sushimonster85

Absolutely. Though that being said, there is that paranoid part of my mind that will breathe a little sigh of relief when we cross the 40 point mark next season. Will probably take a couple seasons to fully 'un-Ashley' myself.

Saka is fantastic. Put him in the City squad and a combo of Peps coach and actually being able to be rotated and get a rest and he becomes a world class wide forward/winger in 2/3 years.

Likely Lascelles for Burnley then. Can't see Howe playing someone who hasn't trained all week.

Couple of months ago I would've agreed with you re Almiron, but his recent improvement makes his a useful squad player for next year for me.

Honestly think he is captain material. Probably wouldn't get past Trippier when it comes to picking a new captain, but should at least be in the leadership group if he isn't already.

Desire to finish as high as possible vs my desire to see Everton go because I hate them vs my desire to see Leeds go because I want Phillips (maybe even Raphinha) on the cheap. Tough call.

Said this for a while, outside the top 4 there are few/no number 9's better than a fully fit Callum Wilson.

Likely at some point in the next few weeks after the final game. Would usually have been unveiled by now, and potentially even worn in the final game, but change in sponsorship likely means they can't unveil till Fun88 are done at the end of the season.

I honestly think if that rumoured £15m fee is correct then we should sign him up. I know the fee talked about for Lodi seems to be between the £20-£25m range, which is also a good price, and I do think Lodi is likely the better attacking full back. But Targett is solid, and I don't think Lodi is £10m extra better than he is.

Always interested to see teams who are known for one primary colour experiment with other accent colours. City are very hit and miss, generally they stay white, but have branched out to purple before, and now this. Liverpool with the odd bit of orange on this seasons shirt.

Wouldn't be shocked if Al-Rumayyan is at the match later.

Really looking forward to this game. Regardless of the outcome I imagine it's going to be a special atmosphere. To make a really depressing prediction, I do actually reckon Arsenal will sneak it. We can talk about players playing for a spot next season as much as we like, it will never be the same as actually still having something big left to play for the way Arsenal do. I am predicting 1-2. We take the lead, get pegged back, then they nick a winner late. Hope I'm wrong.

Who do people prefer, Cornet or Sarr? Seem to be linked a lot with Sarr, who I do like, Cornet does seem like more of a goal threat.

I keep seeing this talk of Paqueta in a midfield 3. Whilst I agree he would be a fantastic signing, he wouldn't fit into a midfield 3 the way we currently play it. If we switch to a 4-2-3-1 then he could absolutely play anywhere across that 3 behind the striker. If you were to try and fit him into our current system he's likely take the place of Fraser or ASM.

Yeah, I think the Summer spend will ultimately end up being around £100m, but with 15-20m of that made up from outgoing sales. Which is huge compared to previous Summer spends. We could add 3/4 players who immediately make the first team better. Just to get things back on track a little, I actually quite like that blue away top that's got lost in the shuffle over the past few days!

Never like tops like that, makes it look like a t-shirt with the Liverpool badge and Nike logo stuck on.

As soon as he signed it was pretty clear that his priorities went: England Horses Newcastle

Think Ronaldo did alright at Madrid....

Combo of Eddie and teams coaching, different system, & not being the sole load bearer as a goal threat in the next couple seasons should do wonders for him. I don't think he will ever play more than 20-25 games a season again, but we should be in a position after Summer where he doesn't have to.

If you really want to pray for ASM take a look at Hugo Ekitike, who we remain heavily linked with: https://fbref.com/en/players/5b92d896/Hugo-Ekitike I know Ekitike is more of a central forward, but if he it played out wide he could be way more effective than ASM in time.

If I had to pick I would obviously pick A, if they made as many as possible available I imagine it would just about satisfy the demand there is going to be. But given this season individual tickets have barely been making it past the member sale before selling out there is no reason for them to do that. I think realistically it's going to be hidden option C, somewhere in between.

Same, final season for me was the survival on the final day V West Ham. Wasn't buying Ashley's bullshit pre-match that day at all. Second half of that season was just dreadful stuff. I'm less anxious and more just resigned to not being able to get one, at least not till the ground is extended. Will try, but after renewals wouldn't be shocked if there are few than 1000 for general sale.

I feel like we look back at Robert with rose tinted specs on. Don't get me wrong, he had more of an end product (certainly in terms of assists) than ASM does, but he would go missing for long stretches.

Very weird chat from a bloke who's only recent assist came because he misplaced a pass at Norwich that happened to find its way through Joe. I do like ASM, and think it's right he gets more leeway than other members of the team in certain areas (pressing for example), but drama stuff like this that threatens the harmony of the squad is exactly the sort of stuff Howe won't want. Like others have said, I don't think any team that could afford to put a daft bid in for him will want or need him, but if someone stupid like Villa did I'd be very tempted to cash in this summer.

I have seen talk of two forward players, but I think that likely means an out and out striker, and someone who can play as a wide forward on the right hand side.