TRon

So does anyone think he might be used as an option for the right side forward this season to displace Almiron/Murphy? Must admit I never really considered it previously as I saw him being used mostly to alternate with ASM last season but @LFEE seems to think he is a viable option for the right wing. Does that mean Howe won't think a Diaby type of signing is a priority?

That's fine mate, if you need them you need them. But wish your fans would stop calling us Oilcastle, and your manager would stop saying you can't compete with state backed clubs when you are obviously able to blow us out of the water when it comes to spending. You were able to pay the £60m release fee up front for Szobo, we weren't due to FFP. That's the cold reality, so we can't just spend our way to success like other moneybags clubs have done in the recent past.

Are Liverpool looking to buy an entire new midfield? Lavia, Thuram, Szobo and Mac Allister..... I know they had some issues in that area, but are they just bombing their whole current midfielders out?

Yep. And that's what separates the top 4 from the rest usually.

He's playing as a striker for England U-21's. If he's going to be the answer as the right sided forward I'll be surprised because like I said, Murphy and Almiron seemed to be the two go-to's for that position last season.

I don't think he pulled up any trees in those games then. I like him as a player, but he seemed to be alternating with ASM more in the games I saw. On the right it was mainly Murphy and Almiron, and while they did well enough, there were games where we clearly needed a step up in class. That is what we are going to need if we want to maintain CL qualification.

He's always posed a larger threat from a stats POV, the problem is his finishing doesn't match up to the threat. You could say the same for Joelinton and Willock. All good players in other aspects, but they don't make a habit of clinical finishing.

Does he operate on the right?

How would it work for visibility on a grass surface though?

Hence the alleged loan targets I would think. But we don't want a right winger? Either this is all fantasy or he really is more in the know than we think. Or maybe he just forgot to include that gap in the squad when he was making this up.

Don't know if it will be Lavia as such, but probably not the worst idea to let the Hallowed Six get their spending done and then bring in our own targets once the field is clear. I'm sure there'll be a few clubs circling the same group of players, so unless we really know someone is set on coming here, it makes no sense to push the boat out too publicly.

It's a difficult one. He does lack guile and finishing ability, but then you could argue he more than makes up for that with his sheer dominance and presence on the pitch. Ultimately I have to agree, I think while he's almost two players in one, he's not outstanding in one single area of the pitch like Isak or Bruno.

I love the guy, but his finishing needs to be better to be an A. He's more like a B++ for me.

Regardless of the formation, if you have three forwards, then they need to either be hitting the net regularly or setting up the others to do it.

Only saw the one goal which they were showing on Sky Sports last night but it looked a good goal. If they sell him then it would say a lot about the ambitions of their owners.

If Bruno and Tonali are going to be our CM's in a 4-2-3-1 formation, then I think it's crucial that we buy a right sided forward who can score goals. We have lots of pacy, skilfull wide players already in Willock, Almiron, Maxi and Gordon, but none of them hit the ball particularly well. That's what Liverpool have paid for in Szoboslai, he might not be a wide player as such, but he can strike the ball well. Miggy scored 10 goals last season and it was great, but is he going to do that every season? We need someone who can.

I'm pretty sure Emery doesn't play an over-attacking style, Tielemans would be a pretty useful player for a team which doesn't press forward so much and relies more on building slowly, or counter attacks. I think Youri will be a good fit for Villa for the same reasons he'd be a bad fit for us.

That's fair enough, I was there too when we were in the old second division. But then it was a level playing ground, most of the players in the football league were from the British Isles, even the black ones who had bananas chucked at them. Now we have all the world's big money players, whether investment funds, dodgy oligarchs or foreign states ploughing their money into our league. I just want to be on that level playing field. It's pointless being Little Newcastle local born and bred, when every other team is hoovering up the best players using foreign money.

Some won't like it, but deep down they must know that is true. It is going to be hard enough to break the hold of the Hallowed Six even with the Saudis desire to be top dog. Does anyone seriously think an American investment firm like Liverpool or Man U's owners would go that extra mile?

I think it might be more of a Diaby type now we've got Tonali. Someone who can play as a wide right forward or a striker to give cover for Wilson and Isak would tick a few boxes.

It might be part of a longer plan using Chelsea to lay the groundwork. They've bought a load of their players and shipped them to Saudi, once it's gone through, we might see similar deals for our duds, albeit at lesser values.

If the owners ditched us, that would open up the path for new more enlightened owners. At least that might give some supporters a feeling of relief.

Yep, that's my read on it as well. I think the RW will be the next big money spend, then we'll hopefully have enough left to bring in the LB as well as a few squad fillers.

If the Newcastle fans wanted the Saudis out, they could have them out within a month, just by holding large public protests against the owners. I'm sure PIF could sell up now and more than make their money back. But the vast majority of NUFC fans don't want them out. They are loving being fans of a club that is living and breathing again. That's not to say that there won't be plenty out there who aren't happy with being owned by a middle eastern investment fund though. They just don't represent the majority.

I should have phrased it better, when I said our squad isn't CL quality, I meant in terms of qualifying season after season. We massively overperformed to do it this season, but I don't imagine it will get easier next season if the Hallowed Six are buying up the best players. They will be getting stronger, and if they are buying the players we want, then it becomes a more difficult proposition again. Not that I would write our chances off at this stage, buying players is only part of the puzzle. Other teams like us and Villa can punch our weight through shrewd recruitment which suits our methods. Chelsea outspent us 3x over last season but they had no idea what they were doing.