Wallsendmag

Seems like they'll be missing a few players, plus they've only had 2 days rest. Added to that it's a ground we usually do well at. Got to be winning this really.

In my mind they booed the decision to take the player off and also the player that came on.

Was one of those days that I can remember so well despite being 33 years ago. Went to the Battle Hill Club with my dad (only time we did it that season). He bought me a pint of Exhibition (I was 15 at the time). We had a game of snooker then got into his works van and drove into town. Parked up at the Dental hospital and got into the ground an hour before kick off. Watched Lindisfarne play up in the Leazes end that was under construction and then the match kicked off.....

On this day 33 years ago. Still probably my favourite match I've ever attended at SJP. The whole day was just incredible and we all knew we were heading into an era of the type we'd never seen before. Enjoy! https://x.com/i/status/2052995161974604252

The day this topic heading says; "Yoane Wissa (in talks with Al Hilal)" will be a happy day for me.

Didn't realise it was as many as that. Lifetime contract for the lad then!

Give him his dues mind he's made £millions off scoring a few goals against the mackems.

Surely Croft Park would be more suitable given that the attendance will be 3 figures. SJP will be terrible with a few hundred there. A few hundred at Croft Park would generate a bit of atmosphere.

I can understand him wanting to go to Bayern Munich. They are genuinely one of the elite football clubs. Get as much as we can for him and get it done quickly so that we aren't scratching around last minute for a panic buy to replace him because that doesn't end well. If they're still keen on Woltemade maybe strike a deal for the pair of them whilst they're all round the same table.

Hopefully get around £80m for him. Shake hands and move on. Hopefully buy a good replacement not in the Elanga mould. Not every exit needs to be toxic and if everyone goes about things the right way it shouldn't be.

It really isn't. That's just your narrative. Net spend is a massive part of the picture when it comes to squad investment. Ours over the past 4.5 years is huge and is the main reason we went from relegation fodder to Champions League and ultimately winning a trophy. The other major factors were the manager and the fact that certainly in the first 3 years we bought the right profile of player.

Our wage bill is pretty much on a par with Villa's but Villa are constantly needing to cut theirs as it's too high in comparison to their turnover. They were charging £97 for standard tickets for their CL games last season. Not sure which other clubs were in for Shelvey and Wilson before we signed them. I still wouldn't swap our last 4.5 years for what Villa have had.

Net spend is the best indication of how much the owners are prepared to invest in the squad. It's what we used to slate Mike Ashley for. Balance sheet champions and all that. Our average league position since the takeover is 6th/7th and there's is 7th/8th and we've won a trophy and played 2 seasons of Champions League in that time. Never understood why people use Villa as a stick to beat us with for some reason. We are fighting to be top half because we wasted £250m on rubbish last summer.

We've literally won a trophy and qualified for the CL twice in that time. They might be able to say the same in a few weeks time. Our net spend over the last 5 years is around £450m and theirs is around £100m so there's been far more investment in our squad than theirs. We've also invested £millions in the training ground, hopefully a new one on the horizon, and our commercial revenue has rocketed.

Also Malen, Coutinho, Bailey, Diaby, Diego Carlos, all had to be shipped out for nowt, or next to nowt because either their wages were going to put them in breach of PSR or they were poor signings in the first place. I don't think Villa have been an example of a well run club at all. They recruited an excellent manager however, I'll give them that.

How are Villa a better run club? Haven't they had to sell off loads of top players over the past few years just to scrape into the right side of PSR/FFP and their wage to turnover is about the highest in the league?

Which shit ones did we settle for then? All our 1st team players were brought in at fees ranging from £35m-£70m. That shouldn't be in the "bargain basement shite" category.

I said it on here the other day but just to repeat myself, those expecting 5 or 6 new arrivals in the summer are going to be massively disappointed.

The last paragraph is a great point. For styles of play and exciting, attacking football, this must down as the worst season in PL history. That Arsenal, who are a particular hard watch, are likely to be crowned as the Champions about sums it up.

I'd be happy enough with Summerville to replace him if West Ham go down and his price drops accordingly.

Qualifying for the Conference means our summer transfer budget is reduced though due to having to follow UEFA spending rules doesn't it? If that was the case I could live with not being in it.

Fair play to the Chelsea fans mind. They've stuck with it longer and in far bigger numbers than the mackems did when they got battered off them the other week.

Hope they don't chuck it against us then if this is owt to go by

I wouldn't go as far as being a roaring success, he hasn't been a patch on what Botman was like when he first arrived before injuries became a problem, but he's been the best of the new signings. Would probably give him a 6/10 for the season. Only Bruno and Hall would score a 7.

None of them have been a roaring success either. Ultimately it's through scouting that identifies the players that are brought into the football club.