The Rosk

Who cares? Probably will get a big signing bonus, short term it works out better for him there, and he could have a career-ending injury at any moment. I wish him the best and thank him for - without question - putting the effort in every game he played with us.

I absolutely love SJM but it has been a stall in progress across this season for him. Not sure if you saw the Fifa video that he did with JJ but he even said briefly "I'm sure my stats are down this year" when talking about how their player ratings on the game. I'm sure he's conscious of it but then again, I do wonder if we have just completely screwed him by playing in a non-attacking role. He's an all-rounder which hasn't helped this, fitting in to different places, covering for Luiz in DM, barely ever getting forward - I don't think I've seen him have a shot in the box this season. He thrives there for Scotland and whilst we have a lot of talent in the forward lines now I do wonder where we could push him into a more advanced position and make the most of the lad.

Last season - 29 games played of 38 This season - 18 games played of 36 If we're putting all our eggs in one basket for a rock at the heart of our midfield then we can't have someone missing 40% of the action. He's 26 and injuries will start to pile up. My concern is that this would be our marquee signing of the window and then we're stuck in exactly the same position as we are this season crying about not having a good DM when he gets another injury.

It reminds me of an Owen Hargreaves type situation - ridden with injuries but a top player so it's a hard decision to make. He COULD play for teams a lot higher than us in the League no doubt, but for such an outlay you'd obviously want him to be the anchor in midfield consistently. Not sure if he has the legs for it. I can't see us getting him in any case.

You don't get xG if you don't shoot. The one/s where he ran it and didn't shoot wouldn't have counted, I assume.

They spent £45m on Haller, and according to Moyes made "3 club record bids" that were turned down in January. So there is money there.

I reckon we'd get £20m at best for Ings, whereas we could easily command £50m for Watkins. Depends on where the funds are and how much we're looking to spend elsewhere - whilst we're looking to move on the likes of AEG/Trez/Keinan etc, I can't see us getting tons of money for them. Can't be spending net £100m+ every window.

I guess if we're aiming to put Coutinho and Buendia in the same team and keeping INgs then Ollie is the most sellable asset for a high price. Id be hesitant to move him on as I do love him a little bit.

I've been asked by two separate people today about my thoughts on Watkins to West Ham. Is this just mindless speculation or is there some truth to it?

I bloody love Tyrone Mings and we are much better with him as a visible influence on the team and a rock at the back. I am constantly flabbergasted at the cr*p he gets from some fans. Respect the man who stuck with us from a loan spell when we were in the sh*t and has helped lead us to PL security, all whilst getting caps for England.

There is zero chance we will get Kalvin Phillips. He was England's best player at the Euros. Big 6 team will snap him up if they go down. Only 26 and top reputation right now, can't see him moving to a team that's not in Europe.

I'm so excited for this lad to come back that it almost feels like a new NEW signing. The difference and blend of styles between Coutinho, Buendia, Bailey, Traore in those attacking channels with Ings/Watkins as the striker is mouthwatering.

We have no idea what has been discussed, or observed by SG, behind the scenes. All we know is that there are rumours of one player going out on loan for 17 games after we have just signed a player in his position for a sh*tload of money. Gerrard has made a big deal of wanting a squad for competition - so assumedly he sees Young (or maybe even Hause/) slotting in at LB if needs be for cover for the next 17 games if Digne gets injured or banned. Targett has had a pretty terrible season this year, and if he is under the impression he's not fancied from here, then fair play to him for wanting to go out and keep his career going. I'll always appreciate him for his efforts whilst with us, but his end product has never been great, and he was extremely fortunate to be on the same side as a bloke who had two people marking him every game before this year.

I asked my scouting friend about him and he said he likes him - and suggested this report, whilst being a bit data-y, is a good source of info: https://thefalse9.com/2021/10/rodrigo-bentancur-a-scouting-report.html

I love Ollie - exactly the sort of character we need in the team. The last thing he needs are fans getting on his case. He's still got his prime years ahead of him and was one of our best players last year. He does so much for the team and clearly puts so much pressure on himself to score. Almost every interview I've seen of him he constantly reflects on how accountable he feels for everything. He looks like he's not fully enjoying it at the moment for some reason and it feels like he's feeling the pressure with the team "moving forward". I hope he kicks on this season as he's more than capable, but this is a step up from where he came in (signing for us from the Championship when we were odds on to be relegated) and now we're clearly investing wherever we see gaps in quality).

