TRon

He's getting pelters for Brazil as well, so not sure it's just about what role he's playing.

He can't get Burn out of the side atm, so I'm guessing he's not much of a CB at any rate.

Yeah loads. Not if you are looking for an official statement, but Howe has spoken about players getting their heads turned, and plenty of journos are going with it. Of course nothing is true until it's written in black and white, just depends on what you want to believe.

Ok thanks.

But Murphy's on as well?

Who's gone off?

Not if Liverpool don't want to pay a big fee for him.

Some questions need to be asked about the untouchables maybe. Bruno, Willock and Joelinton sounds good in theory, but what are they actually doing out there?

Doesn't sound like the defence is up to much either. Can't get the stream working for this one so going by this thread mostly. Sounds absolute car crash stuff.

Surprised Tonali isn't in the starting line up, but can't really complain that Willock is in ahead, he's looked electric this season.

I can't see it with Eddie tbh, he'll go with Gordon. Personally I find it hard to believe Gordon would do a better job up front than a proper centre forward. I would also just tell Osula to go out there and cause havoc and don't worry about goals. Just bring in players around you and if on opportunity comes it comes, but don't worry about the goals.

All depends on whether Isak is fit for me. If he is, I would want a win and be disappointed not to get one, especially as we will have tougher fixtures to follow. But I've never really been convinced when Gordon starts up front, but would be nice to be proven wrong.

He'd have a job making an impact if he can't get on the pitch like.

I doubt that's taking into account we'll be going in without a striker.

I doubt there's space in any city for stadiums this size, unless the ground was already purchased decades ago when cities were less developed. I'm guessing most modern super stadiums are built outside of the cities where there's more open ground.

This is my view as well.

Yeah I don't actually think he's said a lot wrong there, Howe obviously had the same reservations. I think Hall will look a lot better once our possession game improves in general, then we'll get to see his attacking attributes more rather than the defensive positioning which is bound to suffer if you are a marauding left back rather than one who sits back and doesn't get forward.

I don't mind his aggression even if he does need to keep a lid on it at times, it's part of what makes him such a force in our side. I just wish he could sometimes slow down a touch and maintain control in the midfield areas. Although I guess because he's quite progressive with the ball he is more likely to be a bit looser with possession.

I think it's the other way round, it's a nice thought success can be achieved another way, reality would suggest otherwise. FFP/PSR rules are only going to favour the clubs already established in the cartel. What would be a realistic alternative way of achieving success in your view?

Well that is my point. If UEFA and the PL are looking to pull up the drawbridge and exclude us from the top echelons, we need the authorities to fear this going to the highest courts which would hopefully involve restriction of trade. There has to be a reason why Man City are probably the only club which hasn't tried to put obstacles in our way. Why would I back a cartel-driven PL over them?

I've already said in a previous post that I don't consider City as a cartel club, they are viewed as nouveau riche gatecrashers by the established big clubs such as Man U, Liverpool and Arsenal. The FFP/PSR rules are designed to stop them as much as anyone from challenging the cartel. Big spending is the only way to challenge the cartel clubs. You say we've spent a decent amount, but we would need to spend that again to get anywhere close to challenging for the title. That's how City and Chelsea did it. Even if City have their titles stripped from them, you still have Chelsea living it large on dirty money. I can't get behind any structure which allows the cartel clubs to maintain their locked in advantage. If the PL is implementing rules which aid and abet the status quo, they won't have my support in this matter either.

Personally I don't give a shit if everyone's made accountable because the rules are changed/applied to prevent challenge to Arsenal and Liverpool in the first place. If I thought the PL didn't apply FFP/PSR rules to prevent us from challenging the cartel clubs I might have agreed. We can't do what Chelsea did because of these rules, and now they are so far ahead of us it becomes almost impossible to catch them without spending like they did.

Yep it was taken from a google search, a site called Capology I think. 50k was on there along with everyone else's pay, I was using it as a base for discussion on future contract talks. It's not written in stone, I agree.

I made the 25k/week up off the top of my head. Since we are now discussing what a backup player should be worth, I looked up his salary and it's actually 50k/week. So if we agree he's probably looking for a pay rise, what would be paying him then? Do wages of 60k+ still look decent for a backup player? Bear in mind, if we sold him, as a homegrown player, that would release a lot of funds for a replacement, who if you are talking about a prospect, would be on a lot less than that.

Has anybody shown any interest in him at £15m? The only time I can recall is Everton when Rafa was there. I think a problem to keep him as a homegrown backup player would be his wages. I can't imagine he'll sign a new contract for 25k a week, and once it gets above a certain amount, you aren't paying backup player wages any more.