Pay That Mendes His Money: The Summer 2021 Transfer Thread

Morgan's Magic Snowplow

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Haaland will also be wanted by every club in summer 2022 at his reported release clause and there is a good chance that Barca and Madrid will have steadied their respective ships enough to be fully in the running. Bayern may also get involved as Lewandowski will be almost out of contract and obviously aging.

Might he choose City over Barca, Madrid, Bayern, and whoever else? Sure. But it seems foolish to pass on Kane just to gamble on that possibility.
 

Kliq

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City should just sign both of them, play Kane as a false #9 and have hit balls in behind to Haaland.
 

teddykgb

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Haaland will also be wanted by every club in summer 2022 at his reported release clause and there is a good chance that Barca and Madrid will have steadied their respective ships enough to be fully in the running. Bayern may also get involved as Lewandowski will be almost out of contract and obviously aging.

Might he choose City over Barca, Madrid, Bayern, and whoever else? Sure. But it seems foolish to pass on Kane just to gamble on that possibility.
I expect City will push hard for Haaland this summer while everyone else is in disarray. It would be madness to pass in Kane to hope to get Halaand a year later but I think City will try to offer Bayern more than the release clause to try to entice and earlier sale. Dortmund know they are losing him, it’s only a question of when and for how much. There has to be a PV where the cost of losing him now is worth it to them, it’s a matter of whether City are willing to pay that sum.
Pep and Raiola are not on good terms at all but I can’t imagine that making a deal for Haaland impossible
 

Morgan's Magic Snowplow

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I expect City will push hard for Haaland this summer while everyone else is in disarray. It would be madness to pass in Kane to hope to get Halaand a year later but I think City will try to offer Bayern more than the release clause to try to entice and earlier sale. Dortmund know they are losing him, it’s only a question of when and for how much. There has to be a PV where the cost of losing him now is worth it to them, it’s a matter of whether City are willing to pay that sum.
Pep and Raiola are not on good terms at all but I can’t imagine that making a deal for Haaland impossible
Haaland this summer is pretty unlikely IMO. Everything he, his father, and Raiola have done seemingly has been geared with the goal of leaving in Summer 2022, when they will be able to command the highest wages and the biggest signing on fee in a massive bidding war. From BvB's perspective, they seem more far more likely to sell Sancho this summer and will probably be hesitant to lose both players in the same summer given the degree of competition for CL places in the Bundesliga. All this might have changed a bit if BvB had missed the Champions League for next year, as seemed possible for a while, but now they are in.

On some level, if you offered enough money it might be possible but that might mean like £120m to BvB, another £50-60m in agents fee and signing on fees, and then like £400k per week. You basically have to not only make it worth BvB's while but also match or exceed what Raiola and Haaland's father think they will be able to extract from a bidding war among 5-6 massive clubs in summer 2022 who are only paying a £70m transfer fee and therefore are willing to spend a ton in other fees/wages to land the player.
 

67YAZ

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Clubs can always work with Raiola. He's in the position he's in because he always finds ways to get his clients what they want. He expects to get paid very well for that - by the player and the clubs - but it's pretty straightforward compared to agents who control clubs, own stakes in the players, take bribes to redirect players, etc. If City is Haaland's #1 choice, it'll get done...after a lot of intense negotiating, but still...

Also, Dortmund will sell this summer to avoid losing Haaland for only the release clause. Zero doubt that Dortmund already has a list of targets to spread that money around on, which is always fun to see because Dortmund have such a high hit rate when recruiting young talent.
 

Zomp

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I'm not sure Haaland will leave this summer. Like MMS I think Sancho goes to a Premier League club and Dortmund probably realize that losing both isn't worth the hit they'd take on the field to give new players time to gel.
 

Zososoxfan

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I had this exact discussion with my pub league team on Tuesday. I'd rather have Kane for at least the next 2 seasons, maybe 3. Beyond that and Haaland becomes more enticing. Both are world class pure strikers that are willing and able to drop deep and help create. Biggest difference is Arry's passport, so I think if City are choosing between the 2 it's Arry by a fairly wide margin and you deal with the post-Arry elite striker era whenever that comes to pass.
 

