King Kante

Couldn't have asked for a better first half. As I have said, we just look so much more fluid in attack without Lukaku. Important thing now is to ensure that we keep this up for another 45 mins.

That is good news. As for his commitment I am not worried about that. He is a warrior cannot see him putting in crap performances if he has a contract elsewhere for next season.

I reckon there is a decent chance Barkley goes to Newcastle. Not saying 100% but I reckon it could happen.

Indeed, let's say Newcastle call Granny in January and say £20-£25m for Barkley. No way do the club turn that down as the other option is most likely no fee and having to pay him up for the remaining amount of his contract. As Newcastle are so poor at the moment there are a number of players that they could pick up for slightly over the odds who aren't playing for their clubs currently that would still improve them. Additionally, clubs from Europe will also take their cash so that can just go to them instead.

Not fussed about Kounde as he has a habit of overplaying and short players from La Liga can struggle in England. Obviously, he is/looks a great player but I cannot see him turning into a VVD type leader of anything.

£300k pw for 5 years is £78m which is insane. However, what will it cost to replace him? £50m? Then what do you have to give the guy that you replace him with? Probably a minimum £100k a week which is £26m for five years. So, in total it washes itself out. Obviously, the problem is that you set the bar so high for wages. Personally, I think this sort of thing is going to become more common in that players will wind down their contract and ask for the money the clubs would have to fork out for them. As for this particular situation, I think we'll just have to let him go. AC is the more important player to tie down and Rudi will be unsellable/a sunk cost once he gets his contract owing to his age. Additionally, as great as he has been there is an argument that he is thriving because of the system (same could be applied to AC as well tbf) and we may be better off with a left footed CB for the LCB position. Will be a shame if we lose him but it is what it is.

You say this, but playing for the English national side brings in a lot of money that is consideration for a lot of people. Grealish and Rice for instance played for Ireland then jumped across as soon as they knew they'll get selected. Additionally, someone like Zaha held out for a good while before committing to IC. Obviously, there are some players like Broja who just goes straight out amd play for Albania but I wouldn't say it is a simple case of players just picking the country they feel most connected too in a lot if cases.

Personally I would switch if I were him even if Southgate were to suddenly depart. I reckon whatever English manager goes in he will always struggle due to his size and playing aboard. Unless of course he undergoes rapid improvement and becomes a Top 5 CB. Additionally, unlike some other countries playing for Canada, especially in World Cups, would still bring in decent money, maybe not quite England money but still better than most other countries.

I reckon he will retire, apparently he isn't really even much of a fan of football.

Depends on how much he values money. Massive difference in playing for England vs Ghana.

I stand corrected. 😅

Tbh, I just think he is one of those players that will be a go to man for a average to poor team but cannot translate it to the big teams due to his lack of footballing intelligence. For me, Newcastle is a good option for him as for the next two to three years as he would play, continue to get paid well and play a part in making them a good team (Newcastle unlike City and us are going to take longer to get to the top, even with their finances owing to their lower ability and PL FFP hurdles that are now in place unlike before.)

Can Tomori still declare for Canada? Could see him making the switch as they've a good chance of qualifying for the WC and have a spot already for 2026.

Yes, JT is by far and away our best ever captain. One thing however is I really cannot see him becoming a manager because of his past with Ferdinand which is a shame as I reckon he would actually make for a good manager.

I think it was more to do with him not really having much interest in squad building/having much understanding of transfers. Apparently he is more a coach who just wants to be on the training pitch then go home, hence he doesn't really get involved in day to day business or follow what is going on with potential up and coming talents. As I said, it is just a rumour I heard that I am passing on rather than something I think is 100% true.

I have the feeling that his recent appearances are a combo of injuries and trying to put him in the shop window. Could honestly see him going to Newcastle in Jan.

There was a rumour that one of the reasons Carlo got the sack (not sure if it is true or not) was due to him saying that for the 2011 Summer window his key suggestion was CR7 who was obviously completely impossible.

Good.

Be very surprised if there is anyone on here that has actually watched this boy in 10+ full 90 minute games to give a real opinion. Best bet you've got is to go and look at some stats and Youtube videos and make up your own mind, taking into consideration that those aren't the greatest means to assess a player.

West Ham have a +1 year option that essentially makes the contract he signed a six year one. No way do they not activate it.

Be interesting to see what happens with him exactly in the Summer. Personally, I cannot see us going near him as he is going to be super expensive if he keeps this up (probably approaching Grealish money) as he still has three years on his contract. This doubles with the fact we do not need a CM as with Jorgi, Kova, Kante, RLC and Gallagher we are pretty well stocked and will probably prioritise elsewhere in the squad. Utd on the other hand are desperate for a CM and I could see them wanting him and going in with insane money to get it done. However, if West Ham get CL via the Ropey League or 4th and Utd don't get it, I could see him staying at West Ham for another season.

This game was one of those that happen in football were you should win 3 to 6 nil, then somehow draw/lose. For me, credit needs to be given to Burnley/Pope for hanging in there and for us to not lose prospective. I mean AC and Silva both only just missed mistimed their headers, Pope made two good saves against CHO (although CHO should've done better with the rebound on the first), Harvetz then makes a great run across the six yard box and the defender gets a slight nick to send it over (I didn't see a reply, so if that was him putting it over then that was a bad miss.) On their goal, Rudi slightly falls asleep to play them onside and they take their chance. Stuff like this happens all the time, it is frustrating but we shouldn't lose perspective.

Unfortunately Lukaku is a known quantity. This isn't like a Harvetz/Salah/KdB etc situation where they were young boys and needed time to acclimatise. Furthermore, this isn't even a Werner sort of situation where you should allow someone time to adapt as they've no experience of the league. Lukaku is 28 and has plenty of experience of the PL. He is as close of a plug and play type of signing as you can get. What people such as myself and @OhForAGreavsie are saying is that the level that we're getting out of Lukaku is what we said his level would be due to his technical limitations. The kind of performances you're seeing is what his level is and he hasn't ever shown anything else apart from a rare performance/moment here or there. What happened this Summer however was a lot of people drunk the Koolaid and thought that Conte had performed some sort of voodoo magic spell and transformed his technique. As @OhForAGreavsie says, it didn't take a stroke of genius to know this was nonsense. I mean even his stats weren't that great as in Serie A even 39/40 year old Zlatan, who only has one knee now, was posting similar stats to him (and he was in a worse team) whilst this season Giroud on a minute to minute basis is also outperforming him and Giroud doesn't even take penos.

In my opinion, he is much better getting a full game once or twice a week like Gallagher. He isn't going to get that here in the foreseeable. In my opinion he should be loaned to Spain or Italy where his size won't matter so much. I mean how many minutes does Saul have? 120? That really isn't enough for him.

I thought the same but have watched him a bit more recently and have been impressed with him as his close control is good, he has a good shot on him, presses well and he always will to take someone on. Will he be a world class player? Probably not, but I can see him being productive. Only issue I see is how he would handle low block defences as he won't get the space he gets at Leeds at a top 4/6 side. One thing that really stands out for him about him however is how determined he is. He gets some rough treatment at times but still picks himself up and gets on with his game. This I feel is a bit of an underappriciated quality and something that non-PL players can take a while to deal with. For instance, Werner is a prime example of someone who seems pretty overawed/scared by the intensity of the league. As for Lukaku, 100% agree, he shouldn't be in the starting XI against the good teams as his limitations and lack of pressing make him a passenger. I was telling everyone he was still a the same player as he was at Utd when we were linked but they obviously got carried away by some Youtube videos or simply don't understand football. Insane transfer with the money he cost, his age and wage.