STM

Nope. Stuff only happens when im busy and not checking my phone every 10 seconds.

I think the assumption is that Man United will get it right at some point, likely with another manager... at which point signing actual quality players like Cunha and Mbeumo will pay dividends.... as opposed to shite players like Sancho and Antony. When you look at the financial outlay on the four players I've mentioned, Cunha and Mbuemo are absolute bargains in comparison.

Anyway, Elanga will be class for us and in a years time, id wager he will be worth more than whatever we are paying.

Good old Martin. Straight and accurate. Have no doubts whatsoever in him. FWIW, the geordie journos said similar. Newcastle didnt even make an attempt at him once they heard what wages he wanted. Im not saying he would have chosen us anyway like. It's going to be a significant financial outlay for Man United. Hes a good player though. I'll be interested to see how it works on the field.

Oh that's right 250k was only to CL clubs.

Nailed it. Id have had Mbuemo over Elanga but since hes asking for wages way beyond what hes worth, fuck him. If hes willing to put on that shirt, in front of them knackers, clearly hes not the right man for us.

People dont hear anything in a day and start inserting their own negative theories. Give it a rest man. The last seemingly accurate information was that Forest were happy dealing at 55m but there's a few add ons and clauses to iron out to get it rubber stamped. My feeling is that Howe wants him around the squad next week, so the deal will be done in the next couple of days. I just dont see a scenario where this doesn't happen. Elanga is sold on the move, Forest have all but given up keeping him and we are willing buyers. Even in the improbable world where another club gazumps us, I think Elanga is pretty much set on us and I wouldn't want to pay more than we already are.

Where's this?

That's because (dont take this the wrong way) but our fans still haven't got to grips with how much players cost in 2025. 20-30m gets you a decent player these days, discounting the odd Huijsen deal of course. We only signed Botman/Bruno 3 seasons ago and they were 35+ish IIRC, both of whom would cost us 50 now, in the same situation. We've been linked with Scalvini for 30m which i can't imagine for a second is accurate. If we get him for that we've done Atlanta dirty IMO. To sum up, them signing a couple of 20+ers means they've linked signed a couple of decent players but they are likely 6/7 players short of what they will need to survive.

Certainly if we can get a couple of quid for one of our midfielders.

I wasn't really aiming it at you. It was just general. Just as an example, I dont consider Man City bigger than either of them clubs but that's just my perception, which I'm sure is completely irrelevant to any modern fan.

If you want to really judge a club, judge it not on their silverware or their stadium capacity but on the passion of their fans for the club they love. In both of these Leeds and Forest can be considered massive clubs.... and there is a difference between them and a Brighton for example.

The big club debate is absolutely AIDS inducing. Nobody ever comes at the argument from the same angle. Most PL/Championship clubs are massive by most standards. Arguing who's got a few more trophies through history, who's got a bigger stadium, always seems a bit odd. There's always an argument. We weren't big because we hadn't won anything, now we aren't big because we've only one the league cup and if we won the PL we wouldn't be big because we've only won 1 PL.... and on and on. Just have respect for other clubs, their history and what they are trying to be.... apart from Sunderland of course who are tinpot, small time cunts.

Or new contract + release clause of 150m only to clubs outside of the PL.

In fairness, we got Tonali for that but Sandros dont grow on trees and if they did we'd sign more of them.

Elanga and Osula dancing GIF please.

Nailed on. Hes 23 right?

It's a great point about his fitness record. We are quickly to use it as a stick to beat potential signings with but when a player has a good one, we rarely factor that in. With a big schedule next year, it will be nice to have two players in Murphy and Elanga who generally (touch wood), dont get many injuries. Murphy and Barnes won us a cup final and its more than possible that they won't be first choice next season.

Absolutely. It's not an exact science (see Gordon) but when another club loves a player, its a very good sign.

While i understand and accept the point that signing Elanga doesn't exactly provide us with a different dimension, what he does provide us is a younger, better and more polished version of Murphy (without actually losing Murphy). It's also worth noting that we are better footballing side than Forest, with better players around Elanga. I expect he will more than smash any expectations of him next season.

Our strategy all along will have been to low ball, to make our higher bid look better. Going in at 55m would have been a real error. If this happens, I bet Trafford happens quickly off the back of it, confirming my theory that all of these transfers and the fees attached are inter linked because of budget constraints. If we can get those two, that's a decent starting point to attack the rest of the window.

I know football isnt important but from that perspective, I can't imagine how crushing it is for his teammates. They are going to need some real support.

Not only that but the footage was very much suggesting a conversation along the lines of "we will talk about it". Which at the time I didn't think much of but it makes sense that Mitchell was axed shortly after.

I saw people's comments first and then had to scroll back to see who. So young man. Just married 5 days ago.