Keegans Export

If my job is to identify players, the first thing I'd want is a coach with a track record of getting the most out of (and developing) players. I think Eddie Howe fits that criteria pretty well. If I sign good players and my head coach makes them better, we both look good. If either one of us does a shit job, it's a blame game and there's a chance either of us end up on the chopping block because who really knows whether its the Sporting Director signing crap players or the coach doing a crap job of coaching?

The salary cap in Rugby Union was challenged unsuccessfully if I remember correctly. The PFA definitely would launch legal action but whether they'd be successful or not is absolutely not certain either way.

The first part - no, it's the Company that owes the money, not any one individual. The second part kind of depends. Usually there'll be clauses as part of the sale/purchase agreement relating to stuff like this,who ultimately takes responsibility etc. I imagine Ashley won't be on the hook as it was heavily publicised that the club was under investigation so PIF etc can't claim they were taken by surprise.

Do you not remember when our takeover was imminent for about a year and a half

From someone that was there in person. Personally I don't think there's anything dodgy there. The way it should work is that Eddie identifies what he needs (eg. ball-playing RCB), Mitchell and his team identify the targets, Howe names his preferences, Mitchell attempts to get the deals done. If they have to move onto different targets or change strategy (eg. we can't get our #1 CB, so we'll look at RW options now) then that's Howe's call and it's on Mitchell to get the deals done. I imagine there's a constant back and forth, hence the daily hour-long meetings between the two.

The problem is that PSR is based on income and (from an accounting perspective) owners injecting their own cash doesn't qualify as income. For example, if my business broke even one year and I dropped £20k of my own money into it, I wouldn't then have made £20k profit.

I'm not necessarily saying I agree with them but I can imagine the PIF contingent thinking we finished 4th, then 7th despite major injury/suspension disruption, we (apparently) had enough money in the budget to chase Guehi at £60m+, so why rock the boat excessively? Obviously the Anderson/Minteh situation wasn't ideal but perhaps they think there is enough wriggle room to achieve our objectives as it stands?

Appears not...

We've had similar here. Who was it here who had been told he'd need to fork out £14k for two season tickets?

It's at least in part because the limit (£105m/3yrs) hasn't changed but the wages and transfer fees have gone up astronomically. 2014/15 you had players like Diego Costa and Fabregas going for roughly the same as Minteh did this summer.

If it doesn't, I'm still going to chunter on if the opposition turn us round

You can't shift the rate of amortisation, aside from contract length/extensions. It's one of the things that got Derby in bother. They basically backloaded the amortisation by arguing that a players value decreased more going into the last year of his contract than going (for example) four years left to three. That's probably fair but it meant they were creating a huge black hole down the line and the EFL banned it. I'm assuming the PL will have done the same.

Didn't they take two players from Juve as part of the Luiz deal then immediately loan them out?

No surprise whatsoever. The moment Parish went big on the "generational talent" stuff, he made Guehi's agent's job very straightforward. He'll want money befitting a generational talent and/or a favourable release clause or he'll be off somewhere else for half the amount we were willing to pay. Edit- what he said 👆🏻

It'll just be Twitter "ITKs" guessing based on the interviews with Brad Miller a few weeks back and the big bosses being in town at the weekend.

Yeah I'm with @madras on this one. There's contact yes, and he doesn't get the ball, but is there enough to bring Isak down? He definitely doesn't go through him, or swipe his standing leag away. The fact that Isak goes down so clumsily doesn't help either, almost as if he's gone looking for it and the process of kicking the ground has taken him down as much as the contact from the defender. Mind, I'd probably be spitting feathers if we'd ended up losing 2-1 instead of winning...

Would be a surprise if we hadn't heard something from the club before the next game. That'd be five weeks since they sent Brad Miller out to do press saying a conclusion was "imminent".

Thankfully I was right. Spurs finishing pathetic. We weren't flat or passive at all. Then we went ahead. Well done me.

This is absolutely pathetic like. As flat and passive as anything we saw last season. Matter of time before they go ahead.

Luke Edwards saying he's been told it is a planned visit and hasn't been prompted by anything transfer related. Hopefully it's stadium/infrastructure related.

I'm hoping that the first game back at SJP for Tonali will ensure a good atmosphere early on. If our intensity is back that should keep it going. I'd be tempted to get Kelly in at CB, he's shown much more quality on the ball than Burn or Krafth but I can't see Howe going for it. I'd also go Gordon-Isak-Barnes as a front three but again I'm not expecting it. We have to come out of this with some positives. If we play well and come up short, it's something to build on. Three points will see us 4th (for a couple of hours anyway) and hopefully build some confidence.

That's way too specific...this isn't a new thought you've had is it

I don't think spending a key period in his development being "coached" by Steve Bruce would have helped. See also; Longstaff, S. I'm sure he wouldn't have set the world alight but he'd have been a serviceable backup.