LAM09

It's unbelievable that they are in the same position as twelve months ago. I have no idea how those leading the Titanic are still at the helm.

We're setting ourselves up for disappointment if we keep pushing for de Jong despite his clear intention to remain at Barcelona regardless of how bad things might be. This couldn't be further from the case. There are plenty of options that could do a job in the meantime. Lack of WC options is another thing, which isn't something we're intent on going after anyway.

Another big earner off the books. I can't fault his attitude, but I had concerns about his finishing before he joined us & those worries never went away. Let's hope the next striker we sign actually delivers or in the ideal world, Broja makes that his position his own.

I'd say so, and the former has European experience under his belt (CL & EL) plus 10 caps for Croatia. KK can play on either side, so that shouldn't be the deciding factor on who we should or shouldn't go for.

Look at the one constant in my examples - EPL sides. That's where my issue is & you've proved my point exactly.

You don't have to bow down to others' demands while there's talent overseas. If we seriously put down a £85m bid for Fofana, we should be directing that amount to Leipzig & probably have a deal wrapped up. We signed Cucurella for more than £60 million and could spend up to £85 million on Fofana. What are West Ham going to say if we go after Rice next summer, £150m? When the likes of City and PSG are turning down deals for high prices, it tells you a lot. There's a big difference between value & plain stupidity. Talking about deals almost a decade ago is irrelevant. Also, the second comparison is incorrect - Tiemoué Bakayoko - Transfer history | Transfermarkt (£36m) Mateo Kovacic - Transfer history | Transfermarkt (£40.50m)

We're overpaying and on course to set a bad precedent going forward. Cucurella was bad enough IMO.

He's not even getting paid at Barcelona and has yet to force a move. I think that says enough.

The one constant is that he wants CL football. If that truly is the case, we have nothing to worry about in terms of competition. It comes to whether we want him or not. We need players with an actual end product.

Jovic ring any bells?

Blackburn legend is making moves

Bogey ground out of the way & three points on the board.

Dying to give them an equaliser.

Get Jorgi off before we concede. Pleased to see Broja come on.

We finally get a call in our favour. Should have two PK's already.

If Havertz isn't staying central, bring Broja on. I can't stand us crossing balls into virtually no one.

This and the failure to see a ball is miles out sums up the standard of officiating to a tee. To think there are 37 more matchdays to deal with.

Precisely! I can't stand this sort of stuff.

It just dawned on me that CHO isn't even in the squad. Unless I missed something about his fitness, that's more reason to finally part ways.

I thought the days of Azpi starting such games were behind us. That's the only real surprise from the XI.

Can someone be deemed "proven in the PL" after one season? If Cucurella doesn't start the majority of our games this season, someone like Hickey would have been far cheaper option and four years younger.

The conversion rate should have no bearing when we're discussing English clubs. Either way, it's a bit rich, IMO. Paying that much for someone that isn't of the level of Hakimi (he cost just under £60m twelve months ago) or such isn't great business. Hope he turns out to be a good investment, though. We essentially paid more to keep Colwill. Let's hope he has some season.

Mendy cost £51.75m, so there's only a slight difference.

You mean, get away with corruption? I don't think we should.

Out of all the potential outgoings, I'm most pleased to see him remain. A Milner type role would be perfect.