DanWM

Building now. Come on reds.

Sir Keir has inherited a difficult situation so he will be forced to make some difficult decisions at RB. "The last thing I wanted to do was blast that corner into my own net."

They've confirmed Ali didn't pass the final concussion check.

Gakpo off the bench should be sound, assuming he's remembered how to run. Like people have said, I would have been genuinely excited if Chiesa was starting.

Yeah I feel bad about it cos he's been great for us in the past, but I'm a bit sick of the sight of the version of him since he's come back from that injury.

I found the ad, since the chat around it has got a bit convoluted. His post from November '24 was, "Trust me to make the switch... to Google pixel " Maybe I'm being petty, but the winky face, when he's asked the club to handle things privately, feels like a d****ead move. I've said before but it feels like he wants to have his cake and eat it.

Yeah City have shown how much of a nuisance they're prepared to be, the league will probably be glad to have it done with.

The league will be delighted that they can make a ruling in a season where it's going to have no impact on the outcome of the title. Wouldn't be surprised if they're leaving it later so they can calculate the biggest point deduction that doesn't see them relegated.

Just checked the table and see we've slipped a point behind Everchester Uniton. Unacceptable.

Yeah it's all been bang on since last summer when Alonso turned us down. Real get to operate like no other club, the way players and managers will wait for them. Suppose you get to act like that when you've won 6 of the last 11 European cups (or something, not checking)

That sounds worrying, but we should be succession planning even if he is staying.

Or just get two flying full backs and have a big laugh. Can see Endo staying, but maybe we'll still look to upgrade on him and have a Fabinho type who can cover for them.

The same way Trent's sighed his way through 2025? Or something. Anyway, I've not actually seen much of Frimpong but he seems like a good option to play full back against defensive sides and further forward when we're away from home. Horses for courses and that, always a sign of a healthy squad when you can do that.

You've got yourself a deal, Yugo

Can see him being up for it. What's the talk of a possible release fee?

I can imagine he ends up staying in amongst all the other comings and goings. Can also see a similar outcome where Nunez stays

Maybe that MASSIVE assault for Isak means we're going to fire Quansah out of a cannon at St James Park.

Yeah, I'd thought in January when Real made the bid (which they wouldn't have done if they weren't confident that the player wanted the move) that he maybe could have come out and said, "I'm going to leave in the summer but I'm going to give everything for this club til the end of the season." It would have obviously led to a lot of noise, so I can appreciate why he might just want to keep his head down. But yeah, I don't know if it feels like a very modern grumble, but I could have done without his PR moves.

The thing that's annoyed me through the season is that it feels like he made his mind up ages ago. The briefings early on that he was waiting to see how Slot gets on before making a decision, and then to be saying he wants discussions to be kept private, while he does that winky-face 'switch' advert with Google. Talking about how much he idolizes Zidane in that interview too, he's been quietly running a bit of a PR plan for his own image in the meantime. Feels like he's wanted to have his cake and eat it. He's got to front it at some point if he wants to move, but at least just keep your head down if your mind's made up.

Fella on TAW had an interesting bit about how the club have seen him as a late developer physically, and they don't expect him to be fully grown til he's 22. So would maybe explain the injuries he keeps picking up for now.

IIRC Gomez was left out of the Ipswich game cos he was set for a move (to Newcastle?)

I wonder how his mural's getting on. There's a media hoo-har I can't be bothered with.

Missed this https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cx298rz985eo Good process lads.

Can probably expect to hear a lot more of that "we deserve a new station" line. Not sure why they do?