Thiago

Mental to read people would peddle him. He's one that cares, and after some of the shite he's put up with he could easily have downed tools and demanded a loan move January 1. He won't always be what we need in CM, but hes consistently a ball winner and instigator. Get him next to a reliable ball player and we'll be so much closer to having a serviceable midfield.

Don't discount it. Sometimes having a good CB next to you brings something out of you (see Bramble with Woodgate). It's about getting a leader - and hopefully a CM - to galvanize the spine.

You're not wrong Pilko, but that suggests we're starting from game one. That useless old bag of shite that is Steve Bruce chewed up some very winnable games himself. Southampton, Watford, Tottenham are just three examples. I honestly think if he'd won against Brentford he'd have believed in his ideas and we'd be 5-10 points better off.

Which makes me think the years under Bruce coupled with no major investment is what is killing us. New lads aside, are any of these lads genuinely challenged for their spot? Have they ever felt under threat? Even now they don't if we're honest because they can't replace eleven in one month. Isaac Hayden was very revealing when he said 'you can't just swap players out, this isn't FIFA'. A lot of them are driftwood.

Schar is the one to blame. He doesn't track the run nor does he even try tot impede it. The problem is Lascelles hardly had a Bobby Moore performance himself. For me, it can be diagnosed quite simply; Schar can only be considered reliable in a back three. It allows for the other defenders to bail him out when he switches off mentally. Lascelles is arguably in a similar boat because the back three stops him needing to be anything on the ball, but honestly, I think the lad just needs a move. He's spent so long here, too long, in a comfy chair knowing he's safe and that a few fist pumps will chase away any real criticism. At no point in his Newcastle career has he been truly tested or forced out of the team. That level of security has caused him to become sloppy.

I'm torn. Bar a select few I really actively dislike the majority of our squad. That's either because they aren't good enough or it feels like they aren't giving enough. Even ASM has started to frustrate me with his dallying on the ball - but then he is our most consistent threat. I have the same back and forth with Eddie Howe. When he took over I was excited, and maybe I over-estimated what he could do with this squad, but even after the Brentford game I felt there was a vibrance in attack and that with a better CB and Dubravka in goal we'd be grand. Instead it feels like we've retreated a bit. I can't decide if that's a move from Howe or the players are just that shell shocked that they panic. It could be both. Either way, I think I'd hoped we'd see more structure to our play going from Bruce to Howe, and I simply haven't. To be clear, I think it would have been worse under Bruce. The players had clearly lost confidence in him and mutiny was afoot. That's why I find myself looking back at the players, because we've swapped the manager and they still haven't got their arses in gear. The spine of the team was at one stage quite resilient and tough, but Wilson aside (and Wood) it feels like it beats itself these days. Right now I'm not sold on Eddie for next season regardless of what division we're in. If we do go down we simply cannot afford more than one season in the Championship, and I'd be worried about giving him that chance based on what I've seen so far.

Isn't Dele Alli like the last big money League One player and I think he went for £5m.

I've sacked off the Guardian pod in the last few months. Glendennig is a functioning alcoholic that is allowed to spew whatever he wants about us unchallenged. Even Rushden, who is usually trying to strike a balance doesn't question it and leans into his guff. It's funny for such a 'Massive Lads Fan' I noticed Glendennig's timeline was littered with tweets about our loss to Cambridge, but not even a mention of the credible point they got against Wycombe or the subsequent defeat to Lincoln.

We’d have kicked off because under Ashley this would likely have been our entire budget, if not the lion share of it. We’d have been frantically wondering where Wilson was going or who would need to be sold to balance the books. I’d have been shocked he ever sanctioned a deal for a 30 year old on a 2.5 year deal. This transfer is everything Ashley wasn’t when it came to business. He demanded the perfect deal and let that be the enemy of very good so it fit his shitty list of requirements. Fuck short term need, could we flog him for a small loss if he fails? Might he make us a big profit if he comes good? We’d have been scouring the loan market for a temporary solution, not signing Wood. As for Bruce, I didn’t see us kicking off when he signed Wilson? He was a 1 in 3 striker with a patchy injury record. If there was any frustration to attach to him it would be because he splashed all our money on one player like he did with Willock. You can say “well the fans weren’t complaining” yeah and the fans aren’t paid fucking experts that know how much we have to spend. If the suggestion is he wasn’t sexy enough - neither was Bruce’s play. I’d have taken some comfort in knowing he signed a target man to work in his hoof ball style. Honestly though, we can’t win. Either we’re devastated that it’s not Haaland and Mbappe or we’re hypocrites for not booing Wood through the door. I’m happy for people to tell us what we think cos it’s never right.

Imagine being so desperate for validation you’d happily sow the seed of doubt and unsettle the fans before a massive game. I hate everything his stupid account stands for and I hope he’s wrong.

He looks formidable.

Do the deal.

He’s had ample opportunity to show he could be the guy and fluffed numerous chances. He knew a move would mean a pay cut, so I won’t be devastated when he leaves.

They’re asking a lot for a relatively unproven striker. His highlight reel doesn’t scream elite talent, and there’s simply no benefit for us loaning him back.

We’re in a shite position, facing relegation. Despite that, we’re signing a 1 in 3 Premier League striker that offers us a physical presence and a genuine goal threat. He is at a similar level to Wilson and considerably better than any other option we have behind that. This is a good signing for our short term ambitions. It’s exactly the type of deal Ashley wouldn’t touch, and if he arrived in the summer I’d be as delighted. I’ll take anyone that raises the level and he does that.

I'm going to sound totally off piste here - yes it's a huge game in the context of this season, but I'm not really shitting it like I would under Ashley.

All Villa do for me is highlight truly horrific Mike Ashley was for this club.

Thought exactly that lol.

It was experience, it was known quantities. Right now, we either sign Chris Wood who I think could secure us 5-10 goals, or we keep hoping that Dwight Gayle is suddenly not going to be a shit PL level striker.

They also signed Tal Ben Haim, Sylvinho, Vieira, and loaned in Martin Fulop. It's about signing what's needed.

Woods is a classic number 9 and we need that. The fact we often go direct and need someone who can hold it up means I'm all for it. City signed a lot of 'unsexy' players in the early days and I'd be happy for us to do similar.

Cantwell is one of those players I could see revelling in the pressure and atmosphere or tanking and it getting abusive.

No blood on their hands, but support for paedophiles and boos for BLM. Out of curiosity, where does the responsibility cease in their mind? Because their owners trust fund is in part funded by a sale to a group in Abu Dhabi? https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/commodity-group-louis-dreyfus-completes-stake-sale-adq-2021-09-10/

Pretty much. Days like this reaffirm that regardless of where we end up this season the majority of this lot aren't worth the time.

I can't think of many 'good billionaires' they've usually got there through exploitation and any philanthropic work feels llke someone desperate to improve their obituary.