Abacus

To clear this up. I remember being gutted that you'd fluked that cup final against a hungover City and stolen our rightful Europa place. However, now that it has been generally agreed as being a FARCE of a competition, it seems you actually did us a favour, because we wouldn't have wanted to be in it after all. Watched the end of your game and Amorim seemed genuinely chuffed walking down the steps. Nor has he come across badly to me in Interviews overall. Which is annoying, since we're all waiting for him to whip off his lizard mask and eat a mouse, like in V. But in seriousness, what do you reckon to Spurs in the final and your chances?

Very much looking forward to the club world cup now.

Think I'll watch a few YouTube videos about who REALLY wrote Hamlet.

It does sound like I'm doing them down, didn't mean it like that.

Was reading that this isn't really a competition designed for teams like them as they're should always dominate it. Ah well, happy for their genuine fans. Now Spurs are definitely through at 2-0

All done with Spurs through. Shows what I know

Yeah, I've been thinking the same. Not saying Bodo have looked all that much like scoring though

Matterface claiming in the Bodo game that "we all to see a big all English final in the Europa league". Errr. Who is he speaking for? Might flip from this game soon after half time, seems a bit of a lost cause now for Bodo.

You'd have to say, this Bodo game doesn't yet have the glamour of Milan vs Barca. Great commentary knowledge there questioning why the Norwegian royal family are wearing red scarves. "It's the Norwegian flag".

Not yet for me

Bodo ground with Thunderstruck on and the rain lashing down looks grim and also great at the same time

Think I'm watching Bodo, unless Spurs score early and ruin everyone's fun. Then I'll flip to anything that looks exciting. Probably won't be watching the play off game till it comes to the crunch in the second leg, unless the Euro games are dead and buried.

There was one fragment from when Mitchell was appointed, I can't remember who posted it or where / how reliably it was sourced. If I've remembered correctly, it was basically that he hates protracted public negotiations and often sends out false targets. That doesn't seem to square with the Guehi pursuit, but there you go. But then, it did seem like he was the target from before he was appointed, which he stuck to depending on what you believe from the press comments. Wouldn't be surprised if there was some hybrid approach of previous and now new targets here, given Howe has been no slouch in the transfer market on past scouting. So I'm kind of discarding a lot of links for now. For one thing, I don't think we'd know where we stand till we know where we finish, and therefore our budget, for the next year at least. They're probably working on a few simultaneous lists depending on where we are, but the Barnes buy does suggest we'll also be opportunistic at times too. Still love reading it all, mind.

Think I'll be watching the Bodo / Spurs game. Pretty unique place to play, two of their better players back - an early goal for them, some nerves, and it's on. Still unlikely, mind. A Spurs Man U final does look pretty nailed on to me. In that scenario, I'd be hoping for Spurs. I could see Man U rebuilding with a win and getting better with CL money, whereas I'm not sure what Spurs would spend and they'd likely persist with Ange for a bit longer. Wishing misfortune on other teams, both to keep yourself in the hunt and because it's a good laugh, is one of the best things about football.

If we sold him, we really would need more in midfield in the summer, to state the obvious. A real squad overhaul. I like him as a player but he doesn't seem able to stay fit and is too inconsistent to be someone we can rely on if we're going to try and compete around the CL places. He's good for where we were, but maybe less so for where we're trying to get to. Somewhere like Palace might well suit both parties. It's going to be an exciting summer, and obviously so much of it hinges on grabbing that CL spot. It was the trigger for buying Tonali last time and one or two more of that calibre instead would make such a massive difference.

Lack of class from Arteta there. Best team he reckons. Just needs a striker

Keown was moaning that Arsenal needed a striker. Didn't mention him by name, but Merson will be on it in 3...2...1

Wish this was a bit later than 12, but hopefully we'll be right up for this one. End of the day, if we want Champions League we need to be better than these especially at home. It's going to be one heck of a game.

I always think back to what some of the players said when we were struggling. They were talking about 5 a-side training matches and who was the first player you'd pick for your team. It was Joelinton, because he absolutely never give up and was a nightmare to play against. Think other teams have seen this now. Then I remember how he got his own personal trainer to help turn his career around. He's unique and I'm not sure who you'd even scout if you were looking for a replacement. Get well soon big fella. You're a huge miss, but come back when you're ready.

I'm hoping you're right and thinking you are. If this season has shown anything it's that we can turn up when it matters. I had no idea how much that cup run and win just showed how much our mentality has changed.

Watching the match in real time, I kind of thought a draw was a fair result and also a good one. This morning I watched match of the day 2 and they clearly thought we were slightly the better team, which the stats seemed to back up. I'm not getting into a stats debate, still think a draw was just about fair. Maybe Barnes could have swung it our way, thought he was excellent. The point being that we played well and a loss wouldn't have felt right. Quietly confident of CL now, but the Chelsea game at home is going to be huge. Think we'll turn up again for that, even though they're a good team.

I suppose you're just advertising that development.

Edit just answered my own question

So is Mike Ashley. Not sure if anyone knows for sure what PIF/Ruebens are in it for, though we can all have a guess. Fully likely in the case of PIF they want to be involved with a successful team in the most watched league in the most popular sport. Also a chance, though, that their investment was to buy a club that's value could be increased massively. However, those two don't need to be mutually exclusive. Anyway, with the league being an increasingly closed shop to new entrants, I've been idly wondering about parachute payments and interactions with PSR and squad cost ratio. The idea of a parachute payment originally being to allow new clubs to spend a bit to compete, in the knowledge it wouldn't wreck them long term, either to not go bust or so they can rebuild the next season in the championship at unarguably an advantage to the others in the championship. And if they did stay up, they retain that crucial TV money, so could in theory carry on. But then, I'm wondering if that's the best plan - carrying on, I mean. Because if they did stay up, the season after that they don't get that one off protected spending boost and for PSR reasons may even have to sell some of their players who kept them up, in order to take their squad further, with a few gambles on who they replace them with. So actually, is really the best strategy to become a yo-yo club for a good while instead, because in the event of staying up you don't then get a second chance of further investment? If you stay up you're always guaranteed a certain amount of money and maybe if you're the one in a dozen to get it right, that just means maybe you then have a chance of competing in the lower half of the table but not going much further or breaking the next glass ceiling, because from then on, you're playing with the big teams, and it's unlikely your revenue is going to be able to compete to match. TLDR I suppose what I'm saying is which has already been discussed by others, the combination of parachute payments and PSR /squad cost only serves to maintain the status quo. Which isn't really exciting is it?

At the time, I was cheering on every word and it's an all time moment however you look at it. Legendary. Later on, people pointed out to me how it showed how the pressure and the baiting had finally gotten to him. Why do I get the feeling this would have been Howe's response?