Holmesy

Lallana is also 32 and hasn’t played regularly for a couple of seasons. His best is behind him and if we’re looking to progress we should be signing better and younger. We've already got 2 young prospects in midfield and what they need is some guidance, and we certainly need some experience in there. It's about building a balanced squad rather than just a 1st team. If we could sell Shelvey and replace him for free with a player not going to spit the dummy if he doesn't play the majority of games then i think its a decent idea, especially if we're staying within FFP. If we’re going to bring in someone as a mentor to the Longstaffs I’d rather it was someone with a bit more pedigree and standing than Lallana. More like a Cambiaso-type when he signed for Leicester. If Werder Bremen go down, Nuri Sahin might be available on the cheap.

Dwight McNeil would be a nice start.

Lallana is also 32 and hasn’t played regularly for a couple of seasons. His best is behind him and if we’re looking to progress we should be signing better and younger.

What a peach! They play such good football.

After 13 years of Ashley, I wouldn’t be disappointed with that. Quite happy for us to be sensible in the transfer market working towards a sustainable plan. I’m not really arsed about trophy signings as long we are trying to compete.

Another great game!

It's a moot point really. They'll give Bruce every chance to prove he's good enough to take us forward, he'll show very quickly that he isn't and he'll get binned.

Lallana's 32!!! I thought he was mid to late twenties. The two fullbacks plus Dries Mertens would be amazing free signings!

Don’t think so but it wiles away the time. Wasn't the Ben Arfa plane tracking a success?

:facepalm: This is not an unreasonable post. There are a lot of unknowns about his managerial ability I totally agree with this. He took over an already winning world class team and did what was expected of him He hasn't elevated Real Madrid beyond where they were before he joined. How can he be considered a top class manager?

I was thinking about this actually. If you assume the likes of Kane etc. are well beyond us which they are who would people go for in the £50m or more sort of bracket to take us on very quickly? Obviously would need to be someone on the way up from France, Spain or Germany I guess. That's where having Rafa back would pay dividends - he seems to have a massive knowledge of players/leagues and which players would fit into his system effectively, regardless of age.

If you mean risk free under say under 27 and already playing in the premier league then no chance and no one I also would suggest if your a 1 in 2 striker you will already be at a "next level" club on great wages so unless its something like falling out with a manager your unlikely to get one unless you unearth a gem. If you mean going for someone either older (that we would hands down dismiss in the past) or someone from the other leagues who may move for a wage boost and there being a risk they do not replicate the same form I would argue there must be players out there like that. Especially if we have an increased budget for that position as a lot of times our unwillingness to go for older or pay a premium have led to us dismiss players. That's the problem - scouting is so good these days that up-and-coming players get snapped up at 18/19, put on massive wages - Haaland, Moise Kean, Martial, Mbappe. There's no one in the championship good enough to make the step up and the bottom half of the PL is slim pickings as well. Maybe an older player like Giroud or Rondon could work as a stop-gap? My knowledge of European and world football is crap since i stopped playing football manager so i'm sure there must be some names out there.

How many proven 1 in 2 or 1 in 3 strikers of a decent age are there about at the moment? Are there any that are realistically going to come to us?

Exactly! It would be a legitimate question if our government’s trade relationship with the Saudis wasn’t so well publicised. Asking it just makes them look so poorly informed and amateur-ish. What are they hoping to achieve?!

Just seen Kay Burley asking some government representative what the government are going to do about the Saudis trying to take us over given their appalling human rights record. The same government that paves the way for them to be supplied with £4bn Worth of UK manufactured weapons a year Kay? I imagine they’re going to do absolutely fuck all. Next question?

Any new news?

It sounds like it's a consultative process whereby the PL are constantly talking to the buyer's side throughout. They'll no doubt talk about the new piracy evidence submitted this week etc. and discuss either what can be done about it or if it's even a factor. All the noises coming out of Staveley's camp are that they're confident of a positive decision and i don't think anything will have changed that. I also don't think the 10 PL teams saying they don't want it to happen has any bearing on a decision at all. Why would it? It's a no-brainer they don't want it to happen, but that's not part of the fit & proper owner's test.

Portugal looked a class above everyone else yesterday, but even back then they were shameless diving bastards! Some things never change ?

Let's be honest, outside of Newcastle and possibly Saudi Arabia, no one wants this takeover to go through. Not the media, not other clubs in the PL, not other countries with a vested interest in other PL clubs, not bitter has-been pundits. All they see is their own agendas being disrupted by a total game changer. Fuck them all!

Another powerhouse club in the North of England is not something the southern-based media are going to want to see. It’s no surprise they’re all sticking the boot in.

The general standard of football is a lot crapper than i remember it. I didn't think it would be too different to modern football, just a lot slower, but the amount they give the ball away is in huge contrast to the stuff we see now.