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Almiron was one of Rafa's actual picks. So the narrative on him will shift between "See, we did back Rafa with a record signing of a great, young star" and "Look at this chancer from the MLS Rafa wasted all that money on" where appropriate. And that's the thing on here Almiron was Rafa's so is beyond reproach. Rafa didn't want Joelinton so he is not given any slack. It's almost the HBA love in all over again Almiron was great under Rafa and looks lost under Bruce. There's a clue somewhere as to who is to blame for that. Go on, reach for it. You can do it Luke. Ah, I get it now. Worker likes his boss so puts a shift in. Worker doesn't like new boss so takes his pay and phones it in. Sounds like he needs to give himself a shake and roll his sleeves up. Thanks for pointing that out. I'll bite. Assuming that that is the case, then you need to ask yourself why he's downed tools for Bruce and not Rafa? Good manager's don't allow apathy to set in. I'm happy you can ignore the generous body of evidence that suggests Bruce isn't a good manager, but I'd love to hear what you know about Bruce that makes us all wrong. Personally, I give slack to those who haven't been given a fair shift, but when it's already going to script then I'm willing to put my neck on the line and say this will be a utter disaster. The most stupid thing about his appointment is that I can't think of a single player he's developed in his entire managerial career - he doesn't even fit into our model, but like I say, I'm happy to hear reasons for Bruce, reasons other than "he needs time".

All on the list apart from Dubs, Schar, Lejeune, Longstaff and almiron. Yeh, theres a difference between players that want to improve and players that just want to play well. I guess he's the latter.

I think it was Brummie who said he would blame everyone but himself, so the fans have already set themselves up as the only scapegoat he needs. 17th is all he needs and he knows that.

I didn't make that up myself. In that interview with the Daily Mail, Ashley said that the Rafa camp were asking for a one year extension, but he wanted to sign Rafa long-term. Presumably the one year extension was to give Rafa time to see what was happening with a takeover. Oh sweet baby jesus A decade later : This tribunal statement over the issue of whether Keegan had control of transfers does tend to get trotted out whenever it's convenient to disbelieve absolutely anything that Ashley says. You have to look at each situation as it comes. What has Ashley ever said or done that make him a reliable source? Genuine question bytheway.

Absolute poon hound too.

Scholes, Xavi or Iniesta. Easy.

I'm interested to see if these superfans can stick with it when the inevitable happens. My guess is they'll double down.

I don't think he's under any pressure. Any pressure from the crowd is nullified by the fact that Ashley doesn't care what the crowd thinks so he'll gamble to the very end. I don't see any example of the crowd's will influencing any of Ashley's decisions. Things won't be difference this time. The only pressure will come from poor results. That is the same for any manager, certainly was for Rafa when he went on a bad run. He was big enough to take the pressure and cool enough to stick to his methods. That is where I have no faith at all in Bruce as I don't believe he has any real method. He will just chop and change in blind hope like Pardew did, and I expect to see similar results. Pressure from who? The fans? So what? It's not pressure when it doesn't lead to anything, it's just loud noise at worse. The only pressure fans can exert is by not being there.

I don't think he's under any pressure. Any pressure from the crowd is nullified by the fact that Ashley doesn't care what the crowd thinks so he'll gamble to the very end. I don't see any example of the crowd's will influencing any of Ashley's decisions. Things won't be difference this time.

I've just re watched it because I thought it was the pass too but Willems is at fault for this. He does not react to it at all and is also totally oblivious to the oncoming attacker.

These are the type of people who didn't realise they were crap at football themselves but still showed up in 150 quid football boots.

Rafa's start last season will bite us in the arse a bit due to the lazy comparison but I saw enough and heard enough to suggest there could still be legs in this movement. Atmosphere was dead. I'd be surprised if the missing 5k would return after what was served up to day and I'm struggling to see that improving with the fixture list we've got. Could be an interesting few months.

I think Joelinton could be an upgrade for us. He's obviously more versatile, looks like he offers the same qualities as Rondon, probably pacier but is also able to carry the ball forward which should add another dimension to our attack. Dennis Wise told me this. Yes he could, but we have no depth at CF. I'm starting to sound like I'm defending our transfer business but Gayle, Muto, Joelinton, Almiron, Maxim and Carroll are our forwards/strikers. There aren't too many teams with that many options for their front line and I'd argue that they're by no means dross. Muto is still an unknown quantity and Gayle as our 5/6th option isn't a bad one to have. You are right in theory, it's not bad but Steve Bruce is our manager. It's like taking a looker home then realising she has a cock. Disappointing. Explain. Transfer activity = looker Steve Bruce = the cock Looks good on paper but at the end of the evening, you're working with a cock. In most cases that would render the looks pointless.

Seems like the boycott is getting some traction in the media which is fantastic. Good platform to get those undecided on board.

I think Joelinton could be an upgrade for us. He's obviously more versatile, looks like he offers the same qualities as Rondon, probably pacier but is also able to carry the ball forward which should add another dimension to our attack. Dennis Wise told me this. Yes he could, but we have no depth at CF. I'm starting to sound like I'm defending our transfer business but Gayle, Muto, Joelinton, Almiron, Maxim and Carroll are our forwards/strikers. There aren't too many teams with that many options for their front line and I'd argue that they're by no means dross. Muto is still an unknown quantity and Gayle as our 5/6th option isn't a bad one to have. You are right in theory, it's not bad but Steve Bruce is our manager. It's like taking a looker home then realising she has a cock. Disappointing.

