TRon

It seems like some still think that the Saudis are going to put NUFC ahead of their own national interests....that's just not going to happen. But on the plus side, NUFC doing well is now also a matter of pride for them, so the two aren't mutually exclusive.

The difference with Ashley's plan is that the end goal is to win stuff, not to make a quick personal profit at the expense of the club.

We don't want to obviously, but if we are going to, at least we'll triple our money.

It will probably be in the summer, maybe for around £15m. His injury record will put a lot of teams off. Of course if he stays fit until the end of the season he could end up with 15 goals again and if we end up in Europe giving him that contract won't have seemed such a bad shout.

He's said the same thing the last few weeks tbf.

Not for £20m they won't. It has the feel of trying to get £15m for Dwight Gayle when he was around 30. Teams would probably pay it for a player who was likely to play most of the season but they aren't daft enough to pay big money for a striker who has a 40% turn out rate.

I've got an uncomfortable feeling that with Wison being out for at least two weeks, Sunderland might fancy their chances more on Saturday if they cripple Isak early on in the game. This is the problem with having injury prone strikers, if one goes down then you are left hoping to God that the other one doesn't get crocked in the meantime.

Of those only Anderson is the one I would trust not to break down again.

That's even more embarrassing. it just highlights how desperate they were to copy the design of our club badge the inadequate bastards.

Loans would have seemed the obvious short term solution, but I guess there might be a feeling most of our injured players will be back by the time we could get someone in so it would be a waste of money and disruption to the squad. I don't really buy it though, we are short of a midfielder and a keeper for most of the remaining season, and you could argue we need a striker and wide man as well given Barnes doesn't look that close to returning.

Agreed but I imagine the powers are willing to give the manager the benefit of any doubts they might have in that regard given the wonders he's performed so far.

To dispel the image of a club ravaged by fewm and local jealousy would be my guess. It hasn't really worked though, they'll be fewming even more now.

We absolutely should be keeping an eye on future managerial talent, but of course that doesn't mean we believe any less in Howe who also falls in that category btw. Howe will be judged on what he produces with a full squad where he can compete with his peers, he's not been able to do that since September. But obviously we have to be prepared for all eventualities just like any other aspiring club.

Something seriously wrong with that scenario. Either we are giving out contracts based on sentimental attachment or FFP is screwing us to the nth degree. Don't tell me we couldn't have found some 30 yr old similar player who could do a job for a couple of seasons if we weren't worried about FFP implications.

Other way round for me. I've been praying we draw them in the cups ever since Pardew's era of derby humiliation, can't wait to put them in their place. If we don't win at least we'll know that some players just aren't up to it and we'll get some clarity. My only concern is for players like Miley who shouldn't really be expected to be street levels above theirs. Anyone who's earning more than their lads needs to show up.

Yes, and Man U became a legendary club on the back of the Busby Babes tragedy, although that was hardly their fault. The point is, FFP is effectively protecting a cartel in the same way a proposed ESL was trying to do. No promotion or relegation. It's not that different to not allowing any up and coming club to spend as much as the established big boys.

It just allows other clubs to spend their way to greatness the same way Chelsea and Man City did. Liverpool and Man U you could at least argue were already mega clubs.

It's more infuriating when they put their Captain Hindsight specs on. I'm sure if everyone had known he was going to be banned for a year we'd all have agreed it was a terrible signing.

Yeah we can't call him world class now by any stretch of the imagination. He's more the exciting new breed looking to make a name for himself - which he's done very well for two years now.

There's obviously a deal there to be done but we can't afford the permanent clause of £40m. If City would agree to a loan for the rest of the season it would happen I reckon, but they aren't interested in a loan, and can't really blame them.

They might be world class managers, but we don't have a world class team yet, and might not do for another 3 years unless FFP is challenged and removed. But the real point is we don't know if Howe is that world class manager elect. What if he had a world class team instead of just 3-4 genuine stars? Doesn't he deserve the chance to show what he can do?

Given the state of their town it's not that surprising they always felt a bit angry.

I actually think quality counts more in games like this, inferior players can only offer more running and passion they don't suddenly develop skills and precision. But if we are well prepared then we can match the running, keep our heads and carve them to pieces.

It's a nice time to be there tbh, lovely warm weather at this time of the year.

It doesn't have to be written off, but it's unfair to expect a certain level of results if you aren't in a position to bolster a badly flagging squad using the transfer market.