goodrobotusses

The kid is insanely hyped. In the clips I’ve seen, he does look really good. Think I heard yesterday he played his first U18 game at 13, which is bonkers. Yeah, if he is that good and the crowd are already seeing him in the first team, there’s a risk of Barcelona-ing him into the ground. They got away with it with Messi and might yet with Yamal, but so many of their brilliant kids are already incredibly injury-prone (Pedri) or just outright wrecked (Ansu Fati).

Supposedly PSG’s squad are all on incentive-based contracts like our players now. Lower basic made up by big bonuses for performance. Donnarumma is the last on a “normal” contract and refuses to sign a performance-based extension. Thats the official story from PSG’s perspective, but probably just as likely he’s massively overpaid for how good he is and Enrique probably never wanted him because he doesn’t ever leave his line and is crap with his feet.

He’s like a David De Gea regen. Can be an excellent shot stopper, but also liable to occasionally throwing one in. Wants to stay glued to his line, crap with his feet. Overhyped as a kid and consequently overpaid from the get-go. Think he’s fallen foul of Pep’s tendency to randomly start disliking players. Could be explained away by the fact he was rumoured to want to leave last year, but if that’s what’s soured Pep on him, how come Bernardo Silva has never been given the cold shoulder after spending almost every summer looking to leave?

Potter got Brighton playing some nice football but they didn't score any goals. Felt like all their games under him were 0-0, 1-1 or 1-0 either way. He's not a particularly inspiring manager and now he's coaching a dumpster fire. The image from that contract announcement looks like a hostage video. Marinakis seems like such a shady guy.

Accidents will happen when you're dismembering dissidents. Which explains most beat NUFC journos suggesting for weeks that the deal would happen, because their source is probably Howe or someone at the club day to day, while that berk Luke Edwards seems to have a direct line to Riyadh and has been insisting the club won't sell.

Whether we should have sold the other forwards or not is a different conversation. I think we were right to sell Darwin and Diaz, but if we don't get anyone in, we've gambled and lost. I still expect us to sign a forward option though, Isak or otherwise.

If they get in one of Wissa or Strand Larsen, I think we will (and should) try to reopen negotiations, and that would presumably include a new bid, knowing that time is getting a bit short. If they don't sign either and time is running out, I think we should find an alternative option for the frontline (more likely a winger who can also play through the middle) in the assumption that Isak won't happen this summer. If they sign both, I guess NUFC will want to get the deal done and it'll happen.

I think there’s no point making another bid until NUFC get at least one striker in. Even if Isak is refusing to train now, they won’t go into the season with Gordon as their only option at No9. Sure we could look desperate and try to test their resolve by going in with mad high bids before they have a single striker on the books, but I suspect the number at which NUFC completely s*** on their season would be a lot higher than £150m, so we’re waiting presumably until they have someone in. I understand the temptation to want to blame us for the deal having not happened yet… Actually, I don’t. This is NUFC’s fault, not ours. They are the ones who have failed to sign a striker, not us. But their current conditions according to NE journos are two strikers in and a bid of £150m. So which of those is the one in our control?

So if you were leading negotiations, you would have lashed in a £150m bid to show we mean business. Fair enough, that’s what NUFC is asking for. At least that’s what they’re briefing they’re asking for now. A while ago it was £130m. And before that £120m. And last year it was £100m. So I wonder how NUFC would have reacted had you offered £150m in July or early August. This is the Man Utd school of dealmaking. It’s how they ended up paying £100m for Antony when he was available for £30m earlier that summer.

Was turned on to the Libero pod when someone posted the episode about the mess at Man Utd on here. Have really been enjoying it ever since.

He's a better player than Martinelli but he can't offer what Martinelli does. Martinelli is the only Arsenal player who can run in behind a defence at pace. The other forwards, Saka included, tend to want to come back in to feet. Eze would be another. Remember when England tried playing all of Kane, Saka, Bellingham and Foden, and how stodgy it was? AFC doing similar with their more defensive full-backs would probably make them more dependent on set-pieces than ever. I guess Gyokeres will be making more runs behind the defence than Havertz, but I don't think he has the speed of a Martinelli. I think this is why Martinelli has stayed in the Arsenal team even as his development has stagnated and fans have turned slightly against him because he doesn't score enough.

Think the Marcotti article was just his usual way of looking for an alternative take on the issue of the day. Can't see the Article 17 thing happening, not least because it would set a precedent that could threaten us in future, as well as completely destroying our relationship with NUFC, with whom we'll have to continue dealing for years to come.

Ah, didn't know she is a Mackem. In that context, her advocating for selling Isak comes across a little differently ha.

Has written about NUFC for the Graun for years, would seem to have sources on the ownership side, judging by a couple of things she's written. Wrote this about a month ago, for example: https://www.theguardian.com/football/2025/jul/16/newcastle-eddie-howe-alexander-isak-hugo-ekitike-liverpool

Louise Taylor seems to be coming down more on the side of selling Isak, that NUFC won't be able to reintegrate him and the owners know his value will be dwindling the minute the transfer window ends: https://www.theguardian.com/football/2025/aug/20/alexander-isak-and-newcastle-approach-point-of-no-return-after-strikers-latest-outburst

This is like riding a carousel, but all the horses are s*** and on fire.

Would assume an m-dash is Athletic house style as it's an American publication. We all know his heart belongs to the England national team. There's nothing that happens in club football that he doesn't see through the filter of the England national team.

Brentford got a crazy fee for Mbeumo and looks like they’re gonna try for similar with Wissa.

Seemed like the idea was to get a winger rather than a striker if Isak weren't to happen, but after the initial l'Equipe story, it seems the Barcola thing is dead with the player wanting to stay and PSG wanting to extend. After that, there's the non-link link to Rodrygo that never goes away but seems powered mostly by wishful thinking, the fact he's clearly available this summer and the ever-reliable Spanish press. If we were to pivot to a wide player, you'd think it would be someone who can also play through the middle, providing cover for Ekitike, so in that sense Rodrygo would make more sense than Barcola, but who knows?

Can see it working with Eze likely leaving, yeah. Sarr switches to the left and Elliott plays Eze's role but from the right.

That's crazy. Did they ever recoup anything on Nicolas Pepe? Dreadful signing.

A journalist who devotes hundreds of overly floral words to saying precisely nothing is not someone whose opinions or ideas are to be taken seriously. See also: Ronay, Barney

Yeah, couldn't get more than 5min into the first episode.

Doue cost PSG less than what we sold Diaz for.

Yep. Got maximum value on a player who has probably peaked. Haven't really done that since Coutinho and it has helped pay for Wirtz and hopefully Isak too. No probably in that.