Scotch

The fact that people believed it could happen says a lot in itself. A newly promoted side, new manager, season not even starting yet... No one should have believed it in a million years but the fact that we've had a couple of managers hint at being lied to by the board, the blatant incompetence by some people behind the scenes in important roles, the lack of meaningful transfers and the managers apparent frustration at that in interviews....put all these things together and it's not exactly inconceivable that he would walk.

I mean, you could very well be right there. I personally don't think Top is interested at all but if he's going to be inattentive to our club then he at least needs to leave people in charge who are competent. We don't have that. If he at least put people in place who can run his club successfully without him then I don't care if he fcuks off and rides horses or whatever else he wants to do.

Because we are fcuked. This season Is gone. We are down. There isn't even a seed of doubt in my mind about that but it's not important. What's REALLY important is what happens after that. Nothing is going to change at this club unless the club make changes and that won't happen unless everything goes to crap. Let it all blow up now! Spend the season cleaning out the club of the mould that's set in. Get us on course again so that we can start anew next season with some real hope.

Imagine how big a statement it would make if the fans boycotted the first game of the season. It would be HUGE and send a clear message that we are not happy and something needs to be done. Ofcourse it won't happen, we are one of the most docile fanbases in the country but it's fun to imagine having a backbone.

Deflated isn't even the word. I just can't believe we've sleep-walked into an new PL season with a points deduction hanging over our head and financial problems due to nothing less than neglect by those in charge and to make things worse, somehow we have a team worse than the one we had last season in the championship whilst the powers that be milk every last bit of cash from the punters in increased ticket prices. I hate that I care so much because half the people in charge certainly don't and the othe half couldn't find their arse with both hands. The best we can do for the rest of this season is to play the kids. Give them a season in the PL with no expectations to either get ready for the championship next season or increase their asking price to sell. Again, deflated isn't the word. I feel betrayed more than anything.

I've been telling myself that too yet here we are, stalking every transfer thread. If only we cared as little as the people running the club.

Worried about their press. The press hard and pre-season has shown we have no answer to it.

No... it was REPORTED that an agreement between clubs was made on Monday. That means absolutely nothing. To use that and immediately jump to he's not convinced about joining us is a leap.

I'm in no way defending how our club is being run but the tax situation is on the players end and should have been flagged by his representatives early on. Not on our end. It's not our issue.

Aye, the only way he DOESN'T lose money by moving back to the UK is if the buying club pay him about 25% more than jes being payed right now and given he's reportedly on 75k, I don't see that happening.

Even if we could, on TOP of the £8m we are already paying for him, it wouldn't make any financial sense. We would probably be looking at around £11m in total for a year...

I think iys worth noting that most if the attacking players we are being linked to have a decent physical presence. I don't imagine that's coincidence. Probably explains why we've not had any solid links to this Borrower!

If Fatawu and Mavididi need emotional support, I'm sure Top will buy them a fvcking Labrador! What the team needs is goals. Pure and simple. He doesn't score them or create them so we don't need him.

Bergwijn would probably cost more than Hlozek and Zaha combined. If not then not far from it.

There IS a lot of time left.... Do you have confidence that we will do anything with it? I think that's where people's anxiety is coming from. We are run by a shower of fann!es and we all know it!

There hasn't been a whole lot of optimism around the club recently but the last few days it really did feel like it was starting to build slightly with links to Ioannidis, Zaha, Hlozek and now I can't help but feel like the club have deliberately tried to stamp it out by bidding for Ayew. Ofcourse it WASN'T deliberate but the end result is the same. Absolute dread for the season and an increasing indifference.

More likely that the leak was from Gala's end and now they are out of the equation and it's left for us to finalise, they aren't getting as much information.

I also don't think he's "horrendous" but he offers nothing as an attacking threat and he doesn't seem to want to play as a defensive FB so for the second year in a row, we have no use for him other than as a backup.

A couple of issues with that. One, I don't like the idea of having 3 right footed players at the back. The LCB at least should be left footed for balance. Two, on the side that has the wingback, the winger tucks into the 10 position to make room, I don't think that's as suited to Fatawu as it is Mavididi. It's good to have the option to do that and I think we have that with JJ being the defensive option at RB and Ricardo the attacking but we don't have that balance on the other side. I think we need an attacking LB however we look at it.

I mean, he averages 15 minutes every other game. It's almost impossible to achieve consistent performances over inconsistent playing time.

Maybe...

For me it would depend on the opposition. In a match that we expect to have some decent possession, Hlozek playing that role makes sense but in a game against the top 6 where we will look to counter, Zaha makes more sense with Mavididi and Fatawu in a front three and an extra CM. (Not accounting for Vardy ofcourse)

Which is why I'm more than happy with Zaha. Him running beyond Hlozek could be very good. He's more composed infront of goal than Mavididi and Fatawu currently.

Not according to any Brighton fan that I've seen talk about him...

I don't think Cooper wants an out and out striker. I think, like Enzo, he wants someone who can come deep and contribute. Plus, if we need to through on a goalscorer, having Vardy in a reduced capacity will help everyone involved.