Holmesy

I should've just booked all of January off - i'm getting absolutely no work done

If we end up signing Cantwell instead of Coutinho, and have to endure those cringeworthy celebrations, I'll be sad......very sad

Likewise, but Howe has played Clark instead of Fede in 3-4 games and that speaks volumes. I'd be starting Schar and Fede every game but Howe obviously sees it differently, so he's just going to warm the bench. And if we sign 2 new CBs he's even further down the pecking order

Agents play the bullshit game better than anyone as well. They'll tell a journalist the player isn't interested so they don't put off other clubs and so they can squeeze every last £ out of the club when the player eventually signs.

Yeah, I think he's going to shine and we'll be gutted we didn't get him. Sounds like he's still hungry and wants to re-prove himself and I reckon Gerrard will get the best out if him. Maybe the one that got away?

Yeah, it was Botman

Botman, Diop, Lascelles, Schar and Dummett sounds a lot better though. I'd prefer we forgot Krafth existed entirely

Offer them Fede to sweeten the deal. Ideally i'd like to keep him but it's clear he's not going to play under Howe so he might as well enjoy the remainder of his career somewhere warm

Every time i've seen him play i've thought he was class, really dominant and totally in control. He's also huge, which is a bonus. Replacing Clark and Lascelles with Diop and Botman would be huge.

That's actually surprisingly well thought out and not shit!

Seems to confirm the theory that we're after 2 CBs.

He probably just limited what Castore are able to create for us before he knew he was selling the club - club kit only, no additional clothing or accessories. Fuck knows why if he knew Castore were taking over the club shop. Maybe he’s just being a cunt for the sake of it

He’s a decent player but those goal celebrations make him one of the most punchable players in the league. Absolute fucking whopper! If he joins, he’ll have to cut that shit out.

Different type of cunt!

Wouldn't take much to convert him to a winger - play him and Trippier on the right hand side together

An un-named PL club (believed to be us) has had a £7m offer for Nat Philips from Liverpool rejected. Liverpool are holding out for £15m but the player is available apparently. No idea if he's any good or not?

That doesn't scream £40m player to me

It's not about backing yourself at all. Players who make it to the top level have no problem backing themselves. If we're mid-table this situation doesn't occur, it's an easy 'yes'. But, it's still quite likely we'll go down and players don't want a relegation on their CV, to play a year in the second tier or the disruption of moving to one club, only to move to another 6 months later when the first is relegated. To say they don't back themselves is oversimplifying the thought process. They also have to look at the other players at the club - "do i back myself? Yes 100%. Do i back Gayle, Shelvey, Lascelles, Almiron, Longstaff etc? Fuck no"

Depends which Sean Longstaff they get. If they get the Sean Longstaff who Man Utd. were interested in under Rafa it's a risk worth taking. If they get the Sean Longstaff we've had since Rafa left it will probably lead to Rafa's sacking

If we look at who most urgently needs replacing in the first team, I think you'd have to go with: Gayle Clark/Lascelles Ritchie at LB Krafth/Manquillo Almiron/Murphy Shelvey That would be my list of priorities. Shelvey has been performing and Big Joe has been excellent in his midfield role, which pushes CM down the priority list for January IMO. I would prioritise a #10 or wide creative player over the CM role because Almiron's decision making is pap and Murphy is inconsistent. We are completely reliant on ASM for creativity and that makes us too easy to play against. That needs to change if we're going to stay up

23 year old Brazilian striker with 16 goals in 21 games this season! (according to Google) Sounds pretty handy!

Agado and Batman would significantly improve our repertoire of chants, which currently stands at 4

Martinelli seems to be the favoured option now for obvious reasons - he's class, young, technically excellent, fast and his movement is brilliant. Lacazette and PEA are basically playing second fiddle now are unlikely to displace him from the side.

It is disappointing but to be fair to the lad he is a current France international . It's not too surprising he prefers a Champions League club over a relegation dogfight

Coutinho wants to prove Barca wrong and win back his place in the Brazil squad - to say he's finished and looking for a payday is just re-haahsed, ill-informed rubbish. Yes, Ramsey is made of crisps but if we get him on a no-risk deal and get 10-15 games out of him, it's worth a gamble. PEA i'm more concerned about because he looks like a genuinely can't be arsed any more. The fact is we're not an attractive draw right now. We're odds-on to go down so players won't be desperate to join us. It would be different if we were mid-table, but players are selfish and want to maximise their short careers - spending a season here in the championship won't look very attractive to most