ScottishRed

2 hours ago, gl2 said:

Burnley, Bournemouth, Brighton, Brentford these 4 B`s ..please someone tell me what they have done so right to get them in the prem that we haven`t ?

We are still circling around in this div mostly, while others pass us by.

Yes I know others drop down as well as pass us in both directions....maybe this time SL has got lucky and got us a decent manager after many fails. We will need to hang on to our best assets at some stage if we are to move up a div.

This build wont last long if we continue to sell our key..stones/players...a loan back if only for a season seems to be a good option if possible.

Fella, it’s been done to death.

1. We need the money, if Alex goes for £25m an awful lot of that will go towards stemming the huge losses we incur every season.

2. If a EPL club comes in for a Championship player it is hugely probable he will go. They are professional sports people who want to play at the highest level they can.Then of course, there is the money. Even if Alex goes to a middling PL club his wages will increase by a factor of 5/6/7 times, maybe more.

It is the reality of football nowadays, the gap in wealth between the EPL and the Championship is a chasm and players and their agents, want a piece of the action.

I don’t blame Alex for one second if he moves on and will wish him the best of luck. 

It is incredibly difficult, although, not impossible, to get promoted without PP’s or a huge element of good fortune.

I think a loan back is highly unlikely, I don’t see how it benefits the buying club, nor the player. If I were him I would be looking to settle into my new environment both personally and professionally and try and force myself in to the match day squad as a minimum.

1 hour ago, Bedred31 said:

We’ve only lost one more game than Milwall who are in 5th and two more than Middlesbrough in 4th. The difference is the win/draw ratio. We’ve drawn 14- 1 more than Wigan who are bottom .I think we underestimate how well Pearson has done in making us gritty, resilient and harder to beat. Next step is to be more potent in the final third.

I think our potency in the final third is there but it’s inconsistent. That should improve.

What we truly need to do is stop losing stupid goals - much easier said than done.

I am hoping that they frequented the city’s nightlife last night after winning the league.......

1 hour ago, ExiledAjax said:

"Well of course we're always exploring what's best for the Club and if the right deal is out there then we'd certainly look at that. Obviously I can't talk about anything specific right now but we are always looking to invest in the Club and in the city and that's always going to be our focus."

Ah! So you write his scripts!

I have been impressed by Gary O’Neil, always been calm and considered in his interviews, even when they have lost by few.

Perfect example last Sunday after West Ham

2 minutes ago, pillred said:

Watching the game last night I couldn't help thinking we gave Man City a much harder game than Arsenal, in fact to me it looked like a premier league side that had been drawn against a good league one side in the cup at times it was that one-sided.

I think first half we gave a very good account of ourselves but I am sure we were always aware what the outcome was likely to be.

Last night I didn’t hold out much hope for Arsenal - not that I cared who won - they were up against a team truly hitting top gear and they were coming off the back of some disappointing results and performances.

Man City are one hell of a team and I do enjoy watching them. In Haaland they have a player that is starting to offer more than the coupious goals he scores.

I also read yesterday the head of UEFA stating that a salary cap is on the way and that ‘everybody’ agrees with it.

In the same article it was mentioned that from 2024 transfer fees and wages cannot exceed 70% of turnover.

Quite a change IF true.

And another way that allows the bigger clubs to retain their monopoly just as FFP does.

1 hour ago, Simon bristol said:

I don’t understand why we would though, if theres an injury before the end of the Scottish season that could jeopardise the deal, unless we ask for a gentleman’s agreement with aberdeen that they wont play him?!

Zero chance of that when they are pushing for 3rd place and Europa League football which, apparently, is worth £5m.

That is huge money to any SPL club. Remember the TV money up there is negligible.

Aberdeen get decent crowds, relative to the rest of the clubs, with the exception of the bigot brothers and the two Edinburgh sides.

They have had very up and down season but their interim manager has done an excellent job in getting them back on course.

11 minutes ago, beaverface said:

I've a feeling that Mic'ing the refs up will lead to other questions such as "why didn't the ref send that player off for swearing at him", whereas another referee may not let some fruity language go and send someone off.

One of the historic reasons given for refs not having a mic is the language of the players.

I am of the opinion that football should take a lesson from rugby and only the captain can speak to the ref during the game.

I am all for refs talking to the media to explain their decisions and even admitting mean they got it wrong. - it’s not going to happen but it would be good for the game.

27 minutes ago, Red Billy said:

If someone buys him they are going to want to look at him for a few months first. Early rounds of the league cup etc. Then possibly loan him out at a club can’t see him coming back here though as they would want him to see him in a different environment 

You are right, a loan back won’t happen.

No club is going to pay the sort of money we are expecting and loan the player back, they will want him to be in and around the squad learning patterns of play, getting accustomed to how they do things etc.

From Alex’s point of view there is no benefit, I would expect he would want to get used to his new environment and push to get into the match day squad.

From our point of view much better to thank him for his efforts, wish him the best of luck then move on. No point in delaying the inevitable.

26 minutes ago, Selred said:

Can play CB, RB, CDM. £2 mil isn’t much in the scheme of things, only 25 so should improve and has captained a few times so a leader. 

Imagine him, Palace CB, Currie and CM to come in. 

Has also been in the national squad, which despite the cynicism is rapidly improving, although not won a cap yet.

38 minutes ago, jambodinho said:

Had a quick scan of the Aberdeen forum. They want him gone. Most don’t rate him. Doesn’t seem to have one position that he stands out in. Been playing wing back this season but can possibly play centre back and maybe defensive central midfield. £2m seems a lot, especially with tanner, Wilson, sykes that can all play right wing back. Maybe nige sees him as a centre back that can cover at wing back. Reading their forum, it doesn’t fill me with excitement but I trust Nige so hopefully he’ll improve us. 

