dmayne7

And importantly on Golding, we had to do that to get KDH gone and minimise other potential deductions.

The problem is that we're probably weaker in 2 key areas than we were last season; Striker and centre midfield. Whatever else has happened, it's unacceptable to have barely strengthened the squad when you get promoted. If Ioannidis costs £30m then that's just the type of stupid risk we've forced ourselves into taking.

What a waste of time going back to the national league. Especially since he's been training with the first team. Why didn't they just use that as a chance to have one of the younger keepers around the first team squad for the exposure.

Can't be. One thing if they're saying that they won't pay over the odds for a player (though they've screwed that by waiting so long), but if they have basically decided that we're ok, they are clearly as out of touch as we all imagined

Of course the performance is the most important thing but it risks marginalising a section of the supporter base. Plus it's a PR nightmare and could have an impact on how future signings or sponsors view us. Not to mention that there are a lot of games and scenarios where he will refuse to play if this is his line in the sand.

Been on a bit of a clearout of unfinished games recently. Finally got to finishing Ghost of Tsushima on PS5 after initially having dropped it when I had a PS4. It's a strange game because it's one of those objectively good games but is ridiculously overrated by some; like it's not even close to a 10. For the most part it's a great looking game. At times incredibly atmospheric but also completely devoid of it other times. I think that's a lack of biodiversity that does it. Love what it tries to do with exploration via the wind and animals but that can also be tedious at times. Think it suffers from having such a bland and mostly empty open world. And with that, it's quite slow to get around (though the horses feel great but slow) and I found myself constantly having to swap in the traveling amour just to clear a tiny bit of the FOW. Combat is another area where it tries some really cool ideas with the stances which can be super satisfying but also incredibly frustrating (especially when getting hit is pretty punishing and the game repeatedly doesn't react to input). And the way you access all the different tools is so clunky, I didn't use half of them. The biggest issue is the pacing though. It's such a slow start and is not helped by not being able to skip some of the splash/mission name screens (or moreso when you complete one). And every quest requires so much riding/walking before anything happens. Main story is pretty meh, which isn't helped by Lord Shimura being so unlikeable. The 'companion' tales are great though and is where the game is at. Lots of these bits are quality of life changes as much as anything so I think of they improve on these, the sequel should be brilliant. Seen lots of people comparing AC Shadows to it (which looks disappointing so far) but they seem quite different in approach. And GoT benefits from not having the history that AC does because it does lots of what AC games do, and often not as well, but isn't criticised whereas AC games are.

Forgot about that video

I'm guessing he's not with his daughters' mum or he's definitely in the doghouse for not mentioning her!

Was always the fittest player at the club and never needed to rely on pace so you'd have thought so. But I think it's clear that he's maybe not as sharp as he was and League 1 was likely as the next step, so why not retire and enjoy yourself?

I know Vardy is the GOAT but this guy is just different. Likeable and lovable as a footballer and a person. Very sad that he's hanging up his boots but it probably makes sense. Hope he stays in football and has some involvement in the club

I love I good football troll but he's absolutely pathetic. They paid your wages for being cack; pretty sure it's Everton who should be reacting like that

I did wonder why you all smelt so much

Agree with booting the under 21's out of the FL trophy and that this draw is a load of bollocks. But I'm not sure there's a fair argument that the League Cup isn't important anymore. Look at the winners from the past 20 years and it's dominated by the big clubs because they see it as a great opportunity to win something. Then look at the 20 years prior to that and it's full of different clubs so clearly a shift happened at some point? It's definitely the Champions League that have killed these cups. The FA Cup is the real sad one. Personally the winners of that should be in the CL (since they actually won something) and arguably the same for the league cup. Don't think that's allowed by UEFA though so instead we get this nonsense we're you're rewarded for finishing 4th in the league with a spot in the top European competition.

Didn't realise it was shutting earlier this year. Really hope we get Fotis as unlikely as that is now. We've left ourselves in a position where it's very unlikely we're going to find a bargain signing so we either get a rubbish loan/cheap forward or have to overpay on somebody

Just because you disagree with that, doesn't make it fact. It is possible for a player to be exceptional at something but have plenty of other areas of their game that need work? The guy played only 600 mins last year and scored 3 goals and got 2 assists. A ridiculously small sample size but it also shows that he contributed when he got a chance. Not sure how you can 'fade' because you don't score one game and then you're dropped for the next 15 games, for somebody who doesn't score. That's just bad management.

I'm not sure the 'getting better from not playing' argument is fair here. He was an odd signing, especially for the money we paid. But when he got his chance last year during AFCON, he looked really sharp. Not saying he looks unbelievable, but his movement is exceptional and that's the thing that's most promising about him. He did well and then immediately got dropped, never to return. That was awful management from Maresca; shades of Rodgers with Iheanacho after he'd had a blinding second half of the season to then be benched for the next season. Problem is, he's barely played so I agree that he's certainly not the solution for us this season. But as you say, it's also bizarre that he hasn't played so far this season given the options. Hope he goes out on loan and then we can see how good he is.

Oh yeah, I get that on both counts but we're talking about a player who was probs £80m 3 years ago and then got a bad injury. Still did ok last year. Even if he's half the player he was, that's still a bargain. He's still only 26 too. Look at the players going for £30m and very few are comparable. Low risk, high reward

Liverpool getting Chiesa for £10m is ridiculous. Just shows you how good their transfer business is, though you'd be a bit frustrated they don't trying and get a couple more big deals done.

It definitely isn't. Outside of the old Firm, lots of those teams are made up of players who couldn't cut it in League 1.

Think that's the key isn't. Hopefully he can become a little more physical because technically and in terms of reading the game, he's already good enough for this level. Just about bringing it together

Looked like his knee from the way he was walking. Bad tackle and the guy didn't even get booked

I hate that Hamza is still a part of the club after all the crap he's pulled but I don't even need the stats to know that was a nonsense take and you're spot on. Played several balls in and behind the defence. People are going to see what they want to see sometimes sadly.

Even the difference coming on for the last 30 Vs last 20 mins is massive. These games inevitably come to a stop around 75-80 mins in terms of progressive play from the winning team so that only gives his 5 or 10 mins to do anything impactful. He looked really bright but was also trying a bit too hard to get onto the ball every time rather than taking up more dangerously positions, but that's totally understandable if you feel you only have a few mins to impress

Sadly you're probably going to be right but I desperately hope not. We need this guy or a similar profile of striker if we've got a chance of staying up (not even factoring in the deduction)

F***, Wilf will be playing as a 10 ahead of Alves for sure now. He's been utter cack as well