The College Dropout

I know it's not your intention. But following your posts you would think Isak has been brilliant over the last 18 months and Wilson has been ok - which isn't the case. Obviously I rate Isak higher and his potential is scary. But I think they are much closer in effectiveness (in different ways) than you are making out.

From what i've seen McTom is a better athlete than Longstaff. Or at least quicker and more powerful. Longstaff is an enduring runner but not a quick one.

I disagree. He's good for a scrappy goal because of his movement and aggression. He occupies defenders and keeps them busy. The Brighton consolation, it's just a hopeful ball then he bundles past the defender. I love Isak but he's either on or off. He's a threat in behind or on the dribble at times but in most duels he's a non-factor. He can press effectively but often due to his lack of stamina, the press is non-existent or poor. He's losing a ball pumped up towards him 9.5 times out of 10 - with ease. Wilson probably loses it 8 times out of 10 too but he wins a few on occasion and at least makes the defender work for it. Wilson has some level of hold-up play imo.

I like McTom.. it's just the profile I think we need to diversify. I could imagine had we not qualified for CL, us going for McTom instead. We wouldn't have that night against PSG though.

This is true and a good point but he did score 11 goals in 20 in the Champ at 21 - that's impressive. That suggests he should be a top-level Champ striker in the future which is a £20m player easy. I don't think the others are good examples though. Iwobi is an example of the big club premium I'm talking about. Alex Scott earned his reputation as a standout player in the Championship and Forest are barmy (with Chris Wood being a proven PL goalscorer).

Also playing for a big club increases your chances of getting international recognition. You get some caps and your value increases further still. I like Mason Mount but if he swapped clubs with James Maddison, it would be Maddison with 40 odd caps and Mount with a handful. Eddie Nketiah is in the England squad. He doesn't sniff it if he's at Palace. All these things add to their value. Meanwhile AG has 0 England caps. That will contribute to his undervaluing atm. And some of the big clubs genuinely do have great academies these days. City & Chelsea in particular.

If they played for midtable club - would the fee be the same?

I doubt it. I'm not confident he gets a PL move either. Maybe a promoted team. You think Everton or Palace would play £10m for him?

I think the Henderson deal wasn't a premium. And Pereira too. I think he had a decent season in La Liga at some point. But the rest? If they were Everton graduates or signings would they get such a fee? The big clubs traditionally get good fees for their academy products. Playing for a top club is like being an international. it boosts a players profile and reputation. I think in time the Elanga fee could look like a steal. But I don't think he had done much other than play for Man U, have a bit of pace and work ethic to demand such a fee.

Elanga had scored 4 professional club goals prior to joining Forest. He is a Swedish international but overall - there wasn't a lot of pedigree there to demand £15m. If he played for us he wouldn't demand such a fee I'm certain. Likewise Garner was a Championship player. How much would we get for Anderson?

Almost 40m euros combined for Elanga & Henderson. They probably could've got £25-30m for McTom. 10m a piece for Garner & Pereira. And best of all.. a full 30m euros for Dan James.

The point is Man U players (when they are not on astronomical wages) tend to sell for a premium. Our players do not. So saying they wanted £50m for Scott Mc doesn't mean anything because (1) nobody paid it anyway and (2) Man U can genuinely command higher fees than we can.

Think I can avoid a FH by using transfers. I desperately need Richarlison anyway. Toney in for Watkins is an interesting move. Think I'll wait and bring him in for Darwin next week.

He's not a Man U player though. That fact is important. I would be surprised if a non-Saudi team offered more than what we paid for big Joe.

Don't get me started on Palmer..... Ok i've started. Instead of Barnes. We have Barnes & Gordon who prefer to play on the left. Both top 8 quality at worst with Joelinton also an excellent option. Isak too if needed. Then we have Almiron & Murphy for the right. Both well short of the level. With Gordon & Joe for the left wish Willoc/Isak as back-up and Palmer, Miggy on the right with Murphy as back-up, it's a much better balance. Likewise, Palmer is a passer and a creator, brilliant in tight spaces. We don't have anyone like that in our attack. He's exactly what we needed. Barnes is not similar to Gordon. Our best team has 1 of our best 2 wingers playing out of position and I'm not even sure that's what Howe considers our best team. 1 might need to sit on the bench. Truthfully, I don't think Howe wants that style of player. The wingers we get linked too are runners. Howe seems to prefer having the same profile as depth rather than something different.

You missed the previous words - outside of England. We beat them at Wembley. I don't think England has ever beaten a top national side in the latter rounds of a tournament outside of England. That was a weak Germany too. A weak Italian side beat a generational Belgium, Spain & England (away) in one tournament. We've never come close.

I was saying in the thread. In my lifetime our football heritage is 0 upsets or wins against really good teams at the business end-of-cup competitions. Our best wins are against 00's PSV and 90's Spurs. We'll break it this decade, I'm convinced. But I think we're like Man City in that we'll have to be genuinely better than the opposition to win that first one or some type of generational curse-breaking performance. Arsenal in the FA Cup can get it done, likewise, Chelsea and Liverpool just have that belief that they can win any cup competition. I couldn't see us winning a cup final the way Man U beat us last season atm. Particularly against a "bigger" side. We are a bit like England in that sense. Outside of England, when have we dealt with a "top" nation in the latter rounds? Not ever. Most of it is down to ability but there is something missing mentality-wise. Maybe I missed it but I couldn't see the FA Cup semi under Souness where we got smashed by Man U.

Palace are not getting relegated. Hodgson is getting more respect than Vieira did but he’s going to have to get sacked.

At the end of the season you want to face the teams right down there. They are right down there because they’re shit. Some mid table teams hit the beach and fall off. But most seem to relish the lack of pressure. Players playing for moves. Play for spots at the euros. I remember we went to Burnley in the last game of the season. They needed to win to stay up. Smashed them.

Chelsea can’t make it happen because off FFP

That Villa collapse might actually happen.

Madrid have 3 ACLs too.

No but it remains at 9 - no? So if he gets to within 1 or 2 games of the suspension limit moving up (GW 30 is it?), he's better off getting a second yellow. Getting a 1 match-ban - when he returns it's now 15 yellow cards for a suspension not 10. So he needs 6 yellows for a suspension.

Only the 2nd most left-footed player in the division between Giles of Luton and Dwight McNeil according to The Athletic. He gets extra points for being so left footed and playing on the right though. Trippier & Bruno top 20 for most right-footed players. But boy are those right foots special.

If he gets to 7 or 8 he might be better off taking a second yellow, no? That will give him a 1 game suspension rather than 2? And then he's only got to get through 1 or 2 games before it moves to 15?