Unbelievable

Huh? Bloke has played 57 minutes for us this season. 57 minutes

Because he’s made of glass. We’ll be lucky to get a few sub appearances out of him.

I’d rather we start Osula in the Brum game. Let’s be real, Wilson is going to miss of what remains of the season and then leave us in the summer, whereas Osula has a future here, hopefully.

Can see how that deal would make sense for all parties tbf

Is this the same Luuk de Jong as the one who scored 277 goals in 636 games of professional football?

I’ve wondered the same, and if indeed this is Bunce’s influence it is working. Back when we were rotating Isak and Wilson Isak would often look noticeably more tired towards the end of games. I think he looks more consistently himself (great) now. Like you say, the same goes for Murphy whose fitness is more managed by early subs. Also Tonali looks like he could run a marathon after the final whistle, plus we have far fewer injuries than previous season(s). Evidently something is working at player conditioning level and long may it continue.

I’d say the biggest difference is last year we were playing Dan Burn in Hall’s position, whereas this year it’s Isak in Osula’s…

Then after that straight off to Betfair to place a bet for him getting booked at the weekend

Yes. Clearly that is the (new) problem we are facing, especially as Europe looks an ever more likely prospect.

I think it’s abundantly clear that we cannot, under the current regulations like them or lump them, afford to strengthen the first team. I’m a bit surprised at the lack or (reported) signings for the academy though I must say. I imagined that might have been a priority considering the previous point and the fact that building up the academy is critical to any future success we may have.

My heir has arrived!

Yes and no. In a true Howe-ism I'd argue we don't need to worry about other clubs' revenue growth, but we need to concentrate on our own. What Man U, Spurs and the others do is beyond our control and only indirectly relevant to our fortunes, because as we've proven since the takeover this club can punch above its weight when galvanised and united. Similarly from 15 years of Ashley we are also all too astutely aware of the devastating impact a non-commited ownership and a fractioned relationship between club, players and fans can have, such as what is brewing at Man U and Spurs. Put it this way: I'd rather be in our position right now than in theirs even with the artificial restrictions imposed on us and that it all feels a bit fragile still. This club was always a sleeping giant and it is slowly waking up under proper management and direction both on and off the pitch.

If I take Spurs' numbers (commercial growth of 261m in 2023 to 297m in 2024, or 13,7% growth year on year) and ours (54m to 90m, or 66,6% growth) and use those for extrapolation we catch up by 2027 and have double their commercial revenue by 2029 (the five years you claim it would take to catch up at current numbers). Welcome to the miracle of compounding. Now of course I take your point that there are limits on the value of our commercial deals and that we will not continue to have a 66% year on year growth, but as long as we will continue to beat our competitors in commercial growth figures we will catch up, and quicker than you think. How are we going to continue outperform our competitors you ask? By continuing to outperform them on the pitch, because that of course is crucial. There is a good chance our existing deals with Adidas are incentivised, so that our commercial revenue increases the higher we finish in the PL and for CL qualification for example. Also we could renegotiate or break contracts for new ones. In any case, with the PL now having to prove that a proposed deal is not FMV (as opposed to the other way around) it helps our case enormously if we continuously outperform clubs with much better commercial deals. Sporting success will bring fan interest, which in turn will help generate more commercial revenue. It's not rocket science. And yes, things can change a lot in football in the space of a few years. You mention the big five from the eighties. Three of those five currently languish in the bottom half of the table. If that carries on it will impact their revenue. We are on an up cycle, whereas some of the big six are on a down cycle. As long as we keep doing the right things we will catch up.

Everything being equal they'd beat us mate

I disagree and I will keep arguing this. Sporting success drives commercial success, and we have owners and a commercial team now determined to grow us massively year on year, and so far exceeding their targets. At this rate we will catch up commercially with the teams you mention within a few years, and that is not even taking into account the hit those clubs' revenue will take if they continue to not qualify for CL. Things can go very quickly in football as in any sport.

Aye, one for the realistic transfer options thread.

Surely not both?

These people haven't the faintest, have they..?

I don't want European football if it's not CL now really. It's utterly achievable from here (without distractions from mid-week European football), and the non-CL competitions will challenge our small squad in much the same way as CL without the added benefit of a substantial increase in TV and commercial revenue. Anything other than top five and CL would be disappointing from where we stand today imo. For me CL was always the season target anyway.

I appreciate the sentiment that we will want to hang on to our best players, and I have consistently maintained that he's by far the most irreplaceable of our "purples", but realistically if we want to progress as a club we will need to send players eventually, and at peak value preferably. Alexander is only just 25 though, so I hope we indeed manage to extend his contract in such a way that it doesn't completely hamstring us strengthening our squad in other vital positions, and have him to enjoy for a few more years at least, until either we are challenging ourselves or we sell him for an absolute bomb allowing a rebuild that will see us challenge. Either way, we have struck gold with this lad, and here's hoping we'll be able to enjoy his mesmerising talent for many more years to come. Maybe one day he will fire us to titles and European glory.

Figures. No way he'd have burried that one on one if he was his normal self.

Which one?

FT: not the best performance, but some sexy goals and an important three points. Onwards and upwards

Tonali’s engine is insane