kingxlnc

Getting rid of purple patch Almiron, once-high level performer Wilson, Trippier a shadow of the influence he was, Longstaff useless, Willock nowhere near what he was, Pope being two levels below, Schar declining and Botman being out injured, with the only real big changes being Tino and Tonali shows how much we're punching above our weight and what a huge difference there is in the 2022/23 side to now. Isak and Murphy performing at a high level Burn being an ever present and very solid Hall being excellent for the most part Gordon being decent Barnes getting a few goals in narrow wins at the start of the season has really helped us to what is almost a false position. Howe really does need to take a lot of the credit for that. The team really does need major surgery in the summer. They now have a chance to immortalise themselves before the gang is broken up.

Hojlunc is pretty much John Dahl Tomasson at this point was never supposed to be the main man and has shown flashes will be another who does really well elsewhere

This does pass the eye test tbf

Hujisen, Kerkez, Milenkovic, Kluivert, Semenyo, Caicedo, Mac Allister, Olise, Eze, CHO, Wharton there's plenty of players out there who are available for there or thereabouts. We're very very precise with our spending which is why we miss out on these. In a way, we're already trying to spend like a big boy (like the Man Citys, Liverpools, Man U's etc) and buy guaranteed success at a premium rate, hence the preference for PL only or purple-level foreigners. It's hamstringing us on seeing opportunities and pouncing. The good news though, everyone we have been linked to in an extended way has been a success whether they signed for us or not. Trafford, Ekitike, Joao Pedro, Guehi, Khusnov, Marmadishivilli, Szoboszlai. So they do know what they're doing, that's for damn sure.

agreed, not as CEO. That needs a specific type. Eales was a good fit. She could defo be Chief Information Officer or Communications Officer tho - then it'd be worth subscribing to the Athletic for all the exclusives Caulkin would get

You missed a great opportunity to shorten ligament

Is Adam Wharton a realistic signing? Obviously Crystal Palace are a nightmare to deal with but Howe would make him world class

Let me land - Ben Arfa raw talent wise was higher than even Isak The perfect front 3 in terms of chaos and devastation for the opponents would have been: Ginola Isak Ben Arfa then imagine just behind Beardsley in the 10 Shearer on the bench, first reserve Pity they all played in different decades!

Didn’t age well Liverpool even with Souness or Hodgson were never as bad as Man U have been this season I don’t think. Their painful years have never been that painful as they’ve always still been around Europe or won a cup. (i landed on this by accident by the way)

Delap is defo a good Wilson replacement and further along than Osula right now

Would only be happy if we signed all three to replace Isak. That is about par for replacing one of the best strikers in the world, for a more rounded strike force with depth.

Villa close to over taking us if they go far in CL this season?

The irony of course is that if Kelly was here we’d have cover for both Botman and Hall even when we sell well we can’t do it right

If it was 150m this summer or 100m next summer I would take the plunge this summer. Osimhen is available at a 40 or 50m release clause, as is Sesko. Muani or David too. It’s not the best as I love Isak but the hype is very high this season so it’s probably the sweet spot in terms of hype vs security of contract with us to determine highest price.

To be honest, I think Bruno, Botman, Isak and Tonali were sold a certain dream that we've got big ambitions and we're going to be the next Man City. Bruno you're KDB, Isak you're Aguero, Botman you're Kompany and Tonali is Yaya. The last 3 windows have killed all momentum - it was actually going well. Tonali's ban definitely was a blow but then to sell two youngsters and have no first team arrival for 3 windows is effectively going backwards rather than that forward momentum they expected. They probably would have thought by 2026 we should be ready to challenge for the title given the trajectory and the rapid pace the team is growing at. Imagine an average window is usually one purple + 1-2 top youngsters + 1-2 depth. So usually 4-5 quality additions for the first team. E.g. 2021 (Jan 2022) - Bruno (P), Trippier (P), Burn, Targett (D) 2022 - Isak (P), Botman (Y), Gordon (Y), Pope (D) 2023 - Tonali (P), Tino (Y) Hall (Y), Barnes (D) 2024 - Kelly (D) Osula (Y) 2024/25 didn't get a purple, it didn't even get a 'top' youngster - you could argue Osula was more Minteh type signing, raw with future in mind, not a first team player. And Kelly is no longer here. Essentially it's 13 new players that can actually play for the squad over 4 years. 3 a year. Really slow. Forest were scattergun for sure those first few years but they've really settled and solidified with some aggressive purchases. Amongst the chaos, real gems in Milenkovic, Murillo, Elanga, CHO, Wood, MGW. We need an aggressive summer - 2-3 purples, 2-3 youngsters and 2-3 depth options. I know it's unlikely but we really are playing catch up now because the earlier signings will be getting restless and are also getting older and unusable (e.g Trippier, Targett, Pope) PSR has buggered us right up, that's for sure.

Agree with this. Miami, Ramos and Lee Kangin actually does resolve a lot of our issues. Up front and at RW. If we got £50m too it also neutralises the 63m we paid. We could flesh out the squad at RcB, GK, CM etc. would hate to see him leave and he would destroy the French league but it does logically improve us overall.

This has been the most frustrating thing about PSR, the opportunity cost. Imagine we still had some sort of regulation so you can't be free spending like Abramovic or Bohely's Chelsea, but not the unfit-for-purpose PSR which is capped at 2015 level £105m losses, not accounting for the crazy inflation since. Even just 3-4 players (inc Minteh and Anderson) would make a huge difference to us. We may have more of an appetite for risk - e.g Hujisen, or have enough for Khusanov in Jan. Or even be able to buy Guehi. 4 young first team level players give us energy and that refresh and is a good foundation. Instead those players are now lost and inaccessible unless we're willing to pay double triple what they cost. Which would cause you to go deeper into PSR deficit. It's so much hard work to actually compete these days, so many things trying to hamstring an ambitious club. Wonder what Wrexham's owners will do when they make it to the Prem.

First half we were decent. Glad to see big Joe back. The squad has got John Carver 2014 vibes. Needs the PIF equivalent of that 2015 summer when Ashley’s NUFC was the biggest spending club in Europe. Without the impending relegation obvs Even the squad players seem cooked. Target, Willock, Wilson for sure and Longstaff didn’t even come on.

Gordon all day long. Perhaps Botman. Is Joelinton considered a purple? Him also. i

Osula before Wilson going forward

He’s our new RW purple signing in the summer

Cunha reminds me of what I though Joelinton would be like when we signed him

I think we performed much better overall last season than this season. Last season apart from the middle chunk of the season where we had all the injuries, we performed admirably in times of injury and extremely explosive when we had the full team out. Look how many goals across the board, how many big wins, 20 different goal scorers etc. this season has been extremely patchy to say the least. As unlucky as we were last season, that’s how lucky we’ve been this season that everyone else is also shite.

Dubravka Trippier Burn Schar Targett Willock Miley Tonali Osula Wilson Barnes 2-1

Isak, Hall, Tonali and Burn have been consistent all season, Murphy too perhaps. The rest have been up and down.