Ronaldo

Hindu, ask your mate's dad. He seems to think he should've been tougher about what he wanted.

You might want to look back over the last decade, then. Even in the 2 previous windows you mention, one of them was shit and contributed to our relegation and the other saw a huge net profit achieved. Hardly evidence that the penny has dropped.

So it's either challenge at the top or be in a relegation battle? Is it beyond us to finish comfortably mid table like? Absolutely not. Setting mediocrity as the season's target is quite another concept, though.

Rafa Benitez doesn't have it in to him to spend a full season trying to avoid a relegation fight. He's far better than that.

Aye. I think you're having a laugh. So you're saying we'll get relegated should we go up? See Kanji's post. It should be pretty obvious, like.

Aye. I think you're having a laugh.

Rafa was confident about it happening this time yesterday. Clearly wasn't his decision.

Can anyone actually envision a summer in which we sign the 7 players (or so) needed to make us a PL side?

I think we will, yeah. I'm just far from certain of it. We could've pretty much eliminated the risk factor with a couple of additions (who'd also have been useful next season) in the window and we didn't.

If they are the strongest competition then it's pretty relevant Using Brighton and Hove Albion to defend the fact we've once again failed to sign players we needed. It's pathetic. They're up regardless, anyway. We'll have to wrap Shelvey and Gayle in cotton wool to join them and we shouldn't be putting ourselves in that position. And I know people will say 'oh but how many Championship clubs.....' bollocks. We got out of this league with ease last time because we basically (with a couple of exceptions) had a Premier League Xl for the second half of the season.

Oh good, Brighton brought up again to defend our failures.

Only Foluwashola would make that comparison.

Just like Kinnear, he's a putrid old bastard way past his sell-by date.

According to True Faith he told them personally before the window opened that he wanted a CM and a winger. He's been let down badly, like. Fucking not on.

That's the point you dweeb. Rafa's judgment should be trusted implicitly and he thought we needed new additions in this window.

Well yeah, we need another creative outlet. Not just for when he's injured but at home where he's often fairly successfully negated. He's never negated like, we're always worse without Shelvey. Of course we are and I didn't suggest anything to the contrary. At home he's been significantly stifled in 2 games that I've seen leading to defeat this season and it would be good to have another outlet.

The fact he recommended Rob Elliot probably doesn't do him any favours, like.

Well yeah, we need another creative outlet. Not just for when he's injured but at home where he's often fairly successfully negated.

We're in the Championship. You're intent on becoming more of a joke as you get older, right?

He thought it was happening at lunch I'm told Certainly won't be owa the moon it hasn't gone through. He'll see the bigger picture though, hopefully. The bigger picture being the implications of us not delivering on any players despite him making it clear for weeks we needed some?

'I am suitably appeased by that' - Ian W.

Did Rafa actually say earlier he was confident in us signing players today? He won't be happy, if so.

Another abysmal transfer window and he will be. Unfortunately we know with this lot that's always a distinct possibility.