Buendia move would suggest Grealish is off - to sunny Manchester?
I see this as a positive move. Only got to sell Pukki, Cantwell & Aarons now, invest a chunky £5m or so on 4 or 5 third rate Germans, Turks or Greeks & we can get down to the serious business of establishing ourselves as the side to be reckoned with in the Championship every year instead of only each alternate year.
I largely support what the club owners are trying to achieve, long term financial stability & a regular presence in the EPL, but, for the life of me, I can’t see how selling your best players each year will result in anything other than immediate relegation & putting us right back to the start of the process.
Sooner or later the team & management will just give up. Stoke were the most recent example of this. Comfortable mid-table, no real chance of improving on this without further investment. Result? Players & management became complacent, desire/effort reduced & they are now also-rans despite owners with rather more money behind them that Delia & Michael.
If I had £500m to spare I wouldn’t hesitate looking to invest half of it on better quality players who may just keep us in the top flight & provide time for us to progress further to become a club that future Buendia’s want to join rather than leave.
However I don’t have it & I suspect few, if any, do either.
I’m afraid I have no answers for you @JohnF. I do think if we stay up next season it will be a feat on par with Leicester winning the title.
The big problem comes if we are in the championship long enough for the parachute payments to stop. The whole model then falls apart as Delia cannot make up any shortfall in liquidity.
Oh to become a Leicester!
There’s a rumour that a PL club, other than Arsenal is interested in our goalie, Onana, now that his suspension has been reduced to 9 months. Supposedly this club finished above Arsenal last season (so top 7) and is looking for a 1st keeper. At Arsenal he could end up 2nd if Leno stays.
Anyone here who knows the PL better has any idea which of the clubs it could be?
With his Barcelona and Ajax background City would be a fit, but unlikely while they have Ederson for reason stated above.
If we buy Onana it will be as a No 1 not a No2 there are lots of decent keepers out there who could stand in until Onana ban is up Matt Ryan for instance who we had on loan last season.
Of course it would involve Leno leaving but as fantastic a keeper as Bernd is his distribution when playing out is a bit sketchy.
I’m always wary of ‘rumours’ in transfer windows who, who finished above Arsenal are looking for a keeper?
As I’m I, especially if it’s a player that’s leaving. But this description was so specific that it peeked my curiosity as I figured people who know the league must know which team is meant by this rumour as it can’t be many.
I can’t, for the life of me, understand why Ben White would prefer Arsenal over The Mighty Whites, where he is known and loved by all, and besides, the beer’s better too!
Just a little appreciation of the Mighty White Kalvin Philips, Dave!
I have to say I was a little sceptical of his abilities early on, but this season and the last couple fo England performances have certainly shown that he can mix it and more with the some of the big boys in the prem and internationals.
I hope, that when we progress and meet some of the stronger teams, he can stil hold his own.
It’s going to be interesting to see whether our master tactician, Marcelo Bielsa, who is credited with re-assigning wor Kalvin’s role to that of holding midfielder, and hence, coming to Southgate’s attention, might have a re-think, following his latest more attacking play with Engerland.
I did notice though that he tended to come up the field only when Engerland had the ball, and reverted to a more defensive role whenever Croatia had possession.
Chelsea have allowed Milan to take up buying option on Fikayo Tomori. Heaven knows why, excellent young defender, which we could do with frankly.
Although that could assist with the purchase of Haaland who has allegedly agreed personal terms. Could be a good buy. But then we thought that about Timo.
According to the Southampton website, the new strip features “Augmented Reality” (AR), so the “Fans can use their smartphones to bring the kit to life with a brand new experience… and gain access to exclusive content, including a 3D J W-P in the comfort of their own homes.”
Perhaps in this brave new AR world, we’ll win the Prem. League.
