nta786

Many clubs in Europe do such as Dortmund, Sevilla, Ajax, Porto/Benfica, perhaps Monaco before too. However, in the PL, none in fairness. But defining success is key too- because I think our ambitions purely lie in just staying in the PL and hoping to have that odd season or two here and there where we do finish in the top 10, or even somehow by chance in the top 8- then sell those stars off, and then rinse and repeat. In that regard, whilst certainly cutting it fine in the last two seasons, we have been successful.

at least he was on relatively low wages (around £30-£40k) I think, and cost us around £8m- so not too much or not that low either too since guess- just one that didn’t work out as a Koeman signing- we have other bigger players hampering the wage structure- he ain’t one of them However, you shouldn’t t say we should not make lightweight signings- Kante is just as small, Cazorla played well too amongst others. All the best to Clasie

My guess is a 3412. Danny Ings to play centre attacking mid perhaps? can understand why- played that role well against Wolves when he made those defence splitting passes through to Redmond. Good luck to Smallbone as well.

think he is soon seeing around the situation. on his Instagram story he was rocking our kit and training in the gym (and as per also miming some awful French rap music), think he may well see one more year out with us now that interest has fallen slightly, and hopefully he will play even better than last 2 years combined- that'll really get him in the shop window and we'd probably accept £22m then given he'd only have 2 years left (along with our gentlemens agreement I suppose)

Honestly it depends on two factors really, firstly depends on the season we have and secondly (obviously of course), depends on how the top clubs fare too of course. I can only see City and Arsenal as staying put with their managers atm for certain. I also think Klopp will deffo continue at Pool but read rumours about how he was ready for a break so they may see Ralph as the perfect replacement, same goes for Spurs where Poch may feel like he has reached as high as he possibly can and wants change of scenery. Chelsea have perhaps entered unchartered territory with Lamps and United with OGS- we saw how that ended last season and may do so next. Bayern Munich might also come sniffing- and I think all of the above certainly will sniff if we get to 55points plus

yes, Leicester/Wolves/West Ham/Everton are the likelier candidates for 7/8/9/10. Although think Wolves will have a slight second season syndrome (shouldn't drop off a cliff though mind), and with Europa League to account for too. 11th, coupled with some good away days and some decent 'biggish' wins will be okay for me I think realistically. 7th or higher is dreamland. Although- I would also accept 15th/16th/17th and a cup win (yes I know that rarely happens anyway before MLG comes)

I don’t see how we will buy a centreback until at least one goes- we have 5! It would be a pleasant surprise if we do buy one before selling/getting rid of 1

would be naive for him to do that too though- he knows he is a busted flush so moving somewhere and doing cr*p jeopardises any potential move for him this time next year. By staying on the sidelines, he can convince another naive PL club next season to take a punt on him, providing he merely passes a medical.

yes- these are the sort of seasons where Les talked about having the opportunity to break into the top 6 if a couple of them do bad, as it may well turn out to be for Arsenal (defensive issues?), Chelsea with Lampard and OGS for United. Of course, it is highly unlikely with the turmoil and squad Les has left us with to do that, but I guess Leicester and Wolves will potentially be licking their lips to see if they can break that stronghold as a one-off, but even then Wolves have a Europa League campaign to manage too.

I think this is what he is doing- why move to another PL club now- he is already on top dollar and if he rides out this one last year with us then he can get a signing on fee and decent wages at another PL club who just will almost certainly take a punt on him. It is risky for him now to move to say Villa or Sheffield on reduced wages- if he does rubbish (which I am certain he will) then he it almost certainly means no PL team touches him with a barge role- whereas freezing himself out and staying out of the limelight means it is likelier someone just might take a chance on him next season in the PL. not hating or anything- he is purely doing what is rational for him.

fking get in there England!!!! over the moon!

well okay then- let's hold out for at least £23m then (couple of posts ago I wanted at least £30m!)- and put on some bonus clauses then- how about extra £3m if his new team qualify for CL within 2 years, and an extra £5m if he reaches 50 apps with said new club. because I still think he has 3 years left, he is better than that price tag and anyone getting him for £20m or less will have got a bargain in my opinion in this day and age, despite his fitness issues.

I'm all for it if gives it his all tbh- getting paid to do so anyway. For someone with a 6ft 4 frame he should bulk up I feel

it is slightly disheeartening to hear a player who is on good wages for a club our size who has 3 years left to come out with soundbites such as the one he has

agreed If Tielemans went for £40m I would like at least £30m for him- some Championship players are now going for £15-20m

Osvaldo vs City

tbf even to me £11m is not too bad a fee, especially if it gets him off that wage bill where I think he was reported to be on £50k a week? may have heard it wrong too to be fair. My ideal squad is one where there are a solid 16 players who are earning their keep and getting paid the top 10 wages with their substitute being an academy player on low wages. Bertrand and then Vokins satisfies that and I'm happy.

kind of agree with the sentiment here tbh. perhaps we should leave a margin for error (like Cricket does with umpires call?), or in a way where any offside that isn't clear at first sight should just be accepted- when we start having conversations about whether the arm is offside/scenario where the head is offside by 2mm etc then i think it gets ridiculous... when VAR should be used is when it is clear and obvious... e.g. Gabbiadini's goal against Utd in league cup final. So, the lino should always let play go on when offside becomes fractional- he should only flag when it is, perhaps 1 yard or more clearly offside for example!

So the membership prices are both a joke and mildly confusing. Now £45 for this 'Plus' membership and £35 for standard membership- early bird discount makes it £35 for former and £30 for latter yet that itself is too much. Is there truly any difference between 'Saint+' and 'Saint', apart from being given £5 off on Category A games? I am presuming that owning a Saint+ membership does not mean a further priority to say away tickets over someone with just a 'Saint' membership? £25 was fine EDIT: Also want to add how cheeky is it is for the club to say that this '+' membership gives £5 off for 'Category A' fixtures too- - given now that there is a new A* category which means it really is no different to last years.

well angry right now with this display urrgh The saving grace is Bangladesh have India to play which I'd like to think is an easy India win, but trust us to blow the race wide open again just when it all looked settled. SL and PAK also looking up too

Well I may be wrong now with the way Afghans are bowling thus far! Is a competitive world cup back on after England’s horror show yesterday, and now potentially the Indian’s today

yes games are now practically dead rubbers with no genuine incentive for topping the group. in effect England's last three games against Australia, India and NZ are like warm ups before the knockouts.

I disagree- one of the annoying things about this format for me is that there are only 10 teams- kind of puts to shame the notion of a 'World Cup'. I would have liked to have seen 14 teams with 2 groups of 7 like before- cricket shouldn't be a closed shop and Afghanistan did okay considering we have one of the best bowling attacks in the world. I do hope Bangladesh can make it into the top 4 at the expense of Australia- can't stand those cheating Aussies and be good to mix things up in the world of Cricket.

agreed, and all three of those big clubs have something which may work in our favour! hopefully Liverpool can have a tough game in Istanbul going all the way to penalties before coming to ours, United with OGS I expect to be slightly rubbish given their capitulation towards the end last season, and if Lampard is in charge of Chelsea then for him to be outfoxed by Ralph is my optimistic outlook! Burnley away will be tough tbh- think it will be a draw- though dependent on transfers etc there is still a long way to go before any predictions can be made.