly say he's technically a better keeper that Gazzaniga with more pedigree at a high level. He's not exactly in Lee Grant or Stuart Taylor territory.

Membership needed but Carl previously came on here gave out a few free trials, existing members also can dish out a few free trials too. Carl shared the updates in the article comments section, the full article gives a bit of background on Salisu's development and explains how he might fit into Ralph's system, good read - 'My understanding is the quarantine has delayed the announcement as there is no one to take official photographs yet.' Carl also puts a few Liverpool fans in their place who make the usual tired jokes about him playing for them in two years time.

Similar sentiment, also depends on wages. Lot of press that he was after big bucks.

Omar Elabdellaoui, previously linked in transfer windows gone by, is out of contract at Olympiakos and moving on. I wouldn't want him over KWP but a free transfer to add some depth/competition and allow Valery to go out on loan? Ralph's full backs get through a lot of work so good depth would be worth having even though it's certainly not a priority. He's an experienced player having played in the premier league, captained Olympiakos and has plenty of caps for Noway. At 28 he could well be worth a three year contract if the wage was right. He can play in more than one position too so adds a bit of versatility.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/53662774 BBC running the Watkins availability story too. Unless we hit the jackpot shifting our loan army I can't see us affording him/prioritising the forward positions but he would be a top signing at a reasonable price. If the stars aligned we could then look at loaning out Obefemi for consistent game time next season. I think he has enough versatility to be effective in the 2 behind the strikers for us too so maybe worth a look if Boufal moves on too.

Guillem Balagué has done some good write ups on it, worth scouting out from the BBC if you're interested. Bale would have left last season only for Real to change the terms of the deal at the last minute. In short now he's well paid, his family is settled in Madrid and he has a nice life. I expect there is a bit of a f*ck you Madrid/Zidane attitude going on too with the stubbornness. When people question is he still has the motivated by football just look at him when he throws on a Wales shirt, absolute world beater! If he fancies a Keegan-esque last hurrah I think we would all love it but there doesn't seem to be much to suggest he'll move on until the end of his contract.

I do feel for Danso a little, he didn't get many opportunities. Though he may have not demonstrated enough to Ralph in training/when he did play to warrant more game time I expect he will have been disappointed to have essentially lost this season. The fact he didn't even get a look in after safety was guaranteed shows our mind is made up on him not being able to cut it. When we signed him he did read like a player we could develop but evidently it's just not worked out for the lad.

If we have two in before August it's really impressive from the board (obviously this dips if they turn out to be dross!).

If the fee really is that low I would like to see us hold our ground. He'll want a 'big' move as a free agent next year so should still be a useful asset. I think we need to remember that, as much as we are loathe to lose players on a free, you're summary in your last sentence is spot on. If spurs honestly think they can land a proven prem CM, previous skipper and key international for pennies they need a reality check - despite many on here who don't rate him he stills holds value.

I would be happy to give them cash plus Hojberg for Winks and KWP, could see both developing under Ralph. Winks and JWP would be a really good centre mid pairing with Romeu and Reed for depth/tactical flexibility Throw in a decent CB, clear out the dross and I would actually be quite content with that as a window.

I think Valery is injured, sure somebody can confirm. Ramsey was young when he first got in but can't say I spotted much that made be think he would be a prem player. Vokins on the left hasn't done much wrong but we do miss Bertrand particularly going forwards.

I have the NBC coverage on and I've never heard such a good atmosphere at Old Trafford!