TheBrownBottle

I can't argue with that. This nonsense takes up far too much thinking - the only reason it seems important to know it is so that the club's performance in signing players etc can be reasonable. Happily, N-O is a reasonable place - but I've seen the Ronnie Gill and YouTube btl comments along the lines of 'why aren't we signing players?', 'where's the ambition?' etc - when the club is hemmed in by the daft PSR rules. To me, we can argue about whether or not the club has made best use of the available spend (and I think they've done an excellent job to date - we've had very few 'misses' in our signings), but I've seen plenty slagging the club for things outside its control.

Vlachodimos is a massive PSR headache now; the Anderson and Minteh sales fell into the 23/24 season. This season, Vlachodimos adds amortised fee plus salary. He doesn't release 1m of headroom let alone 100m; he reduces headroom by c.6m this season.

The PSR situation is a weird one - I do think that if PSR didn’t exist, and the owners had been able to spend what they want, I doubt Almiron would have been here for as long as he has; at the same time, it has made fans view players as commodities even more than they were in the past. I’m not happy re Almiron leaving - I’d defended him in the past on here - but I do think it’s the right time to go for all parties. This one doesn’t feel like a celebratory transfer out at all - more like just one of those things which happens at clubs; sometimes players outgrow the club, sometimes clubs outgrow the player. I’d be amazed if Almiron is thought of negatively in the future (I suspect he’s more likely fade from the memory banks unless something brings his name up), but bugger me I’ve seen less talented players in B&W and (sadly) absolutely shitloads with a worse attitude than this lad.

Shite, don’t know how I missed that

Yeah, fair enough - I’m not going to argue with a Peep Show quote

It’s not happening

Reflecting on a player’s career at the club seems like the most natural reaction to a player leaving. It is the time for an assessment of the successes and failures - if others want to treat it as a time to write nice things like it’s a high school yearbook then I’ve no issue with that. I’ve never criticised a player at a match nor in any way which they’d have visibility (unless they search for themselves on somewhere like here). It’s not about shitting on his limitations, but I also don’t think it should be about overstating his virtues.

I’ve never watched any of our cup final defeats afterwards - not even highlights - but that burns in the brain. Maybe it’s not as bad as I remember, but I’m fucked if I’m rewatching it.

True, if it is considerably further. Build it at Gosforth race course or something and that’s a problem for the city centre. But if anyone has an issue walking an extra 100 metres, then they should probably knock the drinking on the head - those empty calories are making them so unfit that they really need to take a look at themselves. I’m also a little unconvinced re the best for the city crack tbf - I’m not sure that pouring the money into the coffers of leisure conglomerates and breweries (pretty much none of which are locally based) is all that useful to the city. Besides, every other city in the UK manages to have city centre pubs without a football stadium nearby. I’m not advocating for a move further out, but I don’t think that the financial viability of the city’s watering holes shouldn’t feature on the club’s agenda.

I got pelters once for saying it, but for me he’s the embodiment of the unintelligent (in football terms) winger, in part for this reason. Good footballers do not spend their time on the ball staring at the thing - their head is up; control is a given. edit: I do wish the lad all the best, he always gave 100% and seems like a canny soul. I’m glad he’s going somewhere he’ll be happy and adored - seems like a happy outcome.

Most people who have their match day routines in terms of the pubs they drink in aren’t going to suddenly change those behaviours. It’s new corporate and tourist punters who are more likely to hoy the wedge at a new stadium. If I was still in Newcastle, I’d still be in The Three Bulls or upstairs in The Percy at the ‘Toon Disco’ post match. In my younger days, everywhere from the Empress to The Vault to Idols have been matchday regulars. Don’t see why any of that would change.

I remember those - every HMV and John Menzies would have them in the sport videos section, even in Newcastle, whereas we had to go to the official club shop on Barrack Road to buy NUFC videos a lot of the time; that club shop was about the same size and had the same decor of a school tuck shop. Still, I got my ‘Magnificent No. 9s’ video in there with birthday money from my auntie, and managed to get Mick Quinn to sign it for me. Fuck knows why I chucked it out at some point!

I’m a big cuddly teddy bear of a internet forum poster deep down

Yep. There was also a big four’ after Leeds and us fell away too from the mid-00s (Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Man Utd). The ‘Big Six’ is mainly about financial muscle. Those clubs are six of the ten richest clubs of the planet. But they are also the ones with the widest reach & fanbase - the social media followers league isn’t a perfect corollary, but it gives a sense of just how wide the gap is (2024 figures):

Net profit / loss is based on amortisation

Love it when ex players refer to NUFC as ‘we’. I’m easily pleased tbf

Almiron’s purple patch was based entirely on two superb footballers (Trippier and Bruno) sharing a side with him and playing perfect passes for his few attacking strengths to allow him to bag some goals. Murphy is creating goals for Isak, as well as scoring himself - because Murphy is a better and more effective footballer than Almiron.

Our amortisation costs don’t change by a penny unless a player is released, sold or signs a new contract

Like Liam Neeson, Joelinton has a particular set of skills - skills which make him unplayable in specific set ups against specific opponents; but he can be badly exposed when the team isn’t set up to cover his weaknesses or against opposition which knows how to exploit those weaknesses. He also needs to be on his game as a poor Joelinton performance is significantly worse than a poor Bruno or Tonali performance (and as harsh as it is given the quality of those two, they are his peers in midfield).

Got you - well in that case it’s utter bollocks

Who said you were entitled to an opinion?

He’s talking like a man who wants his payoff tbf. Proper Cloughie at Leeds vibes. edit: mind, if that happened, then Brexit Jim spent six months chasing Ashworth, created a load of fuss, paid us millions to buy out his contract, sacked him when he suggested Southgate instead of Amorim costing millions again, sacked Amorim at a further cost of millions, only to appoint Southgate in any case. Please do it, you useless tax dodging cunt.

He’s comfortably a better finisher than Cole, who played in a five-man attack entirely designed around providing him with maximum service at a time when English football was the worst it’s been relative to other European leagues in its history. That Keegan team was great fun to watch, but honestly the standard of English football wasn’t great, and the defences were even worse. Cole really did need a lot of chances, but the lad knew where the net was tbf. Shearer was a much, much better finisher than Cole in fairness - as a clinical finisher, I still think Shearer might be better than Isak. But Isak is unquestionably a better player for me.

I never said he isn’t entitled to an opinion, just as I’m entitled to call him a maladjusted wanker who is spreading lies and fear using his privileged platform despite speaking from a position of zero expertise. He’s absolutely allowed to do that. I also said that they aren’t political opinions, because they’re not. Why do folks like you always think that criticising someone’s opinion is the same as saying they aren’t allowed an opinion? Probably best to calm yourself down and read what people have written first. Peace and love xx

I’ve never met anyone ever who put ‘club’ ‘big’ and ‘Southampton’ into the same sentence edit: including their fans, who’ve never came across as arrogant or entitled to me. Maybe they are and I’ve missed it