KaKa

And you really can't help but wonder what @Froggy had to say about the Lingard carry on at the time ...

He's being looked at by Arsenal, Man City, PSG and Real. I think he'd burst out laughing at the idea of Man United. I think Man City is where he ends up if he stays in the league, particularly because it seems Paqueta is headed there too. Otherwise, I hope he leaves the league. Real don't seem 100% convinced by Tchouameni and so could see him at Real.

Diomande signed Jan 2023 for just under £7 million. Gyokeres signed summer 2023 for £15 million. These two are already being hotly pursued by a host of top clubs, and could together fetch around £120 - £130 million this summer. Wonder how Hugo Viana's interview went, because Sporting have been doing some serious work.

I would have celebrated getting the money and taken a cheeky dig, but in reality I would have thought to myself ... man, these guys aren't messing about and know what they want. Or even if you didn't pay it, just negotiate down in a more low key fashion, and get to maybe £10 million possibly, or whatever. Instead Ratcliffe has been all over the place running off at the mouth, saying he's not paying more than what we did Brighton, and has now got Ashworth to take it to arbitration. Very haphazard approach to the whole thing. I don't think the guy is coming across well at all, and at some point it likely bites you lot in the backside too.

If you saw Ratcliffe's interview after the marathon you'd see he was worried about not having people in place. Far more pressure on them to get things in order ahead of the summer. Aside from rebuilding the team, which needs significant work, they also need to get a new manager in place too. We seem more than happy for him to sit things out and aren't concerned about paying him to do so. We are also already down to the final stage of getting in a replacement. The joke is on Man Utd, and that will become increasingly evident.

Man Utd are panicking. Clearly don't feel confident in going forward with key decisions without Ashworth. This is perfect. Let them keep spitting feathers. Seem to be in a bit of a mess over there.

Yikes, blessing in disguise this guy leaving. Clearly a brilliant guy, but this man's character is seriously lacking. Very very revealing this whole thing. Between this guy and what we've seen from Ratcliffe, I am very interested to see how things transpire at Man Utd. I don't think things are going to go smoothly.

There was one that covered the contacts world wide that he has, but can't find it. But this one from the Athletic was a good read regarding his approach and mentality. The bit about player's mindset and character will be familiar as it ties in with our current approach. https://theathletic.com/4758636/2023/08/10/dougie-freedman-crystal-palace-transfers-profile/

I read something about Freedman a while back, and I remember being surprised by how highly rated he is. Will have to try and find the article.

Tuchel to Manchester United has all kinds of potential for disaster. Lovely.

Ship has sailed on the pair of them unfortunately. They can command anything from £60 million upwards for them. Another two that made their name in the Championship. We need to start paying more attention to that league. Eze cost just under £20 million and Oliseh just under £10 million. Great business from Palace.

Judging by his comments after the game he was clearly not impressed by the way our play was executed today. Just because we lined up the same way, doesn't necessarily mean the instructions and approach was supposed to be exactly the same. Howe has previously talked about having specific plans for every game, and we can never really know what tactics were discussed beforehand if the players fail to execute.

Had all the Arsenal defenders this week and Pickford ... nice.

I actually think he would be a big nuisance coming on late in games when players are tiring, as his energetic play and harrying would cause problems. However, if we are offered that kind of money in the summer, I think we probably have to take it.