LAM09

I'd imagine a move for any LM/LWF would be dependent on Sterling being shipped off. Doué's name has been doing the rounds. You know the age limit our squad seems to have now. 😄

There was speculation about us being interested in Roque, so I'm surprised we haven't made a play for him, tbh.

I just don't get this rumour based on what the player himself recently said. He signed a new contract recently & was puzzled by questions regarding transfer speculation. If one of the top clubs isn't going for him (RM, Barca - best friends with Yamal, PSG, City, etc.), I'd presume it's a non-starter.

It feels like we've been linked with these Brazilian wonderkids for several seasons but never closed a deal until yesterday. I truly hope he's as fantastic as everyone says. It's one thing to shine in your teens; it's quite another to completely grow and perform at the highest level on a constant basis.

It's been one season. He did fantastically, but I'd hold out final judgement for another year or two to see if he can repeat such numbers (a small dip would be understandable).

I've been saying for over a season that we are becoming Dortmund or teams comparable to them. If we do not obtain CL football this season, we will have to adjust to this fact much sooner. Given the club's current course, I'm not sure how anyone could dispute with that line of thought.

It's evident at this point that the club's approach is just that. Use Football Manager as their basis and hope to strike gold with one of their many purchases.

Aside from two or three clubs, others will always slip up (which is why a CL spot was attainable with only a few games remaining). It's just hard to see how this current crop, along with a manager who hasn't managed a complete season in a prominent European league, will pull it off. As has been the case over the past few seasons, I hope they make me eat my words come May 2025.

It just goes to show how inept they are. If one of the really stumbling blocks was no CL football, why on earth even go after him?

I remember Bayern being a well run club not so long ago. That's clearly a thing of the past.

I feel like our board have played a large part in the failed negotiations.

A flashback of Canada's opening game at the WC. An encouraging performance only to be outdone by a slice of luck for the opposing team.

Is Russell-Rowe any good?

Just like Emenalo did during his time. We bought some of the best young talent at reasonable prices; we don't need to talk about what transpired after that. It isn't smart business when we're talking about record fees for teenagers who could potentially turn out to be busts. As of right now, Paez seems like the one piece of smart business, even at his tender age. I recently read quotes from Ratcliffe talking about using RM as an example, and I wouldn't be surprised if our owners weren't thinking something similar; however, RM has a core of experience pros to gel things together. If we were to finally get rid of Sterling, Chilwell (27) would be our oldest outfield player.

Ayala was quite good.

I just don't understand what goes through their minds. We have supposedly made a third bid for Omorodion for over £42m, but comments like that are coming out. Does it all come down to wages at this point or what? If so, how on EARTH are they not doing everything in their power to get Sterling out of the door?

This is something we'll have to get accustomed to. The majority of our present and future transfers will be for the future. "Time will tell" if they are excellent or terrible.

Unfortunately, I don't expect Scotland to pose too much of a threat (this is coming from someone who's rooting for them, btw). I'd love to be proven wrong, though.

We're vulnerable enough with one CF, so I very much doubt this team could get away with two CF's. My opinion of him isn't just based on his output or lack of it when needed. I've previously stated that his attitude is an issue (10 yellow cards for a CF).

I would go as far as to say that Jackson isn't a CF at all. He'd be more successful out wide, where his conversion rate would be less of a concern if a consistent goalscorer led the line instead.

He's definitely dropped a level over the past few seasons, but he's still one of the best shot-stoppers around. I just hope that we sign a player or two with actual experience at the top level rather than the running joke "25 is too old" being a real thing to our board.

Not sure where else to put this, so I guess here will do. @OneMoSalah Has your opinion changed about Akanji (made 48 appearances last season) since his move to City was announced?

I can't argue with your opinion. It's a matter of waiting and seeing. That accolade belongs to Lukaku, and it's not even close, to be honest.

Wirtz had a serious injury not so long ago. Just look at our track record. I'll stick with my opinion on Mudryk on this point - I still believe there's a really good player waiting to flourish. Whether we'll see at during his time here is another story. Money only goes so far. Musiala has an obvious connection with the club, but do you really believe he would agree to moving here in our current predicament?

They are on the verge, or arguably, WC talents. We just about qualified for the Conference league, so we need to keep our expectations in check. If (looking doubtful) we manage to regularly qualify for the CL and challenge for titles, we can look at targeting such talent again.