sushimonster85

I actually think Barnes may have been bigger. Think his first choice front 3 would have been Barnes, Isak, Gordon. Super fluid forward line with everyone able to interchange at any moment.

Have people still not fully grasped that Eddie does everything he can to mislead opposition during his press conferences when it comes to team selection?

Apparently he was in the metro centre. Just a twitter account but apparently said his ankle was "ok, but sore." Seems we may have gotten away with it.

Personally think it will be PSG, and it will be for just under his release clause. So like, 90m. Think it's PSG or nobody mind. Barca can't afford, Real have other targets, no one besides City could pay 100m in the PL and they have Rodri.

Aye, but the step up from playing U23's to PL is big enough. Imagine asking a lad who's only played U18 level to play PL football. It wouldn't be good for him at all.

Yep, people need to remember he hasn't even played U23 football yet for City. Only U18.

I have said a few times that if it was truly there to stop clubs going out of business there's other ways of implementing it that doesn't penalise ambitious clubs. I'd keep the PSR rules in some form, set a higher limit which clubs are allowed to break/go over, but only on the proviso that they have to put aside the same amount they're over by at the end of each period. So if you're 20m over you have to put 20m aside into a trust controlled by the PL. This money is only released back to the club after a designated amount of time, or if the club changes hands.

Unless the lad pushes for it (and likely even then) I really don't see this happening today.

Yep. This one is going to be a tight, scrappy game I reckon. When these sides come here they tend to play in a low block and make us play out and try to hit on the counter. Type of game where if we don't get an early goal it wil be really tough. Early goal for us and we win 3-0. If they keep it tight and it's still 0-0 after 60-70mins I can see it finishing that way.

Aye, seems to be one of those that has been decent everywhere else he has played, just not us. Think even when we signed him he was a regular (albeit 3rd choice) in the Belgian squad.

Understandandable.

Interested to see that a lot of Villa fans seem to think this has been coming, and results lately have been masking a poor run of form. Sorry if you mentioned this already @brummie but anything in that? If so must make Spurs hopping into 4th last night worrying.

I know it didn't end up happening in the end, but this was Ekitike the first Jan window with the new owners. There were some light links early in the window. Then deadline day morning everyone was reporting a fee had been agreed and he was on his way to the airport. Obviously all fell apart in the end, but thats the closest I can remember. But even with that it had broken earlier in the morning. Feel like if anything was going to happen today we would have heard reports of it by now.

This. Even when we have had busy windows he will always pop up with something like this on deadline day. Got to keep people watching/engaged. I guarantee you there will be a moment, probably round/just after 5pm where he will act like he has just had some huge information through and he will divulge all after the break. At which point he will tell us Newcastle sort of looked at a player, but decided not to do anything anyway.

That Ignacio lad from Sporting earlier. But source was a lad who is 99% BS.

Aye, in the games where we have played well we have looked like the team from last season. Just will the injuries and schedule we have only looked like that team 20% of the time if that.

Obviously take with a huge grain of salt.

To be fair they (it wasn't a PIF club, but I think it's clear the influence the PIF has on the league now) they did supposedly try to take Miggy.

Hard to see getting anything out of this. If you offered me a draw now I'd snatch your hand off.

Can't see Harrison coming straight into the squad. He hasn't even been playing U23 football for City, just U18 games.

I do think having steps in place to protect clubs from going bust. But it's pretty clear now that that isn't what these rules are about anymore. Think the backlash they're starting to feel now is because it's even effecting the 'big' clubs that used to like it as it kept everyone in their place.

Agree that ultimately nowt will happen. Think we will hear definitively on Monday that Miggy has turned down the Saudi's, and that will ultimately lead to us not getting any incomings in place.

Don't know why you're all pretending like it won't be City or Liverpool away.

I think it works well in this instance, not that Max intended it this way. Obviously not what you want ideally, but good when you have no other option and need a quick fix.

Shouldn't this really be one of those occasions where you hope you're wrong? Rather than gloating about the team you support being unable to strengthen at a crucial point in the season?