midds

Is he bringing the inhalers over with him like?

I think them and Burnley are the most at risk of the 3. Burnley's whole philosophy was built on keeping out Championship attacks and to be fair they did so a lot of the time. They also managed to scratch out loads of 1-0s as a result and turned 1 point into 3 - again, fair play. That strategy won't work this season though. Better forwards/attacking units will score so the whole 'win 1-0' thing goes out of the window immediately. The other side to this is that once they're behind they'll be forced to be a bit more ambitious and open themselves up and they'll get splattered once they have to lose their shape a bit. Their entire premise of success is based to shutting teams out - that won't happen next season and they'll finish bottom imo

Selling Fernandes for a large amount solves one problem but creates an even bigger one tbh. How do they replace him? He's carried that club and suddenly swapping him for a bag of cash doesn't seem like such a good deal after all. The way that club wastes money on absolute shite I'd not back them to fill even half the hole him leaving would create. Their signings have been wank for years now and now they have to spend £100m correctly to replace him? I'll not hold my breath

I think the genuine shock at the Mitchell decision earlier in the week is a signal of how little they're actually getting. Absolutely no-one saw that coming or even speculated he was leaving or about to leave. The leaks have dried up completely to the extent that they're either totally guessing and printing it OR they're printing the stuff the club have chosen to let them know. That's it. It's all either complete bullshit or club propaganda imo I'll not be believing a single word of it

He's probably the only one I'd think - yeah he's said it's going to happen so it probably is legit. But even then...

Sticking with my default setting of 'believe absolutely nothing unless it's an official statement/direct attributable quotes or you see anyone holding a scarf over their heads' Makes things much easier to ignore

Of course. +£5

£116 for a long sleeved L, CL patch and Tonali 8? Deal

Ultimate kiss of death this like. Not happy and it's Shay. I'm not angry but I'm disappointed

Exactly. None of us were in the thick of it but there were plenty of dots to be joined and what Hope has presented tonight seems more than plausible and none of it too outlandish to dismiss. There's details in there of phrases used and it's a bit too direct to be complete bullshit. . He could be exaggerating or embellishing things a bit but I'm happy to join the dots and look at the picture he's made. It felt very sudden at the time and there was clearly tension in pre-season. If anyone comes out and refutes it then I'll be open to change my mind but Hope's story stacks up pretty well imo

"GO ON, DISALLOW THAT ONE YOU FUCKING CUNTS, FUCKING YEEEEEESSSS!!" was screamed at the inanimate object in the corner of my living room at about 100dB. Fuckers in the graveyard heard me

Henderson was finished at PL level several years ago. Good luck with that one, no other PL has gone near him as a result for very good reasons

Caved instantly once it went public. Obviously Tried the Klarna route but got fucked off

Sure it was at the Shearer unveiling. Strategically placed shirt on the back seat of the car to stir the shit

Snide cunts. Quite happy to exploit the clause to stop a bidding war but also perfectly happy to ignore how long it takes to pay it, absolutely typical of that lot. Always want to run with the foxes and hunt with the hounds

Could be that officially he's still here and technically on board with everything but in reality he's already been cut out of the loop totally and things are happening without him being involved at all? Who knows. It seems very sudden and unexpected but I've got a feeling it was decided a while ago and kept under wraps until the season finished, wouldn't surprise me if they've already got someone lined up but probably feel the need to wait a couple of weeks to make it look like a bit more authentic as opposed to knifing him and replacing him before actually announcing it? It does suggest that the communications and structure at the top of the club aren't as good as they need to be though. We've been through a bit of a churn of directors etc and it's only been a few years now. Decisions, announcements and communications with fans seem long and drawn out due to maybe a lack of clarity of roles or reluctance to make a decision or getting things signed off or whatever. They're delivering on the pitch regardless but they could do with getting their shit in a pile off the pitch too. It seems way too clunky and difficult atm

Literally typed the postcode into Google maps and thought - "ooOOOoo, London?"

Granted It's a hope rather than an expectation tbh

Announcing it less than 48 hours after the final ball has been kicked suggests it's been in the pipeline for a while. Sure it'll all come out in the wash though and they've done well to keep a lid on it all tbh. Hoping the replacement is at least announced in the next week or so (assuming they started the process once the decision had actually been made)

Certainly knows how to get cash in the till quickly

Criticism only hurts when it comes from someone you respect. Hence, I struggle to get annoyed with no-marks like Glendenning

Whatever has happened over the last few months it's clear that Howe has cemented his place as the most important person within the club. He's delivered silverware and Champions League football despite a lack of strengthening over the last 3 windows and the bloke at the very top has clearly backed him over Mitchell. Just need a replacement named and into the club asap so it's a clean handover. That's about as much as we can hope for now

Probably NDAed up to the hilt as part of the agreement

Not massively bothered that he's going but I am massively bothered about who's taking his place. He wasn't here long enough to make any kind of impression but it's still disappointing that this has happened just as the window is opening and we, by all accounts, have some cash to spend. Not bothered about reasons why he's gone and speculation I just want to know who's coming in and is the list of targets now going to change as a result? The club is bigger and more important than Paul Mitchell