christ

If someone doesn’t pull their finger out there’s a real risk we sign him

Why the fuck does he talk like an anime villain?

They’re now inventing the encouragement themselves so they can save face when launching another bid

I can’t see him going this window, because I don’t think Liverpool will get close enough to our valuation and there’s no readymade replacement available. He stays, gets reintergrated into the squad after the international break and there’s a truce until January/next summer when he eventually leaves.

Hard to assess Howe’s responses without knowing the exact questions, but I don’t think there’s anything in what he’s said that undermines the club’s position.

I thought he looked very tidy in the flesh when he came on yesterday - couple of wayward moments but seemed to do well in tight spaces and wanted to release the ball quickly. Then I logged on here when I got home to see people saying he was shit.

I bought them all for my bonfire.

So the Sela Cup’s not coming home?

Refunds please.

I do think he could work as a false 9 but we’re not set up to accommodate that. Not at all the way we play.

Targett last night. Ashby today. Maybe we can turn our failing fullbacks into passable midfielders?

Is the new set piece coaches plan to just bung it on the head of Joelinton and hope that eventually he scores?

My hero. My muse. Hence the avatar.

Villa have been pretty quiet.

I hope to be pleasantly surprised but my expectations are low.

He’s not sitting out the entire season man, even if he is in a massive huff. He‘s not going to wreck his earning potential, miss an CL campaign and his chances of being in best nick for the WC.

I’ve said it on here a few times before, but you’re an idiot if you didn’t think this was exactly what we were signing up for under the Saudis. They’re not fans. We’re an investment. And we’re one among many. Their interest - or at least our position on their list of priorities - is going to fall and rise depending on whatever else is going on in their world. I think we’ll get to a point in a couple of years where they just send a cheque to underwrite the club every six months and hand over all day-to-day stuff to whatever executive team they manage to put together. That means they get the cache of owning a PL club but don’t have to cut short their meetings with Gianni Infantino to approve a bid for a player who never signs.

This is it for me. Stop this talk of new contracts too. He’s here on his current terms until next summer unless Liverpool pony up £150m. That needs to be the message to him, his advisors and the Scousers. Out of curiosity how much is Isak’s book value set to drop over the next twelve months? Because of amortisation could sell him for a bit less next summer and it be better for us financially.

Howe’s very good at saying a lot without giving the game away, but I don’t think we have to read the tea leaves here. Just apply a bit of common sense. Isak isn’t going to be allowed to swan back into training even if he wants to. The current arrangement is good for optics and squad discipline. He’s a distraction and there’s no point having him around during preparation for next weekend. But the club aren’t going to close the door on Isak either because a) that weakens our negotiating position and b) he’s a 20 goal a season striker who will play for us next season if he’s still here. Do I think Howe is furious? Absolutely. A player who owes a lot to Howe publicly undermined him. He’s probably not much higher on the shitlist than Ryan Fraser right now. But Howe’s never going to outright say this to the media. He knows the bigger picture.

I want us to keep him out of spite.

Not sure what he knows about construction materials but if it helps us get the new stadium sorted then it can only be a good thing.

Ornstein gone full Graeme Bailey now. Tweeting daft speculation.

Lads, it’s the Italian media.

I reckon McGinn would be a class addition if he was six years younger. Exactly the sort of player you want in the squad.

He makes shite up on Twitter for clicks. He’s not snitching on the Camorra ffs.