Raconteur

Just read Matt Ritchie's very similar sounding statement. Very concerning if Ashley has "loyal lads" who are doing the spadework for a summer letdown.

Reads like a guy fearing for his future

I've been critical of Schar's defending before, but that's quality. I note that it doesn't include when Maddison schooled him, but it was still a very impressive performance. He's proven to be more than an okay defender with a great pass

I hate it when they refer to a player as “star”- proper winds me up “NUFC star Matt Ritchie” etc etc Remember Nile Ranger being a Newcastle star for a long time, until he became ex-NUFC star even when he was playing for other clubs

Good read that If you're into reading tea leaves, hints of a takeover are stronger than I expected, but the vibes about staying if Ashley is still here was pretty negative.

Chelsea weren't any better than Citeh in the early days of the PL. They made great use of Bosmans in the mid 90s (Zola & Vialli especially), and at a similar time Citeh fell to the third division. Chelsea were also broke and on the cusp of going under, so a similar fate might have befallen them. The thing is, though, is that Citeh were getting 30,000 crowds in the third division, while Chelsea wouldn't get much more at Stamford Bridge in the PL. I always felt Chelsea getting money was grubby nouvea rich whereas at least Citeh were a real club. (And if we're going to argue morality of cash, Abramovich was gifted billions in one of the most corrupt and colossal plunders in history. So fuck that argument). Gotta say my memory of PSG in the 90s wasn't a top level club - Marseille before their fall and then Monaco dominated for a long time. Paris had good players like Ginola et al, but it wasn't until the French government and the French FA built PSG a nice new stadium (played in by the likes of Ronaldinho) that they really blossomed into a club attractive for an oil takeover

Fucking loved Oggie - prolific, ageless, scored all types of goals...

Hope that's as close as the cunts get to it. Citeh for me, please

I feel it's a bit of a red herring - we're not going to compete with Arsenal, Chelsea or Tottenham (at least for a long time), and if players are choosing Palace or Fulham over us because of location, then they don't have the right attitude to represent our club. Wet Spam is pretty much the only club where we'd be disappointed to lose a player too if they chose London over us.

Am I the only one who thinks Carragher was cued into that line of questioning in the Sky interview? Rafa was given free rein to speak his mind, aided by some friendly, guiding questions. It makes me hopeful that Rafa is indeed desperate to stay, and that he’s willing to fight to stay. I’d assumed he’d shrugged his shoulders and was marking time until his contract expired.

Burnley still have an awful run, especially if they lose to Cardiff

Gotta be confident here

Certainly my choice, couldn’t see him winning a public poll, though. I’m not too concerned with his future, because he’ll be staying if Rafa does. And if they both go, I’m done anyway.

And yet it doesn’t work for Yedlin?

Seems like the interviewer could have queried old mate Charnley if there is any correlation between paying transfer fees upfront and restricted cash flows?

I know no one cares except me, but Melbourne Victory got buttfucked 0-4 by Guangzhou in the Asian Champions League - extending their record of never winning an away match in the AFCCL in 21 attempts. Hahahaha. Cunts. If I told you they were managed by Kevin Muscat, would you laugh along with me?

I seem to remember a story that it was him and one or two other players, because "The Secret Footballer's" career didn't ever match any single player?

I remember there being a big stink when Benoit Assou Ekotto came out and said something to the effect that he didn't enjoy football, it was just something he was good at and did for the cash.

He was pretty poor, missing quite a few pretty simple passes - including a ten yard pass to Schar that missed by about fifteen yards. He was also charging around like he wanted to do it all himself. Can’t blame him for wanting to take his chance, but the way he went about it wouldn’t have impressed Rafa at all.

Reasonable, if depressing, shout.

Pretty sure anyone who uses the term PC Brigade unironically immediately invalidates their argument. Why are you surprised by the correlation between using alt-right buzzwords and ignorance of racially unacceptable terms?

That’s a really good assessment - he might well be our record signing, but that doesn’t mean anything when terrible players go for bigger transfer fees. Good player, but not the type to elevate us to another level.

How did we get to a situation where we have five centre midfielders with about 200 caps between them, and we seem lost without the one who has played less than ten premier league matches?

Wonder if Rafa will drop Yedlin again after such a really poor performance? Manquillo, arise, lad.

Gotta say I hope Shelvey doesn't take the pitch - after IC used Yedlin for the Palace graphic