Kanj

it hasn’t been reported by anyone else but Hardy. I can’t see the article though so no idea what it says. others have been praising Hammond for his links to that agency that helped us get Trip and Wood in the last week so the report seems weird. Ryder just mentioned him again in a chronicle article re: Delli Ali. It seemed like he was there to push paper and be sounding board to the owners.

So Hammond is gone?

Issue is they literally see Botman as the long-term captain and leader who has a tremendous ceiling.

Dub Trip Lascelles Schar PD Sean Shelv Jow Wee-man Maxi Wood if PD can't start: Dub Krafth Lascelles Schar Trip Sean Shelv Jow Wee-man Maxi Wood

There is 100% a physical issue with him -- whether it was covid or that foot/toe injury he sustained. He's not anywhere near as sharp as he was last season. This whole playing for a move thing would make sense but his pace, his trapping, etc. are all off.

Real ones edit Big Joe prior to starting career mode. But yeah, I go on an absolute tear - brand new starting 11 apart from Maxi. whole new bench, loan and sell everyone else off over the next 1-2 windows.

Willock was fast AF last season and this season he's lost 5 steps.

It's the litte things too with our midfield - no positional awareness or intelligence when we are in possession or trying to control the game. Pep said it best in some video I saw of him, but it's the simple shit like passing into space while a player is in stride, the proper foot when someone is in a position to score, etc. We're always just so terribly sloppy.

I highly doubt FFP has any impact on what our owners are thinking right now - given its a lookback at a few years and they are yet to announce any of the commercial deals that could literally offset every single pound we spend.

If Lille aren't going to change their mind or move the goal posts again then I think we should take the risk and make that offer and sign him. value seems fair - he's got loads of potential, he's commanding, he's good on the ball, he's good in the air, and they see him as our future captain.

Nagelsmann leaving has really hurt RBL. I was hoping Marsch would do well but he was also let go. Tough goings losing Sabitzer and their CBs too. Nkunku, Haidara, Dani Olmo, Laimer...

The players will be in state of the art facilities

You realize how mad that sounds right? It's a crowd sourced / volunteer based valuation scheme on the other hand it's kind of fire and pretty cool too.

Just happy @Rich has returned to his full posting glory.

Transfermarkt is not some legit source on value

Lack of real face in fifa for Carlos, Badi, and Eki are quite frustrating.

Hence why it's been frustrating seeing people on this board say things like "why didn't we get this deal done before January?" "just pay more!" If it was that simple everyone would be doing that.

Zakaria is apparently available for like 6m euro

If Rafa had his way he’d likely have already been here by now.

certain Rafa tried to sign him for us.

Had the prior owner pulled the plug on Bruce earlier this season or the summer and brought in a halfway decent coach, we’d be comfortably above the drop zone despite the lack of quality and options in the squad. The new owners have had to learn on the fly, have had to deal with very obvious bias and fear amongst the other PL clubs and the constant media scrutiny incapable of accepting a woman like AS as part owner and asset manager of the club. Nobody in the media is rooting for her to succeed, or us for that matter. It does make the entire job more difficult when there’s a constant lens on us. “Richest owners” nonsense is such a lazy thing to say. Yes we have the money, but we’re 19th in the league and nobody is doing us any favors. New owners are massively successful folk who will make mistakes but the difference between now and before is that we finally have owners who care about the club and hopefully will own up to mistakes and make changes when needed.

Wood always seems up for a battle on the pitch (defending and attack), he always seemed to score against us, weakens them (even if he's not in form) and hopefully he bangs in 5+ goals before Wilson comes back and earns us 3 points against teams we should beat. Underwhelmed but clearly we're in a stage of desperation and we need bodies in before Watford and need someone with presence who can actually keep this team within a shape as a focal point. Good signing, fee is wild, but could not give a single fuck what we pay for any player anymore. Big picture thinking must prevail ... do whatever it takes this season to stay up.

Prob use it to service their debt

Not even bothered, just fucking stay up. Whatever it takes.

I’m quite certain all Newcastle fans would be celebrating a real targeted and ruthless approach at transfers where we’re buying a Botman pre Lille where there’s definite potential and star power but still needs to prove it on the big level. The difference before under MA is that we had no coaching or training to build these players up and we’re constantly in a relegation threatened position.