Beren

then he could easily sell him on, and recoup most of our money back Under that logic, what's to stop him spending £100m and then recouping back most of that money?

I think the risk of relegation remains with or without Ben Arfa, albeit reduced somewhat with. It's easy to crucify Mike Ashley for not spending the money now, but if we buy him and get relegated he'll still be crucified so I'm personally going to withhold judgement - especially as the finances of the club are very much unclear. I think we have the resources already to stay up - not because we've got a fantastic squad, but because there are squads far worse than ours about IMO. We just need to utilise what we have for the meanwhile from the looks of it. Our first XI isn't half as bad (in comparison to other relegation candidates and we have some degree of cover - it's a bit early to expect 22 solid players!) as has been made out after the Manure game. Hopefully their belief and confidence doesn't drop and we endure what will almost inevitably be a very unpretty season to consoilidate our place in the top tier whilst maintaining the support of the fans.

I, too, am disproportionately proud of this!

Looks like N-O has a team to support in the CL this year

Am I dreaming?

One of those bets, ey? Indeed Hatful Loooving it.

Entirely okay with losing my bet so long as Young Boys qualify in the end

He runs like a bloody workmule ffs. He's a blunt weapon going forward but his stamina is ridiculous, you're completely underselling him here. We were lost with our laborius midfield when he didn't play.

Spurs -1 @ 2/1 (free bet)

Interesting match really. Same cathartic responses during the match, but I hope some of the comments made were just in the heat of the moment. The way we set out, we had no real outlet to release the ball and ease the pressure off us when in possession. That's fair enough if you're going to Old Trafford, but once you pick up yellows (from an incidentally bastard homer ref) and you concede a clumsy goal it gets more difficult. Fortunately we caught Man Utd on an off-day (relatively speaking) but I'm fairly pleased with that performance with the exception of Perch and Nolan. People have been cutting Perch slack in the pre-season games citing them as time to adjust/gain fitness, but I'll be interested to see how that defence progresses if he continues to look as vulnerable as he has been. Yes, he was against Man Utd tonight, but a severely below par one with very little intent and aggression. A more hungry Aston Villa will crucify him next week if he plays as tentatively. Nolan is captain and now has a monopoly on a vital position - the transition between midfield and attack. Not much has been made of him being given the captain's armband but I think it's a massive blow. Hughton's flexibility and willingness to change his mind if need be is a challenge I've been looking forward to - as all managers make mistakes, and I think he's made one with regard to Nolan. I hope he has the courage and lack of hubris to reverse his decision and strip him of it. Nolan profited with some cheap goals last season without really ever contributing to our footballing play, and I think we really need to make the best of the position - which he is currently wasting - if we are to stay up. New old Nicky Butt for me. Jonas got a lot of stick, but ran his heart out and put in a big shift. That's not to excuse his poor final ball, but we all knew he struggled with that before this game but he did show some improvement and worked tirelessly to the end including a few decent balls we didn't make the most of - which is more than you can say for Nolan who disappeared after five minutes. Very little of it came off, but I still maintain he has promise and deserves our support and, even, continued patience. Good attitude and think he will do better in the future - especially as he provides us pace which we are very much lacking in. Carroll obviously was really tenacious and performed fantastically. Hopefully he'll have a better formation to help him out next time. Heads didn't drop and looking forward to the next game. :clap2:

Can't help but Started off as a few fancy rolls, and then he realises there's a slope and gets genuinely injured

It was high and behind Shola tbh.

Good ball by Jonas.

G'WAN SHOLA!

Shame Barton got booked still got the 9/2 anytime Smart bet tbf

West Brom's half-time team talk?

Damage limitation please.

C'mon, don't let your heads drop - get to the second ball!

That's a yellow.

This. Understandably, it's natural to speculate from the bits and pieces that we do procure/deductively reason, but it seems unfair to hang the club for not throwing money at this when we don't know the situation inside out. It seems clear though, at least, that we don't trust the club/management to act in our best interests if many of you feel we can afford to secure Ben Arfa but are reluctant to spend for our survival!

This is overtaking Lush Lasses.

I do feel nervous, and excited even, but I don't know why - the rational part of me knows what is coming.

I totally sympathise with the sentiment, but I don't think that's necessarily true - a case could be made for the club being financially responsible in this instance. Having said that, I'm not intimately familiar with the true state of the club's finances so it is entirely possible that the club is just being tight.

Not especially high to begin with, but on days such as these I lose all productivity.... and there's still 6 hours to go FFS!

3-6-1! Some fresh-faced writer probably saw Jonas at the World Cup and thought that was where he always played. If not fresh-faced, then some uninformed writer.