Paulinho

If Howe wanted to go then paying up the contract would be irrelevant. He’d just walk.

England very obviously do have one of the best squads in the world, and this is a fact recognised by football fans across the world. That’s why, for example, England were betting favourites for the Euros in every betting market on Earth. Very thick and boring to pretend it’s a product of “English arrogance”.

I agree, and I think the people pretending it’s not at least a very strong possibility are absolutely mad.

There is absolutely zero chance that my close personal friend Eddie Howe - whose inner mind I know so well - would think for one moment to accept a more high profile, better paid and more prestigious job.

99% of our Blue Tick Twitter fans need their (symbolic, digital) heads kicked in, tongues chopped off and fingers broken. Ginger Pirlo first up.

Like what, specifically?

I’m a negative nancy at the best of times but I can’t believe people are wetting the bed at this. There’s not many clubs in the world who wouldn’t pull the trigger on this transfer regardless of PSR trouble.

I bet there’s a sizeable portion of Swiss fans who hate Schar. Must seem like such a mindless lunatic to them. It’s bizarre.

What does this even mean? There are almost no similarities whatsoever to their games.

Yeah, the people they’ve appointed are. If we’ve fucked up on PSR the responsibility ultimately lies with them. And the idea that Hope would invent this out of thin air is pure cope.

The Saudis are not used to operating in an environment where they can’t just throw money at a problem. It’s not a surprise to me that the club has sat with its thumb up its arse and let this situation fester.

Sounds like the club have suddenly become more relaxed on PSR and don’t need to indulge this Minteh for DCL nonsense now - Bruno sale imminent?

He was absolutely dire the entire time he was here. Couldn’t hold the ball up, couldn’t bring others in to play and couldn’t score for love nor money. The fact we managed to recoup the outlay on him seems to have erased people’s memories.

How are people going to justify a fee north of £20m to themselves? Looking forward to the mental gymnastics.

In the last three seasons: - Calvert-Lewin has made 67 league appearances out of a possible 114. - Wilson has made 69 league appearances out of a possible 114. And a chunk of those Wilson absences are a product of him playing second fiddle to Isak, whereas basically all of Calvert-Lewins’ are through injury.

It would be an absolutely grim signing and every single one of you would recognise it as such if Spurs or Man Utd bought him. edit - although if we’re doing it as a PSR wheeze with one going the other way then fair enough.

Is there someone suggesting fans singing about “the RAF from England” are Serbian? Very odd if so.

There would’ve been been uproar. Legions of French and Slovaks in a rage-filled frenzy, desperate to tear apart the main characters in life (the English). Or a shrug of the shoulders, one of the two.

This is what I mean when I say English parochialism. What on Earth does Brexit or your thick pals have to do with anything? Geert Wilders is currently the most powerful man in Dutch politics. The National Front are about to rout Macron in France, the AfD are second in the polls in Germany and way out ahead in the East. The Swedish and Finnish governments are propped up by far-right support in Parliament. The Danish government is pursuing a zero non-white immigration policy. But your average English Europhile is oblivious to this stuff, and wouldn’t dream of suggesting it’s remotely condemnatory of “Dutch culture” or “French culture” or “German culture”. But some Albanians and Serbs have a scrap and suddenly it’s time to condemn “English culture” as “Neanderthal” - a view so moronic and detached from reality it could only be advanced by an English person.

Why? No one would have given the slightest shit. So much of the handwringing about England fans is a product of English parochialism - the belief that we’re the centre of the world and all events must in some way be traced back to us. And naturally a complete ignorance of any other country, their culture, their fan behaviour. Some Serbs and Albanians have a scrap and every dullard in England jumps to their keyboard to condemn England fans. Very tiresome, low-wattage stuff.

Baffled at the suggestion he wouldn’t go to another English club. People really do swallow the PR fluff.

Does feel like we’ve completely abandoned the Bruno/Botman/Isak model, none of which will have been driven by Howe.

The guy is obviously a scumbag. He’s chosen a team that will pay him more, has more chance of winning trophies, finished higher than us and qualified for Europe. Inexplicable.

As I said, if Romano is incessantly tweeting about a player with a fairly low profile, it’s because he’s being paid to do so by his agent.

What fee do you reckon we’ll get for Targett then lads? What’s the market like for 28 year old left backs who can’t stay fit and are, at their very best, average Premier League players?