Thumbheed

Said it before, but if they win the case and open the floodgates to PSR then it'll fuck football. Can't bitch about cartels then willfully hope for a result that will essentially shift the balance favourably to 3 state owned clubs.

In spite of never actually bothering to improve himself at any club he played at, he was still widely regarded as being good enough to play at any club in the world had he done so. His entire career was based on talent and talent alone. That makes him unique to any winger we've ever had.

Think they need to prioritise their 0.000000003% investment tbh

Because he's a Tory cunt who has no desire to call out right or wrong but feed and thrive off the misery of others.

I largely agree with this but there was HUGE scope to sign players who have the potential to be top quality RW and CB. If we can't spot potential, or are unwilling to take that risk then that's a significant proportion of our recruitment which has failed.

Neck on the line - they'll fold. They'll never get a better price for him and they know it.

If the measure of progress is based solely on how we've done it via the market only, which is seemingly your definition, then no we probably haven't. If the measure of progress is, 'is the squad is stronger than it was last year?' then my argument is it is. Both can't be true.

I've explained why I think it has improved so won't recycle that, but fair enough

This is where we ultimately disagree. I think "raising the floor" is a sign of progress, you don't.

No ones under any impression that many players can't be improved on, but why is improving the RW for example (the season after we scored +85 goals) seen as a far bigger area of concern than addressing general squad depth which directly contributed to our struggles last season? Unless you're arguing that the squad as a whole isn't stronger than it was last season, then I'm not sure how your definition of stagnation - and the risks associated with it - can be true? Ideally we'll get a first teamer in over the next 24 hours, but if not, really poor, but certainly not indicative of a club that's stood still.

How so?

Lewis Hall will be getting far more gametime this year round, Lloyd Kelly looks like an extremely tidy deputy for Botman/Burn, Tonali is legitimately like a new signing and we get the additions of his skillset this year, Willock - injury pending - looks like he was showing signs of being a big player for us and will give us depth. Miley has one more year under his belt and Osula looks like a great 3rd option to have should Wilson inevitably breakdown. All of these things are counter to any argument of things standing still.

We know exactly what "stagnating" as a club feels like, and this is no where near that though, not even close. As for a players leaving because of a desire to win things- there's about 5 clubs in the world that offers that appeak, and yes they poses a risk with those players being such high quality, but they'd pose that same risk if we were winning cups anyway.

Just a class act.

Would make the most sense about the way we're operating I guess.

I wonder if our transfer strategy has now changed to focusing our budget on game changers rather than spreading it across the team? What are we year 3 into the 5 year plan to become CL regulars? I'd say we're about 3-4 players away from that which would make sense.

It does, but in spite of that, I still think we're quite one dimensional in only using the width because we don't have the technical ability of players who can play in tight spaces that would gives us that extra dimension of also being able to play through the middle.

Still maintain we need some control in that midfield.

I'd take a punt on Morgan Freeman at this point tbh

I think we're significantly overpaying because of the clause, but I do find that "instantly adaptable" argument a bit counterintuitive when almost all of our most significant players have come from foreign leagues. But anyway, hope it goes through and I end up eating my words.

Fair enough

100%. Definitely not doubting his quality, I just can't understand what it is that draws them so heavily to him to the extent they might be willing to compromise on strengthening other areas as a result.

Honestly? No. I can't understand what the club sees as the defining difference that draws them to pay the amount they're willing to pay for him, over a player like Botman. In terms if quality, there's nothing between them - although I rate Botman higher having seen him more. Then add PSR, our how this might impact our need to improve others as well and I'm not sure where the sense is. No doubt he's a very good player but £65-70m?

Honestly, can't get my head round this one at all, irrespective of his recent performances.

Would also give us the flexibility to move Bruno to his favoured 8, if needed.