80

Football was a booming industry, like the internet in the same period. The sums were always going to explode, with some gambling and failing. I think there might even be an argument Abramovich helped propel that boom, even if I don't like it. The only real regulations that might have been good - which, surprise surprise, are still resisted - would've been around club owners having to take on the risk, rather than the clubs themselves. Money paid up front, no debt implied.

So it's great for a couple of state owned clubs and a very small clutch of clubs with extraordinarily wealthy private investors whose business models may well involve getting rid of promotion and relegation to lock in their investment and quintuple it's value. Villa's suggestion is nice enough and would work for us but I'm not really interested until a team like Derby or Norwich can plausibly win the league again. In the mean time, football should continue to be the meritocracy it always has been - invest well, be run well, or sink.

I don't think such things meaningfully exist. Outside of becoming more American/Socialist and letting Luton and Sheffield United draft Rodri and Haaland to have another crack this season.

Oh no, I hope football doesn't lose its virginity. It's so innocent and pure and well-functioning right now. A league where only 4 members of a 92 team competition can hope to win 'respectably' is already through the looking glass.

Don't totally disagree, but the more I've thought about it, the more I've thought he's looked like he did when he first came here and - somewhat unbeknownst to us - was way off the pace fitness wise. Not making speculative runs he ordinarily would, not tracking back as much to conserve energy etc. And I think he detests knowing he's not up to scratch which helps make him give off an attitude. This recent England call up plus increased fitness will hopefully have him back to himself in the next couple of weeks. Stability at the board level would probably contribute too...

Lengthier version of that interview up on the app. Decent watch but think there's plenty to read between the lines on Gordon's views about our and his ambitions. No real surprise.

Maybe Howe detected he was being lined up to be hung out to dry.

Would be quite an achievement to remove every major figurehead closely associated with the astonishing revival of the club in the spirit of making improvements (Eddie, Amanda, Mehrdad, Steve Nickson, probably Bruno and Gordon to fund a total overhaul of the squad makeup). We must have a lot of faith in Eales' vision.

Wait till we see both Tonali and Longstaff start, at Bruno's expense.

Watched the conference. God he's a consummate professional.

Still here when Freedman rejected. But supposedly their departure had been on the cards for a while, so it's plausible them going - or at least a lack of clarity on the board situation - fuelled his decision. There are a few things that can be reassessed from the last half year with their departure in mind.

...and it's already been mooted in the honeymoon period that Mitchell is seen as potentially being here for a relatively short amount of time (e.g. 3 years) rather than forever and ever.

We did have an exceptionally shit pre-takeover squad, mind. A perfect blend of the talentless, the overpaid, the elderly and the infirm. We'd have no problem selling Livramento tomorrow. I agree we should have been shopping him around but a) we can't make them take him, and b) do people want Eddie encroaching on the Sports Director's territory or not? I'm not disputing that I've wanted us to do a lot better at moving players on, but I am disputing that it's definitely Eddie's prominence that's responsible for us not doing so.

He's been consistently effusive about him, which is nice.

*Subject to that being confirmed as Eddie's fault. It could just be that all the buying clubs don't and didn't want to buy him for the same reasons we wanted to sell him. There have been consistent noises around him being available for a year now. I would hold it against Howe if he was the one resisting taking a decent fee for him in the past, but I'm not in a position to say that right now.

Cue Mitchell coming out and saying he went for a stroll with Howe in Rothbury just yesterday

Gutter that we never got a fee for him.

...This, though, reads like disloyal hysteria. It's what I've been getting at for the past couple of weeks. If in doubt, trust the people who've consistently delivered the goods and nurtured and protected the club with their every word and deed. If within two months, Eddie Howe has suddenly become a millstone around our neck who is putting his personal preferences ahead of footballing success, that tells me there's bullshit afoot, not that a whole new unambitious side to his personality has emerged. Doing a 180 and talking about getting rid of him this quickly is ridiculous and playing into the hands of arseholes.

It's probably good news if Howe has made changes to training in consultation with Bunce. And potentially surprising to be honest, subject to the details. Among other things it palpably demonstrates his willingness to engage and seek improvements. I'm sympathetic to Bunce being brought in, not least as impacts in fitness and such are generally tangible and clear. It was a concern of mine throughout last year that our training might be unsustainable - particularly with the added load of Europe and our current echelon of player (highly talented or God-tier athletes but generally not both until we reach the tippy top). And as I've said in the past, there comes a moment when running faster and trying harder is no longer an option when looking for ways to win. In short, I agree it's good to have things livened up with fresh ideas, perspectives and personalities every so often. It's part of how you keep a leader vibrant.

Read to me like he was partially walking back his original aggressive take on the interview, rather than declaring civil war. With Waugh doing the same thing in a similar article today, albeit from the opposite end of the spectrum. They seem to be settling on it being a badly handled interview.

Yes, respect to Krafth but this is a no brainer.

So you're saying 12 points clear by Christmas?

You could be onto something there... I would like us supporters to be a lot slower to believe bad things about people at the club who, going only by the evidence of our own eyes, have offered nothing but the utmost commitment to the club.

Main thing I'm taking out of this is Isak is trying to get players to join us rather than looking around for himself

Aye, Sanusi might get some minutes in cup games if we're winning by a good margin, but that'll be about it unless we're having a very ropey season again. He said in an interview that Howe had set him a target to physically develop this season to compete against men, so that'll be his main focus.