steve_69

The problem for both parties is that January is such a crucial time that it's in everyone's interest to get this done quickly. Fuck around negotiating for too long and we lose out on a very important transfer window. That's why I like the relegation clause so much - if Ashley doesn't budge and they're still at the table in January, he's subject to the relegation clause and is almost forced to back Rafa. If he agrees to their offer and fucks off before January, i'm guessing the clause doesn't count. If he really does want out then he's under pressure to accept PCP's offer because they look like the only serious bidder.

To be honest, I find myself disagreeing with anything that suggests the game should become less physical, regardless of which player is being targeted

I'm not saying elbowing people in the face should be allowed but that Daily Mail article makes out that Carroll is doing it deliberately and that he's totally irresponsible. Bollocks! He's not doing it deliberately, he's doing his job. How quickly do you think he'd be dropped by his manager if he stopped challenging for headers?

When you look at all of the incidents, Carroll never breaks eyes with the ball. He may know the opposing player is there but there's no intent to injure at all IMO. He's just hellbent on winning the ball and goes in fully committed. The thing that Carroll seems to do more than others, probably because of his superior height, is jump in at an angle and usually from a distance to win a header because he knows he can. He's rarely jumping straight up, a move that requires less balance adjustment and carries less momentum. He's also a good deal taller than most of the players he's challenging so naturally they're more in line with his arms when he jumps. I challenge anyone to leap sideways, forwards or backwards at an angle without using their arms for balance. You'll hit the deck almost every time and probably injure yourself. To ask Carroll to stop doing what he's been doing recently is essentially asking him to stop challenging for so many headers - he might as well jack football in now if that's the case. Players have always picked up head/facial injuries throughout the history of football because it's a physical contact sport where professionals put their bodies on the line. The last thing the new breed of pussy footballers need is more protection FFS, and if we sterilise the game any more than it already has been it won't be worth watching any more. We might as well watch netball.

They currently would have some say in where it ends up though, so it is cheeky to basically try to cover for that by paying less if it doesn't go well. Probably just a negotiating tactic anyway. Again with another house analogy, you cannot agree to pay £170k on the basis that the house only stays or goes up in value but pay £150k if it turns out the market crashes in your area or they build a bunch of flats next door in a years time. Especially if you're someone who makes decisions which determine whether they end up building flats next door in a years time. You go into it accepting risk & do your analysis of the situation upfront. Then you pay what you deem it to be worth. Only if the deal is completed before the January window. If it goes through after that then the plight of the club is dictated by what Ashley allows Rafa to do in the transfer market. That's where this deal differs from buying a house, festive bake or anything else. There aren't transfer windows that could dictate the value of the house, festive bake by the end of a season.

Could it be a move by Staveley to get Ashley to back Rafa in January? If it looks like the deal won't go through before the January window but everything is agreed in principle, by insisting on a relegation clause PCP force Ashley to either take a massive gamble and not spend, or back Rafa to ensure PL safety and pocket his cash

We been linked with any fucking left-backs yet? That situation is getting quite desperate!

Presumably that would only be in the event of the sale not going through before January? I don't see how they could come in before then, invest in the team and then penalise Ashley for us getting relegated. Points deduction ? Good point! In my excitement I totally forgot about the HMRC thing.

Presumably that would only be in the event of the sale not going through before January? I don't see how they could come in before then, invest in the team and then penalise Ashley for us getting relegated.

They've completely rebuilt and regenerated a really rundown area of Manchester - housing, parks, facilities etc.

I don't see how they can't be good owners. They're buying the club as an investment so they're going to have to make us a better business and a more successful football club in order to turn a profit. That means maximising commercial revenue, securing our Premier League status by investing properly in the playing side, improving facilities, developing the youth teams so we actually have some players of value coming through etc. All the things we, as fans, want to see. However, because they'll be running us as a business we might see things happen that some won't like - stadium renaming, Middle East/Far East tours during pre season, more corporate entertainment at the ground etc. As far as i'm concerned their involvement can only be positive because the only way is up after Ashley.

The only thing that’s keeping my optimism is the fact that Rafa seems clued up and is making positive noises about January ie. working on two different lists. He also seems pretty happy at the moment. I imagine if anyone was going to be able to sniff out Ashley’s bullshit it would be Rafa.

But he understands the club, he's one of them. That's a recipe for success right there, never fails!

Let's be honest, he's going to be better than Joselu. Get him signed!

It's not the only comparison you can draw with Colback, this guy absolutely bums a momentum-stalling backwards pass. Jack Manquillo

Jesus, I bet the West Ham players and fans are salivating at the thought of David fucking Moyes. Couldn't happen to a nicer bunch of facking cants! Ha ha!

Maybe the presence of his brother kept him calm at Norwich and settled him down. Twins are generally very close so maybe being away from his bro and on the back of a big move has fucked with his head

I guess the deal could be done in principle but there are still a few finer details to be ironed out eg. HMRC stuff. If an offer has been made by Staveley and accepted by Ashley that could be construed as the deal being done but until everything is buttoned up they won't announce it. Things could still go wrong, especially where Ashley is involved, and the deal would probably impact the share price of various companies so there's probably a proper legal procedure. I'm just speculating because i know fuck all about this stuff.

So far I haven't seen this guy do a single thing of quality - pass, run, dribble, shoot, win the ball, cross. I've no doubt he has the ability to do at least some of those things well, otherwise Rafa wouldn't have signed him, but he just looks like he's constantly shitting himself. The crowd starting to get on his back won't help but that isn't going to get any better until he starts showing a glimmer of ability. Maybe the move was just too big for him.

Mitrovic is obviously doing something in training, or not doing something that is causing Rafa to not pick him. We know the kind of manager he is and the standards he sets. If Mitro is resigned to leaving maybe his attitude and effort have dropped in training, maybe he’s running around knacking other players, who knows?! The one thing we can be certain of is that every decision Rafa makes is in the interests of the team, not born out of some imagined vendetta. We all knew the squad was shit when the transfer window closed and we were punching way above our weight for the first few games. We’ve now lost a couple in a row that we could’ve easily won and sadly cracks are starting to show in our support. I guess the only way people will calm down is if Rafa bows to supporter-pressure and plays Mitro but part of me doesn’t want that to happen because he’ll be compromising his approach to the game that has served us so well thus far. That’s the kind of shit a weak manager like Pardew would do just to appease the fans.

The game should’ve been out of sight in the first half. Rafa got his tactics and game plan spot-on as usual but the players weren’t clinical enough and then the officials robbed us of a legitimate goal. To criticise Rafa after that is bullshit! It’s typical knee jerk stuff to say he should’ve done this or he should’ve played this guy. We have a world class manager who knows better than the lot of us. He was just as let down as we were by the players he selected and I’m sure he’ll react.

I think we're all just beyond the point of desperation with regards to Ashley possibly leaving, so any piece of information that suggests it could actually be happening sends us into a frenzy. Like a few have said, no news is probably good news at this stage but it's the not knowing that's so fucking frustrating

Diame is nowhere near Premier League level.

He was at Juve before now but I think its probably just a throw away comment made into a big thing I imagine Turin was less of a shithole than London as well.

You can't blame the guy for not liking London FFS! He's young and it's his first time living outside Spain, and if he didn't find London stressful there'd be something wrong with him. The place is a fucking nightmare! Yes he's on massive money but that doesn't necessarily guarantee quality of life if you fucking hate your surroundings. I'd 100% choose Madrid over pretty much any UK city if I had the choice.