Scottish Mag

Jack Ross potentially moving on... https://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/sport/16108932/jack-ross-leading-candidate-scottish-football-job/

“If that didn’t happen” is doing a lot of work there, you could do that with every team and completely change the table. It’s not really an argument, just a hypothetical.

That’s still not really addressing the point though. I’m not saying Villa dipped a bit or a lot, I’m saying Champions League football is a different level of intensity to Europa League. Just comparing league position or saying they’ve played two fewer games doesn’t really account for that.

That’s mixing two different things though. Villa in the Europa League isn’t the same as Villa in the Champions League. When they were dealing with Champions League games their league form dipped as well, so it’s not as simple as just “style fixes it”.

If his style was “found out a couple of years ago” he doesn’t get a champions league place, and a cup final win surely? That doesn’t happen if something’s been figured out that easily. As for the if How has been appointed in June that’s a bit of a “if my auntie had balls she would be my uncle” argument tbh. You’re changing the context to make the point work. The reality is he didn’t come in in July, he came into a relegation fight, improved us massively, qualified for the Champions League team twice and won a cup.

That argument kind of assumes that changing manager guarantees European football, which it doesn’t. Plenty of clubs have gone down that route and ended up in a cycle of change without actually improving anything. I get the point about needing Europe, but sacking Howe doesn’t automatically solve that, it just introduces a different set of risks.

This is a narrative that continually gets repeated to back an argument rather than something that actually holds up. Bournemouth have spent roughly €520m since Iraola came in, about €170m a season, so the “barely had a budget” angle doesn’t really stand. Admittedly that’s based on FootballTransfers data so might be a few million either way, but ultimately there isn’t much in it. For context, Newcastle under Howe are around €780m in total, which works out at roughly €180m a season. So there’s not a huge gap there annually. He’s done well, but it’s not a case of doing it on scraps. Even looking elsewhere where the same lines get rolled out also, Brighton under Hürzeler are spending at a similar level again, and while Glasner at Palace has spent less, even he isn’t operating on pennies.

There may well be interest but I wouldn't pay too much attention to that fee. He was linked with Palace for only 12.5 only a fortnight ago.

I used the 25% off too and mine has been dispatched. Thanks for the heads up, was going to for 20% of JD but that helped save a little more. Cheers

I'm surprised Giminez hasn't been linked yet. Only signed six months ago but with Milan getting Boniface and also wanting Harder from Lisbon it looks like he could be available already.

Chris Wood got a start two days after signing too.

I’d genuinely take a chance on Rasmus Hojlund if the fee is right as one of two strikers signed. There’s been talk of £30m, and if that’s anywhere close to reality then it could be a smart bit of business for us. United clearly want rid and unlike other clubs we actually put the time and coaching into developing younger players properly. We work with them as individuals, improve their game, and give them the platform to grow. That’s been a hallmark of Howe’s time here. People forget he’s only a year older than Gordon was when we signed him, and just two years older than Tino, and Hojlund arguably has as much or more experience at a high level. We tracked him back when he was at Sturm Graz and Atalanta, so the interest has been there. For the right price, it’s not a massive gamble. Even if it didn’t work out long-term, I don’t think we’d struggle to recoup a fair chunk of the outlay. Drop him into our system, with the kind of coaching and culture Howe has built, and it could click. Low-cost gamble, but one that could seriously pay off.

Playing devil’s advocate – I’m not doubting what he’s signalled, but if Porto were to get an offer they’re happy with, it could still be out of his hands. Football can move quickly when the club’s on board.

If we hold on to Isak and with the World Cup coming at the end of the season, I can’t help but think next summer could be just as tricky for landing a striker as this window has been. Most of the forwards we’ll have an eye on will likely be involved, and there’s a long history of clubs holding off selling until after the tournament. One standout performance or a golden boot run and suddenly the asking price is through the roof. We’ve already seen how drawn-out and difficult this window has been when chasing key targets - a World Cup year could easily bring more of the same, if not worse.

Looks like we’ve now got the price point for the black and white one from the home shirt release video. I really wanted both, but it’s looking like it’ll have to be one or the other now. Even with 20% off, £80 still feels steep.