OTF

I reckon I would have kept that in.

Lovely outside ball from Trippier and then Elanga was a bit trippier.

Digne's very French face after that very obvious foul.

Another chance for Elanga, a lot tougher this time but Murphy would have scored three from that pair of chances.

Nice ball Barnes, nothing to say about the header...

Schär head injury ✅

Huge chance there, possibly should have squared for Gordon

And now has just fallen on his arse

McGinn accepting his role as pantomime villian

Again with the green shirts.

We've also got the old Foxtel Aussie crew back including Adam Peacock who is a Newcastle supporter.

They've thankfully moved on from it for now.

Only an hour of talking about Isak to go before we play.

Actually useful for two reasons as it will also stop Bruno trying to find ways to take him out.

In case anyone hasn't had the pleasure of seeing this ad: "I like trivago"

If only Jurgen could see them dancing all over their ceiling.

Follow the money. In this case it's his mob boss agent. This is the bit in the gangster film where a capo has got his gun to someone's head. What happens next in the scene is anyone's guess; does an ally loom into view in the shot and press a pistol against the Capo's temple and resolves things in his/their favour? Or do the rest of the mob turn up and there's a bloody massacre of all the good guys?....

Good signing this is. He was on a lower wage at Villa than all of their new players and they couldn't pay him more as a result of their overspending. With two years to run on his contract this was the last chance they had to cash in on him. I think £39m is a fair price for a player of his obvious quality. He has had some injuries over the last couple of seasons though so that is where the risk is rather than his ability or attitude. We'll be able to give him a wage bump without having him amongst our top earners. By all reports he is a good kid so he should fit in well, for someone who has come through Villa's academy he will be keen to prove his ability at his first new club. Really looking forward to seeing how Eddie deploys him through the season, as good as our midfield three are I think this fresh addition will help to keep them on their toes.

True. All said and done £150m would have been a sufficient amount to come and buy him honourably without trying to strongarm us via the media and agents. They've acted without honour, and so unfortunately has Isak. The latter is the really disappointing aspect of this whole saga as it has severely tarnished his achievements here.

It's only over the top because he has three years to run on his contract. If you want someone else's player who still has three years to run there is a premium to pay for it. For one it means we haven't written down the costs of purchasing him, which were significant, and also we haven't got the best years out of him. The value of a player is contextual in relation to their contract status. Next year with two years to run on his contract that value may be £120m but then we've amortised his cost down by £11+ m and have had another seasons use of him. Factor that in along with a minor inconvenience fee and that's where the £150m becomes what it takes to buy that calibre of player who is not for sale.

Thiaw is a good signing, whether he suits the English game and gives us the speed in central defense that we lack remains to be seen. Schär is an extremely unique defender, I don't think you can compare the two. Ramsey if we get him is also a good signing. Versatile and young, a good team player who's also a reasonable scorer/finisher. Elanga brings speed and both footedness as well as energy, looks to be a great addition to give a natural right sided winger as well as an option through the middle. Ramsdale is worth a try. But all said the fact that we don't have an available truly senior striker is appalling. Gordon has never looked convincing playing up top and that's where we start our season. Setting aside the Isak situation Wilson should have been replaced early in the window and we needed another striker on top of his replacement too.

We need to improve our academy and training facilities to develop those players once identified so that we're an appealing option for the best young players as there is intense competition for them.

This is the Jermaine Jenas fish bowl thread.

Can we just do a swap for Willock? Just show them this: