ponsaelius

Can't see it happening because they'll ask for daft money and him daft wages. I think despite not being sold on him personally he'd probably be great. He's basically similar stage that Isak was at - great hype but off back off hit and miss season. We've clearly liked him for years.

Just ignoring that they then beat Fulham, Villa and City without conceding a goal then? He had a good second half of the season as did Palace in general.

Don't think that's particularly true regardless of how he did in the game against us. Palace had a good second half of the season and won a cup. And he was a key player in that.

Gateshead stadium closer as the crow flies, by car, and by metro to SJP than Kinky P is. Ignoring council drawn lines they are moving closer to the heart of Tyneside.

They can't afford him unless they manage to shift the players they need to (primarily Nunez) and grind us down on our asking price. This is the reason we are seeing this bullshit play out now through the player/agent/media rather than just making bids. Whole thing stinks.

It is reflective of the entire culture in these oil rich gulf states and their rentier economies. Nepotistic and tribalistic rather than meritocratic. Lacking in dynamism and entrepreneurialism in the general population. And ultimately layers upon layers of state salaried bureaucracy at the top. Staveley knew how to deal with people. We probably had great success early on because she was able to leapfrog the layers of crap and get stuff done quickly by going straight to the top. Now we're stuck in this stasis where the club doesn't have the people in place to set a coherent strategy nor the autonomy to act with speed required in elite sports business day to day. I'd love if we could get Staveley back in some capacity. I think you need somebody like that who really gets both the club and city, but also the people funding us.

Indeed. A lot of people (not just NUFC fans, but in general) are convinced that Saudi Arabia, and PIF by default also, are very savvy and successful operators given their visibility on a global level. The reality is they simply have literally an unlimited pot of money to spend and do so with wild abandon, wasting trillions on projects that never stack up or make actual economic sense.

Personally I'd get Wissa in ASAP and continue focusing on other targets and positions. It's not ideal but given Isak and Wilson's fitness problems last season in the interim we at least have a PL ready CF to start the season and we're not substantially worse off. Dig heals in on Isak, play everything with straight bat, and say he's not being sold this summer under any circumstances. Keep contract offer (up to 200-220k) on the table with an achievable release clause next summer. The optics of selling him to Liverpool this summer are abysmal and go far beyond the short term.

Our transfer policy of targeting more high profile 'sure things' to enhance the starting XI was probably in part dictated by our desire to keep him and prove a certain level of ambition. What a mess given the way that has backfired and we have been unable to sign almost anybody. Chances are he was as probably gonna try and leave anyway given it's largely down to the level of salary he could receive elsewhere.

Got to admit it's annoying the way we've allowed him and his agent to basically shape the narrative when the club has huge power here given his 3 years remaining on his contract.

Fannying around with daft marketing signings ahead of pre-season tours is all well and good when everything else is functioning well. Embarrassing optics all round.

If it was just the injury he'd be there IMO, even if just to be in and around the squad. Like Joelinton and Hall are. Pre-season tours are team building as much as they are for fitness - plus to promote the club. Unfortunately I get the impression he's basically pushing for a move at this point.

Pretty pathetic and weak the way we've dealt with it tbh. Basically allowing him to take the piss out of us.

It might not have been a stronger hand if new contract also meant release clause though. He'd probably already be gone. We don't know for sure the terms when it was put on ice.

If this is the alternative to Ekitike and Trafford doesn't happen, I hope we get some real quality in at CM and CB.

He does have the same agent as Toney who was sold to a PIF club. I think signing him and moving him onto Saudi in 2-3 years for a pay rise seems a viable out and one which would probably be in our thinking given his age profile. These Brentford players by the nature of their career paths and the relatively low salary structure there do seem to be looking for late career paydays more than others.

Worst post ever award

Nee players but we're signing child nerds with laptops ffs

Is the link not him going to that club then?

Weird - Transfermarkt has him down as joining us in August last year

You're the one spinning it listing players that never played for us and those that were shite and replaced years ago like Ryan fucking Fraser We've never had an issue with squad numbers, it's always been about quality. We've had a bloated squad pretty much since the takeover full of shite that we didn't really have any use for but couldn't move on. We still do let's be honest - pretty sure we still have more than 25 players on the books. Most of those players you have listed we are well shot of. If we hadn't have sold them we'd have even less chance of making solid moves this summer.

Still struggle to see it at the price point and age. It feels like a Spurs (who can afford to do it) or West Ham (who can't really, but usually do anyway) type signing to me. I get we're talking about a back up to Isak and that's difficult but I expected more creativity than this and I'd worry it's the kind of deal that would drag on for ages.

We're hardly down on players like Minteh who never played for the club or Fraser who was in reality punted three years ago and has clearly been replaced. Kelly was actually a first team signing himself in your timeline here (I'd count three first team signings in Kelly, Osula and Elanga). We can bemoan the issues in recruitment without being silly to make an exaggerated point. We've had a bloated squad for a while and most of the above have been welcome trimming, with some solid fees received. We'd be in a great position if we could deliver 3-4 more quality players this summer. We have the money and headroom to do so. If it doesn't happen then serious questions do need to be asked about our operation.

I've just been travelling home with my mate who I bumped into who told me this story as it was his mates laddy who got the scarf.