MrBlack

You've said you cant rationalise it, then offered 3 rationales that fit... yes. One of those is what will happen.

What I wonder is why Nakamba likes the number 11? He has clearly never been a left winger.

Just don't let him read any of the content

I do. But concerned with the fact we also need a right winger, and gk and probably a CDM. That's a lot of business to do still. A backup cb is last on my list of priorities and doesn't need to happen before the day start of the season.

Record signing on the bench... not happening

Well Samatta and Nakamba definitely don't...

I read that more as a sarcastic attempt to wind up Leeds fans. But maybe that's because I don't rate Rodrigo...

I do wonder this too, but I don't see Jack and McGinn make a midfield 2 in front of Luiz so don't see your first suggestion being an option. Same result in terms of what we need, but was thinking more: McGinn (/New CDM) Luiz Grealish New winger(Milot?) New winger (King?) Watkins Bit offensive, but would be exciting to watch. If i was a betting man, I reckon you second option is what we're targeting...Jack still out left and just getting a new right winger and defensive midfielder if possible

More pages than our chants thread, that has been open for 13 years. More pages than Samatta and Nakamba threads put together. More pages than our record signing Ollie Watkins. I think we've officially lost it

What will annoy me most when this transfer finally happens is the fact everyone I know will pronounce his name wrong. It's going to drive me insane.

Don't think I'll ever be able to forget it. Luc Nilis too...

Yeah, that Nakamba tackle is exactly what I'm against. Going into a player at even a slight angle means there is a force in the opposite direction to which the player is travelling. Doing it head on like Nakamba did is potentially horrific. I was amazed Aguero didnt get injured, and it is purely luck that Aguero's studs weren't buried in the turf that means he didn't break his leg. If you're sliding you really can't control where you're going, and to do so head on to a player with studs up just compounds the risk. Its a recipe for injury every single time. If you time them well, and do them at an angle that doesn't add any extra force in the oppoaite direction to which the player is running you won't cause an injury 99% of the time. Even a slight angle can be fine if you're blocking rather than trying to take the ball. There's always the odd freak injuries but you can't expect a sport like football to be injury free. You can limit the likelihood. I get this is a very subjective view (from a once speedy striker) and expect others won't agree.

I think your last paragraph was the vision last year but lack of experience and a poor run of results meant it had to be abandoned. Nakamba needed to release the baller quicker/ better after winning it, and Luiz was never that close to him for it to be easy enough for him. Nakamba also needs to make more of his tackles work, so many times he will slide in and just poke the ball to the same player. They are fixable challenges, and I can see it working very well if thoae challenges are fixed.

May also help persuade Milot to move on at a lower level of expectancy. Win:win

Agree, clearly not capable of playing the game without crippling people. Even if not intentional, someone that clumsy shouldn't be allowed near the pitch.

I get that concern too, but then I wonder if we'd had someone that clinical up front at the start of last year when we created plenty of chances... things could have been very different. I would love better than trez and AEG, and hope we get at least one, but I do think it's not a complete disaster if we don't. probably being too optimistic to be fair though.

That first picture...

Staying. I think one more signing of a £20m+ player guarantees it.

I'm confused. The issue was never whether we are willing to pay €25m , it's pretty clear we would be, but whether the player actually wants to move to a PL team in the bottom half. If he is half as good as everyone here seems to think he is I'm amazed more teams aren't. That latest article from them dieche stube doesn't add much weight I don't think. If the stage of the window and lack of other interest so far has lowered his requirements then that is a totally different matter.

Quotes from the standard, in turn quoting a eplanalysis article. He needs to get better at tackling, but if he does that, he becomes one of the best destroyer type defensive midfielders in the league. Against certain teams we'll need to play two defensive midfielders if were going with a 4-3-3 variant, and if he can get more consistent support from Luiz to take the ball off him they could make a brilliant pairing. Definitely worth giving another season, or we risk an idrissa gueye style situation where he goes elsewhere and delivers a league title. May well not make the step up, or having a ready made alternative for this season for him to learn from could be brilliant, but no point selling even if we do sign someone until next year.

Wittyfutty have a clip of it. Add that to your search

I didn't think it was a good tackle in real time, but did think it looked fairly innocuous. Clumsy, late, but didn't think it was going to cause an injury, let alone one that kept a player out for a season. Replays showed it was a very dangerous tackling style, and if he and Dyche both saw nothing majorly wrong with it then that says all you need to know about their lack of concern for the welfare of any other teams players. Hate them both. Don't get me wrong, love a Guilbert style slide tackle, but you shouldn't be doing them at any angle beyond perpendicular to the forward, and you shouldn't be wrapping your legs around a player in doing so.

I think West ham are in real trouble as well. That team morale is going to be rock bottom.

You on the wind up Delphino? The phrase that is the bane of many a strikers career up and down the country. A wreckless dangerous tackle is a foul, irrespective of whether the tackler got the ball. "I got the ball ref".... oh f$#% off

Reads as a rant but at least some of the points being made here are being expressed in the press. Needs to get national coverage from a better spokesperson really.