TheBrownBottle

Tbf I do follow current events - to date, the other clubs have ganged up and we've tacitly approved their actions. Doing nothing while having blind faith that something will happen isn't likely to produce results would be my view. Agree re Howe though - I think he's made errors but anyone hounding him out is just daft

Income for next season - allowing for finishing top half - will likely be around £300m £300m x 70% = £210m budget for wages and transfers Current wage bill = c.£90m £210m - £90m = £120m Likely transfer amortisation on books = c.£90m £120m - £90m = £30m So around £30m, which allowing for amortisation might be £100m+ (plus incomings) That’s not allowing for Hall’s £30m fee mind I’d also be very surprised if we went for a LB, given we’ve got five players on our books atm who can play there. RW, CB and a back up CF would be priorities for me

Not only is this not the case, it even has the advantage of increasing the club’s coefficients which would mean that any future European Cup qualification would see more money paid in prizes.

It isn’t like

When I said ‘fluke’, I didn’t mean that the players and management didn’t deserve it - I mean it wasn’t planned or anticipated

It is - but I’m watching and just scratching my head at the moment. It isn’t clear at all how they intend to bridge a massive gap - and in fairness, they’re the ones who made the bold statements

Christ, Bird is quoting that whopper? #kinnearwasright

100%. They’re so very, very interested that there isn’t a permanent PIF representative in the day-to-day running of the club. For all the promises of communication with the support - well, in their own time - we seem to get information no quicker than the last regime. Even those who are meant to be involved day to day are far more likely to be found talking shite at Bloomberg than to the support. There’s been nothing to support what they boasted about so far. We’re halfway to that five year point, and so far I’ve seen nothing to suggest that there is anything like a grand plan. Last season was effectively a fluke. It doesn’t take two and a half years to plan for serious investment like a stadium; and it definitely doesn’t need two and a half years to build new training and academy facilities etc. On top of that we get tied to one of the nastiest regimes on the planet.

Michels and Cruyff sort of co-developed Total Football from everything I’ve read - though Cruyff never seemed given to modesty!

I still think he’s a solid PL player - he’s not the greatest, like. Ultimately, every player is sellable - it’s the HG element which would have concerned me. I don’t think Miley is at Longstaff’s level at all at the moment. Hopefully in a few years’ time he’ll be far better than him

Longstaff won't be leaving in the summer - nor should he be at any point in the near future. There are UEFA's HG rules for a start.

I was a right back tbf lads - we’re well stocked in there at the moment.

Haha had to re-read that - Christ, that sentence of mine needs the end rearranging. Or does it?

It’s grim, like. It is only meant to be an entertainment and it’s becoming a complete misery of spreadsheets and accounting. It’s never going to happen, but the best thing that could happen to the sport now is for interest around the world to wane off, the money to shrink, and everything to return to a more localised support base. For all the ‘best league in the world’ shite, that has never, ever arsed me one iota. I’d just like to dream about my home town club doing something again, rather than all of this fucking nonsense.

Conte and Tonali absolutely are similar to me as players edit: Conte was excellent at what he did, mind

Controversial football opinion klaxon … I never thought either Inzaghi brother was top-notch (though Pippo was definitely the better of the two). Always thought Pippo was the Andy Cole of Italian football - needed a lot of chances to put one away, but in fairness also very good at getting into those positions in the first place

And Steeevie Geee

Roberto Mancini was a superb centre forward - top rank Antonio Conte was one of Europe’s finest midfielders in his pomp Luis Enrique was excellent for Real and Barcelona as a player In his prime, Laurent Blanc was one of the world’s best centre backs

About £40m. But it simply replaces one with the other. The CL money distribution is another reason that, at the moment, I just cannot see how we bridge the financial chasm with the ‘Big Six’. The game is completely rigged at this point, and I’m not seeing much from the current ownership to suggest that there’s any serious effort to do something about it.

Yep. Seven European Cups between them, but we want to see matches between two clubs who until last season hadn’t won a single one.

There’s no reason that they’d block a Castle Leazes application given that they didn’t previously, but there’s nothing to suggest that they would support building on a different part of the Moor, either.

No internet access on the Nissan back shift presumably

West Ham, Aston Villa, Wolves, Nottingham Forest, Crystal Palace and Bournemouth voting for it. Arrogant twats - and worth remembering that all of them were playing football below the PL relatively recently.

The PL has never had the biggest names - since the PL breakaway, a player playing in England has won World Player of the Year just once. Marketing, more entertaining play, and packed stadiums are as much behind it as anything.

For me, the Moor has that unbroken expanse that Castle Leazes doesn’t - though it’s a reasonable point you raise. I bastard hate the Hoppings, so I’d do that too - though that might be because I’m a curmudgeon at heart.