Elma

They said on commentary three games so out of the tournament, which would be the expected punishment for violent conduct.

You say that and we have been shit, but we've also had the best chances second half. Lascelles, Parkinson x2 and Anderson aside from his two goals. Wilson off the bar with a half chance too.

He's got form for that.

Where's that from? They are the team I follow in Scotland so would love that.

Which, if true, would say a lot about him. Maybe perhaps it's because he was (possibly along with Wilson) the main man under Bruce. Nowt else was happening anywhere on the pitch and he was given licence to get on the ball and attack. Now it's an organised team game under Howe, with absolutely no passengers, and he's not the star man anymore.

Is that yellow top in the dressing room in the Tonali reveal photos the new home keeper top? Haven't been on here for a while so apologies if this has been commented on already.

That's always been my preference anyway. Reminds me a bit of this classic:

I went Schar. Best season for us by a mile. Botman wasn't far behind mind bearing in mind his age and first season in a new league. Could just as easily have picked Joelinton, Trippier, Longstaff, Almiron or Wilson.

You can never rule out Liverpool going to Southampton and scoring five or six if needed, so if we lose on Saturday there's a fair chance it's going to final day and the stress that brings. A point means we can still finish it at home before then. A win means we're nearly there as I'd fancy us for a win and a point from the two home games, and although I don't want to go to the final day we'd also have that for insurance. Still hoping that Villa can do us a favour at Anfield and reduce the points required.

Maybe not hate but I'd had a dislike of him for some years before he was appointed manager for the way he'd treated Palace amongst others - and he then did the same to Sheff Weds when he came here. I know he supports Man U more than us - that and the fact and he was at Sunderland doesn't bother me at all. If he would just stop going on about how he's such a big fan of his hometown club, keep his head down, and get results I'd tolerate him. However, after spending around £100 million more than Rafa ever had without taking us forward (points wise) and actually taking us backwards in terms of tactics and organisation, he's not managed to sway me. All fans are fickle and I'd probably have put up with him if performances had been decent, but no… In the context of the Premier League (not Ashley) it was a bizarre appointment. We were the only top flight club who would have considered letting Rafa walk away and thought it was reasonable to replace him with Steve Bruce. With seven wins in thirty-four league games, two of which were against already relegated sides, he's done himself no favours at all.

I wanted us to go for Rodgers when it was obvious Rafa wasn't going to stay, but by the time he'd gone Rodgers was at Leicester. I'm not sure he'll jump ship but I'd be very happy if we got him. I'd be OK with Martinez as well - we've maybe got a better chance with him as I've a feeling he'd want to return to club football and the Premier League specifically.

Not been on here for a while. Just came back on to see the reaction to the takeover. With the Graeme Jones connection I could see them having a word with the Belgian FA about bringing Martinez in. Knows the league and plays an attractive style of football. Nice to be realistically speculating about Bruce replacements anyway. Thought we were stuck with him and Ashley for years to come.

Went four. Would be a shock for a Rafa team over a whole season to go down and think we'll be OK, but will be shocked if we're as high as tenth again. We're only a few injuries or a complete fallout between Rafa and Ashley, causing Rafa to walk, from being pretty much nailed on.

There are some decent Beşiktaş classic shirts. Just stumbled on an 88/89 XL match worn Ferdinand shirt available for $5,000. There is also a Demba Ba match worn away shirt (2014/15) for the slightly cheaper $500.

Am loving the fact they are away at Blackpool at New Year's Day while we're at home to Man Utd. September's fixtures hit hard too; Oxford, Fleetwood, Burton, Rochdale and Coventry.

I'm no accountant and I agree on the timing being very suspect, but a few things I think I can see in there: We made £125.8m in the relegation season. We will make more in the current year as we've got that coming in in prize money alone. Add in gate receipts and commercial revenue and it should be higher than that. Those losses in the last year don't include Gayle, Ritchie and Sels, which came out of the previous year. Therefore we signed £30 million worth of players for the relegation season which was included in the £80 million net from 2015/2016, when we still made a profit. If Ashley is happy sitting with his loan at £144 million, and isn't trying to claw back the £15 million he had to put in due to his incompetence at running the club and getting it relegated, then why shouldn't we be able to offer Rafa a comparable budget this year? They also alluded to payments for the sales of players being staggered (we knew about the Sissoko deal structure) so some more of that cash will be coming back in too. The wage bill is obviously high and I'm not sure when we get this year's prize money (?), but I can't see any reason why at least £40-£50 of that couldn't be released this summer, with the sales of Mitro, Mbemba, Sels etc topping up the pot. That would give Rafa nigh on £80 million without breaking the bank.

Gerry Armstrong

True. Look on the bright side though. Maybe 'almost in' helped get him his advertising gig later in life?

A shout out for John Bailey (once of this parish), although against the grain of the thread I'm probably one of the few who remember his goal against Luton in 1982. https://twitter.com/forgottengoals/status/859399151792082946 Remarkable as he only ever scored five in his career (none for us) and this one was from his own half. Scottish keepers eh?

David Platt

Agree with the above. I also preferred the promotion shirt to this season, so I don't mind going a bit thicker on the stripes for a change. Should be no other colours in use than black and white though. Wish we would stick with a set of colours for one of the change shirts too, ideally yellow for me, maybe with green.

I wouldn't rule him out going to Arsenal and I won't relax until they've appointed someone, but as others have said, I don't see it. Having browsed their forums 24 hours after Wenger leaving was announced, I only found five mentions of Rafa. Two were throwing the question out there - 'What about Rafa?', one was saying he didn't want the 'Spanish coach driver now doing a job in Northumberland', and the other two were actively pro-Rafa. The majority were focussed on Tuchel, Rodgers (who very much split opinion) and Vieira. Coupled with Arsenal's own statement it suggests he's not in the running. If he did go there it would be Chelsea all over again as they think they are better than him and the majority would be on his case from the first minute. In my opinion he'd be a fool to go there. What will Rafa do? Well, if he gets assurances from Ashley I think he'll stay. He loves everything about the club apart from the ambition at boardroom level. Wenger leaving could actually work in our favour as Ashley knows how the club will tank if Rafa goes - on the pitch, off it, the works. The barrel he has Ashley over just got a little bigger at a critical time of negotiation. If he doesn't get those assurances and Arsenal do indeed come calling, I think he would (regretfully) jump ship and take a punt on them, hoping to do what he couldn't do at Chelsea and Real and win the fans over. I'm just hoping Ashley pulls his finger out and makes him an offer he can't refuse as soon as possible (not holding my breath).

Fleetwood Mac-kems

?

Our next game couldn't be funnier either. At Everton, who they 'relegated us' against, with Fat Sam as manager, for a place in the top half of the Premier League. Mitro is nailed on to score against them Friday as well. Its in the stars.