ponsaelius

He had 3 really brilliant years. Best player in the Championship right up to being PL team of the season in 2012. Absolutely imperious at times. However I think it was gradually diminishing returns ever since he put in the transfer request to go home the following season. It was almost weird that he ended up staying another 3.5 years after that. I think his worsening performances and ultimately captaining the team to relegation was a sad way for things to end and overall he ended up having arguably more average/poor seasons than he did good. That said it would have been absolutely fascinating to see him in a proper side like our current one, with a stronger defensive partner and under a manager like Howe.

In fact watching that sky sports video half of them are crackers with his left It's clearly his swinger technique wise but he's definitely very competent with his left which is a massive threat. Totally different to Miggy who won't even use his right at all. Be great if he could mix it up and play both sides, despite all previous evidence saying he's never played on the right.

I thought that about him but if you watch the compilations he's actually scored loads with his left foot considering he's played exclusively on one side. I think he's actually pretty two footed.

Getting a bit tedious this one. Hopefully he's in before we jet off to the US.

Wonder if he and Gordon have been told to be back this day or have voluntarily done so. Very short breaks for the two of them, particularly Gordon.

When we signed Hayden as a Championship player he'd have been on probably 10k a week. A progressive club would have moved him on 3-4 years ago in his mid 20s when he had a market to low Prem/high Champ clubs with an affordable wage bracket. Instead, like with so many other players from that era, they have been kept on because we've refused to invest and improve the side. But we're seeing so clearly now what a false economy this is when you end up with aging average players on big wages. The club being taken over and trying to rapidly progress has only underlined this more starkly.

He has signed a new contract in the PL while he's been here though. At a conservative estimate he's probably still on 30-40k a week. Maybe more. That would put him as one of the highest earners in the Championship. The problem we have is the bottom has fell out financially in the Championship. And even if a club is going to gamble financially to try and go up, at a push they're going to do it for a player who's guarenteed to make a difference at that level, not an injury prone defensive midfielder who played 12 games for Norwich last year. Unfortunately we're going to really struggle to shift any of our deadwood without simply subsidising loans or paying people off.

My dodgy stick has all National League streams like. Not that it matters, I'll be there getting soaked in the uncovered east stand

I mean they wouldn't have their jobs and we wouldn't have this level of investment without PIF in the first place. You can't exactly bite the hand that feeds you. Frustrating reality is we don't really have the profile of player that would be of interest to Saudi clubs - other than maybe ASM or Almiron.

That's the problem with free transfers. Inflated wages. See also Hendrick, Jeff.

Not entirely fair on Lewis. He's has had injury problems and he wanted to go out on loan last summer by all accounts but was kept around by Howe because of Targett's injury. Pretty sure he has been repeatedly described as one of the best trainers at the club as well by other players (distinctly remember Maxi saying so in an interview). Definitely needs a loan/transfer this summer though for everybody's sake.

IMO only Man City are guaranteed CL football every season.

Without overspending last year to get Isak we don't get Champions League imo. That then doesn't unlock the revenue from the CL, limits the size of new sponsorship deal, stops us signing Tonali. Etc. Unlike the previous owner the club fully understands that in modern football the more you spend the more you get back. I trust them to keep investing strongly, because it just makes long term economic sense to do so at this level, even if they are also wary of the fact that we will need to stay within FFP in terms of wage bill and fees.

It was always going to be 3-4 signings max. I still think it will be that - with a clearing of deadwood and one relatively big sale.

It might not seem it because of how much they spent last year but I think Chelsea are actually cutting cloth accordingly. They're refusing to re-sign top players like Mount on 300k a week and instead signing younger players on cheaper wages on long contracts. It's a fundamental change in model compared to the last 20 years. I think there's a big question whether they become title contenders again or whether they just become a club that buys and sells but doesn't win titles.

We appear to be signing some real talent alright

I've always had a sneaky feeling he'd go for a fair bit less than the kind of blustering fees talked about last summer, mind.

£120 million in pure profit selling academy players in Grealish and Chukwuemeka last couple of years. They've also sold and recycled other players too (Ings, Targett for example) We've not had a single sale of any note which is why we're hamstrung by FFP.

All comes down to contract length, really. Tbh in the current market they've probably undersold both of them.

Was it not the whole thing with Eduardo diving against Celtic in the CL not long after his comeback that you're thinking of? A lot if people took that badly. I think he got booed vociferously at Wembley when Croatia played England not long after.

Was Ramsey not Eduardo. Eduardo was years earlier by Martin Taylor.

Im pretty sure Targett would go if we did get another left back. £10-15 million for him plus whatever you can scrape together for the other rubbish could pay a large chunk of fee for somebody like Tierney etc.

While I agree we have more pressing positional needs than left wing it's worth acknowledging that signing a player in one position does free up others elsewhere. It makes Joelinton a more regular option in midfield, it pushes Isak towards centre forward, probably pushes Gordon across to the right. Hell it might even mean Maxi could play on the right instead. When you have an adaptable squad and manager you can add strength and depth without becoming fixated on very specific positions. All that being said - I still think if Barnes comes in it would mean ASM would go. Which would effectively fund defensive reinforcements.

Love Miggy but think there's a pretty big chance he'll revert to the mean next year. Wouldn't be actively shopping him around but he's exactly the kind of shock sale that could happen if there was a sizeable offer put in. At 29 he's basically at the last point where you could get a decent fee.

Personally think Paul Dummett being in our Champions League squad is hilarious and great. This transition period to becoming a serious club might be the most fun it ever gets tbh.