OhForAGreavsie

As I've said a few times in this thread and elsewhere, I wouldn't spend a penny on Wilson. Some will be unhappy with the club if they spend above a certain figure, I'll be unhappy if he is signed at all.

Well I see it differently but I probably have even less to base my view on than you do, so your guess has a fair chance to be at least as good as mine. To be fair what you've described is exactly how Peter Kenyon answered the 'who makes the transfer decisions' question years ago. I always took his answer as code for Roman does but who knows for sure.

Somebody has to make the footballing choice, the 'is this player good enough' decision, but other than that I think this is spot on.

Since Franco pretty much confirmed our interest in Wilson, let's hope that Marina's aim is to do business at a figure somewhere between what you two have in mind. If they do then presumably you'll take back back your 'joke of a club' accusation @Fernando? I think it's best not to criticise the club based on rumours.

How much would you be prepared for him?

As in genetically horrified?

I suspect that's because no one dreamed we'd actually sign any of those players.

I fundamentally disagree with this. I'll not be able to provide much evidence to support my opinion that the owner and his son Arkadiy play a big part in identifying targets, but then nor can anyone provide good evidence for an alternate opinion. The view stated here so often that Marina picks transfer targets is, in my opinion, one of the stupidest ideas ever presented on any football forum. Of course she doesn't.

Can we take this on face value or are the clubs being used to help Icardi get paid more for doing what he wants to do anyway, namely stay in Milan? No way for us to know but it's hard to believe that our club wouldn't investigate getting Icardi if was possible.

Then I need to look around for better clips because, in the ones I've seen, he looks pretty ordinary to me. Edit: He does look a player in these clips. On to the all touches vids next for a better look: - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ssKU9wIhDxw

Thanks.

Sad truth is I don't think you're wrong, and neither do you.

^^ Don't know who Graeme Baily is but, if that's the club's position, then it makes perfect sense to me.

If I see that reported, and if I believe it to be true, then I'd like the offer to be accepted for sure. If it isn't then I'd be keen to know why. I am however always open to the reality that the club have more information than I do, and to the possibility that if I knew what they did, I might just agree with them.

Thank you. I've never heard of him, but then I've never taken an interest in the NBA.

Yes, I do think Maurizio speaks in a considered way. All intelligent people in positions of authority do. As to whether he wants to keep Willian I think that's about options. Until the club gets him a suitable alternative I think he'd rather retain Willian, and try to coax good performances out of him. While it is the case that Maurizio has said lately that he now sees CHO as a useable option, previously the manager has looked at his squad and selected Willian ahead of others. No matter what the buzz on social media thinks about it, that must mean Maurizio has preferred Willian to other choices. He's entitled to back his own judgement and, if asked to give up one of his preferred options without acquiring a replacement, any manager is going to resist.

I see what you mean, and in the way you mean it, I agree with you. I don't think that's the sense in which Maurizio meant it however, and it's not the way I meant it either. I, and Maurizio I think, meant it in terms of Willian's peak performance level, you mean it in the sense that his peak level can improve, that he can become better than he's ever been. I say again that I 100% agree with your position on that. In terms of his existing peak however Willian is below, way below, what we've seen from him at his best. I for one would dance in the streets if we regularly saw from Willian what we saw from him against Barca. Indeed we wouldn't be having this conversation about him. We'd either be unhappy that the club did not resist an even bigger offer from Barca, or we'd be worrying about how long Willian could maintain his level and fretting about how we were going to replace him when the time came. Whether Willian will ever recapture that form can be debated, but I think it's reasonable for the manager to allude to that level of expectation when talking about his potential.

Who is KD?

Amazing. They look like twins. Are they?

Yep, it would be a matter of moving them forward from their opening negotiating position. If all of this is real, then appreciating there is bound to be some negotiating is all the more reason to avoid the prematurely frustrated posts about a 'stupid' board turning down xyz offer.

His potential is high. We've seen some tremendous displays from Willian, including a number of them last season. In the first leg vs. Barca, for example, he was out of this world. That is his potential but, I always say never buy a player on the strength of his maximum output. Instead, judge a player on what you consider his average level to be because, by definition, that's what you're going to get from him most of the time. All we then need to factor in to get a good understanding of what Maurizio said is that managers always want to look for positive public comments about their players. Positive but believable, even for players they are happy to sell but who might still be with the squad when the window shuts. I think we need to make room for more nuanced consideration of manager talk.

Sarri's comment is balanced and well judged. It appreciates that Willian is still his player, so it's positive but, by saying Willian is performing below his potential, it includes the implication that the Brazillian must do better. It is also, by the way, exactly the right thing to say if Maurizio wants to encourage Barcelona to bid for the player. It's not treating them like idiots by pretending Willian has been setting the world alight. Instead it implies that he sees more than enough upside for the player's output to make his manager want to keep the attacker. These are just the things a potential buyer would like to believe.

You're right. Of course you are, but sometimes I really have to sit on my hands and count to ten. An earlier post in the thread included the expression, 'revert back'. It's the visual equivalent of chalk on a blackboard, or fingers on glass, to me. Just have to keep reminding myself that I'm the one who's wrong if I get bothered about it.

We don't know that this is the reality of course but at least it would explain the published stories without having to rely on the board being certifiable morons. This makes your scenario seem more likely to me. It also leaves room for negotiation.

Thank you. Little by little my faith is being restored. We all lug these big heavy brains around with us, we might as well put them to use eh?