TRon

He doesn't look like a composed finisher. But then he still looks like a better finisher than Wissa and we paid £55m for him when he was hitting 30 yrs old.

He looked pretty good apart from that slip tbf.

If I was a PIF man reading that I would think let her and the new owners pay for the new stadium and training ground then.

We are at home. We still have a team full of internationals worth more than twice as much as our opposition in book value. I have to believe that Eddie can pick a side that will have the quality and desire to get something from this game, even if it's a point. 1-0 win.

It banishes any thoughts of relegation though. I know it's unlikely but it's not impossible, so any points have to be welcome.

Which has always been my position. That is why I consider present moaners as entitled. I just don't see a better alternative. No one else does either otherwise they would be presenting them or demanding PIF sell up. The moral objection is a valid one though, but not one I share.

That's backed up by what we saw in his final season here. He often ran into traffic when he was playing LCM and came in for criticism for it.

If you want to take everything literally, it's not 2030 yet. At the current time I think European qualification is the expectation which they publicly put out there.

However positive the summit was, we do need to finish the season on a high otherwise the questions over Howe's future will rumble on. I reckon a couple of wins at home are needed just to turn the tide.

Everyone wants more. Are we entitled to it? No.

Whether they would be good alternatives we'll never know. But he would certainly have been shopping in different markets.

Aye, nowt wrong with indulging in all the poncery, but maybe keep it private.

It's a pretty shit one.

Yep. I can totally understand the moral objections even if I don't agree with them.

You could argue that's mostly what Tonali does tbh. But then he can crack in goals from 20 yds and deliver set pieces as well. If we do sell him we need to make sure we value him accordingly.

I've been suggesting to find some way of getting Wolte and Wissa into the starting line up for a while now. I really don't think we have enough goals in the front line at the moment. Or even just one of them then bring the other one off the bench a bit earlier.

Without knowing the inner details, I think Mitchell tried to go down the value route and that ended up with the stand off with Howe. The club backed Howe based on our previous transfer success and his stature earned through success, and Mitchell ended up parting ways. With Wilson now in place, I think we have gone back to a more realistic recruitment policy which Howe has accepted.

Sounds like a massive downgrade on Tonali. You can keep him thanks.

Well Ashley didn't I suppose.

That should have been anticipated better than it was. I think there is better clarity now on roles and what is expected of each department. Last summer was a shitshow, Jamie Rueben going cap in hand to Isak's home was evidence of that.

We didn't really have a recruitment department last summer. I'm guessing the hierarchy have probably accepted some responsibility for that and hence willing to give some grace to Howe for that. That doesn't necessarily mean he gets a free pass, just that they take some culpability as well.

It's very unlikey that we will get there at all tbh, the rules have been put in place by existing superclubs across Europe to ensure they won't. Even entertaining such lofty ideals for a club outside the elite is only happening because of who owns us. I repeat: demanding any more is nothing more than misplaced entitlement.

Tbh, whether I agree with it or not, the public backing of Howe will put down a lot of uncertainty and that helps with our chances of finishing the season strongly. Hopkinson's lack of endorsement earlier in the season wasn't helpful.

Yep, they are certainly very deliberate and slow decision makers. I would rather they were quicker for sure. We aren't part of elite European football yet either, and PIF are probably are best bet to become part of it even if it takes a while IMO.

Yep, will be interesting to see if we offload him in the summer. If Howe really believes we bought a good player then he could still deliver 3 good seasons if we are optimistic. If we take a loss and sell him for whatever we can get, there's your answer.