The College Dropout

Many factors of course - leadership being in shambles and rapists and everyone knowing it about it being number 1 - but a major reason for West Ham's relegation is £20m-£Max Kilman transfers flopping. Not being able to absorb that has got them relegated. So for a success - they need major money.

Think he’ll have a great 2-3 year deal market next summer if he’s available for free.

Clubs will definitely try to get him on the cheap. He has what 1 year left on his deal?

Rashford is too sometimesy for the wages and work ethic

Mbappe has more talent. But Haaland plays within the confines of his ability. Mbappe doesn’t which means Haaland is a much better fit for a team.

If you sell a player for more than you both him, you can’t claim they didn’t justify their fee. Tonali would sell for more than the £55m spent. He’s justified his fee.

For Atleti or Barca

‘We tried’

Guehi would’ve joined had we put up the money. After the PSR issues we’ve started quibbling over small margins. Which led to missing out on Trafford and Guehi. If we’re convinced - we should pay that premium. We did that for a lot of the others. It takes a lot of conviction to pay £32m for a 19yo with 12 professional appearances. Or £40m for a 21-yo RB coming off 1 PL season and an ACL. We’ve not had conviction since. Played it safer. Not paid premium for possible future star players. I don’t count Woltemade because I don’t think he was high on our list.

The season Wilson scored 18 and for us shot us into the CL? In hindsight we should’ve been back in for Etikite after that 18 goal season but that’s perfect hindsight. I wasn’t for the DCL signing but it was a better route than the money spent on Woltemade and Wissa. Akliouche is another I fear we’ve waited too long. We need to get back to nicing decisively and early.

RM usually have really high sell on clauses so they don’t need to bring them back to just sell them. I think buy backs often require Real to keep the player for a year. So they rather just get the sell on fee. They never re bought Kubo or Hakimi just to resell them. They took the sell on fee (well in think Kubos buy back has expired). They brought back Morata and Odegaard and didn’t sell them for a full season. They did loan out Odegaard in the Jan window though.

There’s a lot of talented players out there. Do we trust our scouting, data analytics, profile fit and personality checks? Top clubs are very risk averse. Cherki was sat at Lyon for ages. He played 3 full seasons and was widely regarded as a wonderkid.

It’s really just Chelsea and maybe Spurs. We were 12 months early on Guehi but didn’t want to meet the valuation. We were 12 months late on Mbeumo, the time to move was the season earlier.

Nit picking here but they don’t have to be unproven - we just need to move early. The likes of Isak, Bruno and Tonali weren’t unproven but we moved early. Theres loads of players like that available every season.

I know footballers get good bonuses but often times the reported wages are so out of whack from what the financial reports reveal.

Nice. Interested in how that role plays out for him.

My point is we would’ve been poor in the league in the Europa league anyway. Fundamental issues with the squad and setup and extra games are still extra games.

Theres also the feeling. The feeling in and around the club shifted when she joined and it’s shifted again now that she’s gone. she felt real and tangible. When she spoke - you believed her. She would be in the dressing room, influencing the players and staff. If a lot of us think Hopkinson is a puppet - you don’t think people in the squad and around the club share that opinion? Is he telling the players the same shite he’s telling the fans?

I don’t like it at all. I don’t think you can win a World Cup like that. Would love to be proven wrong (again).

Don’t like the mobility of a Bruno x Casemiro double pivot in a 4-2-4.

It’s poor shot stopping, passing the ball to opponents in dangerous areas etc.

Love Pope. Wanted him in goal all season. But he kept making mistake after mistake. Not all resulting in goals but it’s at least one massive clanger every other game towards the end. I hope I’m wrong still. If we sign the young GK, I assume Pope will start.

True.

‘Watched in real time’ makes a massive difference. Haaland joined a dynasty, while they won a CL, the dynasty ended in Haaland’s peak. Haaland has reduced the sleekness of City’s attack. City won the big one but it wasn’t because of Haaland directly.

I love Saka but he’s guilty of it too. I don’t watch much Bayern but I assume Diaz and Olise whole inverted are the types to look for Kane