brummie

The problem for me with the Delph transfer, it is what it says about both the club and the player. When he signed his new contract a few months ago, the club made a massive deal of it, absolutely wrung every last drop of publicity, had him do a big video thing which they showed on the screens at VP before the next match. Then it turns out he's re-signed, yes, but with a pathetically low release fee (the same as we paid for him). Quite clearly, the whole thing was a case of "I'll sign a new deal to make sure you don't lose me for nothing" but with a really low release fee to make sure he could get a move. Then they stick him in all the promo pics for the kit launch last week, then it turns out he's off to Man City. That's the stuff that reflects badly on the club - fucking idiots to have made such a big deal out of the new contract and then the kit launch thing, too. Then Delph, this time last week, comes out with all that shit about it being his club, how he's loyal etc, only to fuck off a week later. That's the bit that reflects badly on Delph. The really sad bit in all this is this is the sort of bollocks that goes on all the time in football, and as usual, the only people who really suffer are the fans who, unless they get bought by a mental human rights abusing middle east prince or a thieving Russian oligarch, are expected to keep forking out more and more money to watch this pointless, futile rubbish year after year.

We don't need to replace Vlaar to change much - last season he was either injured or shite. We've brought in Richards and Gueye - who looked to me like a Delph replacement when he signed. We've still got a lot of signings to make, but our form under Sherwood was totally different to that under Lambert, and far more representative of the squad. Going back to Vlaar, though, it makes me laugh when I hear the media or fans of other clubs go on about how we'll miss him. Ask Villa fans, you'll get a different story.

They were the worst team who didn't get relegated last season and they've lost their best two players. Sherwood has a massive job the next 6 weeks. Not in the last third of the season we weren't. Until Lambert got the sack we were one of the worst top flight sides I've ever seen, let alone last season.

Don't know, he might still feel things. Fans of other teams still feel things, apparently. No. I am annoyed about the pathetic u-turn to the original u-turn, but we've already bought Gueye, who is practically the same player Delph is, so he's replaced already.

Vlaar's leaving (he's a free agent now) is worrying absoutely nobody, believe me. It is impossible to have a player be part of the spine of your team when he's constantly injured.

Fabian Delph. If true, pretty staggering, even by the wank low standards of professional footballers.

Our home and away for this season are very nice. Our away one last year was nice. Every single other one they've made us in four years has been fucking horrible.

Sherwood is correctly saluting the British way, at least. I don't know what that awful effort from Ramsay is, though. He wasn't saluting, the glow from Sherwood's ego was getting in his eyes. I think he foolishly inhaled the scent of Sherwood's 50% plus win ratio.

One thing I'll say about Sherwood, for all the bullshit, sometimes his honestly is refreshing. Someone here mentioned Carles Gil and where he disappeared to. Sherwood has clearly decided he likes him, and said this today. What pleases me is he's realised he's a good player, but also I quite like the bolded bit, which is harsh but undoubtedly true. With Lambert we'd have had a few inaudible grunts and he'd have been sent out to the far field to play frisbee with whoever constituted the rest of the "bomb squad" at the time (Hutton, Given et al).

It's a salute which was seen a lot of whist our soldiers were helping us to build up an empire covering a third of the world, mind, so not that much of a joke. And don't even get me started about the ABSURD American pronunciation of lieutenant.

What amuses me about this time of year is that if you take a poke around the forums of different clubs, you'll see groups of people who have invested shit loads of time and energy into certain players, pretty much oblivious to the rest of the world. I had no idea you were after Auston, or that Mitrovic or whatever he's called, but you lot have spent days talking about it and every little detail. Similarly on our forums, they've been going on about Amavi or Gueye, and on other forums it'll be the same, I imagine.

Sherwood is correctly saluting the British way, at least. I don't know what that awful effort from Ramsay is, though.

Truly cringey. http://pbs.twimg.com/media/B8_2yrQIMAEaByH.jpg He's already considered a worrying gobshite by a lot of our fans. However, he made the last quarter of the season pretty exciting to watch whereas the previous several years have been about as much fun as witnessing your own death (over and over again). He also seems to have understood that our fans have had absolutely enough of the sort of predictable, British, overpriced guff players we've had foisted on us for years, and has fully realised there's a bigger market out there in Europe. Something Lambert understood too, but only to a point.

I don't know, but if the alternative is a half-arsed fucking Adebayor rocking up here to see out his days, then I hope he does.

Kozak? Broke his leg pretty badly, just returned to training at the end of last season. He did ok for us, 4 in 12, I think, not bad, before getting injured.

Italian press say we're meeting with Roma today to discuss Mattia Destro, who is a forward apparently, so that can only mean a Benteke exit. EDIT and apparently Adem Ljajić, too.

I'm almost hoping Benteke goes now. Not to Liverpool, though, he can do better than that. Some of the shite from Liverpool fans about him on twitter is remarkable. Not good enough, by all accounts. Personally, I think he could get a better move than that, but hey ho. He's definitely too good for us, though, so 32m will be a decent amount of money for us to strengthen the squad with. Apparently Amavi, the Nice LB, is having his medical tomorrow, Gueye is signed already, Delph is staying and we're in for a mixture of promising sounding players from the continent. A new striker to replace Benteke and a couple of bits of quality elsewhere and I'd be relatively pleased with the way things were going.

Must have forgotten about Depay already. 80 million spent this summer. Can still spend another 50m and our shirt sponsors alone will cover it for the year. You sure know how to make a girl feel like a princess :-(

I'm joking, I know you mean Gil. He was randomly ignored by Sherwood in the run in last year after having done well for Lambert. Feeling is Sherwood didn't think we could play both Grealish and Gil as they're too similar. Word is, though, he's going to be back in from the cold this season, doing well in pre-season, apparently. I like him. He's a good player. Ditto Carlos Sanchez who struggled to settle a bit last season. We have some decent options in midfield, thinking about it. Delph, Gueye, Sanchez, Gil, Grealish, Westwood. Errr ... Joe Cole.

Senderos?

There are reports that we're trying to sign Sergi Darder. Who I've actually seen play - and score - against us. However, a quick google also reveals the interest of Inter and Roma in him, so if we do sign him, I suspect the cleverest thing to do would be to get him down the hospital for a full mental check up ASAP.

I genuinely wonder whether City actually think he's worth that kind of money or if they're engaged in some sort of cock-waving exercise whereby they just have to prove that they CAN buy a player if they decide to.

Crikey, when they said UEFA were relaxing the FFP rules, they must have meant "ripping them up"

No way has money changed Man City fans. Meanwhile Ashley Westwood reckons he's been talking to Delph all through it and he was never going anywhere.

Yep. He can have the child back as well.