It's clear to me that Rafa chose the weakest team he could tonight to highlight the frailties of our current squad. It's a political gamble to get more funds and instil a bit of urgency into proceedings. I hope it works and doesn't backfire. We have a very stubborn owner who simply gives zero ****s. The next 7 days we will see clarity one way or another.
I wouldn't rule out some money getting advanced on the TV income for this season, although I have to say I wouldn't bet on it. If the funds are conjured up at the last moment, no clubs we are buying from will know where it is coming from and hike prices up which might have happened had we done it earlier on. I'm still sticking by what I said from the start in that I will pass judgement on the transfer window on Sept 1st. It sounds like we will shift several of Riviere, Colback, Lazaar, Hanley, Darlow and De Jong. Transfers look pretty short of what we required right now but I think there is plenty of business that could be done in the next week. I don't think it was particularly political to be honest because everyone knows Ashley has never been interested in cup runs so going out or playing a weak team wouldn't bother him at all. I think team selection tonight was around putting a couple of players in the shop window, resting a few first team players for Saturday, and trying to put a team out who would just about have enough to beat Forest. Some of the press stuff has been political though, no doubt.
Do you not think that it was a calculated risk transfer listing and then criticising lack of quality of certain players... then expecting them to put in a shift for you? Darlow and Hanley clerly couldn't be arsed. Understandably so.
While this wasn't a deliberate attempt to get out the competition like it was when we played Oxford last season, however it DID appear to be a deliberate attempt so show how thin are squad is and how investment is required immediately - a team with Lazaar, Hanley, Gamez, Barlaser, Sterry and Diame obviously has minimal chance of progressing. Also we started both Saviet and Aarons who hardly ever play. I thought the same against Huddersfield - i.e. Rafa was almost relieved to lose as it was conclusive proof we wouldn't stay up with the current squad, if we were being comfortably beaten by relegation favourites. Big investments needed and I don't see it happening - when we in the Championship we were signing Gayle and Ritchie was £12m+ a piece, now we're in the Premiership, we're having to rely on paying peanuts (£5m in the Prem is lose change these days) for a reserve Stoke striker with a worse scoring rate than Shola. Don't see Rafa here at the end of the month if things don't change quick.
Am I the only one who is pig sick of this political horseshit? All of this crap should be happening behind closed doors, in meetings, in private. It's not like Mikey gives a flying fook about the Carabou Cup (he probably doesn't even know what it is, up there with the Anglo-Italian). What I am fed up with is garbage players being picked and crap tactics being trotted out. To watch Saivet, who has been isolated, be the best player on the pitch is just beyond absurd. I left it a night to dwell on it but I am really quite fed up with Rafa's attitude to everything. You have what you have - many of them picked by you - just get the fck on with it. There's zero chance of it changing either. We watched time and again timid play against very lowly opposition (vs Blackburn particularly stands out). I've never understood how it's possible to play slow counter-attack, yet that's what we trot out and it's the same bile again this season. Opposition hasn't mattered; Spurs, Hudds, Forest, all the exact same tactic, players out of position, too many useless or disinterested footballers. My love for the club is fractured to begin with; that remains whilst Ashley's there. But Rafa's killing the football side and that's just not right. I said it at the end of last season, if we go up only to play insipid football in the hope we stay up, then I'm out. It's utterly ridiculous that we watch the worst football, pick up no results AND have to deal with politics every waking hour. I'm seriously considering just giving up. Another point - is Rafa just trying to engineer a pay off? Again, he's at the wrong club. Ashley's washed his hands of it all, and is delighted to have a big name in charge. Charnley's just pure jellyfish and wouldn't do anything, so Rafa can try all he wants we'll just sit on our hands. In the meantime we're all suffering from second guessing all this utter rubbish. We should collectively sue!!
Yeah from the high of last season's final day to the pee poor transfer window - again. I don't have Sky sports and I'm jacking in BT Sport. Jon - your comment pretty much summed up my resignation to some early back page headlines. Looks like Rafa's being set up to fail. I can see a return of Pardew or Allardyce.
What do people want? What's the best we can get? Right now I've not bloody idea. If Rafa leaves, Ashley/Charnley will be in charge or finding his replacement. Assuming Alan Shearer says no again, in spite of Fat Mike's charming "interview", where would we go from here? Pards has never once said a bad thing about the club, he sure keeps his powder dry. Ruud has recently been bigging up the place as well. At least Sourmess has been kind enough to insult the fans so probably won't be him. But whoever it is, we can be sure that nobody from Gallardo to Howe and everyone in between is going to want the job. If Rafa stays, what then? Can anyone bear to watch this 4-2-3-1 ponderously slow counter-attack anymore? It's dreadful viewing at the best of times, but we show no signs of even trying something new. Conte last year within 2 games realised it wasn't working with the players he had and immediately switched to 3-4-3, then promptly won the league. Our league has four positions - 3 are relegation. We "win" by being anywhere from 17th up, but without an immediate and dramatic shift we won't win squat. Will Rafa change it? He didn't last season but was (sadly) vindicated by winning the league. Ashley going is the best scenario. It would lift the gloom, the press vultures might stop hovering and we might rediscover some hope and subsequently the club may feel and act like a more positive place. But how does this happen? Southampton sold out to Chinese investment for considerably less than Ashley wants, so what's the state of play? He says he wants to sell, but does he? Is he bothered? Is he happy floating around the press (all publicity counts) and subsequently bouncing from Prem to Champ? We got 48,000 through the turnstiles and he could afford to buy more of Debenhams in spite of relegation, so we're not hitting him where it hurts. As far as he's concerned, we (NUFC) owe him £110m - by law. Subsequently we are £110m more expensive than we should be. That seems to suit him down to the ground as nobody can pay that money and if we ever make enough to pay him back, then he still wins. He has us firmly by the balls and there's nothing we can do about it. No manager is going to want to siphon money off to pay back that loan instead of buying players!! So what's going to happen? Well, regardless of start or league position, Charnley/Ashley will not sack Rafa. End of. If Rafa wants to be sacked, he's in the wrong place. Rafa's on good money and idolised (for good or ill), so is he going to walk? If so, where to? Who's going to take him on at those wages, with the likes of Howe, Wagner, Silva, etc. on the rise? Nobody. So he's staying. Ashley cannot sell because nobody will pay £110m over the clubs inflated valuation. So he's staying. Charnley continues to balance the books under the Eye of Mordor (Justin Barnes) so isn't doing anything wrong (for Mike). So he's staying. Ultimately, nobody gives enough of a **** about this club to see the necessary changes brought in. We're sleepwalking in a nightmare with no end in sight.
