Andy

They have Dubravka in goal, have we considered just shooting on target?

Obviously good business for us, but I also think it's a good signing for Forest. Anderson will flourish in a team where he has the opportunity to become the main man.

Don't see how the PL could "adjust the fees" at their will, there is so much precedent for deals like this that it just isn't realistic that they could do that without it being a huge legal minefield, It's literally calling into question the integrity of the people making the deal. We all know there's some underhand stuff going on, but you simply can't prove fair market value when there's a history of players like Anthony moving for £80m or whatever it was.

Never a pen that man, he's a meter away and his hand is in a natural position for me. Terrible decision.

Seems like we've got ourselves out of jail at the last moment, really makes you wonder what would have happened if Minteh wasn't on the books though or if he didn't do well last season, as we clearly can't shift anyone other than the obvious ones you wouldn't want to see go. Important that the club learn from this and don't end up in this position again. We have to assume the rules are here to stay and are only going to get more and more strict

Aye, at some point you've got to balance out what the player is worth in terms of points. Selling Isak or Gordon would cost the club more points than any deduction, so it's hard to see it happening.

The rules are obviously fucking stupid and are where anger should be directed if any of this is true. However, IF any of this true and we have got ourselves into a position where we have to sell someone like Isak, it's also fair to question the club I think; these rules haven't come as a sudden shock and we really shouldn't have allowed ourselves to get into a position where the Sky 6 are now able to circle us like vultures. Shit rules but also not brilliantly managed, again assuming any of this is true and it's not just media hyperbole.

FtblJoe makes Sean Casey and Mouth of the Tyne look like Romano and Ornstein.

Georgia and Austria have been a breath of fresh air. Much better to watch than any of the big countries.

We're never losing another pre season friendly if so

On the plus side, he's got better in the eyes of your average England fan with each passing minute, the whole of twitter was twerking for him the other day. If he'd featured in the shite performances so far he would have been an easy scapegoat so it's worked out alright for him in that sense. His time will come.

Agreed, although I can sort of see why people are interested from a footballing perspective, given the rumours of him leaving. Would potentially add fuel to that I think.

Like I said the other day, DCL wouldn't be the most inspiring signing, but the Wilson comparison is interesting. Wilson's premier league record prior to signing for us was relatively similar to DCL's (especially if you discount the latter's first season or two as a kid). He was hardly mega prolific either in a Bournemouth team that were more adventurous than Everton have been the last few seasons. Injury wise, DCL's have mainly been impact, whereas Wilson's issues are muscular and an almost dead-cert to reoccur. He doesn't suit our high intensity style too well, but we seemed to ditch that last season anyway, whether by choice or by requirement. I'm not fully sold but I'm also not entirely against signing him.

Interesting strategy of forming a defence made of players whose names are thinly veiled threats. Targett, Botman, Kilman, Burn. Intimidating.

He's got something, but when he has 3 goal contributions - all fairly routine assists to my memory - in approaching 50 PL appearances, there's an issue, especially since he plays quite high up. Always felt he doesn't have the knack for getting into dangerous positions and is too safe with his runs and passing.

Exactly. Nobody seems to be taking into account the fact that maybe the club just don't rate him as highly as the hype, or they don't think he would integrate into our team. I'm sure if we sell Minteh it won't be done without the club being confident it's the correct move.

Not a very inspiring target if true like, he's pretty much washed at this point and I don't think he suits our style either. Would rather take a punt on some random young foreigner that could go either way than DCL.

Carvajal defending better for Spain than he is for Italy so far

Decent result, already has a feeling of inevitability that we'll struggle against any team with a bit quality again though

Depending on how it's worded, ourselves and Man Utd could potentially activate before the end of June on the technicality that we were qualified for the champions league this season? The new season doesn't start until July.

Possibly an element of that, but De Jong has 178 goals in 306 Eredivisie games, and only 22 goals in 138 games in the three other domestic leagues he's played in. Bloke had one of the most tame shots I've ever seen when he was here and clearly wasn't cut out for the PL.

No problem with this move as long as the outlay doesn't prevent us strengthening in key areas.

In fairness we've struggled to shift the players in between for years, why would it be any different now?

It's more important than ever now to be a good selling club. If you want to compete in the current market, maximising value for your assets is the only way, and this is clearly part of the club's growth strategy which is why we've been snapping up young talents to begin with. At the end of the day, £40m for a kid who is unproven in a top league would be extremely difficult to reject. We signed Gordon for that price and he was a regular premier league starter, we paid less for Tino and Hall who had shown they could play at this level too. I'd like to see him get a chance here, but if daft money comes in, we will sell him.

I think the "success" looks decent on paper, but almost every time England have come up against good opposition we've fell short. The routes through the last two competitions were pretty kind and basically all games you'd expect to win (and comfortably in a lot of cases), but granted you can only beat what's in front of you. I think there's just a general disconnect that has built due to frustrations with the same players being selected over and over, annoying international breaks for friendlies interrupting the club season, a poor footballing style even with some good players at our disposal, and a manager who epitomises "boring" in almost every respect. Personally I'm mildly happy if England win but couldn't give a shite if we lose.