I think Joelinton could be an upgrade for us. He's obviously more versatile, looks like he offers the same qualities as Rondon, probably pacier but is also able to carry the ball forward which should add another dimension to our attack. Dennis Wise told me this. Yes he could, but we have no depth at CF. I'm starting to sound like I'm defending our transfer business but Gayle, Muto, Joelinton, Almiron, Maxim and Carroll are our forwards/strikers. There aren't too many teams with that many options for their front line and I'd argue that they're by no means dross. Muto is still an unknown quantity and Gayle as our 5/6th option isn't a bad one to have.

I think Joelinton could be an upgrade for us. He's obviously more versatile, looks like he offers the same qualities as Rondon, probably pacier but is also able to carry the ball forward which should add another dimension to our attack. Dennis Wise told me this.

In terms of signings, I think it's been a decent window. Would have liked a CM but at the end of the day the signings don't serve a sporting purpose so what's the point?

Sounds like a right cunt. Jim White, that is.

Some glorious punts into the box.

Have Villa done a Fulham yet?

I dunno, David Luiz has just gone for 8M, really can't see you getting 15M for Gayle. Also, you should probably have appended a qualifying adjective to Joselu too . That's always the mooted figure and seems relatively achievable given the fees paid for strikers. But even so, let's call it 8-12m. We should still be looking to get someone in who is better than Gayle by spending some money. Joelinton - Rondon Perez - Maxim Almiron Joselu - Carrol Muto Gayle Not a bad line up to be fair. Anyone proven from a foreign league is unproven in the PL and anyone prem proven is out of our price range so it's kind of a moot point. I dont see too many proven strikers in any league going for £40m. Joelinton represents a huge gamble by any clubs standards so I can't be mad with the signing in much the same way I wasnt annoyed with the Almiron signing who was equally unproven. If we were to get a CM I'd of actuslly have been happy with this window up until the point I remembered Steve Bruce was our manager. We could definitely spend 25-30m on a striker and improve on Gayle. And we have the cash to do it. 25-30m on a second or 3rd choice striker? Can only see Jiminez, Kean and Leoã at those prices. I'd have been happier if they'd bought a CM but our forward line looks the strongest in a long while, on paper at least. I preferred your pre-edit post when you pointed out that if Carroll wasn’t injured he’d be worth more. Yeh, I deleted it because the fact he is always injured made that point moot. Which was my reply until you deleted it great minds and all that

I dunno, David Luiz has just gone for 8M, really can't see you getting 15M for Gayle. Also, you should probably have appended a qualifying adjective to Joselu too . That's always the mooted figure and seems relatively achievable given the fees paid for strikers. But even so, let's call it 8-12m. We should still be looking to get someone in who is better than Gayle by spending some money. Joelinton - Rondon Perez - Maxim Almiron Joselu - Carrol Muto Gayle Not a bad line up to be fair. Anyone proven from a foreign league is unproven in the PL and anyone prem proven is out of our price range so it's kind of a moot point. I dont see too many proven strikers in any league going for £40m. Joelinton represents a huge gamble by any clubs standards so I can't be mad with the signing in much the same way I wasnt annoyed with the Almiron signing who was equally unproven. If we were to get a CM I'd of actuslly have been happy with this window up until the point I remembered Steve Bruce was our manager. We could definitely spend 25-30m on a striker and improve on Gayle. And we have the cash to do it. 25-30m on a second or 3rd choice striker? Can only see Jiminez, Kean and Leoã at those prices. I'd have been happier if they'd bought a CM but our forward line looks the strongest in a long while, on paper at least. I preferred your pre-edit post when you pointed out that if Carroll wasn’t injured he’d be worth more. Yeh, I deleted it because the fact he is always injured made that point moot.

I dunno, David Luiz has just gone for 8M, really can't see you getting 15M for Gayle. Also, you should probably have appended a qualifying adjective to Joselu too . That's always the mooted figure and seems relatively achievable given the fees paid for strikers. But even so, let's call it 8-12m. We should still be looking to get someone in who is better than Gayle by spending some money. Joelinton - Rondon Perez - Maxim Almiron Joselu - Carrol Muto Gayle Not a bad line up to be fair. Anyone proven from a foreign league is unproven in the PL and anyone prem proven is out of our price range so it's kind of a moot point. I dont see too many proven strikers in any league going for £40m. Joelinton represents a huge gamble by any clubs standards so I can't be mad with the signing in much the same way I wasnt annoyed with the Almiron signing who was equally unproven. If we were to get a CM I'd of actuslly have been happy with this window up until the point I remembered Steve Bruce was our manager. We could definitely spend 25-30m on a striker and improve on Gayle. And we have the cash to do it. 25-30m on a second or 3rd choice striker? Can only see Jiminez, Kean and Leoã at those prices. I'd have been happier if they'd bought a CM but our forward line looks the strongest in a long while, on paper at least.