Go on then… Rate the summer 2025 Transfer window

[Shearergol]

Just now, Vinny Green Balls said:

never claimed you weren't. What is with this I'm allowed to have an opinion stuff? It sort of works both ways.

 

“Shit fans for not rating a player”

“yeah but look at his stats”

 

”Murphy’s stats are worse”

 

You don’t have to try and convince people to like every player man  Glad you like him though.

[Vinny Green Balls]

2 minutes ago, Shearergol said:

 

“Shit fans for not rating a player”

“yeah but look at his stats”

 

”Murphy’s stats are worse”

 

You don’t have to try and convince people to like every player man  Glad you like him though.

did I actually say "shit fans for not rating a player"? Or is that just a straw man? If I did, I must have been on something.

 

Nothing you said is anything that irritates me except the whole "I'm allowed to have an opinion" shit which is just weak sauce.

 

 

Edited September 1, 2025 by Vinny Green Balls

[Doctor Zaius]

8 minutes ago, Yorkie said:

 

 

So what if Liverpool had stuck at 110m? You'd have still let him go? Or if they'd even came in at 100m?

 

There had to have been a point where we say that's not enough for one of the best strikers in the world.

 

I'd still have said it at 125m, personally. If he'd have still been here because they didn't stump up the cash, then fine, I don't think it'd have been the disaster as some have made it out to be. 

 

 

Edited September 1, 2025 by Doctor Zaius

[Shearergol]

Just now, Vinny Green Balls said:

did I actually say "shit fans for not rating a player"? Or is that just a straw man? If I did, I must have been on something.

Nah, you quoted the post alluding to it, but whatever. 

[junkhead]

32 minutes ago, Yorkie said:

Feel like I'm reading a parody with these constant references to capitulating, bending over, crumbling, parting our cheeks, surrendering, giving in, lubing up to Liverpool. It's so ridiculously over-the-top and, honestly, weird. 

 

PSR prevented us from offering crazy wages; meanwhile there was only one buyer and the lad pulled every trick he possibly could do pull his value down for them. Moreover, he made his position with the squad and manager irreparably toxic, to the extent they wanted him gone. He fucked us. And we still got £130m for him; an enormous figure that this club has never seen before all at once.

 

If you hold the view that we should've acted all hard and kept hold of him - to the detriment of squad harmony and our financial position - fair enough. I suppose I understand that emotional take, even if I think it's really stupid and not remotely realistic in this business. But it was either that or what actually happened, where we get to move on with a colossal fee coming our way.

 

Whether it affects our bargaining position in future remains to be seen. A precedent has been set to some extent, but I'd argue only if the player is an Isak. 

 

I admit I'm VENTING majorly but I need to. Sorry like.

 

But would Man City let Haaland with 3 years on his contract go for 120m to Liverpool? Isak is broadly on this level. Would they allow a player to disappear on his own accord like that? I realise that we're not Man City but that's kinda my point.. I was (still) kinda expecting the Saudis to be more Man City and less taking one year to appoint a CEO.

Would Chelsea sell Cole Palmer for 120m to Liverpool? Or Arsenal let Saka go to their rivals in the same way?
What if next summer Tonali says he only dreamt of Liverpool as a baby and they offer us 65m.. Surely all he needs to do is not turn up to training!

 

We're majorly overachieving because of one man - Eddie Howe, of course. But even he needs help, the Keegan-like God that he is for me, and also needs to be challenged.. for example on this absurd PL-only transfer policy that we've seemingly adopted.

 

 

Edited September 1, 2025 by junkhead

[wiseman]

8.5/10 poor preparation hurt us at the start, we should have had Wilson's replacement lined up 12 months back, so to then get Isaks tantrum forcing us to need 2 strikers became more damaging then it should have been.

Though our ceiling is definitely not as high without Isak, I think the squads potential is alot better then it was, all the players are young enough to have room for growth, except Wissa who should help for the next couple seasons as they develop. And the they are arguably all better then the players they have replaced. 

 

We lack the ability to compete for the world class players and instead have to get players with massive potential and I think thats what weve done,in a few years I think we will look back on this window as the one that we really needed to have to overhaul the squad.

 

Our lack of CEO and Sporting Director are now the immediate concerns, to start getting some proper direction and leadership within the club

[Vinny Green Balls]

2 minutes ago, Shearergol said:

Nah, you quoted the post alluding to it, but whatever. 

well shit then. I may have quoted the wrong post, and was indirectly quoting yours. Apologies for that. Not my intention. I certainly don't think your opinion is shit at all , dude. 

