ponsaelius

I could definitely see us alternating a lot more between 4-3-3 and a 4-2-3-1 if we did sign Pedro. It gives us much more options against weaker sides. I can't see why we'd sign him unless we were leaning towards that idea. I think Howe would like the idea of somebody who can be more of a creative link between midfield and attack to change things up but I don't think he likes pure #10s in terms of lacking positional flexibility. Plus they need the physicality. Somebody like Pedro is perfect if you look at it that way.

If there's a Fofana or a Sarr they want him

Depends on how much we're considering adapting the system. I think Pedro effectively replaces what Willock offers if we were looking to switch to more of a 4-2-3-1. We've had squad depth but not enough quality/flexibility for a while - hopefully we're looking to address that this summer.

Do you not have Futbology? I feel it would be right up your street.

Absolutely loved how much Tevez locked in for that

Got to say I thought it was mental that it took so long for Tonali to go central. From day 1 at Ibrox Eddie had Longstaff as the #6 and Tonali at #8. It felt like his biggest blind spot tactically for a fella that makes very few mistakes. I get that Tonali has so much energy you intuitively perhaps want to use that box to box, and Bruno had been so good in terms of resisting the press from deep, but when you have such an expensive asset not clicking 100% it was insane not to try it for so long.

Yeah I mean it probably is enough, just going off previously years where we usually have had 6-7 games. TBF that usually includes double headers like the Sela Cup which are two different teams.

So we have: Celtic 19th July Arsenal 27th July K League XI TBD Spurs TBD Atletico 9th August 5 fixtures seems a bit light for a pre-season - would we not expect one more domestic/local one either before or after Celtic?

Keepers seem almost impossible to value for me. Pickford was £30 million a decade ago. Kepa was 70 million. So to me 30 seems pretty cheap in that context. That being said the lad is only proven really in the Championship up to now, and Burnley have to consider that he may be about to have 12 months of conceding goals and then have a year left on his deal next summer. So it is in their interests probably to cash in now and get an experienced goalie.

Nixon says they want 40.

People had same thoughts when we signed Livramento and Hall, that it was ignoring key upgrades in favour of less vital positions. But it didn't take long to very much see the vision. This will very much be the same.

Good stuff if true.

I love Harvey Barnes and his output particularly this season but I would support him being the sacrificial lamb this summer. Realistically if selling Barnes and Willock meant we could get Ramsey, Pedro, Elanga, Guehi and Trafford all though the door that would be a great window and leave us stronger overall. You would no longer have two nailed on left wingers but you'd have players like Pedro and Ramsey who can play that side as well as other positions. Elanga is a player who can go over to the left as well.

I hate the signing and farming out of players for PSR purposes but unfortunately we basically have to play this game. We know we're going to need to trade players, so we will probably want to be in a position where every summer we can either sell these Minteh type signings or instead move on an existing first team player and slot them in as a replacement. In an ideal world I don't doubt we'd have rather done the latter with Minteh given he was still on an upward trajectory.

Madueke style over substance tekkers. Elanga is a better finisher, crosser, set piece taker.

Loan with an obligation is just an accounting trick for a permanent signing, not an actual short term loan deal.

We'll only do loan deals if they're obligations/options to buy of players we really want. Eddie has been quoted in saying this in the past that they're only done as a means to sign players we want permanently. I don't think we will ever sign a high wage, high age player on a short term loan deal no matter how much people see the logic in it or suggest it. It's just not the way Eddie and the club wants to operate, even if it leaves us short. I tend to agree with it tbh.

I've just explained why they're worthwhile. They provide regular football for all nations against different opposition, allowing them to develop and improve. Europe is strong largely because of this fact - even if any country under about 15 million population inevitably will go through noticeable peaks and troughs between generations. IE from winning tournaments and regularly qualifying to being 'shite'. International football at qualifying stage isn't supposed to be entertainment really. It's a necessary means to an end and should also serve wider development of football. You don't have to watch it.

So what? They should earn qualification. I'm not sure what the issue is here other than you don't find qualifying entertaining which is fundamentally not the point of it. Greece have won more international tournaments this millennium than England, maybe they should start later on.

Elanga would have a hatty against these pyrenees postmen

The likes of CAF, AFC and CONCACAF mostly have qualifying systems like that because of the size of those continents and the developing nature of many of these countries. Travel costs and lack of infrastructure makes it difficult for them to compete in longer qualifying campaigns without subsidisation so they are weeded out early on. It is very much a bug and not a feature though - and certainly not conducive to them developing as footballing nations. Many countries don't play very regularly, good players don't commit to playing for them etc. Europe is a smaller continent generally and even the micronations are wealthy countries with established football infrastructure and who can easily afford travel costs. The UEFA system of qualifying contributes to allowing all countries to play regularly against all different standards of opposition. This is one of the main reasons Europe has by far the most strength in depth of all continents and why even countries once considered minnows (e.g. Iceland) are able to qualify for world cups. Having 2 games every four years against a genuine minnow like Andorra is a small price to pay for the overall benefits of the qualifying system.

I think the goalkeeper signing is all about future proofing the position. Don't think we'd bother with a stop gap, probably just continue with Pope.

Bagged for Spain U19s against the septics today

Pedro massively opens up the potential for 4-2-3-1, something I don't think we have the personnel for at the moment. I think Howe has been desperate for a profile like this for a while. I think he wants a #10, without actually buying a #10.

The only thing with it is I genuinely think we basically did exactly this with Bruno and nobody bit, which led to the Gordon to Liverpool idea and ultimately the Anderson/Minteh escapade. It all worked out in the end but if clubs know you're relying on that sale then it reduces your bargaining power. The key is to have multiple potential sale options lined up.