Viana

After doing some googling on his social media posts - yikes. Mind, we aren't exactly owned by the 'come one, come all' brigade. It does seem certain we're in the market for an athletic number 8 to give more rotation to Jo, Joe and Longstaff, so he ticks that boxes.

It's bad for football and bad for the player, but as long as Moises Caicedo costs 70m you'll see teams taking 10 punts on a 7m player in the hope he's that guy. I think the thing is, we've always done this. Go back to Aaron Spear, Ben Tozer. The difference is the arms reach further than before. They cost more money, the prospects are more elite.

I'd argue the first proper crack was Abramovich. He drastically inflated prices and forced the arms race to be the best in the league. There was nothing strategic about his growth. He just kept putting money in. Fuck consequences. Now that's just a crack, that's where you can start to implement rules to stop dodgy characters coming in, or spending with little sustainability. The league didn't do that because they had the best show in town. The consequence of those actions allowed Man City to be bought by Shinawatra and then sold to a middle eastern royal/politican with deep deep pockets. There is always a bigger fish. Once that worked out for City you knew more would see the potential and possibility to do it. The league was already sectioned into have and have nots before Man City, and the difference with them is they've gone about trying to source ways to make it sustainable with a multi-club model. They've also industrialized the scouting process to where they rarely, if ever, have flops anymore. Gone are the days of Eliaquim Mangala for 42m. It's Brighton on a far bigger scale. The difference, however, is that the money is from a far away land that most people don't know about. They tried to apply the rules to Man City after the fact, and unsurprisingly, men with lots of money used lawyers to find loopholes. I don't know if there's a hard reset for football to be quite frank. My issue is only that it seems most journalists object to this stuff when it's tied to success. Mike Ashley plastering shite on the stadium was fine, but Sela putting money into the club (at market rate) is seen as a travesty. Either both are or neither are. They'll also happily show up for a media kick about at Old Trafford then wonder why people don't take them seriously. They live in the grey.

It also should be mildly concerning to hear Levy talk about a 'focus on youth' with Ange as I don't see a bevy of talent waiting to step in. Man City are the standard bearers in terms of just a mad level of young players making a significant impact both at first team level and on loan at a high level. I don't doubt Ange will throw himself into it, but when you look at the club's U21s there's two that I could say might be ready in Alfie Devine and Harvey White. Spence and Udogie are two I don't think get talked about enough as being potential breakouts next season, but they aren't Spurs academy players. For the rest it could be a baptism of fire. Dane Scarlett didn't record great numbers in League One, and Troy Parrot the same in the Championship. Romaine Mundle would have been in that group to step up, but he's opted to leave. Maybe Levy is talking about that bundle of first-team players like Skipp, Sessegnon, Papa Mate-Sara and Tanganga (pushing it a bit at 24). It may all be a ploy to get deals done cheaper, but I somehow doubt it with Levy. If he truly believes Postecoglu is his man, then he has to block out the noise. It's amusing to me how short-term we are in England with managers. Liverpool didn't challenge for the league properly until Klopp's third full season (and that's forgetting he had about 8-9 months prior to that to figure stuff out). If you look at that Champions League winning team, there was only two of the starting XI at the club when he joined and one of them was Trent. I don't say that to set the same bar for Postecoglu, because I don't see a trajectory where he makes 4th in his first full season, but I think with the Conference League now a thing he has other avenues to find success and take the club into a better position.

"We talking about socks."

Sky very ambiguously stating that we are 'leading the race'. https://www.skysports.com/football/live-blog/31771/12476234/transfer-centre-live-kone-sancho-onana-latest

Visage is an awful cunt.

It's honestly a case of what you're exposed to when you're dead young. I remember my first game on TV being Man Utd v Spurs at WHL on BBC. I asked my dad how to get a Man Utd shirt - can't have been older than five. Fast forward six months and I saw his Newcastle sweatshirt in the tumble dryer and asked what it was. Next birthday I had a toon top with Ferdinand, and the rest is history.

Won't hear a bad word said about Oviedo. Laid the ground work for Jewison to leave Costa Rica.

I don't think losing Jeremain Lens helped either.

I read the other day he still needs to complete his military service. I imagine he’ll be offered a shorter spell like Son, but it could still be an issue.

Hoping for an Ashworth masterclass tbh. Fraser could be ideal for Luton Town for 5-7m. Manquillo back off to Spain for 2.5m. Hayden and Hendrick somewhere in the Championship with us picking up some wages.

Fair fucks, that's the perfect sign off for Declan Rice. Kept them up and delivered a European trophy. He won't see the bottom of a pint when he retires.

If West Ham win this it'll be hard to justify sacking Moyes. That said, their style of play is quite brutal to watch especially given the players they have.

Sans FFP I'd say we sign both, loan Ashby out and see how Livramento gets on. Have to be a bit more calculated these days.

Would he really give up a shot at the Champions League in favor of money?

I'm going to say no. His technique in tight spaces didn't look great. This is pure speculation on my part, but I think we saw him as a great project player when we could play high press counter attack football that we would then sell on. That ship has sailed.

If he can improve his finishing he's an England player.

Poch seems like someone that wants total control, but in reality, that doesn't exist anymore. Pep has the right idea, just tell them what type you want and just trust them to find it.

Does that mean he can play as a six and a second striker? Good thing is - and this is a first in my entire time supporting the club - I have total faith in Ashworth. He'll have a short and long term plan.

One thing I would say about Lavia is that I think he's still firmly in the 'project' stage of his career. He has tremendous potential, but I think some much of that future upside rests in the ability to shape him, which itself will require a degree of patience.

It could also be both. I think it's somewhat understandable for players to suffer a lull after an extended period at a club and Tielemans has spent almost five years at Leicester. I also had a quick scan of his numbers and he's got roughly 10 full seasons worth of minutes in his legs at club level. The Premier League isn't the most accommodating to older outfield players due to pace and intensity and it's why I think someone like Perisic hasn't pulled up trees. I think if you're going to sign him you have to commit somewhat to the following theories. -This is not someone you expect to deliver much financial return when you call time on them. -He's going to get smarter and be able to read the game better to make up for a lack of mobility. -You think last season was a blip and he'll return to his typical output of 1 goal involvement per 4 games (on average).

Did Sir Bobby not warn the club Geremi's legs had gone? Feel like I heard it in an interview recently. Loved Cheick. Remember him at Goodison being a total rock in midfield.

I do wonder how an improved academy set up will impact them. It could give them a decent pipe line of talent. Greg Olley is thriving there - via a stint at Hull - but it could be very appealing to lads who want to stay at home.

I wonder sometimes if he feels a bit unloved. He was the big fish under Steve Bruce. This season he hasn't been as involved and this is the first time that talk of his departure hasn't been met with panic. It could easily leave him feeling like fans had moved on. That's why he's put these posts on. He's reaching out a bit.