Section30

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With Brexit and the kerfuffles with the EU in mind; are there any substantial barriers to buying/acquiring players from the continent under the new standards?
 

Mighty Joe Young

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With Brexit and the kerfuffles with the EU in mind; are there any substantial barriers to buying/acquiring players from the continent under the new standards?
I think it’s tricky if the player wanted doesn’t have enough “points” to get a work permit ... that’s depends on their achievements in the game. This has always existed but only for non Europeans.
 

The Raccoon

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There is a "gentleman's agreement" between Sancho and BVB (according to the CEO Watzke) that Dortmund will accept a transfer for him if certain circumstances are fulfilled (e.g. a certain sum at a certain time).
Obviously I know neither the time nor the money, but you can easily guess that BVB want enough time to find suitable replacement(s).
The money will be less than the 120 Mio € that were supposedly too much for United last year but still probably around 80-90.
And even with him having a rough first half of the 20/21 season - with his quality at this age (and being born in the UK), he is worth that money.

Since BVB is not a bank/company only looking to max their revenue but a real club where members still have a say and prefer winning titles to paying huge dividends to shareholders, I don't expect Haaland to leave this summer on top of Sancho.
Sure, there's always a price for everything, but we will probably come close to 150-200 Mio € before anyone in Westfalen will be really open for discussions.

Yes Raiola is really good at what he's doing, but having seen Haaland play for the last 1,5 seasons he really seems like the last possible guy to go on a strike or similar - he just loves scoring and winning way too much.
 

Zomp

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The Athletic today saying Wolves could sell Ruben Neves for as cheap as 35 million pounds.


Please Man United. Please. Please.
 

Mighty Joe Young

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The Athletic today saying Wolves could sell Ruben Neves for as cheap as 35 million pounds.


Please Man United. Please. Please.
2/3 of the teams in the league would take him at that price.

Not sure what’s up with Wolves’s management. They deal they made last year with Jota to Pool was structured to suggest they weren’t cash strapped (easy payments spread out over multiple years)

No wonder Nuno wanted out.
 

67YAZ

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He'd be a perfect Gini replacement, and Pep Lijnders worked a few years back...

But yeah, seems like a cut-rate price. Neves has 2 years to go on his deal, so they don't have to move him. Maybe it's a low sticker price to start a bidding war?
 

Morgan's Magic Snowplow

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Not really sold on Neves. To me he is sort of like a Portuguese Xhaka, but better on free kicks. He is a good technician who can spray passes around but he doesn't dribble, he doesn't create a lot of chances, and he isn't very athletic or cover a lot of ground compared to others in that position.
 

Morgan's Magic Snowplow

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In lieu of somewhere better to post this, Conte has left Inter. The club is in the financial shit and apparently needed to raise 80m in player sales this summer, plus cut the wage bill significantly, and he wasn't sticking around for that.

Where next? Madrid wanted him in the past after the Lopetegui debacle but has been playing footsie with Allegri for the last few weeks. It would be interesting to see what they would do if they had the choice of the two Italians. Barcelona seemed OK staying with Koeman but maybe that changes now that Conte is available? Spurs has been mentioned but Conte and Levy seems like a marriage made in hell unless the latter has found a couple hundred million pounds in the couch cushions of the new stadium to fund a transfer warchest. PSG could make sense if they decide to move on from Poch.

IMO, Conte really has to be considered one of the top 3-4 managers in the world, at least in terms of league performance. But his track record of blowing up every situation as soon as it turns a little bit disadvantageous or he doesn't get absolutely everything he wants is becoming Mourinhoesque. This is three straight clubs where he has clashed with management over finances and transfers before showing himself out the door, the last two after only two seasons each.
 

Kliq

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Donnarumma is apparently going to be let go on a free transfer. It will be interesting to see what happens with him; most of the big clubs seem set with top-shelf goalkeepers but the allure of getting such a talented and young player without paying a transfer fee might force them to make some tough decisions.
 

