Tiresias

wouldn't be shocked if he follows Rafa around indeed

He's been good for half a season, Colo had a few seasons of being outstanding tbh, then a sharp and long decline. (also a slow start)

How is that a new story? That's all stuff that happened a while ago

Best premier league keeper was Gomez (is he still at watford) for that time he thought he was taking a free kick but it was still in play and Nani just tapped it into the goal iirc.

Dubravka may be waiting to see if Rafa stays. he presumably can refuse to sign.

Rafa had said the club to show the ambition he wants need to improve the training facilities. Everyone is so fixated on the transfer kitty and have been ignoring this, but suspect this may be the bigger sticking point. If they won't upgrade the training facilities they aren't looking for any long term improvement and a clear sign to Rafa there will be no progress.

If it was costing him money to 'bail us out' he'd have sold years ago. I just don't believe any of this shite doesn't matter how his accountants dress it up. Look at what's happening at Sunderland to see what owners do when clubs are genuinely costing them money. yeah I'm with you, albeit I do believe basically he wants us to fund ourselves and not have to spend any money from his side of things. If he has indeed put money in to cover loss of premier league status for a season it should be clear proof that to get us paying for ourselves needs investment etc etc and then he can step back. I do believe we could be sustainable and competative without having a super sugardaddy owner paying for everything. Not win the league no but basically what Rafa says he wants. But as Rafa has said you have to invest in the training ground, be able to attract players etc etc. He had evidence the scrape along doing the minimum costs him more money in the long run yet I bet he continues to ignore this. I agree, he would have sold us if we were costing him serious money, if he really wanted rid of us the price would come down to teh point of genuine interest coming in. He doesn't want to sell us per se, he would like £400m though and would sell us for that amount. Noone is biting though.

He's not going to russia

That Man U team is total and utter garbage. What on earth is Mourinho doing with them?

Jones is so fucking awful

What a Mourinho side make a game boring? Don't be silly. (not all to blame Chelsea aren't great this season as we found out)

Smalling and Jones cb pairing is still awful

What a shock, his utterly incompetent running of the club has led to us not having enough money to fund ourselves. He's created a problem, running us badly, it's cost him money having to put money in to us to even start to put things right and now will risk having to put more money in to bail us out instead. He's like a boxing trainer who starves his boxer then is shocked when he loses a fight so starves him more. It's Ashley's money, he is entitled to want the club to fund itself, but the thing is it fucking would with a little bit of investment, keeping rafa and he'd probably make a profit fairly quickly and all would be ok. If he wasn't funding it because he reckons he's going to sell it soon that would be one thing, but there's clearly no concrete interest or his price is just above the going rate anyone is willing to pay. Honestly anyone looking at us thinks he's going to have to drop that price sooner or alter either in desperation to sell or because we crash and burn a bit more so are just waiting. If he's not funding us because he genuinely thinks that is isn't money he'll ever get back in any way and thinks he won't lose value on the club and revenue, well that's also mad. It is of course both.

Carvahal gone from Swansea. Honestly while he struggled in premier league he did well in championship previously didn't he? They've lacked so much stability for a few seasons now they might have benefited from sticking with him

Smalling is awful on the ball. The him and Jones performance at CB against us when they kept having to hoof it long because perez was nearby was a clear demonstration of their limitations.

Yep we have clearly in the past told him the money is there, and then we haven't got players because of some ridiculous excuse.

Rafa wouldn't leave if he thought he could achieve anything but it sounds like we're still a shambles. He quite reasonably doesn't want to just be used to prop up the falling apart club, he wants to rebuild it proper, that was his project. So if he does leave to West Ham I would be very surprised he chose them of all people, but it is entirely Ashley's fault.

I think Ashley hates Rafa having any kind of leverage on him, and will be desperate to show everyone who is boss. Of course it is ridiculous when Rafa guarantees more prize money for the club than any alternate manager we could possibly hire, but Ashley does not act rationally, predictably or in the club's interest.

I wouldn't be surprised if he goes, I would be if it was for west ham

Moyes didn't do that badly to be fair, but perhaps I only think that because West Ham's squad looks a total mess, and has for a while their transfer policy seems mad. Their set of players always seem to lack all logic or reason and seem to pull a million players out so never seem to play the same squad twice.

To be fair to Southgate, I think he really prefered to take players who had been involved in the setup recently. His mistake was calling up Tarkawski rather than Lascelles last time. And he is rabidly attached to a dull functional midfield of Dier and Henderson. Should not be so but it has kinda shafted our pair.

Gary Cahill is rubbish, should be nowhere near the squad. He has experience, bad experience

What's madder, not selecting Shelvey because the opposition will mark him out or selecting a bunch of players the opposition won't need to mark?

Not in a million years would they hire a liverpool legend and no chance he'd go.