TRon

The relaince on a few too many shit footballers was always likely to catch us out at some point.

They don't really look like scoring so that's a plus. We only need to up our game a bit and we win this.

That's the mark of the lesser footballer. Noticeable how efficient Bruno is when he receives the ball and gets it out of his feet, equally it's noticeable how slow the likes of Longstaff and Burn are, needing three touches to control it then taking an age to find a pass....which is usually backwards.

Add Longstaff and Burn to that, and it's not hard to see why we can't pass our way out of a press.

Nah it's nothing to do with them, they have some dangerous players, it's more about our clumsy football.

One of those games where the lack of quality in about 30% of the team is bringing the rest down.

Well at least they are defending ok. Can't really say much for the rest of our game.

You would expect they would get stuff like that right before going to publish. I know technically they aren't wrong, but that's not how salaries are usually reported when it comes to players wages.

Yes but given we will have limited funds to spend, I just can't see us allocating any of them to a LB after we spent £30m on Hall.

Let me just enjoy tonight, I can dwell on the consequences if and when that happens.

Schadenfreude isn't experienced through the nose anyway. If you cut it off to spite your face, the cockles of the heart would warm up to compensate double to make up the difference.

Hunt them down!

Same. Doesn't matter if it defies logic and reason, when Liverpool or West Ham are playing I can't rewire the brain into wanting them to win. I was really pissed when Frimpong ballooned that one over the bar before he actually scored. Fucking clumsy twat.

Well seeing as we aren't finishing 5th I don't really give a shit.

I don't think we can really lose with Wilson. If we can get a decent fee it will go towards signing a replacement as I don't think we can afford to give him another contract with his fitness issues. If he stays...well he is still a top marksman if he's in good health.

We won't be spending £70m on a CB.

I think you should mate, scandalous misnaming of a beloved local area.

Exactly. While I agreed in principle that you could argue no one offered us more for Maximin, those parameters don't seem to apply to the cartel clubs.

Why didn't anyone else offer £40m for a 29 year old Fabinho to Liverpool?

I still don't understand that approach since Liverpool and Chelsea sold players for huge amounts which they could never have commanded from clubs outside of Saudi.

Well that's the whole issue. Not so much Arsenal or Man U, but clubs like Chelsea and Man City have been able to fast track their way to the elite by owner investment. Since FFP and PSR have been brought in, the drawbridge has been pulled up, effectively creating a cartel of premier clubs who have locked in their advantage which just compounds year on year. It's now almost impossible to break into that top tier without outside investment.

Doesn't he only have a year left on his contract after the summer? He could just run it down and leave for nothing.

I think for most of us it was just great to have a coach who knew how to set out a team with an identity. A lot of people criticise him in hindsight but for me it was fascinating to see us play to a plan with a man who clearly studied the game meticulously. I can't stand Liverpool, but pretty sure even after all their recent glory they will still have a healthy respect among the fanbase for what he did there.

I'd be happy enough with that tbf.

I think the argument made was that if Wilson's workload is managed then he would be less prone to injury. Where do we get a third striker who is going to score goals without spending a shitload of cash? The only way we buy another striker is if we sell Wilson, and for that we'd need a buyer who will pay enough to fund a replacement. I'm struggling to think of one for the £10-15m we might get for Wilson.