Parsley

Main complaint from Man City fans seems to be that he isn't comfortable on the ball: http://forums.bluemoon-mcfc.co.uk/threads/eliaquim-mangala-on-loan-at-valencia.320616/ Good athlete though and seems to have done quite well at Valencia. He's a lefty as well which Rafa likes.

No coincidence that Huddersfield's ex-DoF, the same guy who appointed David Wagner, also moved to Norwich a few months ago. Clearly loves an ex-Dortmund no.2.

Watford in talks with Roger Schmidt according to the Indy. Would be an interesting choice.

Decent read: https://www.si.com/planet-futbol/2017/05/18/deandre-yedlin-newcastle-usmnt-tottenham-martins-klinsmann-rafa-benitez-epl

Wow. Forestieri of all people with the miss.

It's not quite as bad as it looks. Oscar Garcia resigned shortly after being hired owing to a heart problem and his replacement, Billy McKinlay, was only brought in as an interim. Jokanovic then left after winning promotion having wanted daft money to stay on.

Done a wee thing on Squawka comparing Shelvey, Mooy and Cairney: https://tinyurl.com/m4y4ut5 Some observations (obviously taking the fact that Shelvey has played 3 less games into account): Cairney is well ahead of Shelvey and Mooy in almost every passing statistic (key passes, pass completion, total passes). Mooy has more key passes and chances created than Shelvey on average, albeit marginally so. Shelvey attempts the least amount of passes per game out of the 3. Cairney's also the most prolific by a considerable margin - 12 goals and 10 assists compared to 5 and 8 (Shelvey) and 4 and 7 (Mooy). Shelvey is the more ambitious passer of the 3, with a higher % of total passes going forward and a higher average pass length. You might also point to his lower pass completion rate here too. Around 43% of Cairney's passes go backwards, compared to 36% for Shelvey and 38% for Mooy. Interestingly, Shelvey makes considerably more interceptions than the other two. Mooy makes significantly more tackles and has a better won-to-lost ratio than Shelvey or Cairney. Cairney shoots more on average than Shelvey but is less accurate. Mooy is a fair way behind the other two in this regard. Cairney is what Rafa thought he was getting with Diame. An AM who knows how to get on the end of stuff, a better Nolan. He's not going to dictate play imo. I strongly disagree with this based on the above and on what little I've seen of Fulham this season - a lot of their play goes through Cairney. Jokanovic also noted that Cairney 'made them tick' earlier in the season. He'll surely be competing with Shelvey for one of the CM spots if he signs. Mooy, by contrast, is more combative than the other two while less ambitious going forward. I'd see him as a replacement for Colback/competition for Hayden if he were to sign.

Hypothetically speaking, would folk prefer it if we went for Mooy or Cairney? Cairney looks the more accomplished passer from what little I've seen, whereas Mooy is a bit more robust, better tackler etc - perhaps a bit more well-rounded.

Cairney would be competition for Shelvey if he signed. I highly doubt that Rafa would risk them both in the same midfield.

Crouch has just punched the ball into the net to pull one back for Stoke.

Great move.

Hoping for a VENOMOUS start to the Play-Offs today.

Good decision that tbf.

Fan of that Ajax kit, and Adidas' little nod to the 90s more generally that they seem to be doing with this latest crop of kits. That AC kit though, my goodness. Right on the money.

Linked with Fernando and Mangala in the Daily Mail. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-4493652/Rafa-Benitez-ploting-double-swoop-Manchester-City-duo.html

It's the same old same old Promises don't mean anything to a bipolar shitcunt like wor Mike. Sure, it's positive news, but I'm certainly not throwing out animated promotion emojis willy-nilly. If that was the case there's no way Rafa would stay imo. If Rafa can see into the future maybe?! He's not that thick man, genuinely think if it was the same as it always has been he'd have walked. Still don't think you're really understanding my point. How would anyone know Ashley's true intentions, if either a) he's convincingly lying, or b) he doesn't know what his own intentions will be in 6 months time? I'm not saying Ashley told Rafa the exact same details as ever, I'm just saying that it doesn't matter what Ashley says, because he's a pathological fucken liar and could change his mind at any point. Don't disagree, but has Ashley ever gone on the record about transfer budgets/spending like this before? It wouldn't actually surprise me if Rafa made some sort of public pledge a precondition to him staying.

6 assists in 1,100 odd minutes isn't a bad return like. Only 1 behind Ritchie, 2 behind Shelvey.

David Gold is a sensitive man.

That's some scar on Bruce's forehead

Tbf, he's one of the things I'm going to miss about next season. Always good for the big moments.

Fully expect Boro to be in the mix as well as I think they'll keep most of their players.

Genius.

Is that to the tune of Earth Wind & Fire?

OH MY GOODNESS!