Nine

Seen they are 1-1, if they manage to scrape a win here be ready for the ‘we’re better than some of the PL teams’

That is true, I wasn’t trying to sound like a fee would be useless just that the wages gone would be more important.

Highly doubt anything else happens this window other than maybe Ashby

More important to shift Frasers wage than get a minimal fee for him which would surely would only be something like 2/3m.

We are really keen on this kid, chased him in the summer and couldn’t get a deal done if reports then were true. Contracts out in the summer? Would be nice to get him in and settled now as he can be eased in and won’t be expected to start, it’s up to West Ham to agree a reasonable fee for someone whos out of contract at the end of the season or we’ll wait no doubt.

Who knows, a lot more than 40m though.

Felt like I was missing one

The heartbeat of this side.

Without looking them up, who of Rafas signings are still here? Schar, Dubs, Manquillo, Murphy, Ritchie.. any I missed?

They really are the scouse mackems.. player leaves and he’s unanimously shit

Let’s go. Hated this kid when he played against us but thought he had real potential. Excited to see what he might become here.

Gotta know where that Bob Holly emote originated from. Anyone know?

I’m not sure why some of us think along the lines of - I wanted Maddison and not Gordon, these players arnt mutually exclusive. They play different positions, are at different stages of their career and there’s every chance we go back in for Maddison in the summer anyway. Now someone might say ‘we need Maddison more NOW than we do Gordon’. We are witnessing people in charge who are going about their business meticulously and building a squad that they believe will be contenders, just because target A might be a more effective signing in the short term they won’t be ripped off in signing them if we can do good business and sign target B now. The destination is the same never mind which player comes first, we build build build for the future but we go for targets who are available for money we believe is reasonable.

You arnt, I personally am though. I think this guy will win everyone that’s unsure about him over pretty quickly should he sign.

I’m not sure they will survive but out of the options Dyche might offer them the best chance. While someone like Bielsa would be more inspiring he likely wouldn’t have the time or personnel to implement his style effectively in time to win them enough points to stay up, the guy spent a couple of seasons moulding that Leeds side into promotion winners. They need signings at the top end of the pitch mind, there’s little goals in that side as it stands. Unless Dyche can have them grind out results with set pieces and a solid back line they are done imo. And the best part is they need to sell to spend..

Went to training to say his goodbyes, get the feeling it’s all but done

I hope if he does sign our fans that are doubters of the lad warm up quickly, best thing we can do as fans to get him settled is show him a collective warm welcome after the way he’s been treated by the scouse mackems

And that’s the thing, if one of Trips, Schar or Botman go down for a significant amount of time it really could be a game changer. Bruno/Joe as well to a slightly lesser extent.

Nice theory, but why the need to skip training if it’s all done? I mean I wouldn’t want to be around that club after the way they’ve gone on lately but wouldn’t he just gut it out for few more days to avoid the press?

It’s defo extreme circumstances here, not as straightforward as not turning up to force the move. He’s been harassed by their fan base on a personal level and has an opportunity to move to a much healthier club, careers are won and lost on moments like these sometimes. Stay there and he probably gets relegated.

He’s leaving then, question is to where.

I agree that Howe likes to stay loyal to a well performing starting 11, I don’t see that changing and rightfully so as it’s working. Burn and Joe covering the left is a fair point and will offer more flexibility on who we play LW, it’s just for me I do not see Maxis attributes as optimal for starting consistently in this system regardless of who is around him. I feel there’s a lot more to be gained from a Gordon type for the first 60 mins of a game than there is from Maxi, I like him alot and would love him to stay but time will tell on that. His injury record really isn’t in his favour either, extended minutes at a high intensity will just invite injuries.. I think he came into this season with to much size and like you say has slimmed down again which is fair enough.

It’s a nice idea to imagine we keep the Gordon money and Maxi turns into a pressing maniac whos no longer prone to muscle injuries but it’s unlikely to happen like that. Maxi has explosive pace but I don’t see him built for an intense press for 60+ mins, hes being used as a 70 minute sub probably because that’s how he’s most effective in this side. He comes on against tired legs and when the need to press is reduced, he pins back his right back because they are scared of his speed and ability to go past them. Maxi is great for that role and wether he stays depends on if he’s happy with not starting as many games imo, Gordon offers something entirely more suited to starting in our current set up. Some legs look a bit tired lately to me, just highlights the need for depth even more. We need to build a squad capable of an extended schedule by next season which is why we seem to be pushing late in the window for an extra (potential starter) body. Gordon would be an important signing at this stage, 60m is steep but likely isn’t accurate.

I understand there is a cap rule on instalments, apologies if I’m wrong

Fair enough then, I guess I’ve missed that. Seems a logical move for him.