Andy

Better performance than expected, but predictably blunt. Elanga has to score that 1 on 1, he had so much time man.

Two very incomplete looking teams tbh, but the fact they're at home and have an actual striker playing for them will give them a big advantage. For all that our summer has been derailed by external forces, it's criminal that we're starting this game with Gordon up top.

It's Villa Park, I'd fancy us to lose at the best of times, today will probably be a difficult watch even though they have probably regressed since last season too.

We don't need to avoid mentioning Jota or feel like we're walking on egg-shells when writing his name, it's not disrespectful to acknowledge that Liverpool have lost him as a player without feeling the need to clarify why IMO. Jokes about it are obviously too far.

The fuck was that defending

Looking forward to him starting up front tomorrow and the entire saga all being a big summer-long wind-up, masterminded by JT.

Whenever I see clips from that podcast, they just brush over every single thing she says

Or maybe they've been driven by Isak just being a cunt? Seems to me like he felt entitled to a move and spat his dummy, anything about it being agent-led is just PR fed to our local journos to try and keep a door open for him IMO.

While I'm sure this is all true, we also need to be sure we aren't cutting off our nose by keeping him here, especially if a reasonable offer comes in. Yes it's important to look strong, but it's more important to be in the best possible position to win games. I'm certain Eddie won't want to keep him here if his head and heart aren't in it, doesn't matter how good he is. Last thing we need is a mentally absent (or literally absent as things stand) striker, who at best would be going through the motions, with no money to bring in someone to at least partially fill that void.

Think it's a bit easier to throw a striker straight in too, the role in our system is basically "press the defenders and score goals", not exactly rocket science for an established striker.

"Concerned" seems more appropriate tbf.

Is that a dig?

Personally don't buy the "badly led by his agent" narrative like. It absolves him of his own actions; he's a 25 year old bloke and he's been around the game long enough to know fine well what he was doing and what the consequences would be.

Apart from Howe, mind. Yesterday he pretty much denied that Isak had been told he wasn't for sale.

To be fair we didn't look ready for last season until December, so we've got plenty of time yet

For me, you don't look to replace back up players with slightly better back up players if you're aspiring to maintain CL positions, the idea should be to improve on your starting XI and push the current starters into being backups. You don't replace Longstaff with another Longstaff for example, you replace Joelinton and he becomes your Longstaff. There's only really Elanga where we've achieved that this summer so far. Not convinced Thiaw ticks that box either tbh but we'll see.

Howe said in his presser that it isn't as simple as just drawing a line under it and saying he can't go, so that immediately doesn't add up with what Luke has said.

It's obvious from Eddie's press conference that he is completely livid with him. You don't refuse to integrate a player with the group on the basis that he won't sign a contract, he's clearly acting a complete cunt for it to get to that stage.

He'll end up going for around £125-130m. That lowball bid a few weeks back was designed to sweeten a figure closer to Liverpool's actual valuation of him, especially as the situation continues to escalate and his position here becomes more untenable.

I don't even think he's that raw tbh, at least nowhere near as raw as he should be.

Aye, this lad has definitely got something. Doesn't look raw or out of place, and he's full of confidence. I'd be tempted to keep him around the squad too.

The word "hijacked" is massively over used on here anyway. As you say, if we're going for players that the top clubs are also interested in, then us bidding is obviously going to trigger them to bid too. That isn't hijacking, it's just competition. No clubs are out there spending >£50m purely to stop us having a player.

"We've lost all the Geordie engagement clicks, make another name up quick"

You're right, but it's the way he's handled it that's rubbed people up the wrong way. You can get a move without going on strike - the buying club just have to make a suitable offer. He's fucked us over by trying to drive down his valuation. I don't agree with the assesment that he's derailed our transfer activity and pre season preparation though, the club should still have been able to manage the transfer window while also managing a single disgruntled player.

I didn't expect Isak to act the cunt like Isak has