Wandy

But that is exactly what you are doing. In reality there are no facts in this case. Neither the club nor the player have said he is on strike. Everything that is being reported is based on interpretation from both the agent and the club’s communications.

Agree. We all know though that they all exist in a different universe to the rest of us.

Isak’s camp won’t rubbish it because they want the situation to be unretrievable. His agent will have briefed all of the necessary media outlets with the same story. The club haven’t even been asked if the player is on strike in any media briefings. Howe has not been asked the question even once. They are not going to fuel the fire by answering questions that they haven’t even been asked. All of Howe’s answers so far point to Isak saying “sorry boss but I can’t do my job while my head is affected by all of this”.

We have been told by journalists he is on strike, not by the club. If he has told the club he won’t come to work due to being in a bad headspace that’s not the same as being on strike. It happens in work environments all of the time. He could basically be pulling a sickie.

We’ve been told that by the media, who are being directed by Isak’s agent. Nobody at the club has said the player is on strike. The media have also said that Isak told the club he wanted out in May, something which the club absolutely refute. I’m not buying a single thing that is coming out from the media. The truth will out after September 1st.

Another thing that seems to tally with Luke Edward’s’ scoop is that the players seem remarkably relaxed about Isak’s absence and none of them seem critical at all. Add that with the togetherness of Saturday’s performance and it makes me wonder if they have been told that Isak will 100% be a NUFC player next season and in the meantime just have to get on with it while all of this drama plays out.

Refusing? Or maybe not able to as his head is all over the place? It would tally well with what Edward’s said in his article last week, ie he’s being told he is staying no matter what, and therefore needs to go away and come to terms with it.

We don't know that's exactly the case. It's simply the narrative being pushed by his agent to the media.

That's what I mean. There is no way he won't be willing to reintegrate, therefore the whole scenario is fantasy stuff.

Again, I think your indulging in fantasy stuff here mate. The situation is nowhere near as dramatic as the media are painting it out to be.

If he's here on September 2nd I can guarantee you he will be made to resume his full duties or he will effectively be sacked and his registration held. Thing is though, he simply wont do that, I'm certain of it. He's got far too much to lose.

Nah man, that's fantasy stuff. Putting him in a position where he simply has to play...and also play bloody well....in order to get the move he wants, is the perfect power play and shows that his entire career is in our hands to do as we see fit.

Simply a repeat of the Arsenal semi-final earlier this year would be more than good enough. I know people are saying it will be like a bear pit next week but I'm not convinced. With our crowd noise seemingly based on who is successful in the ballot, it's anyone's guess how vociferous it will be.

We will be doing all of that simply by refusing to let him leave.

It won't be catastrophic, in fact there is every chance of it happening as it looks like there is no difference in quality between us, Man U, Spurs and Villa. And based on yesterday's results you might add Forest and Palace to the equation too.

And yet some people think it's ok to let Isak go. If you want a glimpse of what it will be like if we have £130m to £150m burning a hole in our pocket then look no further than here. We'd be getting quoted outrageous prices for absolute tat.

The bottom six already looks locked in. The 3 promoted teams plus West Ham, Brentford & Wolves. Can see two of the promoted teams staying up this year.

The competition between 5th and 10th is going to be intense this season.

No idea why people are complaining about this season’s green kit. I thought it looked great yesterday and is easily the best of the Saudi-inspired ones so far.

I don't think so bud.

^^^^^ He's LondonMackem on the SMB, in case anyone is wondering.

If they dare have a minutes silence I hope we boo right through the fucker. Fuck the lot of them.

Every now & again a club has a sliding doors moment and that last minute winner at Wembley was theirs. If they had lost that game I think they would have been marooned in the Championship for a good few years. As it is, they will very likely stay up as they have their tactics right compared to previous promoted teams. It wont be a pretty watch for their support though.

Potter will be one of the first to get sacked this season.

Yep. If the fans turn on him in the dippers game that will seal his fate here. Which is exactly what those cunts want to happen.