sushimonster85

21 minutes ago, Nine said:

wouldn’t be suprised if the player wants to wait and secure himself a better signing on fee than he would now if a transfer fee was involved.

Yep, I'm pretty convinced Tielemans and his agent have decided to wait till the Summer to get a huge signing on payday. 

3 minutes ago, nufcjb said:

My memory is much stronger post-Leeds, more accurately that Everton game. Can pretty much recall what has happened to us from that game until today.

Aye, I'm the same. That Everton game was probably the most nervous I've ever been for a game. After the Burnley win proving to be a bit of a false dawn (at least in terms of results if not performances) I really felt like a failing to beat Everton would have meant relegation was nailed on. That feeling of relief when Trippier's free kick went in and killed the game was amazing. After that it was good times till the end of the season. 

Such a weird career Cantwell is having. Seemed poised to be a big deal for a little while. Was linked with us all throughout last January. Ends up going on loan to a Championship side, which isn't made permanent. And now he looks to be off to the SPL. 

3 minutes ago, HaydnNUFC said:

 

We just drew 1-1 at home to Watford and a few people on here wanted Howe gone and Benitez who'd literally just been sacked by Everton in as we were 100% going down with the former iirc.

Yeah, that Watford result really was where there was, what felt like, a larger chunk of the fanbase really starting to question whether he was right for the job. Especially considering Benitez had just become available and everyone knew he was the ownership groups first choice. Thank no drastic decisions were made, as after that Watford result came the win at Leeds, which is where it all turned around. 

Do think he is seen as expendable now, but don't think he will go till the Summer. Anyone who would make a bid/desperate bid in Jan (Forest for example) he isn't going to want to go to. 

Personally don't see Wood leaving till the Summer, unless they plan to bring in another forward (ideally one who can play across the front 3) this Jan.

Chelsea will be trying to flog us all there unwanted players now as they try and claw some cash back. 

Agents using us in contract negotiations again I see. 

16 minutes ago, The Prophet said:

 

Unlike Memphis, this is one I do see happening. Assuming Chelsea don't hop in with £35m.

Isn't football insider generally known as not exactly being reliable? 

Think he showed enough yesterday to be given another shot back in the starting 11. Especially if Bruno is out and Joe needs to drop back into midfield. As others have pointed out, he seems far more willing to run/track back for the team (I feel like this actually started pre-injury), and his eye for a pass/cross seems to have improved. 

Just now, reefatoon said:

You have described Bruno perfectly there.

Think the only issue with asking Bruno to do that is you lose so much from him in an outright attacking sense. To talk squad numbers in positions for moment, think we signed him with the idea of him being a '6', and it turns out he is actually even more effective as an '8'.

Aye, Ki and Shelvey developed a pretty strong partnership together. Was hard for Merino to get back in. 

2 minutes ago, nemtizz said:

Have the plane spotters ever broke a transfer?

Not that I can remember, no. This Savic stuff is likely BS. I'm just enjoying getting carried away thinking about the possibilities. Of every link this month he is by far the most exciting.

3 minutes ago, LFEE said:

Not seen or heard that much of him. Not knowingly anyway. Tell me his attributes? And why if he’s so good has he been at Lazio for 7 years? Does he have a flaw holding him back?

He's physical. Never stops running. Is a genuine box to box midfielder who can carry the ball forward after winning it deep. Has a good eye for a pass as well. Putting up good goals and assist numbers this season. Imagine a world class Sean Longstaff and you're not a million miles off. 

As for why he hasn't left Lazio yet. Who knows. He is linked with big sides pretty much every window. Who knows why it hasn't come off yet. Maybe he's a bad egg behind the scenes or something. But as a player he is genuinely world class.

Don't get me wrong, Billing is decent. But Milinkovic-Savic is genuinely one of the best box-to-box midfielders in Europe.

6 minutes ago, ExiledGeordie said:

Trossard out of favour at Brighton, I wonder if we’ll test the water there this month?

Does feel like (if the reports about us being interested are accurate) this is exactly the type of situation they have been on the look out for. Someone that they have on a list somewhere suddenly becoming available.

2 minutes ago, Kanji said:

 

Nobody, but I recognize Ashworth has mentioned it several times - player trading must happen for those to get off the books and for us to actually have cash inflows outside of commercial deals and ticket/merch sales etc. 

Feel like this is another aspect similar to asking prices we may get quoted for players we're trying to buy. Teams will know we're desperate to offload players, and will attempt to pull our pants down.

"oh, you want £8m for Ryan Fraser? How about we give you nothing, and you cover 50% of his wages till the end of his contract term would have been with you?"

As much as it pains me to say it, 95/96 coming off the rails was largely down to KK and his inability to react to what was happening and making changes. 

Don't get me wrong, I don't think it will actually happen, but a player like Milinkovic-Savic you don't buy with an eye on the re-sale value. Especially in our position. He is world class and in a totally different universe to the likes of Longstaff and (in a CM sense) even Joelinton. To be honest, I'm shocked Liverpool aren't looking at him. He is exactly what they need right now. 

I was convinced Kezman and Robben were going to destroy the PL when Chelsea signed them both in the same Summer. 

39 minutes ago, McCormick said:

Italian media sources are usually always bs agent links.

Aye, his agents makes an attempt every window, bless him. Last thing he wants is another Kevin Strootman type scenario where the player stays in Rome a couple of seasons too long and misses the big move. 

Every window Milinkovic-Savic gets linked with a big move away from Lazio, and every window it never materializes.

8 minutes ago, TRC said:

The Manchester clubs have a pile up of fixtures here.

Bad enough now, if we can avoid either till the final in Feb they will also have European games to contend with as well. Not just pissy dead rubber group games either, but knockout games. 

Will be a lot tougher than a lot of people would expect. Best just to accept that Mitro is nailed on to score at some point. Still think we should have enough though, going 2-1.