toonotl

The exchange would come with a nominal exchange of money. So in essence one player goes each way for 25mill. Clearing both our PSR debts in the process. This seems to be the tactic to look around for clubs willing to do a swap for players of similar value to dodge the PSR crap.

Barnes is a recent purchase. Same story with Tonali. Selling Barnes doesn't represent a very good return in terms of PSR. Anderson is pure profit given he's a youth product*. *from the academy I meant.

London Blue arriving to correct the record in 10, 9, 8 ...

Gloomy's man, Luke Edwards.

I wish I had Gloomy's level of confidence. Of course, there is a big chance that's it's all smoke and mirrors. For instance, perhaps it's designed to generate leverage in the Minteh deal to show that we're "prepared" to sell someone else to clear the PSR hurdle if necessary thereby convincing Everton to drop their price on DCL. It's possible. I dunno. I know that it's certainly not good for us all sitting in the dark with a story every few hours about one of our key players leaving. Like Gemmers said, we sell one of Isak, Gordon or Bruno and that's a big chance we're fucked for being competitive for 4th and CL football anyway. I'd take the points penalty. Then concentrate on the political game to articulate exactly how anti-competitive these rules are for developing teams.

If we're operating under the assumption that it's about what the stakeholders of it tell us it's about. As far as it's actual intentions, it's working brilliantly. We have a points deduction hanging over our heads unless we sell a talented teenager or one of our stars. Honestly, I hope ManC win every single trophy going until such time as we're capable of competing because despite all the bullshit we will get to the top eventually. All of this nonsense is just slowing things down.

True. It's just the ridiculousness of the situation of fuckin' Chelsea circling like vultures on a dying carcass when they should be long dead and buried by these stupid rules. It's farcical. Set me right off before I'd had a chance to have my morning coffee. So I've calmed down enough now to say that all of the US and their for-profit sport's ownership model can go and get fucked. Nice and calm. Honestly, it's pretty clear that we are target no. 1 for the FFP rules. They were brought in too late to stop PSG and MancBlue's ownership with a view to stopping the next one. We're the next one. Everyone else is irrelevant. So, as powerful as the Saudis are, it's really the big clubs all against us. Everton and Forest are collateral damage.

If we end up being forced to sell Isak on the cheap (which is anything under 150m) to fuckin Chelsea because of PSR then that'll be the absolute height of this farce. Utterly ridiculous. I don't even know what to say to this shit. Chelsea have taken the piss with FFP more than anyone, yet somehow they're in a position to inquire after our players because we're apparently the ones in a financial spot of bother. Fuck right off. This shit is corrupt as it comes.

Hey lads, do you think Southgate will play two defensive pivots next match? Surely not! Southgate is single-handedly ruining England's long track record of innovation in football tactics. Let's run through the list of tactical innovations in painstaking detail from the beginning. shall we? 1. England invents the game. 2. Southgate plays Bellingham at 6 (pending).

Damn it! Pedant. I knew you'd pull me up on that.

Haven't been watching it to be honest. Great to see Afghanistan doing well. And Windies winning some games.

Come on. I was clearly referring to the Bazballers. So, no.

❤️

There were heaps of Aussie cricketers and ex-internationals talking about losing on purpose. It's a shame really. I took it to be a very obvious attempt to wind up the poms since they seem to have developed a newfound sensitivity for the spirit of the game that coincides nicely with the distinct lack of silverware in the English cabinet in recent years. They should've actually lost the match and put the Poms out. The meltdown would've been so much better if you lot had something tangible to get your nickers in a knot about instead of the usual jousting-at-windmills madness of getting wound up about nothing.

I'm half expecting this entire notion of points deductions for PSR violations to be a thing of the past very soon. Probably right around the time Chelsea finally fall foul of the rules and can't get out of it by selling stock options or real estate or magic beans or any of those other completely football related assets that are currently being taken into account for PSR means-testing purposes.

All of this because American ownership and old-money clubs have got together to restrict competition so they can maintain their position at the top of the tree and continue running footballs clubs for profit so they can skim off the top for themselves. Good ol' capitalism at work.

To be sincere for a moment, like Gloomy suggested (amongst others, I think) it does seem the simple solution to play Bellingham beside Rice, play Foden at 10, since he's determined to play there anyway given his propensity to drift inside, and then play Gordon on the left, a player who plays with exactly what the starting XI lacks, i.e., a simple directness in attack that determines to make opposition defenders life a living hell for 90 minutes. It doesn't seem likely though on present evidence that Southgate is interested in taking that approach.

Instead of murdering football, perhaps Southgate might consider a messianic mission to save football that will muster up a Pavlonian response from the repressed collective psyche of the unwashed masses of the "Great" British public. *O Brittania!* Just a suggestion from one disinterested by-stander.

I have to say that the combination of England's almost unheard of wealth of attacking options and Southgate's overwhelming commitment to making each game a complete snorefest, from an Australian perspective, is nothing short of pure theatre.

Taking FFP into consideration, which I would assume everyone does when discussing comings and goings by now, I'd much rather we do everything possible to sell several other players before we offload Minteh. There's the added consideration that Minteh is undoubtedly on peanuts compared to offloading the likes of Almiron, Longstaff and Targett. So that's more scope in terms of FFP. Plus we have no European football this season so the squad doesn't need to be as big (in theory). And homegrown players doesn't matter either. It's a good opportunity to shift some dead weight. In any case, like Fish said, if there's plenty of interest in Minteh, then selling with a buy-back clause & sell-on clause and all the other bells and whistles that go with a much sort after teenager should be absolutely put into any sale that goes ahead. It's also worth noting that if we sold him for 35m (or whatever) and bought him back in a few seasons for 70m (or whatever) that would still represent a better FFP position despite paying twice as much to get him back because of the amortization rules.

I would like to see us hold on to Minteh. He's put up impressive numbers for a 19 year old in a top European league. Not that Antony is much of a yard-stick for performances, but in terms of the price there is a comparison to be made. Both playing as wingers and Minteh has scored more league goals in his only season (10) in the Dutch league than Antony managed in either of his two seasons (9 & 8, respectively). And Antony was 22 & 21 in his two seasons, so three and two years older than Minteh during this season gone. I know Antony is whatever. But in reality he's an established Brazil international so that has to count for something. Minteh is outperforming the performances that got a guy full-international status for Brazil and cost ManU 100m at the same time as being significantly younger than him.

The Chelsea situation is a complete joke. If we tried any of the shit they're up to tomorrow there'd be a rule against it the day after that.

I had the same thought. In both regards.

That's right! And all jokes aside commiserations @Dazzler and to any lurkers from Ed's blog still checking in. Always sad to lose a member of the NUFC community and to lose someone as dedicated to the cause as Ed after a long battle with illness must be tough. All the best. ❤️

Commiserations to everyone involved with Ed's blog over the years. I know we had a few of them on here for a week or so until Gloomy offended their torch bearer. At least I think it was Gloomy. I'm open to blaming others also. Was Gemmill involved? Fuckin bet he was. Not me though. I didn't do nothin!