bobzy

1 hour ago, Zatman said:

and net spend is flawed as I said because of them ridiculous deals

Football is played on the pitch not the balance sheet and Liverpool had a team to win more trophies and didnt

I imagine if it wasn’t for a certain Manchester City…

Sheff Utd take the lead at Old Trafford. 

33 minutes ago, T-Dog said:

I have too. I don't think he's 'shit' by any stretch, but I expected a lot more from him this season, although I think he might be finding a bit more form again now. 

The settling in at a club is such a massive deal. We absolutely live in a world whereby if a transfer doesn’t immediately pay dividends on the pitch, then a player is shit.

It’s madness! Bailey, Watkins and Konsa should all hold as examples of players who adapt, settle and then improve. Diaby has the skill set to absolutely fall into this (and he’s had a good season in any case). 

1 hour ago, paul514 said:

Actually in FFP/PSR terms no.

He would sell for the equal of his book value so no FFP loss and we need to lower the wage bill for PSR along side increasing revenue.

No one really cares what it costs NSWE for the fee as they have always just stumped up the money - so far.

I’m not convinced that’s the one for FFP/PSR. He’ll probably have around, what, £10m “left” in terms of book value… you’re saying we get a left back in who is fine being a rotation option but offers as much as Digne does (and immediately, as well) for £50m absolute tops?

I don’t see it. It’s such a big risk. 

I like the round badge with the upside down lion. 

1 minute ago, Killeen30 said:

Purely down to his wage I imagine.  Yes he would be closer to the end of his career than he would to the start but it's really all down to the contract.  He's had a fine season, like the rest of the team.

But surely it would cost more money to replace him than it would to cover his £120k/wk (or £45m/wk, whatever it is) wage for the remaining 2 years he has on his contract?

5 hours ago, duke313 said:

What on earth has Emery created?

Not to nitpick, but "vs midfielders"?  Is that Leon Bailey compared to the likes of Youri Tielemans rather than, say, "Att Mid/Wingers" which would be more Phil Foden or, rather, where Bailey actually plays?

(He's still playing fantastically well, though).

Just now, Tom13 said:

You sure?

MOTD commentator called him "Mohammed Diaby" accidentally  

1 hour ago, Davkaus said:

I don't tend to mind for Villa matches as when they're not broadcast in the UK we all tend to be in the same boat so match threads don't suffer too much (except for @rjw63 listening on the **** radio like it's 1996 and coming in with all the spoilers )

Pisses me off more in world cups/euros when half the country is watching the match and you hear the cheers before you see the goal

@rjw63 and @JAMAICAN-VILLAN enjoying the Villa goals 2 minutes before everyone else  

2 hours ago, tomav84 said:

getting bored of my zilina save. players just don't want to be here at the first sniff of interest from elsewhere, even if they only were signed a few months ago. got a good side that qualifies from the league phase of the CL every year but only twice have i made it past the playoff round.

the league and team reputation just isn't progressing quick enough and it's getting annoying.

If it offers any crumb of encouragement with my FM2023 Latvia save, the board have (finally) upgraded my youth facilities to "Excellent" and I've had a couple of Latvian kids come through who look handy (both are strikers which is a bit annoying as I play with 1; PSG rumoured to be interested in one of them though which is a great sign).  So "the nation" is going to improve.

The Latvian league is still sat 8th in terms of ranking and I got knocked out of the CL in the Round of 16 for the first time in about 8 seasons which has pissed off the board .  Players still want to leave for the massive clubs, but I always go for the talk with them, they didn't meet the valuation, enter high valuation loop.  A few times it gets met and I just refuse it leading to an unhappy player... but they still perform well.  I actually had a reputation amongst my squad of "not keeping promises" which was an actual problem, so had to sell a few players and re-invest.

Overall, though, the side is still very strong and, more importantly, the league is getting better.  Valmiera qualified from the Europa League group again, won in their playoff but lost to Leipzig in the Round of 16.  Other sides (RFS, Riga, Auda) are picking up some random very good players on free transfers.  I think it's because every club is rich so they offer silly wages but they're getting players who are causing my side some (small) problems and should see those sides do better in Europe.

Definitely a bit of a slog, but it does get better once you get past the stage you're at.

1 hour ago, nick76 said:

Take it a step further because the question needs more context…
 

Question to Villa fans

Would you rather

• get to play in the Champions League and not win but keep all key players and get CL place next season as well.