 

 

Edited September 1, 2025 by Vinny Green Balls

[The College Dropout]

5/10. 
 

Howe can make it an 8/10 though. He’s that good.  

[The Prophet]

4 minutes ago, Shearergol said:

Nah, you quoted the post alluding to it, but whatever. 

 

My post was more dismay at writing off a player after two and a half games. It's grim.

[SAK]

7/10. Turned out better than I first feared. Lost a brilliant individual player but strengthened the squad overall which will mean we can sustain a challenge across multiple competitions as we can bring decent players in without a huge drop in quality. Also managed to clear out some deadwood which is good.
 

Only negative I think we needed one more midfielder, a creative type as we lack that against teams that sit deep and where power and pace doesn’t help due to a lack of space to run into. 

[Vinny Green Balls]

1 minute ago, The Prophet said:

 

My post was more dismay at writing off a player after two and a half games. It's grim.

tbf he made it absolutely clear that he never rated Elanga

[astraguy]

Cracking window imo,if woltemade can't score about 15 just in the premier with wissa i see Europe again

[Beren]

27 minutes ago, Yorkie said:

Feel like I'm reading a parody with these constant references to capitulating, bending over, crumbling, parting our cheeks, surrendering, giving in, lubing up to Liverpool. It's so ridiculously over-the-top and, honestly, weird. 

 

PSR prevented us from offering crazy wages; meanwhile there was only one buyer and the lad pulled every trick he possibly could do pull his value down for them. Moreover, he made his position with the squad and manager irreparably toxic, to the extent they wanted him gone. He fucked us. And we still got £130m for him; an enormous figure that this club has never seen before all at once.

 

If you hold the view that we should've acted all hard and kept hold of him - to the detriment of squad harmony and our financial position - fair enough. I suppose I understand that emotional take, even if I think it's really stupid and not remotely realistic in this business. But it was either that or what actually happened, where we get to move on with a colossal fee coming our way.

 

Whether it affects our bargaining position in future remains to be seen. A precedent has been set to some extent, but I'd argue only if the player is an Isak. 

 

 

 

 

Big Yorkie fan but I disagree. I'm really disappointed.

 

I can't remember an occurrence of player-power being exercised successfully in this sport in such a big way until now. It sets a horrible precedent and you can't put the genie back in the bottle.

 

He had three years on his contract!

 

If I'm Chelsea or Man City, I'm tapping up Sandro and Tino immediately. Even if I have no need or intention to buy them. Even the possibility to unsettled them is low-risk, high-reward.

 

Any joy we get from uncovering a future gem, you'll have this in your mind as the endgame. I reckon more players than fans will care to admit would down tools if you dangle triple wages in their faces and they know it works. Especially when it's normalised when all non-NUFC fans begin to brush this all under the carpet when Isak starts scoring on special European nights at Anfield.

 

Forget Isak, this is a really dark road. We had a chance to show this shit won't work.

[Ronaldo]

A lot rests on Woltemade being able to provide both presence and spark against the lower half sides I think. It’s indisputably a stronger, more balanced squad than last season. Loses a mark for not having a striker till 4 games in.

[wormy]

7/10. I know it's not all on the club but I've knocked them down 1 for how we've handled the Isak situation and our striker search.

 

We've ended up with a proven PL goalscorer and a very promising youngishster but it seemed to take so much to finally get there.

 

I sincerely hope this score looks like a severe underestimation of the new lads come the end of the season. 

[Chapo]

Chemical Yorkie 

[midds]

Think this is about right. We've added depth and a bit of versatility to the squad which was essential. We still lack that extra bit of quality in key positions but we're no longer weal in any area now, injuries permitting

 

You don't want to see the one from 2021

[Ronaldo]

3 minutes ago, SAK said:

Only negative I think we needed one more midfielder, a creative type as we lack that against teams that sit deep and where power and pace doesn’t help due to a lack of space to run into. 

I’ve accepted Howe will never sign this type of player. Just not his brand.

[B-more Mag]

Didn’t care for it. 

[junkhead]

35 minutes ago, The Prophet said:

 

My post was more dismay at writing off a player after two and a half games. It's grim.

 

If it's for Elanga and my hysterical post - I wrote him off even before we signed him. He's simply terrible on the ball, the thought of having to watch him the next 2-3 season makes me shudder. 

 

Of course, that doesn't mean I won't support and cheer him on like a madman when I'm at SJP.. I simply wanted somebody more Ben Arfish and there were so many options on the market. Similarly for the CB and CM positions - we could've done so much better. 

