Too late. I have called the coastguard and the salvage crew are all in place. HMS Piss the League will be afloat again soon.
I have no idea on the internal workings of the club, transfers, current player moods or how the new manager and staff will do so I'll do what I normally do, expect something positive every game and moan when it doesn't happen - though for the first time in a while I'll be at the home games so maybe that changes things a little. That said regardless of the last season this club should be aiming at automatic promotion with the players and funds it has so I'll operate on that basis with my "expect something positive"
https://x.com/allsaintsnews98/status/1940152976406155495?s=46 One for the under 21’s, but is apparently training with the first team this week in London.
The championship is a tough league to predict for sure but less so when it comes to the relegated clubs generally. Think it's 2 of the last 15 relegated who haven't finished in the top 4 obviously including Luton last season. Not checked that though admittedly. For me how good Still is arguably will play a bigger part in how we do next season than our transfer business. If he has anything about him then even with an average window we'll finish top 6. If he has something about him and we have an excellent window we'll challenge for the league. If he's not up to it he'll probably be gone by January.
I make it six of the last 15 who missed out on top four. But two of them did still make the top six. Luton (22nd), Watford (11th), Norwich (13th), WBA (10th), Sheff Utd (5th), Bmouth (6th). If you extend it to the last 10 seasons, then 19 out of 30 have finished in the top 6. With 15 of those 19 finishing in the top four. So a fair history of relegated sides finishing in the top four, and one which is getting stronger.
My mistake. I've obviously listened to something in a half arsed way and misheard it completely. Still though, 11/15 in top 6 in 5 seasons kind of proves the wider point. Just not quite as strongly as I thought.
Good summary, think.it comes down to the question. Will our front two give us 40 goals like Che and Adam did last time? I think ultimately having two regular goal scorers will help decide our fate
Agreed. Although I suppose the one note of caution is that of those four sides (who in the previous five seasons failed to make the top six in their first season after relegation), none of them have since managed to return to the PL. Getting promoted in year one isn't necessarily imperative (the likes of Leeds and Bmouth have shown it can still be done in year two), but finishing in the top six in year one is.
I think it is a really fine line and luck could be a huge player. Start the season well. Opposition give us a game with poor defending etc, confidence will bloom. Vica Versa, a few bad results, confidence stays low, fans get on.players back etc.. The biggest hurdle for me is mentality. The players need to shake the losing habit and that needs to happen in August
With lots of rumours of an exit from Bournemouth, and him supposedly holding talks with several big PL clubs, Semenyo signing a new contract at Bournemouth is pretty big for them. Even if it just means he stays one more season but they ensure they get as big a fee as possible for him next summer. Not sure why we are never able to persuade players to sign a new contract with us just so we can get more money for them? And in the meantime they get a significant pay rise too. Dibling is case and point. He must be on relative peanuts being an academy graduate, why can we not persuade him to sign a new deal? Earn a lot more money here and ensure his contract doesn't run down forcing us to sell him for less? Other clubs seem to manage it.
Because players and particularly agents are greedy. It means that if they can run down a contract a player (and his agent) can command a whopping great signing on fee, as the buying club doesn’t have to pay for the transfer. It’s not us - a case where a player will sign a new contract so that the club he’s leaving gets a fee is remarkably rare (and is what the scousers have been whinging about with Trent).
Probably just because I'm more aware of it with us, but it feels like it happens to us more than it happens at other clubs. I assumed it's because we are tighter with our wages and so are less able to persuade a player to sign a new deal on increased wages in order to get another year and a higher sale out of them. I guess when there is a story about a high profile player at another club who has been rumoured to be on the way out and signing a new contract it's more memorable than the ones that don't. Semenyo this summer and Cunha in January immediately spring to mind. TAA does counter that, but I feel like it was such a 'big story' because it so rarely happens at clubs like Liverpool.
Crystal Palace have reached a £47m agreement to sign Ousmane Diomande, 21, from Sporting with the Ivory Coast defender seen as a potential replacement for 24-year-old England international Marc Guehi. (A Bola - in Portuguese) And we all wonder why, Saints can't compete in the Premier League. I am waiting for the day we spend £30M on a top player, let alone £47M!
Moukouko signed for FC Copenhagen recently as well. Not quite at that legend status but Jashiri, Jayden Addai and Malick Fofana all look likely to move on as well. Malick Fofana to Forest which would be a real coup for them, £60m which again shows how out of touch/tight we are
My initial thought was that there wasn’t as much interest in Semenyo as was being made out. The main reason players don’t do what you have said is injury risk, loss of form and if a club buys someone else in your position who then turns out to be a success then you might have missed your chance at a big move. If Dibling signed a deal that meant Saints would be asking for a huge fee for him in a years time maybe clubs wouldn’t pay that fee when some other player has less time on their contract and costs less. It’s not as clear cut as sign new deal = everyone’s a winner