Brought a small tear to my eye this. I absolutely love this guy. One of the best signings we could have made this window.

For the first time since Jack, I wanted everyone to get the ball to him as quickly as possible in the United game. On confidence and he just wasn't losing the ball - so slick, always created space - this is the Emi we wanted. May it long continue.

Love Trez for what he did for us at crucial points in our fight to stay up but he's way behind the rest of the squad in terms of ability. Would be great for all involved if he can go for a decent wedge. I hope he isn't remembered for the pathetic dive vs Brentford as his "last act".

McNulty saying it's nowhere near as done as is being reported.

From an Everton forum " I think if you take out issues with Rafael and look at the deal objectively, it's a good deal. Yes, Digne is one of our better players but all clubs need to player trade to improve. Every club to some extent is a selling club. I think in the short term, Villa will get the better of the deal but I doubt it long term. Digne is a good player, who is out of form, but is also reaching the latter stages of his career. The deal has pros and cons for both teams and only time will tell who got the better end of it. It is reported that Digne will be getting around 120-150k per week. The Athletic is reporting that Villa want him on a long contract. That is quite a risky strategy that hinges on them qualifying for Europe. Similar to the type of thing we did a few years ago. Given Digne has never been blessed with thunderous pace, and the fact he is entering his later years, there is a high chance Villa are stuck with a very expensive player in a couple of seasons. Obviously, should Villa get into Europe then they will argue that the deal made sense. Now forget Rafael is our manager, Carlo still is for example and this bid comes in. For us, we bring in £25m for a player who is out of favour, on CL level wages and since Feb has seen his form downturn. Now, there is every chance he moves to Villa and recaptures his form but there is also a chance that he doesn't. Given our need to generate funds for FFP, can we risk turning down that fee for him? £25 is a good price. We paid £21 for Allan who was 29 at the time. You could argue he had been playing at high level in recent years when we bought him compared to Digne? Selling Digne now allows us to bring in two new fullbacks and potentially one further signing. The new lads are young and will need time to bed in, that is true. We will also make a significant saving on wages. Personally, I don't think we should be paying anyone over 100K given we aren't in a European comp. It stings that we are selling Digne. It is not nice he is going to another Prem Club. But we need to raise funds to improve and out of our sellable assets, I'd rather lose him then DCL or Richarlison. I just wish people would stop with the dramatics like: agent Rafael selling him to ruin us, villa are a step up (3 points and we have a game in hand), we losing our best player, Digne is [Poor language removed] - all of those statements are false and you just sound stupid."

I can't actually believe we may have Coutinho and Digne this window. The pessimist in me is screaming this is going to fail. But in reality they are very good footballers on a level significantly above what we have. This is superb. We need to get dead wood out ASAP. I really do believe in the potential of a lot of our youth players so keeping the likes of AEG/Trez is only going to make it worse for them and we could end up in a Cahill-type situation where they blossom elsewhere as a result of our own blinkers.

Draper Savo and Southgate. I must have watched that Season Review on VHS over 100 times growing up.

Couldn't agree more with this. Whether we like it or not, £38m doesn't buy you finished articles nowadays. James £25m, Konate £36m, Sancho £76m, Willock £25m, Gil £23m, Vlasic £35m - all came to their PL clubs at the same time - and even Super Jack who went for £100m is on the same G/A as Emi but with more games. What I have seen is that Emi is going to be a real diamond for us. The vast majority of players take time to get accustomed to a new club, particularly if you are the fulcrum of the attack - and when form comes, the love from the fans will rise, and he'll really enjoy playing in the shirt. right now I sense he's playing with some nerves but that will fade too.

Cash had a great game. A few wayward crosses aside, he's got energy for days and after a shaky start he handled Barnes extremely well. He's only just 24 too - definitely not in need of a big upgrade here compared to other areas of the pitch. I also think Guilbert could do very well under Gerrard but bringing him back in a bit-part role could be beyond us now. Nakamba has been excellent - I think the a major reason for this is because he isn't trying to do anything stupid. He isn't a big passer, but his role has excelled under the Gerrard philosophy of Villa players being always within 10metres of each other, keeping things very simple and being a warrior when we don't have the ball. As long as we don't stretch his capabilities he'll continue to do well. I enjoy Gerrard clearly taking no prisoners and being respectful - he's handled every interview with class and it's going to be interesting how he handles our first losses to non-Top 3 sides.

Talking of which - my ITK mate (100% record) said that Liverpool had enquired if Watkins was available and were told a firm no.