midds

If we manage to sign Guehi and sell Almiron on the same day I think I'll fucking burst

Without wanting to kick the whole Tripps thing off tangent in here but the bust up with the fans at Bournemouth seemed to be a bit of a turning point. Or I could just be misremembering the timings of it unravelling, it was a bleak few months Oct/Nov-Feb

Plus he's already managed to escape from that fucking borstal of a club once before, can't see him wanting to back there in a hurry. Not if he's got any sense anyway

Just a foot offside but he still took the chance really well, great finish. Very encouraging

RCM

First time for a few years, missed the place

I like him, he's definitely got something. He's a bit raw and needs a bit of polishing but he also needs to be in and around the first team squad this year. He's quick, has a trick and also has the confidence to go at players, his decision-making is also pretty good in the final third. He dovetailed nicely with Joelinton at times and they switched positions here and there and he slotted into LCM nicely as big Joe stayed wide. For a 17 year old to stand out is impressive, he needs to play in order to develop but I honestly think he might be good enough to be thrown in sooner rather than later

Can't see how signing Todibo - who has had his heart set on Juve all summer - can work out well for West Ham. He's clearly a good player and it's a decent price but if he doesn't really want to be there...

That seems excessive too but with Kelly there was always an expectation that the salary would be much higher because of the lack of a big fee. It's why players wind their contracts down after all, but we all know this. At least it's not £150k on top of a hefty fee

£100k does seem a little excessive I must admit

I wouldn't even put it down as a mistake tbh. At the end of his loan it was a complete no-brainer to make it permanent, he'd played really, really well on loan and at the time the decision had to be made it was the correct decision to sign him permanently. It's easy to have a pop with the benefit of hindsight but you can't do that in the real world, the decision had to be made at the time

Exactly. He played intermittently for one of the worst teams in PL history who spent the vast majority of games defending. That's a perfect storm for a young inexperienced striker trying to impress, I'm essentially ignoring all of his stats for last season, he'll get plenty of minutes this season and I'll judge him purely on what I see, I think he'll do rather well tbh

He obviously passed the eye test well enough though

It wouldn't be a lack of intelligence, it would be a lack of integrity

Just posturing, it means nothing other than a public - 'yeah, he's still our player bitch'

Fair play that's a great move for him. He's been immense on (for a few seasons) and off it and been a bit of a father figure for some for the last few years. Great pro, talented and will still do a decent job for Portsmouth for a coupe of years - hope he smashes it and they appreciate him, top bloke

Exactly. Shaddsy P

Wasn't he pictured in their shirt posing next to a huge club badge a fortnight ago?

Smashed in 200+ for us

Can't believe people are leaving Shearer out. I get it's down to favourites but, fuck...

Favourite, not 'best' XI Given Tripps Colo Woodgate Bernard Ginola Lee Speed Robert Shearer Ferdinand

Barnes Isak Gordon looks a lot better than Gordon Isak Almiron though. It's a last resort but if we're pushed for money/can't shift Almiron then switching Gordon to the RW is more than a possibility. I don't want it to happen but it's a better option than sticking with Almiron. Honestly can't bare the thought of seeing Almiron lining up on RW for yet another season

The fact we've had several dozen suggestions speaks volumes about the utter shite we've had to watch for the last few decades

No-one ever accepts the first bid - for anything tbh. Palace are going to replace him and they'll need time to pick their player so the onus is on both clubs to wrap it up quickly rather than dragging it out. Just sit tight and let them haggle then agree a fee hopefully

Hasn't happened for, literally, weeks