Rightdm00

In woman soccer something like 10% of all woman who play until 18 will tear their ACL at least once. Megan Rapinoe tore hers for the third time in 2015 before going on to win player of the tournament in the 2019 World Cup. In the states injuries to professional athletes are talked about very openly. When an NFL player injures his knee we know which ligaments, possible cartilage damage and a time for recovery within days. That definitely stinks for the players privacy but it also has normalized ACL injuries. It's a season ender and nothing more.

If it was just Chelsea doing this I would be mad but someone has to counter these state run clubs. Without some sort of spending cap this was always going to be the end game for European football.

First £150 million player if they come our way and that would be just to keep us from immediately hanging up on them.

Here's hoping the deleting of his Instagram content is the signaling of a new beginning and not something more dark. I was a very active person before I had a major knee injury and ended up having to see a therapist because football and other sports were such a key part of my life. Injuries create an obvious physical toll but the mental one can go undetected by most outside observers. I guess what im saying is every bit of positivity directed towards Mings probably helps. He has a long road back and will need each push to get through some tough times ahead.

PL is a whole different animal. Diaby got chased down by center back today. Everyone is fast.

Our high line without Mings is scary. Pau has massive boots to fill.

OMG this is killing me seeing him in pain like that.

Always the stick with you. Maybe just try a little carrot sometimes.

Boring. How was this the match to start the season. Should have been us so we could loudly announce our title challenge in front of a captive audience.

Not sure if someone has said this but Burnley's home kit looks like an exact replica from our first campaign back in the prem. Thought I was watching a taped Villa game for the first minute when I turned it on.

Pool has found a new farm club after picking Southampton clean. Very happy no longer being the one stop shop for top 4 challengers.

He did seem to be carrying a few extra pounds of muscle. For some athletes that's all it takes. Given that it happened in training my hope is that Ben Mee didn't sneak in and snap every ligament in his knee. If it's just the ACL he should be back in training in 6 months time. Probably won't feature this season but you never know.

Yep and City just made another £60+ million on academy sells this summer. Pretty much paid for Gvardiol and Kovacic.

Pretty much this. When you don't have an entire country financially backing your club you have to make ends meet some way. I much prefer selling borderline 1st team academy players than our top performers every season.

Probably not. In all aspects of life, timing is just as important as your talent/ credentials.

We currently can't give him the playing time he needs for his development. If a season long loan isn't possible then this is probably the next best option. By his age 20 season his brother already had 3000+ minutes of PL football. He needs first team football and alot of it.

You named the best academy grad of the last 5 years for each club. Of course you wouldn't sell a prospect of that quality. For us, that would be Jacob Ramsey who is currently in the first team squad. Aaron is not a teir 1 prospect like Phil or Jacob. At the age of 19 Jacob already had 22 PL appearances. Age 20 he logged 2500 minutes at the PL level. Aaron, age 20, has zero PL career minutes. He needs playing time, and alot of it, at the PL level. If we can't give it to him or find a loan at the PL level then it may be prudent to sell while he is at peak value. Otherwise his development could stagnante, like so many prospects before him, and we end up having to release on a free or sell for a far more depressed value.

Top clubs sell their prospects every year. Especially ones that are years away from breaking through into the first team. I also completely understand Aaron wanting first team football and not another random loan half season loan. If we can get a good number (definitely more than £10 million) then I think it would be good business to sell.

The obvious selection is keep both til the winter window. No need to set our players against each other. Their will be more than enough fullbacks for them to abuse in the first half of the season.

Been to FedEx numerous times definitely the first time in July though. That stadium is an oven without any cloud cover and those temps. I was honestly impressed with the effort the field players put in. Ty playing the whole match, dude is amazing.

You nailed it. Without the press the highline is pretty much an invitation for balls over the top. Not to mention no athlete can maintain a press at the temps/humidity these games have been played in.

Every club in Europe wants a striker that can hit 20+ every season. The real question is if 15 goals from your main striker enough to challenge the top 4 and I think the answer is a solid yes. Especially when you are getting 10+ from his strike partner and then your midfielders/defenders are chipping in where needed. The real worry is whether either of his backups can produce anywhere near his standard if he gets injured. Neither of them have ever produced at the PL level so if you wanted to shore up our top 4 challenge you would look there for an upgrade.

I was out there in the stands and it was sweltering. Not surprised they walked the second half.

I'm partial to Dougie but it's crazy we can even have this conversation. The quality in our squad is overflowing.

I feel like the grealish deal has set the benchmark. If you want our best player the offer better be north of what City paid otherwise jog on.