Aberdeen fans have a reputation for being a tad miserable. 

I would expect Messi,should he have played for them, would have been described as ‘ nay bad’.

19 minutes ago, Bris Red said:

Can see Levy doing what he does best though and asking for silly money for him that nobody is going to pay.

The only club that will have the appetite for the deal would be United but I’m not even sure they will want to pay the £100m fee upfront that Levy wants.. Can genuinely see Kane being forced to stay again this summer irrespective of if he wants out or not.

I think the problem Kane has is that yes Levy will want a huge fee. But, Kane is getting older and any club paying out huge money will recognize that there will be little, if any, resale value.

I think personally he does need to move, but who will spend the money. 

I think Nige is giving him as much game time as possible in order that he gets the experience he needs ASAP.

May have been different if we needed points for the playoffs or avoid relegation.

Really can’t see him going out on loan next season.

7 minutes ago, View from the Dolman said:

Ask the EFL/PGMOL why the 6 second rule is never applied to goalkeepers and they'll tell you it would ruin the game. But as you say, if you penalise infringements it'd change how goalkeepers behave.

That is a good example of an issue that happens in every game but is rarely penalized. My personal grip is shirt pulling in the box by defenders which is rarely punished but is often picked up if the attacking player is guilty.

The only time I have refereed a game is when I managed in U 18 football and no proper ref was available.

Hated it frankly. It is much harder than I imagined.

As a complete aside I would have loved to attend a club game in Argentina. 

2 hours ago, Super said:

Just announced his retirement from Football. Wish him well.

That is such a shame. As someone who is also fighting this fxxxing disease my heart goes out to him and his family. 

I sincerely hope he makes a complete recovery as soon as possible.

2 minutes ago, Mr Popodopolous said:

Fair enough if we've done it- were we the paying club or the selling? Might have been Nathan Baker and Aston Villa.

That is my recollection MrP 

1 hour ago, GrahamC said:

It isn’t, as has already been explained it is the Barnett formula or as it should be called in Wales “free money”.

How devolved governments spend the money they receive from the Barnett formula is their decision.

19 hours ago, GrahamC said:

That’s true, but some parts of Bristol are still incredibly deprived.

For a person who lives in Hartcliffe & works 40 hours a week to have to pay tax on just £25k or so that then enables someone on £100k a year in Cardiff to have free prescriptions & capped tuition fees for their kid is simply disgusting.

That is devolution for you. It is exactly the same in my homeland. I can’t speak for Wales but in Scotland there are a lot of things eg prescription fees that are free yet down here the costs keep increasing.

It is effectively ‘bribing’ the electorate which the SNP are masters of despite middle earners paying more tax than elsewhere in the UK.

Recent events may result in a re-set however.

36 minutes ago, johnbytheriver said:

You can see what NP is doing giving young players as much championship expirience as he can.Looking a bit to the future.Sam will develope into a decent player at this level. Same goes for Conway who is probably ahead of sam at this moment. Problem is once they become good we sell them on. We ain't never going up!

Sad as it is we will have little choice.

We are still losing money, even if we get the much touted £25m for Scott we can’t spend all of it as it is required for running costs.

You also have to remember that when an EPL club comes in for a Championship player it is almost inevitable they will go. The selling club may not want them to go but if the fee is right they will concede defeat.

For the player, the opportunity to play at a higher level and of course the rewards will make it an easy decision.

Look at it this way, Scott is 19, assuming he gets his move, this time next year he will be a millionaire with much more to come.

That is the reality.

8 hours ago, LondonBristolian said:

I think it's very pleasing in a way that we've lost 1-0 away from home to one of the best teams in the division after a good performance in a game where we've had nothing to pay for and the manager's annoyed about it. This isn't meant as a dig at Lee Johnson or Dean Holden but I think either would have emphasised the positives and been satisfied with the performance. Pearson is setting very clear standards. As you say, I've no doubt he's said the same to the players and it is consistent with the approach he has taken since he became manager. I doubt the players are particularly surprised or alarmed by it. 

Completely agree. He did not name anyone in his interview other than the general statement regarding substitutes but that of course narrows it done significantly. 

I think we are now seeing a fit and well Nige putting his markers down and I think , as a club, we will significantly benefit from that.

I get the impression but I am not ITK, that the players like and believe in him but, there is a small element of fear too. That is no bad thing in a dressing room.

3 minutes ago, One Team said:

Thanks for this; which all adds to the ‘heads been turned’ cliche. 

I don’t blame him, he’s a very young lad and who knows how any of us would react in that situation.

He may well not feature that much now before he’s off. 

We are very late in the season with nothing to play for however, I get why Nige said what he did, he is a very smart. man- manager and from his comments after Watford he wants the players to end the season as well as possible in preparation for the next one.

As for Alex, he will be well aware what options that will be a available to him in a few short weeks. He is a young man and has a big decision to make, I can understand a potential lack of focus and a change of attitude. 

In his defence, I would doubt that perceived change in attitude would be present if we were closer to either end of the table with either joy or jeopardy possible.

5 hours ago, CrackingCheeseGromit said:

How good was Trent in midfield though ? 
 

 

Read an interview with Kenny Dalglish at the time Trent broke through, he said that he would eventually end up in midfield. I really rate Trent offensively but his flaws defensively are not going away.

Liverpool need to revamp their midfield and he could be part of the solution