ScottishRed

Wigan are an improving team under Maloney, it will not be a straightforward game.

Agreed. It’s great to be optimistic but it’s not happening this season.

I will be more than happy with a point.

In his recent interviews you can tell that the pressure is truly getting to him. It was a strange appointment which I strongly suspect both parties are regretting. I think it is probably in both their interests to part ways ASAP. I don’t have much time for Nathan at all but I get no pleasure seeing him this way.

Trust me that podcast is like Scottish ‘lite’. Try going north of the Tay river (Dundee - North) in a pub on a Saturday night. My partner barely understands a word when we go back and I am from close to Edinburgh so nowhere near as ‘broad’ as further north.

Happy to offer translation services for a discounted fee to OTIB members.

How long before Southampton are in the market for a new manager too....... Jones’s comments after Saturday’s game were utterly bizarre.

But surely we would need to pay up their contract or at least agree a financial settlement with them. Assuming that Kalas is on the contract claimed on here why would he be remotely interested in that? He can turn up to training keep his nose clean and get paid full whack until the summer. No matter what his future plans are he is not going to get a contract elsewhere on similar terms, so, sit tight take the money and decide on your future in the summer. Martin could be a similar scenario but, again, he won’t get what he is on here elsewhere, those days are done, at least for a while.

Given what they are doing I think that is an excellent suggestion. Lets start at £50m and a 10 year deal for HNM.

IF Swansea are interested then it would come down to the usual factors of contract value and length, game time , and where the managers of both sides see where he fits in. All speculation obviously as I have not seen anything yet that Swansea have an interest.

You could well be right given the way fees are going.

I think it hugely unlikely he will be here next season somehow. However, we have set the bar with Antoine, so Alex may not be here but we will be at least £25m better off.

Thank Sky, BT etc. The TV money has completely ruined any parity in English football. I read an article last week about the EGM at Juventus to approve the resignation of all of their board because of the alleged financial irregularities. The out going chairman,Agnellio, talked again about the failed European Super League and why they still supported it. The simple reason being that ‘ one league’ the EPL, was unstoppable financially and unless the other major European leagues worked together and did something they would wither. ( BTW, I detest the super league concept),but you can see his point when you consider for example, how much Chelsea have paid out in the last two windows. It is where the big money is and that is not going to change. Another example, I have read numerous reports regarding Everton looking at Bielsa as their replacement for Lampard, apparently he has some concerns about how his style of play would fit with their current squad. Everton have some concerns about how much he and his team of coaches would cost - reported as £11m PER MONTH. That is not a typo.

I think we are going to be held to ransom in any case, both by the selling club and the players agent. Even if this deal has not officially gone through other clubs will be 100% aware of it and will price their player accordingly. With an added premium as we are so late in the window. I think the best option financially would be a 6 month loan of a PL striker who is not currently getting a game.

I would imagine Big Dunc will be waiting for the call from whoever becomes the new manager at Goodson to return there in some sort of first team coaching role. He knows the club inside out and is hugely popular amongst the fan base - be a smart move by the new manager.

2.5 years is a right result for him! Good of luck to him.

Not at all aimed at you @RedRoss but I simply don’t understand football fans obsession with players being keen to move to clubs near to where they come from - unless of course they support said club. People in all walks of life move to other parts of the country for work reasons indeed, some move to different continents! In this case Palace may be the right move for the player , if they are genuinely interested, I doubt location would be high on the list of deciding factors if he has more than one offer.

I am not seeing anything at this point to suggest there are any other clubs interested although, of course, still a week to go and things could change. More than happy if he stays but I have a small concern about how he will react to losing out, at least for the moment, on the widely reported £50k per week. There always is the possibility that he and his agent decide to sit tight and he walks for nothing in 18 months and straight into the alleged £50k per week plus a huge signing on fee. That is a long way off and lots can change between now and then but it is a possibility.

No chance Wolves are getting relegated. My guess is he will get an 18-month contract, probably on more than he is on here and will be back-up. Good move all round, although I am very much in the ‘not sure’ camp on Max.

And guess who Aberdeen play this weekend......

That type of conversation does not nessicaily have to be direct. It is more likely to be with the players agent.

I think a too good to be true offer would certainly interest the club, any club come to that, but I can’t see us forcing his hand. More likely that he would want to go given the opportunity to play at a higher level and of course the money. IF, £25m is what we want, as ‘reported’ when Wolves were apparently enquiring that is , in my opinion, an offer that we would be foolish not to accept. That being the case it would then be down to the player and his agent.

I think that may well be the case. Almost every player is up for sale if the price is right regardless of who they play for. We, like every other club, will have a value, that if met will allow a transfer to proceed, assuming that the player himself wants to move. There is little doubt that the player, probably via his agent, will know who is interested in him, possibly before his club even does! And the player will also be aware of what they are prepared to offer him. Its highly likely that Alex and Antoine will know and will have for some time, where the interest lies, and what is on offer. All speculation, but if they gave the thumbs up on both the club that was interested and the contract on offer then the potential buying club would approach City. They are not going to do that without having a positive indication from the players agent. SL can say we don’t want to sell etc, and that is likely to be true but ultimately money talks and he may have little choice but to sell if the bid is acceptable AND the players wants to go.

If, as suggested yesterday on this thread, the interest from Wolves did ‘leak’ from the club then this is likely to be the reason. I have not read every post, so apologies if mentioned previously, but nobody seems to have mentioned the players view in all of this. Could his head have been turned in this? Will he see Woves as a good destination at this point in his career? Does he think if he goes he will get game time? Alternatively, does he want to wait until the summer to plot his next move? Does he think Woves would be the wrong move at this point? Is he happy currently and wants to help us stay up? Is his agent aware of better opportunities that will arise in the summer? So many imponderables and it’s not all down to the club to make the decision.

Who do you have in mind?