midds

That's a tragic Dortmund shirt mind. This is 35 years old and it kicks the absolute fuck out of it:

In this day and age of financial transactions being scrutinised more than ever before why are clubs allowed to sign players for 'undisclosed fees'? How can clubs do that in 2025? What are they hiding and why shouldn't every single penny of the deal be made public? Talking about the overall fee, the agents cut, the signing on fee, and the basic wage structure of the player etc. Obviously the basic + bonus wage will change from month to month and that's a little more personal and private to the player but the huge sums of money exchanging hands when a big deal goes through should be made public and I can't understand why it doesn't happen given the limits of PSR these days

I have noticed that they've already assumed that they're banking the whole fee, ignored the currency it's being paid in and all of the add-ons have automatically been triggered too before he's actually signed the deal. It's almost like they need to pump the fee to make themselves feel a bit better And yes, I'm sure loads of our idiots have done the same thing with the Lloyd Kelly transfer too. Football fans are ridiculous at times

Easy to forget that other than the goal they got this save was the only one they made Pope make in the whole afternoon. Palm that one in and it's a different story completely

I think the fact he was away negotiating getting away from the club as soon as he possibly could, despite promotion, speaks volumes about what he thought about them. Doesn't reflect particularly well on him either imo. Other clubs will just raise their prices regardless of the wage thing too tbh, they'll all ask top dollar now

Yep, his lifestyle issues mean it's a hard no

They've done well to get that much out of Dortmund for him I must admit. Only problem is that they're now significantly richer but much weaker, this means they have the double headache of having to replace important players (relatively speaking) and other clubs will know they've just bagged a load of cash to spend. The prices they're going to be quoted will be increased - it's not a Sunderland specific problem, it's just the way things work, all clubs doing similar would be in the same position. Can't complain about clubs taking advantage by raising prices when they've just done the exact same thing to Dortmund, can't have it both ways

Looks like he was sent over by Jan Molby

I think if we're realistic about it then we're going to have to shift a few big names for a few big fees if we're going to catch up. Everyone on here wants to keep on adding to the group and none of us want to see Isak or Tonali move on as we all enjoy watching them play. However, as we're seeing this summer PSR is allowing the clubs we're trying to catch to simply buy their way back into the picture and that's not something we can compete with. We've caught them up on the pitch but we've gone 3 windows without really strengthening and now we have the chance to spend and close the gap we find out the rest of them can match us. Don't want to lose Tino, I think he's class but IF we did shift him for a monstrous fee of £90m (or whatever, don't think he's worth that but no harm in asking for a number like that if we've accepted it's happening) then we could use every single penny of it and that would turbocharge our ability to get another 5 players of similar level. Spurs did it with Bale and Kane, Liverpool flipped Coutinho, Villa with Grealish, it's not unprecedented. We're getting to the point where our first raft of signings (Pope, Tripps, Burn etc) will also need to be replaced soon, this is on top of the shite that's still clogging the squad up. I'd hate it but we may need to bite the bullet eventually with our favourite players

Then they all applauded him as he finished his shift?

Got to admit it's a mistake to just keep him around the place, he needs to be moved on. It's not the end of the world by any stretch and it's not going to cost a lot of money but the message it sends out isn't great imo. He's struggled to make any kind of impact in any of the games he's played appeared and he's been rewarded with the offer, albeit on a lower wage, of a new contract. Love Howe but he does seem to have this blindspot when it comes to being ruthless about letting players go at the right time. I can understand the logic of filling the dressing-room with 'good lads' but not when they're appearing at the expense of our developing players AND producing zero on the pitch. Any contract he's offered shouldn't be based on what he's done but it should be based squarely on what he's offering right now and for the next 12 months and that, right now, is very very little

Think I'll check on capology for the truth

Still maintain he's deeply average and hugely reliant on his surname

You could hold up a pebble and watch it wither away over centuries. It's fucking glacial man

Gut instinct is to go immediately for the player Brentford want to replace him with Mbeumo would have been great here I think but he's gone for the glamour move and I can understand it tbh, they're still a huge club despite being fucking wank at actually playing football

I highly doubt he'd move to another team and play for free At his age he needs to be playing as much as he can for as long as he can. If he's content to just train each day and collect the £40k a week then that's up to him, his decision, his priorities tbh

Similar. I think Harper had more use to the club back then than Longstaff does now though

Not sure I could cope mentally with turning up for work every day when it's been made pretty clear that I'd not be needed/wanted/used or whatever. I know that's a bit dramatic and no-one would be sly with him but the whole squad would know he's only there because he is sitting on a contract and content to watch other people play football. That would destroy me I think, I'd be looking to leave on good terms, find another club and drop down a division if need be. He's got every right to sit on his contract btw, he's fully entitled to but I couldn't look people in the eye knowing that they'd rather I wasn't there

Fully badged up long sleeved delivered this morning - hot fuck, it's gorgeous. Lads are going to be dripping in clunge in Europe next season

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