LFEE

We’ll never know for sure but if you read my summary in this thread posted yesterday i feel it explains fairly simply what went on. Certainly had no one arguing against it.

I predicted around the £120m mark. Can’t see us going beyond £150m but it all means nothing. All about getting the right players not more/new players for the sake of it. Personally think we’ll sign one more £50-60m type player in midfield. Then some cheaper defensive cover in 1 or 2 positions.

Makes total sense. You’ve got to be thinking this is Salah’s last 6/12 month at LFC.

How much do you think we’ll spend?

Quite like when it’s quiet. Usually means we are up to something ?

Have either of them got much pace? The one thing we lack at the back is elite pace somewhere along the line to provide a bit insurance.

You been on the phone to them @Unbelievable? ?

Understandable really and a reality check for those who think otherwise. Hopefully they aren’t an option for him and if we sign him he comes to love the club like others have.

My summary of all this is Maddison could see the writing on the wall at Leicester and kicked is agent into gear. The agent falsely informed us there was a bargain to be had at around £29m if I recall. At that time we probably in all honesty like 99% of fans expect ourselves to finish 4th. No doubt a quiet aim for Europe in some shape but not top 4. So with that in mind Maddison at that price would be a very sensibly priced transitional player that could push us close to top 4 quicker in the coming seasons. The first bid/enquiry went in at around £30m and with more agent encouragement possibly a second one went in maxing out at £35m+£5m. At that point it became apparent it was nowhere near enough and the agent was playing games to create interest in his client and media were being misled also. We decided to just monitor the situation and revisit when he only had 12 months on his contract. Meanwhile however without him our progress had been unexpectedly much greater than expected finishing top 4 and therefore giving us not only a bit more financial pull but the ability to attract players only wanting to take the risk if we had ECL on offer to help us sustain our new found success. In short players we deemed better than Maddison medium & long term. That is when I believe the reality on how much we actually rated Maddison and his style of play and what he would bring but also lose from our current style of play kicked in. Hence the term “nice luxury” that was used by journalists the other day. If the deal was £30m mark and his wages which must’ve originally fitted into our structure via his agent were correct then we were happy to risk making the deal and see if it worked out and if it didn’t then probably confident after a sale little money would’ve been wasted. The truth as I see it was very different and the agent has used us to draw out interest in a preferred southern destination which was achieved with Spurs despite Arsenal being his preferred choice. The problem for Maddison has been within those 12 months NUFC are the ECL team not Spurs leaving him a decision between lifestyle and sporting. We’ve made it clear we weren’t prepared to wait for ever and whilst pondering the decision Spurs will of realised they are the only show in town in theory as our patience had been tested and be able to get Leicester down from £60m to £40m if they upped their wage offer to Maddison to such an extent his decision was lifestyle and gamble on them swapping places with us in 12 months. So in theory the money saved by Spurs avoiding any bidding war they’ve redirected into Maddison’s salary. So really everyone’s a winner as Spurs have their managers priority target and takes a bit heat out of no doubt a Kane transfer saga. We were interested to a point but we surpassed that ourselves without him and have secured a younger more suited if unproven in the league player for a total package far cheaper than Maddison’s with the added benefit of no change in our wage structure and need to renegotiate more squad members on to higher contracts. So the savings almost unquantifiable over the coming few years. I think the only losers are those on here who thought he was a primary target and thought it was pretty much a done deal or no brainer he’d choose us over Spurs. I’ve no doubt the lad will get booed by large elements of our fanbase whenever he faces us which is all part of the circus and theatre of football but TBH I wouldn’t give him the recognition or the time of day. I honestly believe we will be stronger without him. Just glad it’s over and I can come down from my hill alive ?

Surely that’s the very definition of ITK? Having reliable sources and passing info on… If however you mean Twitter then who are these sources?

Exactly. Only way we get him is this windows release clause or next windows release clause you’d imagine. Smarter people than me know which plates are spinning and at what speed. Might have to settle for Franca and Southampton FB this window and revisit in January if still in the ECL.

It is but IMO the club will think the lower wages to Maddison and no disruption to wage structure far more offset it. I think they real problem is a release clause has to be paid in one go I believe (?) and can’t be structured to help FFP. We paid for Gordon up front so our wriggle room is tight. Like that Rob lad says if nothing else is looking likely and Liverpool start getting closer they may just pull the trigger if FFP allows it which I’ve no idea if it does or if I’m reading how it works wrongly ?‍♂️

Agree 100%. He pops up on my timeline and as someone else mentioned he comes across as a bit of a knob when talking like a fan (slagging off the slogan “we don’t want a team that wins we want a club that tries” etc etc) but I’ve been taking note of late of his transfer info and he’s definitely getting fed decent info. Transfers can always take a quick twist and make any ITK look foolish but generally his tweets have been accurate and backed up with sensible thinking ?‍♂️

Man City looking at him currently apparently.

There’s the presentation video sorted… ?

That’s where Dom Slob comes in perhaps? We are definitely getting one more big signing if they are available. They will max out our FFP limits each window.

This was the bit I loved. As basically what I’ve been saying all summer… “Intriguingly, Newcastle were not looking for a No 6 or a No 8 as had been assumed. Indeed, in conversations over the last few days there is something “retro” in the way Howe wants Newcastle’s midfield to play next season. You might even call it old fashioned. In an era where there’s all sorts of tags and descriptions for midfield players, Newcastle wanted in old money what would have simply been called a centre midfielder; an all rounder. The idea is Newcastle’s midfield will be fluid, not rigid. There will not be precise roles or positions, but rather a unit that works together in tandem, with each player shifting to different areas of the pitch, depending on the situation. There is the hope that Tonali’s arrival will free up Bruno to have more of an impact in the final third, but Tonali will also go forward and impact play in this area too. Freeing up is a loose term, but what it will give Newcastle is two ball players in the middle of the pitch, making it far harder for teams to shut them down. It brings a myriad of different options and Howe does not want his team to be too predictable in their patterns of play.”

For us it isn’t though. His wages over 6 years are £15-18m more than ceiling. So you give that increase to several of our players to keep dressing room happy and you are talking about a player we aren’t sure wants to be in the NE or where we would play him costing us £40m fee + £60m wages + £100m wage ceiling increase and if he doesn’t fit you can’t reverse that wage structure.

She knew what she was talking about…