Theregulars

Surprised he could pronounce tiki taka. "Wot's that 5-a-side stuff that lot from Barseloner play? tic-tac-toe isn't it? Just like the king can steal your lunch, he'll also nick your playing style".

Literally bought a Muangthong jersey in Bangkok last weekend. Getting the shit numbered out of that.

Can't wait to order my TBC - DIAME shirt.

Honestly, fuck him. What an absolute scrotum.

You can play attacking football with a DM in place. Learn to tactics mate. I can literally imagine Pardew sitting Ben Arfa down on the bench and saying "learn to tactics, Hattam".

I think if you gave me the choice I'd genuinely take Gayle.

Hopefully he's diametrically opposite to sissoko in terms of effort put in.

In the same way that some posters say Mitrovic should be given a chance because he played in a shit team/under shit management last year, perhaps Clark has played a significant portion of his young career in a shit team/under shit management. Perhaps Rafa - a notoriously arduous scout and student of the game - sees attributes to Clark's game that make him a valuable addition for a promotion push and consolidation thereafter.

Twossa Sissoko.

He's not as good as Sissoko - that's why we can buy him when we're in the Championship and it is likely that Sissoko will go to a club in a superior league. I don't think the difference between them is astronomical, but bear in mind during his entire time with us bar 10 games at the end of last year Sissoko worked under a shit manager.

Fits into the description I'd use for all our signings made this summer: "astute".

Not that fussed as he can be a bit of liability both in relation to temperament and the occasional hospital pass, and his injury record is poor. I think he would be pretty good in the Championship though. As long he's replaced it's fine by me.

Aside from Colback, none of the players you quoted "stunk up the Premier League". Elliott had a pretty good season, in reality. Janmaat was not as effective as in his first season but was still a serviceable, if flawed, right back. Anita was useful at full back and average to below average in midfield. Tiote actually had one of his better years. Dummett was fine defensively but poor going forward. Perez had a difficult second season but looked useful in parts, overmatched in others. Mitrovic had what was completely to be expected for a 21 year old in his first season in English football, albeit he missed too many sitters. With the chances he had, he should have scored 15 goals. Colback was unfettered, flame-tipped garbage. I certainly don't expect us to walk the league but I'd be extremely surprised if we didn't secure automatic promotion.

I am very much in the camp that putting him or Sissoko in a side where they aren't surrounded by dross and expected to be the sole creative outlets will end up being beneficial to the purchasing team. It's all too tempting to just say "he's a bottler"; he's just not the kind of player who turns a game round single handedly. He's very useful in a fluid passing/counter-attacking system. I think he'll be decent for Liverpool and it will piss me off a lot. With that said, there's a slight part of me that thinks he's a 7-a-side player.

So basically the majority of the squad will be players drawn from clubs with Mourinho, Klopp, Pochettino, Wenger and Guardiola as manager - can you imagine a 2-week break from that to "land ball on Kane's head and get stuck in"? I'm more interested to see the damage that he can do to those squads when he gets their English players in his large, sweaty bucket-hands. In terms of predictability of failure, this ranks alongside McClaren to us.

Wouldn't be remotely surprised if he was better than Williamson and Taylor so it's an upgrade, not sure why there would be any complaints.

It's petty but fuck selling to Liverpool. In a few years we aim to be competing with clubs of that ilk, so I don't really want to be selling them our better players (which he is, whatever you think of him) unless it's for an inflated fee which obviously gets us a more suitable player/more suitable players.

Bury St. Edmunds. There's a nice town.

Cambridge as a whole is really pleasant, Oxford university campus is beautiful but the city itself is grim. Not sure about Leeds or Manchester, never been impressed with either. Exeter's quite pleasant re: southern cities.

Welled up a bit, what a twat.

Is this another idea for reforming football? If so, put it in that thread please.

I feel like he looked better than he is in our absolute desperation and misery because he's quite good and he actually tried hard. Says more about the state of our club than him as a player. Would have liked to have seen him stay because I think he could become better with good coaching and playing in front of an appreciative crowd. However he's a grown man and if he thinks this is best for his career, then that's his call. To my mind, giving up an opportunity to work with Benitez to be coached by that malingering skid mark of a human is incomprehensible, but we are in the championship and - because we lack good players - he's on the cusp of the England team. It's short-term thinking, but it's understandable.

I don't think so, he has a release clause. Rafa can figure a way around that. Rafa is above the law. Depends entirely on the wording. I've not seen whether it's automatic must sell or they get to talk to him. Either way, crap move for him if he goes but all the best and good effort.

This, so much.

Rafa could always say no.