 

Nevermind, I've vented off. Feel better now. 

 

 

Edited September 1, 2025 by junkhead

[Yorkie]

2 minutes ago, Beren said:

 

Big Yorkie fan but I disagree. I'm really disappointed.

 

I can't remember an occurrence of player-power being exercised successfully in this sport in such a big way until now. It sets a horrible precedent and you can't put the genie back in the bottle.

 

He had three years on his contract!

 

If I'm Chelsea or Man City, I'm tapping up Sandro and Tino immediately. Even if I have no need or intention to buy them. Even the possibility to unsettled them is low-risk, high-reward.

 

Any joy we get from uncovering a future gem, you'll have this in your mind as the endgame. I reckon more players than fans will care to admit would down tools if you dangle triple wages in their faces and they know it works. Especially when it's normalised when all non-NUFC fans begin to brush this all under the carpet when Isak starts scoring on special European nights at Anfield.

 

Forget Isak, this is a really dark road. We had a chance to show this shit won't work.

 

I appreciate what you're saying. 

 

I just think we were in a lose-lose situation and the level of aggro being thrown at us is incredibly unfair when we still managed to get a massive fee and got our own squad in order. We've not been immovably steadfast but we've not 'capitulated' either. 

 

3 minutes ago, Chapo said:

Chemical Yorkie 

 

I didn't know what you were on about earlier and I still don't. 

 

Arrr. Just want to be excited about our new strikers.

[SAK]

7 minutes ago, junkhead said:

 

I admit I'm VENTING majorly but I need to. Sorry like.

 

But would Man City let Haaland with 3 years on his contract go for 120m to Liverpool? Isak is broadly on this level. Would they allow a player to disappear on his own accord like that? I realise that we're not Man City but that's kinda my point.. I was (still) kinda expecting the Saudis to be more Man City and less taking one year to appoint a CEO.

Would Chelsea sell Cole Palmer for 120m to Liverpool? Or Arsenal let Saka go to their rivals in the same way?
What if next summer Tonali says he only dreamt of Liverpool as a baby and they offer us 65m.. Surely all he needs to do is not turn up to training!

 

We're majorly overachieving because of one man - Eddie Howe, of course. But even he, the Keegan-like God that he is for me, needs to be challenged on this absurd PL-only policy. 

 

 

 

Good players have left from one big club to another many times over the years.

 

Sterling from Liverpool to City.

Mascherano from Liverpool to Barca.

Coutinho from Liverpool to Barca

Suarez from Liverpool to Barca

Van persie from Arsenal to Man U.

How Isak went about it leaves a sour taste in the mouth but such transfers have happened before.

 

[The Prophet]

@Yorkie

 

"They were the only buyer and selling him > the alternative"

 

I think we could argue the toss on this point, as I can see both sides of the argument, but reintegration until the summer was absolutely an option available to us.

 

"The guy literally went on strike, making it absolutely impossible to achieve our highest end, if we even know what it was."

 

He did, but so did Wissa and Brentford had us pay well over market value for him.

 

For me, there's absolutely no excuse for not selling on our terms. In our own words, we didn't forsee the conditions of a sake being met, they weren't and we sold him anyway.

 

"I'd say it's pretty comparable, they've got a really high fee and so have we."

 

We paid more than Brentford's original asking price for Wissa. Liverpool paid less than our original asking price for Isak 

 

Anyway it's done now, so at least we can move on. Let's hope he feels like he has lego in his shoe for the rest of his career.

[junkhead]

Just now, SAK said:

Good players have left from one big club to another many times over the years.

 

Sterling from Liverpool to City.

Mascherano from Liverpool to Barca.

Coutinho from Liverpool to Barca

Suarez from Liverpool to Barca

Van persie from Arsenal to Man U.

How Isak went about it leaves a sour taste in the mouth but such transfers have happened before.

 

 

Yeah, I take your point. Relationships can always soar. But most of these are not a good comparison. The scousers selling to another league is not the same as giving a top3 striker in the world with 3 year contract to a direct rival below market value.

[The Prophet]

6 minutes ago, junkhead said:

 

If it's for Elanga and my hysteric post - I wrote him off even before we signed him. He's simply terrible on the ball, the thought of having to watch him the next 2-3 season makes me shudder. 

 

Of course, that doesn't mean I won't support and cheer him on like a madman when I'm at SJP.. I simply wanted somebody more Ben Arfish and there were so many options on the market. Similarly for the CB and CM positions - we could've done so much better. 

 

Nevermind, I've vented off. Feel better now. 

 

Fair, I was just shook by the Dan James comparison