Zero

I am fucking sure once Rafa left, Lascelles will follow. Fucking sure about that.

In short, it works.

Nah. Team bonus must not be included in the contract. Personal achievement bonus may be but obviously now it's the former that's the issue.

We should all find a new club to support. Enough is enough.

Rafa won't sign unless fund is guaranteed.

No. The fact that he turned down two contracts from the club clearly shows who really got the power. It isn't a secret that Ashley wanna force Rafa to sign the extension by limiting the funds. To me it is pure desperation because if ultimately this pissed Rafa off and he walked, we are left with a team heading to relegation and no manager would come to save us. Ultimately it would be Ashley who got the hit again. Rafa can easily find another club to manage given his record last year. The game is still in Rafas hands. It's true that we failed to spend huge on one to two star players to bring us to the next level. However I would say Rafa has managed to sign the players we needed for consolidating our status in EPL. If Rafa has given up, he could easily do nothing and wait for one year. Now we got a reliable GK, a new CB, an established midfielder, a competitor for Ayoze (finally), Kenedy for at least another year, and another EPL proven striker in the expense of one that failed to perform (Gayle). These are extremely important signings. Our team is no longer a Championship quality team, despite we spend nearly nothing.

He won't lose in any case. Ashley is the only loser, either handling the new contract and funds Rafa required, or got a massive hit financially in coming seasons due to relegation. The transfers we did so far clearly indicates Rafa hasn't give up yet.

He is still here because he believes he still got a chance to turn the club around.

I don't think it's pure coincidence that Ayoze was having a great 2nd half when playing alongside Kenedy. We need covers anyway. The Muto deal is a great deal by all accounts.

Good bye. You deserve a chance to prove yourself in EPL and sadly it won't be us.

I can guarantee you no Chinese player has the quality to perform in EPL.

Heard that he is pending work permit to seal the deal.

He can play there just like what Perez did. I don't think that's what you want as a "striker" in EPL though.

Okazaki also played like that in Bundesliga. Typical Japanese forward. They may be able to play as a "striker" there but no way they could replicate that in EPL, just like Okazaki would never be able to lead the line. They are excellent supporting casts behind the main striker though.

We have 4 wingers, and Murphy deserves more playing time, so unless we can move Ritchie I think we are done here too.

We need Bryan, a replacement and preferably an upgrade for Merino, and a new Striker. Longstaff to be the understudy. That would be "fine" for this season.

Just play him in our next friendly. We don't need to force a sell like that.

I genuinely think the two signings are related to this. Great work. KEEP IT UP.

He is not a striker. Fair enough, all my knowledge on him comes from his whoscored page. Is he an outside forward? A second striker? Yea basically like that, just like Ayoze, a No.10. Of course you can stick him to play upfront but his natural position is a wide / second striker. A good signing imo. We badly need someone to play No.10 when Ayoze is in bad form. Call me nitpicker, but I think we need someone that improves on the dudes that play badly no matter their form! I just want to look at NUFC's squad and be able to say "yeah, this guy will do 10+ a season". Not 15, just 10... I understand your point, I just think when Ayoze is in form he is our best player, so it is a bit harsh to hope someone cost under 10m could already be our best player lol Like Ayoze, Muto can play striker when needed, but he is definitely not the "striker" type we want to lead the line.

He is not a striker. Fair enough, all my knowledge on him comes from his whoscored page. Is he an outside forward? A second striker? Yea basically like that, just like Ayoze, a No.10. Of course you can stick him to play upfront but his natural position is a wide / second striker. A good signing imo. We badly need someone to play No.10 when Ayoze is in bad form.

He is not a striker.

I think I can give some info: 1. He is young It's correct. He just started his professional career at the age of 21 which is normal for players from Japan. Although he is 26 this is only his 6th season as a pro. He is young. 2. He is quick Correct but he isn't as quick as Bellamy. Please also note that he suffered ACL 2 years ago and his right knee is a concern. 3. He is talented I can't provide much proofs on this but 3 years ago Chelsea approached him and got turned down because he wanted to learn his trade in Bundesliga and thus chose Mainz instead. It is a good gamble imo.

Correct

Come on, I can feel, it is another make it or break it time.

Correct, but my bet is three years.