steve_69

With Rafa at the helm, i'm confident we wouldn't have to in order to challenge for the top 6. If we had a decent #10 and striker who could score we probably wouldn't be too far off that now, even with Manquillo in the team. Realistically I reckon Rafa would want a keeper, a left back, #10, two strikers and a left winger and I think he'd keep faith with the rest of the current players. That wouldn't take Man City-level spending.

Ryan Sessegnon pls

Tottenham fans' limited repertoire of songs/chants. Whenever they're on the telly it really is painful to listen to. From what I can gather, they have 5 and they're all shit: You're facking shit He's one of our own (despite Kane spending time at Arsenal earlier in his career) Oh when the Spurs Don't take me home That new Sissoko one

Less than elbowing people in the face? We've already established that it's not deliberate, right? IMO you take that level of commitment out of the game and it ceases to be the spectacle it is. If Carroll was deliberately running at people with the intention of smashing them in the face, fair enough but he's not - he does it in the process of trying to win the ball. It's no different to catching someone on the ankle with a mis-timed tackle. Paul Scholes & Steven Gerrard didn't get this much criticism for being persistent reckless tacklers and they were probably more in danger of ruining someone's career than Carroll is.

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!

In terms of a spectacle it's dog s*** outside of Man City and Spurs at the moment. Liverpool and Arsenal are ok to watch but their style is hyped up. After that there's there's nothing, and far too many managers are getting credit for being organised and defensive and nothing more, it's the easiest way to play. Name a better league in terms of entertainment? There’s only one decent game in the Spanish league and that’s El Classico. Series A is s***, the Dutch league is s***, the French league is s***, there’s only one game worth watching in the German league. For pure entertainment and unpredictability the PL is the best in the world, hence why it’s watched all over the world. Do you watch Serie A or La Liga? Not any more. I used to watch loads of football but I just find it too slow and boring in comparison. To be fair I only really watch us and the big games in the Premier League now as well. There’s no doubt that players in other leagues are technically superior but for me the leagues aren’t anywhere near as entertaining. In fact I’d rather watch the Championship

In terms of a spectacle it's dog s*** outside of Man City and Spurs at the moment. Liverpool and Arsenal are ok to watch but their style is hyped up. After that there's there's nothing, and far too many managers are getting credit for being organised and defensive and nothing more, it's the easiest way to play. Name a better league in terms of entertainment? There’s only one decent game in the Spanish league and that’s El Classico. Series A is shit, the Dutch league is shit, the French league is shit, there’s only one game worth watching in the German league. For pure entertainment and unpredictability the PL is the best in the world, hence why it’s watched all over the world.

I appreciate it’s not that simple but I reckon opposition defenders would be a lot less comfortable defending against a style they’re unfamiliar facing than the predictable Shite we’ve been peddling for the past 15 years. It’d also be a lot more entertaining to watch. We have the highest tempo, most entertaining league in the world and yet when it comes to England we play slow, methodical boring football that ultimately gets us nowhere. We try to keep the ball like Spain, which we’re totally incapable of doing and we’re completely devoid of a player in the current setup who can unlock a defence. If it’s not time to try something different now, it never will be.

We need to stop trying to be what we're not. So far we've tried to be Italy, France, Spain and Germany and we're still s***. Now we're not just s***, we're boring as f*** as well. I just want a manager with a pair of balls to play an old school English 4-4-2. Andy Carroll or Kane alongside Vardy or Rashford, 2 wingers who cross the ball, 2 fullbacks who cross the ball and a proper maverick central midfielder in the Peter Beardsley role. I'm not talking about Tony Pulis-style long ball turgid shitball, i'm talking about attacking football using width, aerial presence and pace. f*** all this tippy tappy s****. International football is stale and it needs a shake-up.

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