The College Dropout

Tuchel has started very poorly

Maybe work is the wrong word. Was it a an effective idea and execution, a worthy risk, a viable plan etc. When you are up against team(s) with more resources, any smart moves can be overcome by the additional resources and quality the other teams are able to utilise. Doesn’t make it wasn’t a good choice that gave you the best chance of success. Liverpool have better players than us, 6 other teams have more resources than us - anything we do will require luck and risk.

If Liverpool had scored a second in the league cup final, would that mean Howe’s tactical approach didn’t work? The approach was a good one and it gave us the best chance of success. If we ended up losing the match because Liverpools bench was much stronger, that doesn’t negate the success of the tactical and motivational approach. By your own calculation the risk cost Villa £20m. Thats the cost of a bench player for them. And they should make that back in the difference between Europa League and no European football. Villa having saleable assets is a different matter but semi related. If we go for it with permanent signings, we will also have saleable assets.

I disagree fundamentally. FFP is all about the short term. For us - 2 years, back to back CL football can become transformative. It will give us the buffer to falter in a medium term or compound success. We need to consolidate our successes. That requires taking a risk. Either we add to our class players and confirm ourselves as CL regulars. Or we sell them and fall further behind. We take a calculated risk and fail - we sell Isak. If don’t take a risk and fail - we also sell Isak.

The approach worked - it just didn’t land the spot by a whisker. By the end of matchweek 24, they were in the CL, FA Cup and 4 points behind us and 5th place. They ended the season with the same amount of points as 5th - taking the race to the last game of the season, while playing 6 more games than us in that time. And more games prior. The approach worked. It made them competitive on 3 fronts and was a bit of luck away from being a complete success. If we take the approach that leaves us without enough quality in-depth, it will not be close. We will not qualify for the CL or Europa League and many on here will call for Howe to lose his job. As for the particular loans - we’ll only know late in the window who will be available as usual. Players won’t make squads or first teams and deals will be available. Same in January. We need 4 quality additions to the team to compete on multiple fronts. If we don’t it will take a miracle for us to requalify for the CL. Isak and Tonali will be liable to leave anyway. Whether it’s all permanent transfers or a loan or 2 - we need that squad.

It can help us get a squad that can compete in the CL and requalify for the CL without a long term commitment. Not qualifying for the CL is a worse option for me come than a £5-10m cost of a loan that might make the difference.

I think with PSR this might change.

Yeh it's common sense. Eddie doesn't care if you cheat on your wife or act a bit of a bellend so long as you are an excellent professional. Sancho doesn't work hard enough, turns up late and doesn't sleep enough due to gaming and I do think Howe will be weary of Grealish's like for a drink or 8 due to professional reasons. Someone like Bellingham, seems an excellent professional. His mum probably still makes him go to sleep by 11pm.

Sancho isn't an Eddie Howe player. And Jack Grealish - what would he do here? Wouldn't get a start at LW.

Ange has had a good career. He doesn’t deserve that from a fucking journalist. I don’t even think Bruce deserves stuff like that. But if a professional footballer wants to stick the boot in - fine - they were colleges at least and they have first had experience of them. But a journalist? Get to fuck.

Why? NUFC are still hamstrung - despite all the loopholes others are using

Could easily get the same £125k + a 8-figure signing-on bonus next summer at Arsenal, Chelsea, Man City or Liverpool. Edit: Do agree he would be interested

That's still my point. I don't think they will take a 40% reduction on their value, especially as Guehi won't push for it. I think 15%-30% tops. If we land him, it's not going to be much of a cut-price deal*. It's been a long time since a PL club has done that with a top player because of a contract situation without the player pushing. Again, I don't think they are dependent on his sale, to get his replacement. *Unless Palace circumstances suddenly shift. I also think Guehi is happy to run down his contract. He'll get more money and a bigger club if he does so. What are Palace going to do - not play him?

That's a positive comment.

Yeh i'm not sure of the costs and valuations. But I don't think Palace will accept 50% out of desperation. That doesn't tend to happen anymore unless the player kicks up a fuss and Guehi won't for us. Therefore, I don't think a deal is that much easier to make this summer because of the contract situation unless we spend close to the asking price.

England are always uninterested in playing well and winning matches. Same narrative for getting relegated out the top nations league. Very arrogant players and fans for a nation that hasn’t won anything in 60 years.

Never seen the hype with Felix.

It would be easy to forget if not for the £50m links for Elanga

They could buy a £20-30m defender anyway. That's the difference between now and 10 years ago. Palace don't need to sell to buy.

Wharton & Tino have 2 caps combined. They need to get used to playing in the Senior team, playing under that pressure (and it's real pressure to perform - no matter the opponent) and getting used to being in the squad and media duties. The World Cup is only a year away.

Palace fans are correct about the weird transfers.

I've had no faith in Tuchel. Weird squad selections, poor performances etc. Not enough is being made out of selecting Kyle Walker and Henderson over the likes of Wharton and Tino. Jude Bellingham has fucking 40 caps and won a league title and CL. Declan Rice has as many caps as Paul Scholes managed. We don't need experienced heads for the sake of it.

You've used the same figure I have @TRon. I just don't get the impression Palace are doing the "you've got 1 year left on your contract, you need to leave now so we get a fee" like Leny Yoro's club did. And even then they got market rate with 1-year left on his contract. Likewise - I don't think Guehi is pushing for a move either. £30m doesn't make or break a club like Palace anymore.

I don't know what it's going to take. IMO Guehi's market value is £50m so that's where I got my figure from - it's 70% or so. If Parish genuinely values Guehi at £70m I think he'll demand £40/45m+ or not do a deal.

They let Zaha go for free. I think established PL clubs are sticking to close to their valuation of their top players. I don’t think they would accept anything under £35m and would be willing to let him go for free if they don’t get such an offer. Time was PL clubs would be desperate to get a fee - any fee - but I think that’s changed. And also players are happier to sit and wait to move for free and more clubs are happier to wait too. Rudiger. Alaba. Trent. Tielemans. Kamara. Christensen. Gomes etc. so many players are running down their contracts. Clubs don’t make good bids so they get kept. You still get clubs in Europe desperate for a fee. Any fee. But that’s not the case in the PL for established clubs. Desperate for a fee is like getting 50% off market value. I don’t think Parish is willing to do that.