sushimonster85

Yeah, not great wording but that surely just means they're committing to not changing any of those three things without getting agreement from the fans. In which case I'm actually surprised club crest is on there given there must be branding/marketing folk behind the scenes itching to make it into some circular shite like every other badge. Likely looks like they want to have the ability to change stadium names without fan consent should it come to that. That being said, think it will be seen as an absolute last resort.

Barca accounts department right now...

If anyone thinks, after the season he has had, Kvaratskhelia is going anywhere other than PSG, City, or Real Madrid then they're kidding themselves. Based on this season he has instantly jumped into the elite tier bracket with the likes of Mbappe and Haaland. Personally I'd wait a season anyway, make sure there isn't a massive drop off in his second year.

I think Howe would love to be in a situation where he has a totally fluid/interchangeable front 3, with all 3 players capable of switching about with no drop off in performance.

This is true, however with the caveat that it's consistent CL qualification that really opens these streams up. Say we do make it this year, it will have been partly based on us being absolute boss radgies, but partly based on Chelsea, Liverpool, & to some extent Spurs being abnormally shit. Even with heavy Summer investment we'd likely start next season as outsiders for a top 4 finish. Still think we are a couple of Summer windows away from being a consistent top 4 side.

Think early signs suggest it's likely to be him or Tierney.

Aye, my pie in the sky, in no way ITK at all guess would be: Renan Lodi - LB we know they like and is now PL ready. No more than 30m as well as that's his release. But Atleti can usually be negotiated down. Maddison - Again, we know they like him. Contract up next summer so price wouldn't be insane. Diaby - The crown jewel of the Summer business. £60m+ Then a young right sided CB full of potential to eventually fully take the place of Schar. And a young (likely from South America), more defensive CM, partly for depth, and partly to push the likes of J7 and Willock.

On this, I believe it was specifically that his agent intimated there were only a couple clubs he was actually willing to move to in Jan before his contract expired (so missing out on a larger signing on fee). Believe it was Man U, PSG and someone else. Implication being that in the Summer he'd be far more open to the likes of us and potentially Villa, who were also being linked.

Sex on legs, that. Assuming it is Adidas from 24/25 as rumoured I hope they go back and do some throwback style kits. They do it for Man U, that blue away shirt of theirs from last season was straight from the 90's.

The rivalry literally only existed because our ability went up in the 90's. We're not local rivals. We're two teams who competed against each other for about a 3 season spell in the 90's for the PL, some older members of the fanbase still hold a bit of a grudge, but its not really a shock that it's diminished over time.

You're catchable, they're not. That's where 80% of the heat in this game comes from.

I think there was an argument 25+ years ago to say you had to have more talent as an attacking player than you did as a defensive one. But I'd say these days that's no longer the case, and in fact if anything the modern 'full back' has to be one of the most talented players on the pitch, or at least the one with the widest skillset. It's still a bit daft to try and directly compare forwards and defenders mind. I take the point about Henry being more talented than any PL CB. But Cannavaro's career spanned a similar time to Henry's and I think there's a discussion to be had there certainly.

Think that might just be because you're on the look out for it more than any other side. Don't get me wrong, I don't like Man U, and maybe 15 years ago you'd have more of a point. But I have way more hate in my heart for say an Everton or a Villa than your lot. Same's true for most of my IRL pals. Only one still utterly despises Man U, and even that is mainly down to all his in-laws supporting them

I'm sure we will buy a couple players for £40m+ in the Summer, but with FFP we can't buy 5/6 players like that.

Scott McTominay is pretty underwhelming, but then when I think of the improvement Howe has gotten out of pretty much every member of the starting 11 then I think maybe there could be something there.

God that's right, it felt like some places had him on his way over for a medical at one point.

I do have a feeling we will win this (2-1). That being said, given their home form a draw wouldn't be the disaster some of the Twitter bedwetters would immediately suggest it is.

Got Botman in the Summer despite interest from CL teams.

Certainly seems more doable this Summer. Weren't Chelsea supposedly the main competition for him in the Summer (if there was anything in that), I know Todd Boehly is a crazy MF'er, but you have to imagine they're not going to spend big on someone who plays in a very similar way to the guy (Enzo) they've just got huge on.

Don't get me wrong, I love Alan Shearer, but there were times that season where we had Shearer, Kluivert & Bellamy where it seemed like Shearer may be the odd one out. Remember Kluivert and Bellamy playing pretty well together the few times they did. Seem to remember them doing really well away at Palace. Not saying Kluivert was definitely the one to replace Shearer, as he wasn't exactly young either, & definitely had long spells where he didn't fancy it, but it certainly made the point that maybe it was getting time for phasing Shearer into being more of a bench option.

Yeah, there were whispers about this at the time. I'm sure it was the season before Bobby ended up going himself. Want to say Celtic were the team being mentioned.

Lodi has really kicked on in the past few months. Seemed a bit lost when he first joing, like all Forest players did then to be fair, but is really showing why we were after him now. Wouldn't be shocked at all if it is him, especially now he has a season of PL experience.

Aye, very harsh. Even if we bring in a right sided CB in the Summer, I'd fully expect it to be a young'un with a lot of potential to be blooded in slowly. Schar and Botman are good for at least one more season after this.

There is also the couple times a game he will start a run from just inside our half that takes him right up to the pen area, bringing in the 'shooooooot' cries. Shows amazing restraint 99% of the time and looks for the pass. I'd be open to him attempting more thunderbastards. Certainly has it in him.

While you're here @brummieI'm curious to hear what Villa fans think of the clubs current prospects/overall ambition. I feel like before the PIF takeover it was Villa who were best placed in terms of both wealth of owners, and their willingness to invest, to break into that top 7/6 consistently. Do the fanbase see that as being a lot harder now there's a team outside that traditional 'top 6' who, in theory (once FFP and commercial catches up) can match up with/outmatch most teams in Europe financially and would now be seen as the favourite to break in consistently over the course of the next couple seasons? Or do you still see a route through?