Zososoxfan

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Donnarumma is apparently going to be let go on a free transfer. It will be interesting to see what happens with him; most of the big clubs seem set with top-shelf goalkeepers but the allure of getting such a talented and young player without paying a transfer fee might force them to make some tough decisions.
The Lloris replacement finally?
 

Kliq

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The Lloris replacement finally?
I wrote in the Spurs thread that I figured they would be taking a step back with whoever they brought in if Hugo was sold. That wouldn't be the case for Donnarumma but I also don't think Spurs will spend a lot of money on a keeper (even if it is just on wages and not a transfer fee). I feel like keepers only fetch big sums when big clubs are panicking because they have some sort of crisis at the position and Spurs don't have that at the moment.
 

Vinho Tinto

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He’d be a natural fit for PSG or Bayern, but they gave their keepers extensions. I also wonder if Chelsea is willing to bet big on another keeper.
 

67YAZ

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Reading about this, and props to Maldini and the Milan Board. They negotiated with Raiola, made an offer, and then Raiola didn’t even respond thinking Milan would come back with more money after earning a UCL slot. Nope. They moved on. Mino overplayed his hand, and now Maldini can reinvest in other parts of the squad that have higher marginal costs to upgrade.
 

SocrManiac

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Looks like Allegri is headed back to Juventus. The rumor mill had been churning on that one for awhile and he's been vocal in his criticism of the team's current construction. In particular, he's said Ronaldo was a mistake. I fully agree. He forces the team to play in a very specific and frankly limited way and some of the bigger talent already in the side (Dybala in particular) simply didn't fit. I don't know where Christiano lands, but there's no way he'll wear the new strip next year. I can't imagine Allegri would be coming back without a significant say in player acquisition and sales, and the departure of Paratici seems to fit nicely in that regard. Max is an elite manager and this is the first time I've felt excitement for the team in awhile.

I feel for Pirlo. He never should have been thrust in that position. He was woefully inexperienced, had a difficult roster to manage for his style, and still brought home a pair of trophies and qualified (barely) for CL. He broke the Scudetto run, but the writing had been on the wall for awhile. He has the potential to recover from this if given the chance but his preferred style is going to require some specific talent to implement. It may be that he can't connect the dots between a team that has the financial power to realize his vision and one willing to take another flier on an unproven guy.
 

CPT Neuron

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SocrManiac

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If he can stay healthy, LFC should have a stellar CB pairing for the foreseeable future with VVD, Gomez, and Konate to choose from - a nice line of succession already set up.
I'm utterly paranoid about VVD coming back and being the force he was. His first step took him from a dead stand to a significant portion of his top speed. Can he get that explosiveness back? Will he have the leap? I know ACL injuries aren't career enders anymore, but Del Piero was my hero growing up. As successful as his career was, post-knee injury he was a fraction of his pre-injury self.
 

Morgan's Magic Snowplow

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I'm utterly paranoid about VVD coming back and being the force he was. His first step took him from a dead stand to a significant portion of his top speed. Can he get that explosiveness back? Will he have the leap? I know ACL injuries aren't career enders anymore, but Del Piero was my hero growing up. As successful as his career was, post-knee injury he was a fraction of his pre-injury self.
My guess is that VVD is still a very good CB but never quite regains his former level. A lot of players lose a step around this age anyway. That's generally less consequential for CBs than other players as they can make up for it with experience and positioning. Even so, if you look at top PL center backs historically like Rio, Terry, Campbell, and Kompany, they all played by far their best football before turning 30. They still may have had some good seasons afterward, but their peak (like with most players) was in the 23-29 range. Take all that and throw in an ACL injury and VVD doesn't seem a good candidate to break that trend.

None of those aforementioned players could be relied on to consistently play 30+ league games a season after 30. Campbell didn't do it for the rest of his time at Arsenal (although he did once going to Portsmouth), Kompany never did it for City after hitting 30, Rio did it only once after hitting 30, Terry was the most durable but still did it in only 3 of 6 seasons. So adding another CB like Konate is probably just a good idea on that basis, regardless of whether VVD regains his truly top form or not.
 
