vicente_14

Big, strong, athletic types. Jose likes this ?

Craig Hope is dreadful, always sh*t stirring, always negative, always looking for the angle to destabilise, awful man. A lot of the Phillips talk is pushed by Hope saying we need a DM as if he is a tactical genius first, and journalist second. Howe has previously mentioned he likes to play with three central midfielders who are completely interchangeable as opposed to the fixed positioning of a DM as it gives more freedom, flexibility and options. Tonali was the perfect fit for this, as he has lots of attributes to suit this, along with Bruno, Joelinton, Longstaff and Willock, all tremendous athletes ideally suited to an interchangeable three man midfield, where they can all perform the various functions without ever being limited to one role. And whilst we may well sell Bruno in the summer if a huge offer arrives, in the Eales interview he only says we 'might' need to look at player trading (which could also include ridding salaries from the books or fringe players, Dummett, Manquillo, Gillespie, Fraser, Hayden, Ashby, Hendrick etc), he also hints at increased revenues through commercial deals and the current set of financials are not inclusive of Adidas, Sela or Champions League revenue, so should be funds available in the summer, just hopefully not on the likes of Solanke or Phillips.

Reading through some Chelsea accounts, the clause isn’t player performance based and is based on the clubs final league position which suggests the player is all but signed. The feeling being that we would have to finish way down the table for the deal not to happen. On Hall, clearly very talented, guessing Howe doesn’t trust him enough yet, and is taking a longer term view.

Always loved Buffon, Toldo and Canizares. Had a soft spot for Sebastian Frey too, always thought he was underrated (might just have been awful though!)

If a Season Ticket holder wants to pass tickets on, does the recipient have to be a member or can they be sent to any email address/smart phone user?

His lass was in the box tonight so safe to assume he was there. Might not be allowed in the dressing room as part of the conditions of his ban, perhaps?

Outstanding last night. Love him. Don't get some of the stick he gets, his work rate, enthusiasm and all round game are perfect for how we play.

I think Anderson has everything to be a big player for us, think it's more of a process with him, and one day all will come together and click. I actually think what helps Miley is that he hasn't been loaned to a lower league side, staying with us, everyday training with and learning from the likes of Bruno, Schar, Trippier, Joelinton etc, seems a far better education and learning platform. Unfortunately at the time Anderson was pushing through, that quality of player wasn't available to learn from. Whilst comparisons are super unhelpful, Miley has something of the Michael Ballack about him, the same running way, and the way he glides around, quick short passes, one and two touch, lovely to watch. If he fills out he is going to be some player.

Booking aside, which was ridiculous! showed some nice touches, going to be a really top player.

Arteta really did make himself look so silly and out of control post-game. So arrogant and petulant. It must have been to cover for his teams display, they had one shot on target and beyond Declan Rice, showed their soft underbelly. Jorginho is great if you let him play and have his own way, but he epitomises them, get into him just a bit and he really doesn't want to know, the whole over reaction to the defeat because we dared to push them and go at them, if only we go back to being everyones doormat and let these big sides have their way. On Arteta, I get being ruthless when it comes to decision making and player selection, but the whole Goalkeeping situation makes little sense. Raya is supposedly better with his feet, but in every other aspect of his goalkeeping, he seems way off, even for our goal, he comes out flapping like superman, very odd choice. Was a relatively even, but feisty game, no great chances, they seemed to have a slightly better control of things until Havertz slid in recklessly, and then.... When the stadium and players feel wronged and a sense of injustice, under the lights, there's an incredible energy and noise that takes over and carries everyone forward, from the moment on, we were never losing this, Arteta and his players mentality crumbled and it's glorious to see. Actually never minded Arsenal, purely because I used to enjoy Alan Davies and his Tuesday Club podcast, weird logic I know! but they are such an awful bunch, their manager especially, awful lego headed Pep wannabe.

Think it was Krafth, might be wrong, who did some scouting and stuff to keep him involved and in and around the group whilst on the long road to recovery.

One of the most important and influential signings in the clubs history. Came at a time when others were shying away and then seemed to raise the levels of everyone around him with his quality, talent and professionalism. Getting better and better as well.

I always thought his biggest issue was with the ball at his feet. He has always been a decent defender just always looked like he had a bomb at his feet but in recent games, he looks far more composed and comfortable. Really pleased for him, one of the few back in the darker days who seemed to care and get it so only fitting he gets to enjoy the happier times.

I was sat at one point during the second half and was closely watching Bruno and by way of this, Will Hughes. The gulf in quality and class between them was wild. Hughes couldn't get near him and at times looked like they were playing different sports. Which then put into focus, not so long ago, pre-takeover, Will Hughes would have been an upgrade on our midfield options!

Exactly this. Release clause has to be paid in one go. Chelsea wanted to pay over many years so had to negotiate a higher fee.

One of the AU Vodka owners I think.

He’s hardly trained, and just played lots of minutes within days against Man City, PSG & West Ham. Also coming to the tempo and aggression of the Premier League from the slow and patient Italian game. Needs 6-12 months to get used to the league and settle into a new life culture too, still a young lad and still trying to pick up the language too. Just needs some time and some patience (see Gordon, Miggy, Joelinton etc)

This so much. Was laughing away in the ground last week at people moaning about this one or that one, the up and down nature of people is funny. And the more general thing of player x is sh*te, aye, 18 months ago, we were watching Hayden eating grass every match, Jonjo passing Hollywood balls into the crowd and Colback running aimlessly in a huge circle> Easier said than done, but some need to chill and enjoy the ride more.

Unfollowed NUFC360 a long long time ago. Used to be a decent account which pulled all the news sources together. Then they seemed to get a little closer with the True Faith bunch and started losing sight of what gained them their audience and started pushing their opinions so the stuff today hardly seems surprising.

Copy and paste into the Miggy thread!

Really promising player and comes across well. But my word, that interviewer is painful.

Bargains at the time but an absolute hindrance when we can't shift the rubbish further down the line and they are stinking up the place. Just those two names alone show how far we have come in such a short space of time. Night and day.

Never get the Manquillo abuse. Sure, he's not prime Cafu, but he's been dependable and a decent squad option, filling in at left and right fullback. Steady if unspectacular. We are heading to levels that are possibly beyond him but he's done ok and never complained or been a bad apple.

Looked their best player by some distance at the Etihad, was impressive, although the effort of most of the Chelsea side that day was questionable.

They originally planned to tie him down to a 6 year contract and loan him to Palace. Seems the contract was withdrawn as they realised they needed to bring funds in for FFP reasons. And from reading some reports, the player wanted us once we became an option rather than a loan to Palace. (sensible lad!)