ScottishRed

Much as I liked Frankie he made a heat of the moment crazy error, should have let him score rather than bring him down. Getting thumped by Villa a few days later sealed our fate in many ways. I truly believe that a lot of people at the club got carried away after the cup game, ‘ Premier League team in waiting ‘ etc. That said, I think we were playing out of our skins beforehand and didn’t have the depth to keep it up. The January window was the time to press on and we get Diony and Kent. The later was a disappointment, he clearly didn’t want to be anywhere near AG and that should have been clear to all involved in the signing.

He is an excellent player however maybe he feels it’s time to move on as he has won everything. I have a strong impression that playing for Pep is immensely intense, looking at some articles on him, and there may come a time when a player needs to remove himself from that.

Depends on how many already there are moving on.

Not sure how Man City’s hands are tied. They face charges but they are currently under no transfer restrictions. As an aside, I read yesterday that their revenue from winning the CL was £180m in total.

Yes, very much how he works. Ake is a great example of that.

Agreed. That is part of my thought process. If Pep sees Alex as potentially part of that next generation it would be a great move for him.

Intriguing. Carlo taking them to court on financial issues suggests that they are in some real trouble.

I can still see him going to Man City. Pep has seen the potential and apparently complimentary remarks from his players. His age makes him perfect for Pep to mould. He won’t get much game time for a season or so, but it would be a great move for Alex,learning from the best will really enhance his game.

Whilst I think it hugely unlikely, that nice Mr Ashton may have found some cash from the American Fireman’s pension fund to turn Joe’s head.

Just watched the interview. I get the impression that Nige is quietly confident about next season. Clearly he is not going to sit there and talk about a relegation dog fight, but there does seem an air of gentle optimism.

I think regardless of any other factors, the bloke really loves the game and despite his age he misses it too much to retire. There is always a danger of tainting your legacy, and he does have one, but I wish him well. Except when they play us obviously.

I think is a smart move. He is an impressive guy and plays a style of football that the fans will appreciate. Realistically Spurs are not going to be winning the EPL anytime soon regardless of who the manager is. Recruitment has been poor for a while and it’s going to take a number of in’s and out’s over 2/3 windows to address that. Even allowing for that they are miles behind Man City and another few clubs. If he can get European football and a decent cup run that would be a success. I think Kane is a real dilemma for Levy. He doesn’t want to sell him to another EPL club but, he only has 12 months left on his contract and would generate a decent fee. The power here is with the player. He could sign a new contract, or he could stay for one more season and leave next summer and no doubt receive a huge signing on fee. Alternatively, if the reported interest from Bayern and Madrid is real he could choose to go abroad. Either of those options would be expensive for the buying club which could prove problematic.

If you get a moment have a Google Of Marvin Bartley..........

The key problem with Scottish football, and this is unlikely to change, is that two clubs have resources way in excess of the rest. When you consider that match day revenue is the highest element of income and dependant on the fixtures, there are weeks when the attendance at Ibrox or Parkhead is greater than the rest of the SPL added together. That said,Scottish football has started to produce better young players who are moving on to other countries apart from down here - Italy being one example. Aberdeen are trying hard to get back to something close to the Fergie years. They are owned by a boyhood fan - Dave Cormack - who made a fortune from his software company and is investing a lot of money, relatively, into the club. There is a new training ground in place and plans for a new stadium close to the city centre. They really don’t need the money from transfers, unlike most Scottish clubs, and this may be part of the reason the fee is higher than may be expected.

I am already wondering if he will be in position after the autumn international break.

Of course there could be personal reasons why location is an issue, but from a professional view staying here makes a lot of sense for both parties. For Andy it would appear we are offering a pathway into coaching with a manager that he knows and trusts. For the club it seems he provides a very solid voice and guidance to the younger squad members. That is very important to have with younger players, particularly in the world we live in now. I hope he stays.

Possible. Wasn’t there a link to Brentford earlier this year? Seems highly unlikely but with their model it could be a goer. As mentioned previously QPR are skint so we may get a decent deal here. Looking at some of their fans tweets they are pretty pissed off with last season and with Beale in particular, which is no surprise. I think that Ainsworth has a job on his hands .

I was utterly astonished mate.

Probably, although I am sure the massive weekly wage was also an attraction, with only a one year commitment, so win-win for him and his agent. Interesting to see where he ends up, his time at Forest has not enhanced his reputation.

Can’t make a cup of coffee!

Saw some comments that SC made regarding budgets prior to their last home game against our friends across the city. He reckoned that they had twice the player budget he did and that he needed more funds. I suspect the CEO agreed as having been there 7 years, he left fairly suddenly a few weeks ago.

Still a variation of that in Scotland. Winner of Championship goes up automatically, the bottom team in the SPL is relegated automatically but, second bottom play the winners of the Championship play-off which is contested between the teams that finish 2,3,4.

I am not a huge fan of Rogers however he did have some challenges last summer regarding transfer budgets. Not an excuse but not being able to ‘refresh’ the squad became an obsession for him, at least in the press. I suspect Kasper was pushed out to reduce the wage bill. Strange as it sounds maybe selling Maddison last summer in a timely manner might have been good for them and given them cash to invest. If they do come down then a lot will depend on who becomes HC / Manager, I doubt Dean Smith will stay. Regarding who comes down a lot will depend on how seriously the opposition clubs take the game, for example, I think that West Hams conference final is next Wednesday, that being the case I can see Davie Moyes making a lot of changes. If I supported the Hammers I would be supportive of that. We can talk about integrity of the league etc but you are not relegated based on one game. I also doubt Bournemouth will be bursting a gut on Sunday either.

Apparently on £500k for the games in charge and £1m bonus if they stay up. Although he won’t be getting the bonus it’s a nice pay day for him. Interesting to hear Ayling’s comments on MOTD last night about the squad not being fit enough. I think you are right, this will be Big Sam’s last hurrah, in his interview on MOTD he didn’t come across as too bothered. Mind you, £500k buys quite a few pints of white wine!

That would be an odd decision by Aberdeen. They are desperate to finish 3rd and get Europa League Group football which, apparently, is worth £4m. They played Hearts today who are their closest rivals for the place and lost 2-1.