STM

I watched Eddie's press conference and IMO he kind of implied that Halls transfer was a mistake.

To an extent, I do agree with @The College Dropouton this and have backed his view on not needing 3 strikers. Given where we are now and the fact that Wilson MUST be replaced. I'd be happy with either scenario suggested. Either we sign another quality signing, which has the benefit of giving Isak some rest and allowing us to be more flexible with Isak or we sign someone younger who's willing to play second fiddle/learn. If we were to sign, let's say Solanke, I don't see many down sides. Either he and Isak play plenty of games and dovetail (like Isak and Wilson were supposed to) or one of them plays the majority of the games and has an outstanding season. I take the wider point about whether 50m would be a wise use of funds but I suppose that discussion can only happen with knowledge of budgets etc. One thing is for certain, I have full confidence that we will have signed a quality replacement for Wilson come the end of the summer.

As long as he's in his garden until the summer and we still get a hefty fee.

The biggest mistake everyone seems to be making is that DA or any sporting director is a scout or that they are the sole contributor to transfers. Signing senior players is a small fraction of what DA does. He was building and overseeing the whole footballing operations at our club and that's what Man United want him for. I suspect a change in Sporting Director will have minimal impact on the sort of transfer business we intend to do..... unless we've decided we intend to use this opportunity to tweak our model... which is more than possible.

Watched that yesterday and it blows my mind how Souness never once looks at his own decisions during that time. He blames the fans, the media, the players.... never him. Also boils my piss that they took until the last minute to mention our injuries, which have been the overwhelming elephant in the room all season. Don't discuss our season without discussion injuries, just don't.

This would be my question also.

Totally agree. We might end up getting someone who isn't the centre of attention and benefit from it. I'm quietly excited about this being a positive change.

Has there been any links as to who we might be interested in replacing him?

As much as they are the enemy, I really struggle in taking pleasure in any traditional clubs having bad owners. After what we went through with Ashley, I really can't wish it upon anyone... apart from the likes of Liverpool/Man United. Really fucks me off the way hapless owners get basic decisions so wrong. Sunderland fans didn't want Micheal Beale, so why on earth would they hire him? Mental.

Also worth remembering, for those of a more conspiracy minded nature, if Dan Ashworth was caught sharing any confidential information, his career would be over. The whole point of having a good sporting director is to trust them... would be like marrying a lass who cheated on their ex with you... you know she'll do it again. He won't take that risk. He might be a judas cunt but he's not THAT guy.

I'm so proud of our club. Played a fucking blinder here. We either make a mint out of the situation or one of our rivals is forced to wait for their man. Man United can't afford to wait, certainly not past May. They will cough up. We will probably get north of 10m and in the meantime we can restructure our summer plans so Danny Boy can't fuck them up. Provided we get a good replacement... we've won.

You know you have competent people running the club when you could potentially get 20m for your sporting director. People were right, having Dan Ashworth would help our transfer department. We will probably get a new signing off the back of this. Get 20m or he has to spend 2 years gardening, sounds like a good deal to me.

Martin Samuel is a fat slob who writes articles with the same accuracy and precision that I throw darts at a dart board. If he gets a take right, it's actually because he was due one.

Don't actually think that matters. They just need to be good at their job.

I hope we already have someone to replace him.

We absolutely cannot play the same team. This week's line up that won't happen: Dubravka Schar Botman Burn Trippier Tino Bruno Longstaff Murphy Isak Gordon Something like this. Hit them on the break.

Don't worry, 90% of our fans are fully behind, even if they are slightly frustrated at the moment. Of course the 90% might be wrong. They may have backed the wrong horse but you will notice the 10% won't be able to give you a viable alternative.

Why exactly is he not a right fit long term? Give me the manager who you'd sack and replace him with? Should Liverpool fans have question Klopp at Xmas last year? Of course fans are allowed to question Howe but if you do, your arguement needs to be watertight given what's he's done since he walked through the door. What I see, is a bunch of entitled pathetic fans not dealing with a rough patch... an easily explained rough patch no less.

I really like the look of Solanke. He's got similar attributes to Toney and I think there's room for improvement. In terms of price. What's he going to set is back? 50m? While some might turn their noses up, that's standard fare for a good PL striker. Ultimately, I believe in the TEAM but the team can't function if some of its players are made of paper.

Tosin at Fulham is a great example of this. He's on a free (well kind of). He'd be a superb, low cost addition to our defence but if he wants slightly more in wages because he's out of contract, will we do a deal? Or would we rather spend 40m on someone who may be sitting on the bench.

These are my thoughts. I'd also say that I'd like us to be smart in the market. We don't HAVE to spend 40/50m on each position. Can we find a bosman or someone in the last year of their contract? I'm not saying change our transfer policy but we signed Trippier in his twilight years. Is there something that can be done there? One of my pet hates, transfer-wise, is the inability to think outside the box because we have a stringent "policy".

If our midfield is making an average defender in Burn look terrible, it's equally as capable of making an outstanding defender in Botman look average. Let's not forget Schars performance against Luton or Trippiers spell earlier in the season. I've seen enough shite Newcastle sides to know that a side which is wide open can make any defence look like mugs. When we lose the ball, we could do with not immediately have to be dealing with a 3v3 at the back.... its also coupled with the least pro active goalkeeper ever.

Surely the quote has answered your question? Hall isn't getting game time because he's not good enough in training. It's a damning indictment of Hall.

Also, given me AG10 and his blood and guts football over that floppy haired little cunt at Man City.

Rare that you see a player actually develop into the player they are actually supposed to be. He was an erratic, scribbler who had promise, he's now a fully blown quality PL wide player and there's so much more to come. If we can have him in a fully functioning side next year I'd fancy him to go even further. Can't remember the last time we actually signed a young player with potential and helped them flourish. If Southgate doesn't take him in the summer, he wants shot. Even as a sub he could win us a game.