christ

Good deal, providing we can get a replacement.

I’m in bits la

Eddie Howe’s Jesmond wine bar Mags

It’s a very silly opinion. Put your copy of FM in the bin and enter the real world.

At least he’s getting stuck in

What the fuck are you talking about? Trim the squad? We’re always about two injuries away from being absolutely fucked I’m not debating the quality of these players but please, a little perspective. We need more than a match day 18. Players get injured, tired, whatever. Lascelles and Ritchie are not the calibre I’d really want us to have as backup but we’re in transition. Replacing them with players of equivalent quality let alone someone better will have a greater cost than keeping them when you factor in transfer fees, signing on bonuses, agents etc. If another club comes in and makes a good offer they’ll be on their way. Evidently that’s not forthcoming, and the club aren’t going to flog them under market value because Gawalls from the internet thinks they should.

We’re evidently not a charity though are we? Wood was a big positive presence around the club by all accounts, but when it made financial sense to do so we moved him on. If someone comes in and offers enough cold, hard cash for our squad players they’ll be on their way. But as the wording implies we do need a squad. If we sell Lascelles or Ritchie they’ll need to be replaced and often that’s a greater financial burden than retaining an existing player.

Ritchie is a huge presence around the club and in the dressing room. When you get down to Ritchie vs Fraser you’re arguing over who is getting the last spot on the bench, so you’re probably looking at other attributes too.

Aren’t Sheff United under transfer embargo? Might need a fee to get out of it.

I don’t rate Edwards as a journalist - his defence of Bruce which was entirely predicated on access, and the absolute pantshitting stupidity of hitching your wagon to a Henry Mauriss takeover are massive blots on his copybook - but some of our fans need to lighten up. The man has admitted to deliberately trying to wind our supporters up and yet people still fall for his shit. He’s getting paid to tweet like a bellend, we’re not. Ignore him.

Really weird deal this. It doesn’t sound like he’s pulled up trees at West Ham, but the club have been trying to get this deal done for a year now. They must rate him, but it’s a bit odd we’ve had a clear run at signing him. £3m is fuck all in the grand scheme of things.

He’d have loved Metroland.

Wait until 11pm on Tuesday.

It’s going to be mint when this doesn’t happen and people lose their minds over something they’ve tried to wish into existence.

Was known about. Embargoed.

Difficult to know who to trust here - the club hierarchy who have managed to avoid near certain relegation and engineer a Champions League tilt in just over 12 months, or the N-O brain trust who have shat their collective pants at the end of each of the previous transfer windows.

How’s Reading?

Yep.

Absolutely terrifying to think Romano has a folder on his computer that contains the disembodied heads of every footballer in Europe.

Our main issue is wages to turnover.

Can quibble about the price, but he’s got all the attributes you’d expect us to be after given how we play. He’s a workhorse, he’s rapid, he loves a physical battle, and he does his fair share of defensive work. If he can improve his end product a bit £45m could look a snip.

Think a CM is still possible but it would be very late in the day. It doesn’t feel like you’re going to be able to get much value in a market where Arsenal and Chelsea are tearing about offering silly money for anyone vaguely competent in that position.

Lad’s a cock tease.

It’s mint that this regime already has its Brett Emerton.

It’ll happen, if only because they can’t afford to not sell him. Anything they make is pure profit for FFP with him being a youth product.