Rory Fitzgerald

Creative accounting is only needed if we are coming up against a ceiling for FFP - something I am guessing we are not. Its value to us is limited I am going to guess. We'd prefer an extra £1m on the fee for Hoever than the ability to amortise any Jota payments which ever way want. I reserve the right to change that opinion if we are dealing with mega sums next season - for example if Mbappe came in and Salah/Mane was sold to finance it - the optics of that might need a little finesse in the accounts as they'd be large numbers.

I like the links to Jota - Wolves is a lovely team to watch and he is very good on the ball in tight situations, I can see why we'd be interested. As @Stevie H says, I was surprised that he was 23. I'm not getting on line much lately and now its hard to keep track with Thiago yesterday and now Sarr/Dembele/Jota talk and maybe Hoever leaving. I'll need push alerts on my phone from this thread soon to keep up !

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Been offline most of the day and caught up on Thiago but seeing Sarr’s name in here - is there movement there ?

I was also thinking about it from the context of the contract and not wanting have a conversation about why he is not making the first XI for one of our most difficult games. Breaking down battles by side-of-pitch, looking at Chelsea at Brighton - their right side (so side down which Keita or Wijnaldum would be stationed) was James (RB), Christiansen (RCB), Kante (RCM), Havaertz (R-AM), Loftus Cheek (#10) - contrasted to the left Alonso, Zouma, Jorginho, Mount (L-AM), Werner (more left than right) Loftus Cheek is unlikely to play, meaning it could be Kovacic back into a midfield 3 or push Havertz into #10 and bring back in Pulusic. Lampard could even swap out Loftus Cheek for a 3rd CB and go 3-4-3.

He is but it’s not too bad that he’s going to a club that is only likely to challenge for 3rd/4th It would be a different problem if Poch got him around 2016/17 - he’d have been a more transformative signing then.

I didnt focus on this over the weekend - but having read that link, I can understand the people that claim it wasn't a penalty. The ball's trajectory was towards his thigh and his hand was out of the way. The deflection bounced it into towards his arm. Those who want to see penalty say his arm was away from the body (and kinda was even when Salah received and turned). Those who want to see no penalty say the initial shot hit his thigh first and not his hand - the deflection should not be punished. I'd consider it a penalty for the arm being out and stopping the path towards goal - something John Terry was awful for. But with the rules as they're written there - had the VAR came back with no penalty and cited the body-part-deflection, I would understand that too. Edit: New forum software upgrade looks class

I’m looking at it on a phone and looks excellent

Its been ages since we've had a game where a late goal meant alot - I enjoyed that release for the goals. Its good to see we clicked upfront - we left a few goals behind at the start of the 2nd half. The defence and effort at the midfield and back, needs a bit of work but I think that will come.

Legend

I love that tracksuit top coming out !

No way I am throwing away that hope but I can understand why you might look at it like that. I want to be hopeful. We could do with the numbers in there given Oxlade's injury, Milner wont ever get a long term run of games in there and Henderson could do with managing his games a bit. We have Fabinho Henderson Wijnaldum and Keita all able to hold down a long term spot. Keeping Wijnaldum is nothing but positive. But want I to think we can add Thiago without issue to that mix. Perhaps maybe with selling Gruijic/Wilson who are not on the radar for 1st team football.

He called Ferguson out for having too much influence over referees. Of course he was right. He wasnt being called out by the other managers because they only had face to lose if they questioned him. It wasnt going to influence their results. Moyes, Allardyce, Hughes was at City, Redknapp, Bruce was at Wigan, Pulis, Phil Brown, Martin O'Neill, Hodgson at Fulham. Southgate at Boro. Ricky Sbragia was at Sunderland and ex-Utd, Shearer at Newcastle, Mowbray at WBA, Megson at Bolton. The only foreign managers were Zola at WH, Hiddink at Chelsea and Wenger at Arsenal. No wonder he didnt like Rafa - must have bloody loved it when Hodgson replaced him.

BBC Documentary - https://we.tl/t-gHpPlDV10y The file wont play for me - says I am missing a "Codec" - I have sound but no visual so just a word of warning

I'm downloading it now at the minute, if its a good version I can upload it to WeTransfer for people that havent seen it like myself ! -------------------------------------- I had to refresh myself on the Houllier / Benitez comments - it came after Rafa left and Hodgson took over. The "beaten you" comment was in 2010, I thought it was 2005. Anyway, a Liverpool manager feeding comments to the media about another Liverpool manager like that to try frame their respective success is small time. "According to Houllier, it is now down to Hodgson to restore the Boot Room mentality that made Liverpool the force they were in the Seventies and Eighties. Bringing in English talent like Joe Cole will only be the start of what Houllier hopes is a successful revolution. “After Rafa Benitez left this summer, one of the players sent me a message,” Houllier tells me. “He said, Boss, he hasn’t beaten you.’” Houllier refuses to name the player concerned but relishes telling another story that emphasises the respect his old squad had for him. It came in the aftermath of Benitez’s greatest moment of glory in winning the Champions League in 2005 against AC Milan, coming back from 3-0 down at half-time to win on penalties. Houllier takes up the story. “When I came into the changing room in Istanbul some of the players said: Boss it’s your team.’ “Twelve out of 14 in Istanbul were players I had signed or developed. I left Liverpool with a team and in the Champions League. But when you finish seventh with Torres and Gerrard . . .” - His voice tails off. Houllier does not need to spell out the very different legacy Benitez has left Hodgson.

Given it was 90mins and a title of 30yr wait, was it mostly tracking 1990-2020 or was there a lot coverage of this season ?

If games go like that next season then leave Van Dijk upfront for a while after set pieces.

Danny Ings would be a good one and as already mentioned, Bellamy. I would have loved Crouch to stay. Suso in hindsight. Anelka and Litmamen from Houlliers time. Riedle going back further.

Christ I am not joking, I had this penned for Sunday ! I'm sure I wouldnt have missed as I'd be glued to the phone tomorrow anyway but its come as a surprise !

I’m fairly philosophical about this one, I’m treating this as a lesson in negotiations - as in we’ll get him, eventually, but on who’s terms do we get him.

I see it the opposite way around, and I’m settling on this version - we’re in pole position for Thiago, as fans we’ve seen the club do good business and this could appear (if you wish to see it this way) that we are using the clock to squeeze Bayern’s price down. If they relent, then we let Wijnaldum go because Barca haven’t a pot to pi$$ in. If they don’t, we keep Wijnaldum and the free transfer merry go round happens next year. Barca aren’t paying us €30m for Gini. If we get €10-15m then we use that and a bit to pay Bayern but I doubt we want a net loss from this Wijnaldum/Thiago of €20m for 2 players in similar positions, at similar ages and similar contract positions.

Me too Hass but it’s the unusualness of it - he blew and we all waited for the decision but he keeps his hands down. Just wasn’t prepared for a whistle to stop the game and then not make a decision.

WTF was that from the ref ? He blew and didnt give a decision - VAR gives a view if the ref made a clear an obvious error but he never made a decision for VAR make that determination - it was like he let VAR make the decision

Fabinho was announced on the Monday after the CL Final to Madrid, I'm hoping there is alot more detail to be shared into the public domain tomorrow on Thiago. I'll be disappointed if someone hasnt been briefed tonight about where things are at.

Could be a certain up side to having Chelsea early in the season as the 2nd game - prior to their signings settling in and Pulisic probably returning to training around then after his hamstring injury in the FA Cup Final.