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67YAZ

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I'm less worried about VVD. He is an elite game-reader and defense organizer. His brain will cover for a lot of physical slippage and help position his younger partners to compensate. Maybe he won't get anymore balon d'or nominations, but he can still be a world class CB for years to come.

I feel for Pirlo. He never should have been thrust in that position. He was woefully inexperienced, had a difficult roster to manage for his style, and still brought home a pair of trophies and qualified (barely) for CL. He broke the Scudetto run, but the writing had been on the wall for awhile. He has the potential to recover from this if given the chance but his preferred style is going to require some specific talent to implement. It may be that he can't connect the dots between a team that has the financial power to realize his vision and one willing to take another flier on an unproven guy.
Pirlo seems to have the right attitude about it, quoted today as basically saying he appreciated the experience and would do it all over again he would. The fault is with the directors/owners like Angelli and Roman who hire Pirlos and Lampards - club legends with thin resumes and the highest of expectations. I respect the way Gerrard and Terry have gone about it and hope that Pirlo and Lampard do land someplace where they are given the support to develop.
 

coremiller

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My guess is that VVD is still a very good CB but never quite regains his former level. A lot of players lose a step around this age anyway. That's generally less consequential for CBs than other players as they can make up for it with experience and positioning. Even so, if you look at top PL center backs historically like Rio, Terry, Campbell, and Kompany, they all played by far their best football before turning 30. They still may have had some good seasons afterward, but their peak (like with most players) was in the 23-29 range. Take all that and throw in an ACL injury and VVD doesn't seem a good candidate to break that trend.

None of those aforementioned players could be relied on to consistently play 30+ league games a season after 30. Campbell didn't do it for the rest of his time at Arsenal (although he did once going to Portsmouth), Kompany never did it for City after hitting 30, Rio did it only once after hitting 30, Terry was the most durable but still did it in only 3 of 6 seasons. So adding another CB like Konate is probably just a good idea on that basis, regardless of whether VVD regains his truly top form or not.
Style matters here too. Pace matters more for defenders if you play a high line in an aggressive pressing system. It's easier for older defenders to play in a conservative low block where they can defend the penalty area but don't have to cover ground.
 

Kliq

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Style matters here too. Pace matters more for defenders if you play a high line in an aggressive pressing system. It's easier for older defenders to play in a conservative low block where they can defend the penalty area but don't have to cover ground.
That would be my concern with VVD returning. Liverpool often relied on him to be Superman when it came to covering for the attacking adventures of their FBs and their pressing system. It might not be a good idea to ask him to perform that same physical role now that he is older + recovering from serious injury.
 

Morgan's Magic Snowplow

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Style matters here too. Pace matters more for defenders if you play a high line in an aggressive pressing system. It's easier for older defenders to play in a conservative low block where they can defend the penalty area but don't have to cover ground.
That's absolutely true and probably one reason why John Terry ended up with the best post-30s career of the players I previously mentioned.
 

67YAZ

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Alaba to Madrid official. Amazing player, probably a bit underrated because he does so many things really well and isn't the best at any one position. No doubt, Alaba can deployed in just about any set up, but typical Madrid to go out and buy players without a manager in place.

 

Morgan's Magic Snowplow

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Carlo to Real Madrid looks to be happening (sorry OCST).

View: https://twitter.com/David_Ornstein/status/1399704989539487745


The amount of managerial turnover in the past few months is pretty crazy in top level football. So far we have:

Mourinho sacked by Spurs, takes the Roma job.
Nagelsmann leaves RBL for Bayern.
Rose leaves Gladbach for BvB.
Hutter leaves Eintracht Frankfurt for Gladbach.
Flick leaves Bayern, will manage Germany after the Euros.
Zidane leaves Real Madrid, apparently looking for a job.
Allegri goes to Juve, which sacks Pirlo.
Conte leaves Inter, still looking for a job.
Inzaghi leaves Lazio to take the Inter job.
Sarri reportedly tipped for the Lazio job.
Ancelotti seemingly set to leave Everton for Real Madrid.
Garcia leaves Lyon, replaced by Bosz.
Galtier leaves Lille, destination unclear.

