Parsley

7 figures for a loan seems steep.

Quite upset that the Divinyls remix didn't seem to get an outing today.

Not long back - second half an improvement on the first but still poor on the whole. Might have merited a draw on another night. Ritchie, Hayden and Gayle were standouts. Perez was as bad as I've seen him play; Armstrong was miles better when he came on. For all his faults (and two boneheaded fouls at a crucial time in the match), Rafa has to find a way of working Shelvey in the team IMO - performance picked up when he came on. Anita was shocking out wide but better through the middle, Colback rank even by his usual standards. Not too disheartened by tonight with Mitro, Mbemba and Diame still to come back in and am confident that Rafa will turn it around.

Thought he led the line pretty well considering his size and style.

I was thinking the same. Just by judging from the training pics and videos, that doesn't seem like it is still the case. I think he has mellowed even further as he has gotten older. His demeanour seems more friendly now, I think. Have to say, probably one of my only gripes with Rafa. Is how methodical and sometimes boring his football can be. What Bellamy is saying there kind of backs it up and I know former players and Liverpool fans say similar. That said, he is still light years ahead of anything we have had in the last however long. I also love how meticulous he is. I wonder what Carver used to say in team meetings Depends on your interpretation of 'exciting' football really. Rafa's teams have never been about all-out offense but they do at least have a proclivity for keeping the ball on the deck, which has been neglected in our football over recent years.

A fair (not all, admittedly - he missed a few decent headed opportunities from memory) amount of the chances that Mitrovic was guilty of missing last season were those scrappy, one-touch, poachery finishes where you just fling a leg at it and hope for the best. The kind that Cisse used to put away more often than not. When Mitrovic was put through on goal - only really the twice IIRC, Norwich and West Brom - he finished emphatically.

Anita will start IMO. Rafa really seems to rate him.

Big, powerful, strong in the air, good shot. Added bonus in that he idolized Shearer. Just the better fit for that shirt. Gayle is not a #9 player. Strong in the air & good shot, based on what exactly? A number 9 should primarily be a goalscorer you can rely on, and that's simply not Mitrovic. Are you really trying to claim he isn't strong in the air? 33 headed attempts on goal last season - second in the PL only to Giroud.

Where's this?

Quite surprised we're not in for Pritchard if he's only valued at £8/9 million. Cheaper than Knockaert at least.

As much as I like the idea of Perez as a no. 10, he was much more effective coming off the left as a wide forward last season IMO. Through the middle, I think teams will get extremely tight to him and crowd him out; he's not the strongest and, despite having great footwork, lacks the balance/centre of gravity to keep the ball in congested areas. Kirchhoff in particular absolutely manhandled him in the last derby. More than happy to be proven wrong mind, and this is the Championship at the end of the day I guess.

Diame's 'more or less done' according to Caulkin.

Diame en route to Newcastle according to Caulkin. Release clause has been met.

Would rather we went for Forestieri out of the two, but Knockaert is the sort of player we should be looking at IMO.

He was a statman's dream last season. Second only to Kante in tackles and interceptions IIRC.

Thought Thauvin was decent against Watford personally.

Red card for Gamez?

On today's evidence, wonder if Janmaat might play as a winger more often next season?

It's a friendly man, chill out

PSV are set to take a few million out of our profits through a sell-on clause apparently.

Fairly sure he's been mentioned before as someone who we should go for but Fernando Forestieri would be a cracking buy IMO. Can play out wide or through the middle as a 10 and is proven quality in this division.

Wasn't Bielsa supposed to have been an admirer of Thauvin's from Marseille?

Ojo would be a great shout to be fair.

He's even taken Perch's old number by the looks.

Been steady all tournament but was outstanding tonight.