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stozo

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  1. This was the most egregious example - but felt there were a number of similar instances where he was more focused on showboating etc. than doing the simple thing that would have helped Milan.
  2. I left the two CL games against them thinking he was exactly the kind of player we don't need. A massive talent but very little graft and seemed more focused on creating a personal highlight reel of special moments rather than consistently providing end product to help his teammates.
  3. Given the Joelinton injury, I wonder if we'll see Hall in midfield here as they try to figure out if he's a feasible option there before the end of the window.
  4. I don’t really care what he does. He needs to protect his mental well-being during this period of not playing, and then get himself in top physical condition for his return in the Summer.
  5. Would love to see over the season if the 4-2-3-1 that was tried in the second half last night works as an alternative formation for us. Sadly I suspect its success hinges on having two good passing midfielders - and with Tonali about to be out, that may well spell an end to it.
  6. Yes. There seems to be a lot of people (and some weird Italian press rumours) saying we won't pay him. But unless Tonali is waiving his right to be paid out of remarkable generosity, I highly doubt there is any way we won't be paying him. Contractually we are on the hook unless we take disciplinary action to sack him for gross misconduct. And from everything Howe has said, I can't imagine that 'doing everything to support him' involves trying to deprive him of his salary.
  7. The Italian FA hold Sandro Tonali's registration via his nationality. And the general agreement between the FAs of Europe is that they recognise each other bans, especially in relation to issues like this.
  8. stozo

    Alexander Isak

    Kind of insane that most people would probably say we've not seen the best of Isak so far this season, yet he has scored 6 goals in the PL and is the joint second top scorer in the league.
  9. Come on, Howe has been the manager for 18 months now. Everyone should know by now that ‘match fit’ is not the same as being fit enough to play in an Eddie Howe team. We saw that with Gordon, where it has taken him 6 months to get up to standard and the point where he is used regularly.
  10. A bad night at the office but not going to get too concerned just yet. Brighton are a very good side and we just couldn’t find our rhythm tonight. If we’d closed out the 1-0 against Liverpool last week I think there would be a much fairer reaction to this performance. The entire problem of the match (in my humble view) is Brighton forced our defensive players into playing difficult balls to the forwards because they’d shut out the midfield options, this saw us turnover the ball a lot and then Brighton were very good with it. Of course, that’s then also compounded by some sloppiness from our midfielders in the limited occasions they did get on the ball. There are probably six teams in the league ( City, Man U, Arsenal, Liverpool, Brighton and Spurs) who have the capability to shut our midfielders down like Brighton did tonight. We’ll play the 13 other teams with very different challenges (i.e. breaking a low block). And against the other six we’ll have some games where we figure things out (like Brighton and Man U at home last season) and some games where unfortunately we’ll get a result like tonight. We’re still a very good side and we’ll be there or thereabouts come the end of the season.
  11. Most of what we do (bar front of shirt sponsor etc.) will likely be ‘FFP peanuts’ of a few million. But by building a few million at a time, you get to tens of millions, which gives you the FFP headroom. In many ways, I wish football hadn’t gone the way it has - but if we want success, driving revenue as high as possible is the way to get it.
  12. I feel like all the kicking off about ticket process is a bit people wanting to have their cake and eat it. People want us to compete for trophies. FFP is the major barrier to that. Which means we need to increase revenue. Which in turn means everything (especiallly tickets) will go up in price. Everything has a cost, and this is the price of success.
  13. Think it’s Man U judging by the photos on the board in the background when it cuts away to Trippier.
  14. An absolute giant under Bruce but now is the right time to move on. Clear he doesn’t fit with the Howe system and Barnes, Gordon, Joelinton and Isak gives us a plethora of options on the left. As has been pointed out extensively, due to amortisation this deal likely frees up substantial FFP room which will not only pay for his replacement but will also open up other Summer signings.
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