So clubs without managers or who still may hire new ones include:

PSG - Claim to be sticking with Poch, but may be pursuing Conte or Zidane.
Spurs - Seemingly trying to get Poch out of PSG, not sure what they plan is if that doesn't work.
Everton - What do they do now? Potter makes a lot of sense IMO.
Barcelona - Are they really wedded to Koeman if someone like Conte is available?
Lille - Not often that you win the league in amazing fashion then your manager immediately resigns without anything else lined up.
 

67YAZ

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Nuno at Everton would be very interesting. His intensity and style of play could really jibe with the fans - compact defense with dribblers and runners pouring up the pitch. But it looks like Moshiri has dreams of a superstar manager...
 

SocrManiac

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Zidane at PSG would be a neat way of finding out what his balance is between tactics and leadership/man management.
 

the1andonly3003

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Carlo to Real Madrid looks to be happening (sorry OCST).

View: https://twitter.com/David_Ornstein/status/1399704989539487745


The amount of managerial turnover in the past few months is pretty crazy in top level football. So far we have:

Mourinho sacked by Spurs, takes the Roma job.
Nagelsmann leaves RBL for Bayern.
Rose leaves Gladbach for BvB.
Hutter leaves Eintracht Frankfurt for Gladbach.
Flick leaves Bayern, will manage Germany after the Euros.
Zidane leaves Real Madrid, apparently looking for a job.
Allegri goes to Juve, which sacks Pirlo.
Conte leaves Inter, still looking for a job.
Inzaghi leaves Lazio to take the Inter job.
Sarri reportedly tipped for the Lazio job.
Ancelotti seemingly set to leave Everton for Real Madrid.
Garcia leaves Lyon, replaced by Bosz.
Galtier leaves Lille, destination unclear.

So clubs without managers or who still may hire new ones include:

PSG - Claim to be sticking with Poch, but may be pursuing Conte or Zidane.
Spurs - Seemingly trying to get Poch out of PSG, not sure what they plan is if that doesn't work.
Everton - What do they do now? Potter makes a lot of sense IMO.
Barcelona - Are they really wedded to Koeman if someone like Conte is available?
Lille - Not often that you win the league in amazing fashion then your manager immediately resigns without anything else lined up.
I'm gutted for Everton fans. I can picture James Rodriguez following Carlo back to Real, if not others signings from last season.
Everton was so fun to watch at the start of the 20-21 season, and injuries/need for depth just took a toll by the end. Kind of sucks to see the team go through a new manager/system/roster turnover.

This was an interesting stat on Twitter: View: https://twitter.com/OptaJoe/status/1399728838112952325?s=20


And it seems like Nuno is the favorite to Crystal Palace, which should make things interesting: View: https://twitter.com/SkySportsPL/status/1399746754552139783
 

candylandriots

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I think Nuno is probably a good fit for Palace. There is going to be so much turnover on that roster, that they need someone who isn’t learning on the job. And in listening to my Palace podcast, I learned that London’s “Little Portugal” is quite close to Selhurst, so that may make the move a little more comfortable for him and his family.
 

Snedds

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Carlo to Real Madrid looks to be happening (sorry OCST).

View: https://twitter.com/David_Ornstein/status/1399704989539487745


The amount of managerial turnover in the past few months is pretty crazy in top level football. So far we have:

Mourinho sacked by Spurs, takes the Roma job.
Nagelsmann leaves RBL for Bayern.
Rose leaves Gladbach for BvB.
Hutter leaves Eintracht Frankfurt for Gladbach.
Flick leaves Bayern, will manage Germany after the Euros.
Zidane leaves Real Madrid, apparently looking for a job.
Allegri goes to Juve, which sacks Pirlo.
Conte leaves Inter, still looking for a job.
Inzaghi leaves Lazio to take the Inter job.
Sarri reportedly tipped for the Lazio job.
Ancelotti seemingly set to leave Everton for Real Madrid.
Garcia leaves Lyon, replaced by Bosz.
Galtier leaves Lille, destination unclear.