Or

• sell Watkins for £100m to Arsenal this summer, win the Europa League Trophy, and finish 10th.

That's not "more context" though, it's a different question  

12 minutes ago, Stevo985 said:

His price tag would limit him to those kind of clubs anyway

Arsenal aren't stumping up £120m for Watkins. They'll probably be too arrogant to think he's worth it anyway

Thing is, he probably isn't.

He's a bit of a weird one - I don't actually think Watkins is in the elite striker bracket, even though his finishing has improved for us.  However, for us, he's absolutely perfect in that striker role because he does everything well.  Finishing, heading, hold up play, dropping into channels, feeding other attacking players - he does everything well but arguably doesn't excel at any one thing.

So we'd be asking for a crazy amount but he's (very likely) not worth the risk of a crazy amount to any other club.  It's only good news as far as Villa are concerned  

13 minutes ago, Zatman said:

Portugal like England has 2 domestic trophies and the trophies he won are the easier to win League Cup as play about 4 games. He has done a good job but he was a top 5 record transfer for a manager so I would expect more if honest

Many managers came from Portugal with better records and struggled

He's broken multiple records as a manager over there (fastest to win 50 games etc), so technically has a “better” start to his managerial career than Mourinho.

Still a risk, of course, but he’s doing very well. Sporting have become a very solid side under him, despite still losing their best players season on season. 

8 hours ago, StewieGriffin said:

They must have known weeks/months ago that Gateshead weren't going to be eligible

They had a cutoff point of sometime in March and then an appeal failed. It seems Gateshead and the Council didn’t sort themselves out for whatever reason.

10 hours ago, Zatman said:

League isnt over yet but they are favourites to hold on. He has only one one title and 2 cups so far(out of 15 in his time there) and was one of the highest transfer fees ever for a manager. I would expect a lot more

He has also had one decent run in Europe at Sporting

2 cups out of 15?! Are you including European trophies here?

He’s done a very good job at Sporting. Not really sure how you can think otherwise. His Sporting side are the first team not called Porto/Benfica to win the league in 20 years or something.

1 league title (likely 2) and 2 domestic cups in 4 seasons is fantastic stuff - 50% of the available domestic trophies.

3 minutes ago, Keyblade said:

So Forest have been singled out for extra poor treatment then? Natural coincidence or corruption? 

I can't see why it would be corruption - but Forest and Wolves have had the most "big" decisions go against them by some distance.

27 minutes ago, andykeenan said:

 

Arsenal v Chelsea 8pm TNT Sport 1

23 minutes ago, Keyblade said:

What is the conspiracy against Nottingham Forest? I'm sure every team can make a reel like this. Ours could probably look as juicy as this from memory. There's no conspiracy, the refs are just not very good and often make mistakes. But no, I'm sure it's because the FA (?) don't want Forest in the PL.

Not a **** chance

3 minutes ago, Keyblade said:

His arm was moving before the ball was kicked. It was a completely natural movement. The entire law is broken imo. It's not in the spirit of the game to give a penalty because the ball hit someone's hand from 2 feet away, with their arm in a natural position.

It moves back towards the ball.  A very natural, instinctive movement... but his arm goes toward the ball.  It's coming down slightly as the cross goes over, then flicks back out to make contact.

I'm not fussed about it not being given, but I'd want it if against Villa etc.

4 minutes ago, Davkaus said:

Just let them know that these things have a habit of evening themselves out, and in this case they just have to average it out going back to the 2022 playoff final. They love that  

"Yeah, fair point lads... but. really, it should be Huddersfield in the Premier League, not you guys.  So just suck it up!"

Just now, duke313 said:

I noticed that Onana got booked in the shootout, and the commentator said he wouldn't be suspended for the final.  Any reason why Martinez has been in that case?

Different competition, different rules.

25 minutes ago, Zatman said:

They were robbed vs Liverpool recently when the ref didnt know the rules then add in a points deduction then I feel they reached breaking point

There's loads more.  I'd have to message my Forest-supporting mates, but there was a massive list that got reeled off at the pub after the Liverpool incident

I'd be happy to oblige if people want to know more!

31 minutes ago, lapal_fan said:

I'd like to have him with a chant using Miss Dynamite's song because I want to hear the Holte sing in the Alto range. 

Mous-sa Dee-arb-ieeee-he-heeeee  

That's great, but his first name is Mohammed.

Sigh. Another shit move.