ponsaelius

Well I find the continental use of commas for decimalisation annoying.

But for somebody like Jackson Martinez. He's 30 this year, had his big move to a top side like Atletico and it didn't work out. The Copa America has gone and the next World Cup is a few years off. The transfer window has closed and he's not getting games. If a team wants to treble his wages and make him the star player of the best team on a continent its a very difficult to offer to turn down.

Agree, personally. Plus, there's all this argument about testing yourself at the best level - but it's not totally beyond the realms of possibility that playing in China as a star player for a top of the table side might be more personally fulfilling than playing for some PL dinosaur manager in a side that will never win anything. Especially if you're in your late 20s/early 30s and the chance of a breakthrough at a top club is running low. I mean the big sides there can play in front of 50k+. It's not such an awful opportunity to some players.

TCD doesn't deserve stick here. He's just pointing out that its a league full of mercenaries carried by agents, both of which are seeking financial fulfillment. The money is the main driving force bringing them here and that's what would take them to foreign soils too.

If it was one of us playing for the Toon the argument of foregoing riches for personal pride and fulfillment would make sense. But to some foreigner like Payet playing for some mid-table club in a rainy country he has no connection to, the argument holds no weight. He moved from Marseille to West Ham for the money and if he does the same again for China its barely any different, in my opinion.

Payet wouldn't go from West Ham to China if they weren't offering him mental money, but he wouldn't go from Marseille to West Ham either if it wasn't for the fact his wage was being doubled. That's the fire you're playing with by signing mercenaries. Can't enjoy the advantages that globalisation as brought to the PL and then also whinge when that same globalisation plucks a player away.

I think he's a very solid, know-what-you-are-gonna-get kind of signing. He's never going to be a worldbeater but he'll always be involved because of his physical attributes and general positive attitude. You couldn't say about Cabella and Thauvin (particularly the latter). It's very much a shift from signing long term potential for profit and signing a safe domestic player for the level we're at and the needs of the team. In the situation we are in, that's a very welcome shift in the short term IMO.

Maybe only allowed 3 per matchday? Some of the players that end up in these leagues. Jucilei has gone from Anzhi, to Al-Jazira in the UAE and then onto a Chinese team. Somehow managing to pickup a Palestine passport in the process (so he can count as an Asian player). What a way to play out a career.

4 foreigners + 1 Asian foreign player.

Plenty have been linked. Chelsea, Inter, Juve, Atletico.

Correct.

2 fantastic home performances, 2 putrid away ones. Hard to say if that sums up him as a player or us as a team.

Well he was up against probably the slowest outfit in the division.

He's still far too flat footed in and around the box, cumbersome with his feet and doesn't attack headers anywhere near as well as he should. There's sort of a feeling that eventually it will just click with him and he'll start scoring quite freely, but at the moment its not enough - IMO. That said his effort and link up play is really excellent at times.

Honestly I'd stop supporting the toon if Pulis was our manager. There'd be nowt left for me.

China has lots of rich men/companies. They've started buying football teams.

Red card was an absolute fucking joke like. How thick does a player have to be? Daft cunt.

dat Mendes.

Same. Possibly only against the mackems, though that's a tough one. thought that was my only exception until I was totally non-plussed by Defoe's last minute winner there.

Can't support Palace. I am strictly ABP (Anybody But Palace) these days.

Dodgy ownership, player laundering and clever accounting >>>>> Give me some of the Serie A madness over the likes of the Bundesliga with their smug rules and ideals.

Disagree that he's more creative. Barkley is pretty single minded and direct.

Watford fans can't really complain, if it wasn't for the Pozzo ownership they'd still be pissing around at the arse end of the Championship with a bunch of plodders playing for them.

Whoever runs his social media does a belting job for the lad like.

we tried