TRon

A lot of those negative scenarios can be guarded against by making a signing like Pedro. Not only someone who can play alongside Isak, but someone who can potentially fill in if we end up selling in a year's time.

We actually have to overperform season on season to qualify for the CL. The big clubs not only have more spending power, but they can hit us with a double whammy by using it to sign the players we need to close the gap. We already lost Delap and probably Cunha and Mbuemo to direct competitors. If you believe the rumours we might lose Pedro and Trafford to them as well.

But it does show that being a massive club is relative. Liverpool are a major city so always had potential to be a big club because of their catchment area. Paris would be similar I imagine for the same reason, and also the international awareness being France's premier city.

I heard that Liverpool weren't really considered a big team until Shankly's era, then they had massive success in the league and in Europe and that cemented them as legends across the world. How much of that is true I don't know.

I doubt it's true tbh.

I think the ethnic mix of Paris now as compared to a few decades ago might have changed that historical view a bit though. Those with African or north African heritage tend to follow football ahead of other sports so I don't really see PSG becoming a small time club again. But if Le Pen grabs power who knows. They might re-nationalise the French league and start using Parc de Princes to sell goats and pigs in the not too distant future.

Agree with this. While I understand Trafford is worth paying a bit extra for being battle hardened in English football, I saw us linked with Lucas Chevalier as an alternative. He looks like he's going to be a top GK as well, if we can get him for significantly less and his club are easier to deal with, I wouldn't be unhappy with seeing him here.

I posted something about worth keeping him for an extra season seeing as we are in the CL a couple of days ago. Haven't bothered to trawl through all the hoo-harr shite, not really interested.

You might be right. As stated already, I don't really follow French football, this is just my perception that a Paris club had the potential to be one of the world's biggest. Maybe once the money dries up they will go back to being a farmers league. Maybe that could be true of Man City and Chelsea for that matter. They were well known clubs when I was growing up, but certainly no world beaters. Money definitely catapulted them into the stratosphere, and being associated with London and Manchester probably helped.

I think we only have about 4-5 players at most who can demand top wages anyway. It's probably worth paying them to keep them onboard if we have aims to be considered a top club as well.

Paris being Paris is always going to attract eyes, same way as London. I accept that the French League wasn't much of a competiton, but that's not what I'm saying. My point is that PSG being based in Paris always had the potential to be one of the biggest teams in the world. I mean, that's how it has played out right?

What are their crowds like now? Are they still playing in front of low turnouts? I only ask because I seem to remember they have a very vocal presence at St James during the CL fixture, and their home game looked pretty well supported.

British players tend to regard Newcastle as a big club because of our fanbase. Not sure foreign players would be that clued up about Newcastle.

You are arguing over semantics. Let me correct my poor wording then. PSG were NOT one of the biggest clubs in the world, but they always had the POTENTIAL to be that as they were based in Paris...which is definitely one of the most famous cities of the world. Hence why they got bought by the Qataris.

The London factor counts more for foreign players. It's a cosmopolitan city with far more options for a foreign player. Newcastle is pretty good as well tbf, but they don't necessarily know that as we aren't as well known. Plus Chelsea will pay more so there's not really much we can do about that.

But that sort of reinforces my original point that PSG were one of the biggest clubs in the world. Maybe in the doldrums but being the club of the biggest city in France they always had the potential to be big hitters. They were sleeping giants and Qatar recognised that.

Chelsea is high end London as well. It might not have a historically huge supporter base, but you can imagine it would be a top attraction for foreign players wanting to be in London.

I don't follow French football so not about to argue. I just assumed because they represented Paris that made them the biggest club in France. Even so, I imagine that's what attracted the Qataris when they wanted to buy into the French league.

I did think once they landed Delap that would leave the road clear for Pedro, but they might have read how we are planning to use as a support striker/wide man to Isak and thought "Hey! We can do that as well!"

PSG were already one of the biggest clubs in the world, and I don't think they had the opposition at home that the cartel put up in the EPL. Just got to look at the legal hoops Man City have been put through to fight against the PL cartel to see it is a different kettle of fish here. You are right, there are hacks around it, just not sure Newcastle are the club which can push their luck like Chelsea can.

We might not like it but clubs like Man U and Liverpool have more pull than us because they are considered one of the biggest clubs in the world. Doesn't help that they can offer double the wages we can to players on top of that.

Not sure about that like. UEFA has the most powerful clubs in the world in it's portfolio. PIF couldn't even buy their way into the PL unhindered, let alone the rest of the big hitters in Europe.

His ideas obviously clashed with Howe's, that was not going to work and we've basically wasted a season because of it. Hopefully this will bring some clarity and Howe's team can get some transfer business done quickly now.

I wasn't talking about the numbers, it was more a mindset. I thought both him and Wilson were hungrier when they knew they had competition. It didn't feel like that in the last month of the season just ended where it felt like he was playing because there was no one else. You can't give everything if you aren't 100% fit. I also think it makes you lazier when there's no one at your back ready to come in if you are not performing.