Raconteur

I'm just going to assume that all transfer rumours like Welback are lies - because if they're not, then it's Dennis Wise's shopping list for whichever PFM is lined up for after Rafa.

At what point do the Man Yoo fans start demanding Woodward steps down? (And can we then make all sorts of absurd comparisons about the propensity of certain clubs’ fans to protest versus fans of other clubs?)

I think the first time I watched Reviere, he’d already played a few games for us and the verdict was already in. I didn’t think he was that bad the first time I saw him, and thought he was getting unfair flak. I was wrong. Very wrong. Reviere was complete turd, irredeemably so.

Didn't realise Liverpool play us in between their Barca matches. Cannot see Rafa rolling over, and think it will be where Liverpool stumble. Here's hoping, anyway

Robbie Fowler has been appointed head coach of Australia’s official basket case club, Brisbane Roar. Proper weird.

I can’t go along with the notion that Ashley would deny Rafa funds only to grant a largesse to his successor. It might well cost him £120m over time, but there’s no way the next man in the dugout gets that cash - summer or January.

The absolute worst this year - Kenedy's shiteness gets a boost because of the pen, but Hayden on that day was irredeemably bad. In fact, I reckon I wasn't alone in thinking that would be the last time he ever wore our shirt.

So many damning indictments of rank shithousery in a single thread

People talk about Ayoze having purple patches at the back end of last season and this - but for me it's almost entirely down to having someone to share the workload that is so often passed unremarked. Last season it was when Kenedy was actually a footballer, and this season after Almiron signed. Outside of those periods, he's had someone significantly worse around him, like Atsu, Ritchie, Murphy etc. He's top of all the defensive stats (amongst the league's other forward) because he works like a dog, but when he has someone to help him press and harry and tackle, he flourishes as an attacker.

Valid question, and worth tweeting to a decent journo. It’s a different take on what is already an unusual story - when was the last time it happened, and how unusual were those circumstances?

This is the most baffling post I’ve seen in a long time. It’s like arguing with a conspiracy theorist - two people looking at the same thing and seeing two different things. Wijnaldum and Sissoko both showed that our players can step up into bigger clubs () - and Ayoze is ahead of where either of those two were when they left. He’s never going to start for Barca or Real, but he could be a valuable player for the likes of Atleti or any of the other CL/EL chasing clubs. EDIT: Just saw your last line and realised how badly I’m wasting my time. Wouldn’t start for Leicester or Everton. You say so, buddy

Truth

If he's being actively scouted then he will have been impressing - he's become a lot more imposing and was ferocious at times today. No, he's not irreplaceable but he certainly needs a quality replacement because he's given some excellent service this season.

There's clearly some pretty big problems at Brighton. I think a Rafa-coached team is about the worst thing that could happen to them right now. Ayoze on the sheet again, this time a brace

It was so cynical you could term it violent conduct, ffs. Tim Sherwood telling me its “a great foul” - yeah, get fucked.

Fucking legend. Plug those ears Ayoze!

No one rates Sterling's chances? If he stays in England there's every chance he can score heavily enough to make it. I don't know the stats, but it seems he's been scoring loads more this season and he just seems to get better and better.

Personally, I couldn't give a fuck. The club will be dead to me. Same .................so Pardew Yep. If anything, i'll be hoping for the worst appointment possible. Don’t know why anyone would even contemplate Rafa‘s replacement - if he’s gone, then who gives a fuck whatever lackey Ashley scrapes up? Who is the worst “active” available manager? Or the worst semi-retired one? That’s who I hope gets it

I'd swap Liverpool and Spuds, but, apart from that, I like it

Either Rafa goes and thus all transfer rumours are irrelevant, or Rafa stays (proving something in Ashley's thinking has changed) in which case these are the kinds of transfers we might pursue. Just as likely that these sorts of names in the press comes from Rafa's team - signposting the kinds of players that fit into his idea of the "right way" - and is part of the political games Rafa will play in the next few weeks.

There's a very good chance discussing transfer rumours is entirely moot, but I have to say I liked seeing this in the Beeb's gossip page:

Next one on the list who's still an active player is Benzema at 60. Next one who's also under 30 y/o is Müller at 42. Yeah, can't see anyone approaching 100 goals in quite a while. Surely the only player on the horizon is Mbappe? Kean at Juve perhaps?

Yeah, that was a terrible call for Brighton tonight - you'd never hear the end of it if a pen like that had been turned down for a top six team. Refs would be getting fired

You'd have to think they'd be sailing very close to the wind re FFP rules (which are kinda taken seriously in the EFL)

More like club PR to me Certainly looks that way when read in conjunction with the skipper's comments