So clubs without managers or who still may hire new ones include:

PSG - Claim to be sticking with Poch, but may be pursuing Conte or Zidane.
Spurs - Seemingly trying to get Poch out of PSG, not sure what they plan is if that doesn't work.
Everton - What do they do now? Potter makes a lot of sense IMO.
Barcelona - Are they really wedded to Koeman if someone like Conte is available?
Lille - Not often that you win the league in amazing fashion then your manager immediately resigns without anything else lined up.
On this point, it's absolutely crazy in Serie A. It is something like 18 of the 20 teams will be changing their manager for next season.
 

Kliq

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I never quite got the balance with managers in world soccer. They are treated as a gigantic deal but also remain somewhat disposable. A very few guys like Pep seem to be truly important pieces, but pretty much everyone else just floats around in different classes, with same handful of names swapping around jobs with the biggest clubs, the same mid-tier managers swapping around the mid-tier clubs, etc.

Managers are easy scapegoats and depending on how different their style is from the previous regime it can have a big impact on a squad, but its also hard for me to be too obsessed with who is managing who when they all seem to just rotate around.
 

OCST

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I've taken a vow of sabbatical from social media for a time (no offense to youze, I enjoy your company a bit too much, which is why I have to put youze to the side while I get a few personal/professional things done).

I'm showing up for this.

It fucking blows.

The great thing about Carlo was that his love of the club, the fans, and the city seemed genuine. The board and ownership backed him 100%. As recently as last week everything was hunky dory. So he sold out. That's how it works. The only regrettable thing is that we believed differently.

From a footballing standpoint, there is a case that Carlo was not the best manager - after a white hot start, playing beautiful football, the team vacillated between playing styles, frequently shifting formations, not developing an identity, playing terribly at home, fumbling badly down the stretch. Second in the table on Boxing Day, but losses to the likes of Sheff Utd at home during crunch time. Great recruitment of James and Allan but those are players that we'd never be able to sell for profit due to their age and brittleness. Marked improvement in the level of some young players, most notably Calvert-Lewin but also Davies, Keane, Godfrey etc., but regression from Richarlison, Pickford, and continued mediocrity or worse from the likes of Sigurdsson, Iwobi, Bernard etc. There was some muttering that the game has passed him by. In truth he was stuck with a paper thin roster with a few studs and a lot of misfit toys.

But in terms of the optics and the emotions, for a manager with his track record and his seeming class as a man, it's hugely disappointing to have him ditch us. It also leaves us wondering what-now, and looking (even more than usual) like the one no one wants to be stuck with at last call when the lights come on.
 

Kliq

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I've taken a vow of sabbatical from social media for a time (no offense to youze, I enjoy your company a bit too much, which is why I have to put youze to the side while I get a few personal/professional things done).

I'm showing up for this.

It fucking blows.

The great thing about Carlo was that his love of the club, the fans, and the city seemed genuine. The board and ownership backed him 100%. As recently as last week everything was hunky dory. So he sold out. That's how it works. The only regrettable thing is that we believed differently.

From a footballing standpoint, there is a case that Carlo was not the best manager - after a white hot start, playing beautiful football, the team vacillated between playing styles, frequently shifting formations, not developing an identity, playing terribly at home, fumbling badly down the stretch. Second in the table on Boxing Day, but losses to the likes of Sheff Utd at home during crunch time. Great recruitment of James and Allan but those are players that we'd never be able to sell for profit due to their age and brittleness. Marked improvement in the level of some young players, most notably Calvert-Lewin but also Davies, Keane, Godfrey etc., but regression from Richarlison, Pickford, and continued mediocrity or worse from the likes of Sigurdsson, Iwobi, Bernard etc. There was some muttering that the game has passed him by. In truth he was stuck with a paper thin roster with a few studs and a lot of misfit toys.

But in terms of the optics and the emotions, for a manager with his track record and his seeming class as a man, it's hugely disappointing to have him ditch us. It also leaves us wondering what-now, and looking (even more than usual) like the one no one wants to be stuck with at last call when the lights come on.
I was wondering where you went. Shame this is what brought you back.