Dr Gloom

what is the point of our new DoF? Genuine question. Isn’t he supposed to be shit hot at identifying and signing talent? If that is the case, he’s had a bit of a shocker because the one outfield player we put any cash down for (Osula) was apparently Tindall’s pick

7th-8th is about par this season now, I reckon. seventh felt like we regressed last season but there was mitigation. We overachieved the previous season and were hit with a massive injury crisis and had all the extra fixtures and rotten luck in the cup draws. this season felt like an opportunity. No European fixtures, a bloated champions league putting extra strain on our rivals. A signing or two would have given a much needed boost after a stuttering start to the season in terms of form. the game on Sunday feels massive all of a sudden. We’ll be going into it with an uneasy fan base where a signing or two would have galvanised the crowd.

you need to sign squad players that Improve the squad - Kelly fits that brief because he’s better than Dummett. you also need to sign players that improve the first team. We haven’t managed one of those.

Hall, yes. He improves the first team. But he was signed last year. If you’re counting him, why didn’t we try for a loan to buy this window, kicking the fee into next year? Kelly has been signed as a rotation option. I don’t think he improves the first team.

someone has fucked uo somewhere. What will the chairman make of it?

I agree. They did what they needed to do. It was disappointing to lose both players but PSR meant we had to shift someone and they were the least worst option. There would have been hell on if it was Bruno, Gordon or Isak sold instead. What has followed has been really disappointing though. Not a single player in to improve the first team when there was clearly money to spend is piss poor

Good job Spurs are at home next. Always a good game to make Isak captain on fantasy football

there are loads of conspiracy theories flying around online. A lot of that will bubble up to the surface if we go on a poor run, which is fucking shit because Howe has done brilliantly for us and he deserves to be backed. I want to see him here for years to come. I’ve read all sorts: Howe not happy with Mitchell and the new performance director, Howe too stubborn with his targets or resenting losing control over transfer dealings, Mitchell trying to undermine him because he wants PIF to replace him with more of a “head coach” where Howe sees himself as more as an old school “manager” with control over all areas. who the fuck knows? But this transfer window isn’t going to silence this kind of talk and will test the goodwill and unity we’ve seen on and off the pitch since the takeover

oh, is it? I didn’t realise

you imagine Miggy, Wilson, Trippier could get moves out there. Whether any of them fancy it is another matter, I’ll give you that. But the size of the wages they offer has attracted a lot of PL players so far. Even when we sold ASM it felt like we accepted a lowball offer because they’re so scared of what the cartel might do. I don’t see how they have a case as long as every other club is offloading players for Saudi dollars

KD’s point about bending the rules is a fair one. We’ve played very nice so far. We haven’t even tried to take the piss the way Chelsea and others have. And questions have to be asked about the lack of commercial revenue, which would have helped increase the summer transfer budget. We’re three years in. Where are the training ground and stadium naming rights deals? Where are the official tractor partnerships? Why aren’t we peddling the deadwood to Saudi clubs for inflated fees the way otner clubs are? Is it because the commercial people they’ve hired aren’t doing their job properly? Are they that sacred of the PL cartel going after them? I thought Saudi businesspeople didn’t take shit from anyone (BeoutQ a good example). Or maybe the Saudis don’t care as much about nufc as we all hoped. We’re a small part of a massive investment portfolio. We care about our fortunes a lot more than they do.

apparently Fraser is on the verge of a permanent move to Southampton so that’s one of the Ashley-era deadwood off the books

We’re still short of cover at CB Has Dummett found a club yet?

we apparently had £70m to spend on Guehi, so it isn’t psr that prevented us signing anyone. It’s the people at the top of the club’s failure to get deals done - whether you blame Eales, Mitchell, Howe, or our Saudi overlords is up for debate.

PSR doesn’t seem to have stoppes the clubs around us improving their first team. Clearly our progress has been hindered by rules designed to do exactly that. But to not sign a single player for the first team? Feels like someone has fucked up somewhere

agree, he looked good when he came on, i like longstaff. valuable member of the squad, helps with the homegrown quota, can't fault his effort, but he isn't a technician. he's a good fourth or fifth choice rotation option. i would prefer him coming off the bench to use his energy to help see games out instead of starting as many as he has in the past couple of seasons.

you'd think they'd have a backup plan. i mentioned hummels a few pages back, but isegrim wasn't 100% convinced he is the player he was, IIRC

chelsea apparently beating juve to the signing of sancho, because they really don't have enough wingers already

£70m (£65 plus £5m add ons) is the bid on the table, right? i don't see us increasing it - the question is whether palace fold at the last minute. i don't advocate increasing what is already a monster gamble of a bid. but i'd rather they accepted it than we were left with no players in to upgrade the first team, which is what the reporting of the past 24 hours suggests is the alternative outcome.

shut it, ten bids of Wideopen

If it does go through at that price I still think palace have has our pants down and I still question the approach taken given all the things previously discussed - there are plainly other CBs out there available for less and we are still crying out for a new RW.

that’s because i harboured delusions that we were also in for a RW. And i always said that both positions need to be strengthened and I didn’t want the CB to come at the expense of a RW. But if we really are only in for a CB then one new signing is better than none.

even if we had the ffp headroom to sign him (which i doubt if the guehi deal goes through), i don't imagine we'd pay the sort of wage he's after.

i got 4/9 attempted ballots last season (including one on the resale). it's far from pefect, and i ended up sitting on my tod, but it's my only way to get to a match now since they stopped allowing season ticket holders early access to buying extra tickets. i haven't tried the new system yet - or paid for my membership - has much changed?

i hate that phrase, but it is in this case. willock and tonali barely kicked a ball last season. if we can keep them both fit this season it's massive and will relegate longstaff to fifth choice, which is where he should be, instead of a first team mainstay. tonali, bruno, joelinton and willock are really good options in CM. it's hard to pick a best three out of those but there's a solid case for starting a fit and firing willock. he was instrumental in the season we finished 4th and the way he links up with joe and isak in particular is really promising.