Pez1974

And that player is now apparently for sale - and Everton are interested in him.

Agreed. Unai has clearly decided Ramsey (A) will get limited minutes this season, and it's in everyone's best interest to let him go, play and develop. He's clearly well thought of - hence the buy back - so the risk is low, and we've got £14m if he doesn't actually make it to the level we'll be at. Fans seem to forget that these young players need a career - not just a few minutes in the cup. If we actually take care of these young players, we are more likely to attract the next generation, as the parents will recognise that we are supportive of their careers overall.

Jesus - that is an appalling squad, given the players at his disposal. The guys too comfortable. Gotta go.

Shit. I was hoping they wouldn't do a medical. Never mind.

Sorry - as much as Olsen worries me - you just can't predict that He is an Aston Villa player. If the manager trusts him, he must have his reasons. I would be surprised if he plays in more than 10 games this season - he's played in 1, and kept a clean sheet. I suspect he'll play next Thursday - hopefully 2 for 2! Any keeper we could realistically sign would leave us praying that Emi doesn't get injured.

A lot of people saying we need a replacement for Olsen. Personally, I agree. But....I don't think the clubs does. We have good young keepers coming through, and are loaning them out to get them experience. Olsen has worried us all - but, Unai has improved players from the minute he walked through the door. Why can he not improve Olsen? A reserve keeper is a unique role, and whilst the players seemed (past tense) a bit nervous with Olsen in goal, is that still the case, and would a realistic new 2nd choice be any better? We have spent a bloody fortune on keepers over the last 6 years; maybe what we've got is good enough for a handful of games?

No. The priority is that they develop first team players. But the chances of us repeating the Man Utd "Class of 92" is just about zero. If we can get 1 a year on average into the first team squad we're doing well. Secondly, if they don't make it into a (hopefully) top 6 premier league squad - we maximise our return for the good of the club. We aren't a charity, so the cost of the academy needs to be covered. And in this regard, we should ensure we take our duty of care seriously. There is lots of noise about what happens when players don't make it - well, we'll put them out on loan appropriately so they have the best chance of developing to their potential, and by doing so we maximise our return. And by doing this, we make our academy more attractive, because we do things right by the player. As a result - the whole premise of the academy is to make sure the players develop to their maximum potential. Some play for us for a long time, others move on and have good careers, and some leave football altogether. This has never changed, it's just that FFP brings it into focus. Don't forget, there are 100s of players at lower age groups who we are trying to develop - it isn't just about the U23s taking the last massive step.

100% And by selling all 3 (with buy backs) we've generated close to £40m - or the Diaby signing. And if turning Aaron Ramsey into Jacob Ramsey at Burnley costs us £10m extra (for example) - that's still a bargain!

This is what Chelsea and Man City, and to a lesser degree Liverpool have done for years. And it's what fans miss when they complain about FFP. It's almost worth running a youth team as a completely separate entity - bring in the players so that they can be sold to fund the first team. If one or 2 move into the first team squad completely a season, you are doing amazing work.

This feels right - I trust Emery's judgement, so there is no point in just keeping him on the bench. Good price, low (ish) risk. Either he goes a smashes it, in which case we've got a serious player who has developed for a good price - developed in a way he couldn't by staying with us. Or he becomes Rhian Brewster - in which case we've sold him at his peak.

If we can blag about £25m for Ramsey, Philogene and Davis, that is impressive as hell and buys a lot of FFP headroom. Most youngsters don't make it - one injury can see them become Gary Gardner. And if we are putting the buy-back clauses in, we have a degree of protection, as they'd likely not progress sat on our bench, and we can then amortise the fee over 5 years (or whatever the contract is). We will likely win more than we lose, and I suspect it will make our academy more attractive to youth players, as we don't stifle their careers.

The really pleasing thing about his goal is that he was switched on to the space. The amazing thing is that he and McGinn didn't trip each other up in getting there. There's some pretty good coaching going on at BMH; the players just seem smarter now - like Gary Player said "the harder I practise the luckier I get"

If JPB wants to play - then good for him. If he is happy to agree a buy-back, then I would say his intentions are entirely good. This is not the same as the guy who hobbled off for Chelsea yesterday.

This. I have little doubt that if there was a good young keeper we could sign, the club would do it on principle. But any new GK needs time for the defence to adjust - I don't think there is another Emi-type keeper out there. But as much as Olsen scares the bejesus out of us - we can't keep having a revolving doors of keepers in the club. We are wasting millions. Plus - Unai has shown how much he can improve our players - why can't he improve Olsen? Having said all that - I would prefer he was replaced!

They're already a third of the way there, from January.

I agree 100% - but you've also hit the nail on the head for why people should not read too much into such things. Sigurddson (and many, many others) Whereas the lovely fact that's been doing the rounds of Luiz, Kamara, McGinn, Ramsey, and Tielemans (and you can add Ramsey junior perhaps) all costing less than Chelsea paid for Chukwuemeka is for me, a much better indicator of the clubs success.

Don't think it was against Preece himself - who I agree is s top bloke. It's Birmingham Live, with its click bait approach to journalism, and regurgitation of any old crap. They seem to have been completely cut off by the club, so anyone doing that role has no chance. They just peddle muck.

I think there's a lot of people (and by this I mean mainly Arsenal noise makers) who think that Emery will have a huge dip in the second season, like they think he did with them. Almost as if things stop working after a while for the main who keeps winning european trophies. And totally forgetting the mess he was trying to sort at their end after Wenger. There's a bullshit narative, which they'll trot out as something 'he's turned arround' when we will everything next year!

https://twitter.com/VillarrealCF/status/1679128947689226240 We need to love this guy - he clearly feels a wrench leaving Villareal. Lets make it worth it for him

MacLeish - a good man; just not the manager we needed or wanted. But nothing against him. Lambert - performed miracles to keep us up; had Benteke at his best. Nearly killed himself in the job, by his appearance. Can't fault his efforts. Sherwood did OK for a very short spell, but it was too much about him, not the club.

State of the weather today - he might just **** off back to Spain. Welcome to the English summer. Bring a coat.

This for me - I know that improvements in the squad usually have to be incremental - but to put (for example) £40m fee plus £25m in wages over 5 years, for such a small improvement - madness. However, if Unai believes it's right - then we do it. We seem to have a priority for value now - not something we have really had in the past - and over the years, this can save tens of millions. MON went mad on players barely better (or not better) than what we had - Dunne, Collins, Knight, Davies, Cuellar, Beye. Lots of us were probably excited to get a new player in, but if they don't take the club forward, then eventually they start to hold the club back. Lerner just stopped the losses eventually, and we had a 10 year decline.

Lyon done his calf? Wouldn't want to celebrate an injury but: They need to take 19 more wickets in this match, bowling last Only 4 pace bowlers in the team, including Green, so can really flog them this match Back to back test - and barely a gap to 4th and 5th *Checks notes. Do not celebrate an injury.

If Luton can't afford Nakamba, with a year left on his contract from a willing seller - they are screwed. Maybe they'll just come up, get relegated with 4 points, and pocket a fortune for long term investment. Can't blame them.

Since Emery took over - quite a lot of people, including a lot of our own fans - seemed surprised that we've got quite a lot of good players already. Now people seem surprised that we have wealthy and ambitious owners, and an outstanding manager, who people in England seem to think isn't. There are going to be a lot of very surprised people (I hope) over the next year or 2, with how far this club can go. Newcastle will do well in the Champions League, but will need to play their big players. We will do well on the Conference League, and won't have to. On that basis - we could finish above them next season.