Yorkie

This one still has weeks left to go so rating it at all is stupid, but there were so many terrible ones under Ashley that I'll be surprised if this ends up worse. Year after year of rubbish recruitment which, by 2016, had accumulated a totally broken squad led by a clueless manager which ultimately relegated us. 12/13 and 13/14 we signed one player in each. 14/15 delivered a load of crap with each new signing more powderpuff than the last. 15/16 was finally something progressive but the rot was terminal by that point. All of the Rafa ones delivered hits but the penny pinching was in overdrive once we got back up. He did amazing with the paltry resources he had to work with. 18/19 might have been the worst of all despite bringing us wor Fabi.

Good to read. (Hope)

I think the financiers would just rather deal in certainties. Besides I think his value drops anyway by virtue of him having one year less on his contract.

I almost daren't go there but I'm not convinced that's what we're facing, as fans. If that's really what's happening, Howe won't stick around so I guess we'll just have to see. I would much rather see how the rest of the transfer window plays out before making conclusions on what the club's strategy is, plus we've got a new CEO and SD supposedly waiting in the wings. Processes should improve then. Selling him to Liverpool is absolutely hideous but I probably land on the 'player power wins out' side of the argument, particularly when PSR forces us to maximise our sales (we rejected three bids from Leeds, apparently!) If he's adamant that he's going now, the decision makers probably see getting as high a fee as possible as being in the best interests of the club, regardless of where he goes. An uncertain destination for an uncertain fee this time next year, or £100-150million right now... the club is always going to take the latter approach in the current environment. It's a miserable reflection of the game these days but that's the context we're living in imo. There's no need for anyone to spiral into Ashley-era doom on the basis of what's happened so far this window.

- PSR means we can't waste money so targeting PL players reduces risk - Our target is improving on 5th not 19th or 12th - Tonali Not defending the execution but the reasons are pretty straightforward imo.

I've been an unashamed superfan of Rory Smith for years now (though I think he's gradually died up his arse a little bit, the more he's featured on mainstream stuff) and his takes are always interesting and thoughtful. He's absolutely right that selling a star isn't the end of the world. I was prepared to see us sell Bruno for megabucks this time last year, on the basis that it might fund growth. I'm pretty sure I'll have used the Coutinho example, as he does there, when debating it on here. However - in the context of Isak - making the case for selling to fund growth is pure strawman. Even moreso is harping on about how PSR saves the wider football network from more state-funded success. That's not the point. Plenty of Newcastle fans wouldn't want that either. The point is, PSR makes the playing field uneven and this potential deal - after they've already invested unholy amounts into their attack - highlights that issue perfectly. He's got a blind spot when it comes to PSR, probably entirely accountable to the fact he supports Liverpool.

It's not as simple as "we don't have money," but I'm sure certain no one wants another day of discussion about how PSR impacts the competitive balance, and how that stacks up against our own structural issues this summer.

I haven't minded it since the first leaks tbh cos I do like a green kit. They should've just binned any association with the Tyne Bridge though, just let the design speak for itself. I quite like it but it doesn't look anything like the Tyne Bridge, so they might as well have not bothered saying anything.

He's scored some right fucking blasties. Signing buzzy young strikers from the continent is always gonna be an exciting prospect, whether you've seen him or not. If we got him and a more seasoned PL striker (if it's DCL, so be it imo), we've addressed the Isak thing pretty well tbh. I've never seen him play.

I also think Man Utd should sign Watkins. Weakens Villa too.

Does the fact that Howe obviously rates him count for nowt?

nee dopamine for a few weeks and now we're a 'Saudi mess of a club'.

I think it's pretty difficult for us to avoid 'setting a precedent' when literally everything is stacked in the favour of those clubs operating without our constraints. If we can offer bigger wages, maybe, but we can't, because our revenues aren't high enough. And then the things (like Isak) which really help with revenue-building get snatched away.

I like the idea of incorporating a nod to the Tyne Bridge. It's a shame they... didn't?

Loans are surely mutually beneficial a lot of the time (e.g. cases like this?) Helps the player's professional development, it's affordable recruitment for the receiving team, it strengthens the assets of the loaning team.

If 'NUFC is a clownshow and a shambles and this is all a result of our own ineptitude' resides at one end of the spectrum, I quite like this as representing the opposite end.

Agreed, and this sounds like the right sort of deal. Ramsdale has a chance to demonstrate that he's the successor to Pope and then that transfer is already in the building this time next year. If he's not up to scratch, it's 'thanks for holding the fort' and back to the transfer market we go. If reports were to be believed, Pope was always likely to stay first choice so if people have got their knickers in a twist about there being new No1 in the side, I don't think that was ever on the cards. Get this done (and hopefully Dubs/Odysseas out) and it's job done in terms of keepers this summer. Really not worth the angst.

File under low risk low reward, I guess. If Dúbravka is away we need another keeper and if we can get a PL-experienced one on loan as we resume the search for Pope's successor, fine. Seems fairly pragmatic, just un-exciting.

We'll have a CEO and SD in for that one.

Feel quite encouraged by that update if it's true. I'm pretty sure Brentford can data mine a lad from the continent who's probably good enough to score a few goals and keep them locked in mid-table. That's the gift of having no ambition beyond financial stability.

Course it would. If it wasn't for the very emotionally-charged Isak thing, we're just lamenting the slow pace of incomings imo, rather than completely losing our marbles. And the two things are unrelated for me; Isak's still after a move even if we've signed say Pedro and Trafford.

Tapping up seems incredibly routine these days. Having an armada of influential whoppers on Twitter forcing disruption for weeks on end, probably less so.

Obviously I'm not alone in this but I'm absolutely aching for some good news. If we got this guy in it would be brilliant; Isak replaced with the highest quality we're likely to get, and a very timely confidence boost re recruitment generally. Isak is a sensational striker, truly elite, and we'll be weaker without him. But he's not everything to us. The most frustrating thing about him leaving would be moreso the fact he's lining up for a competitor, above the fact that we don't have him any more. In all honesty I can probably cope pretty well with exchanging one sensational player for an unearthly sum of money; we all knew a big sale could happen at some point (I expected Bruno to leave 13 months ago tbh). All this to say, we can still be a very good team in Eddie Howe's image if we replace Isak well, and Sesko looks really exciting. Add Wissa to that and we've done very well. At this point I can barely deal with another false dawn so crossing everything that this happens. It should be an appealing move for him. I wonder if he likes number 9s.

If my little lass grows up and gets into playing football (which I'd absolutely love but obviously wouldn't pressure), we'd owe a fair amount of debt to these women. The Lionesses are a true inspiration.

she hits it so fucking well