Featured: That was the Week that Was (Aug 12-16 2024)

[tlw content]

Monday Aug 12:

 

Zubimendi has left Richard Hughes with his cock in his hand, just like he's done with Arsenal and Barcelona in the past. It's not a good luck for Hughes who has it all to prove given the complete lack of credentials he had when being given this job, but is this his fault? Fuck knows, probably not, but it doesn't really matter as the optics are terrible and he'll also be getting judged more harshly than he probably should because of what happened last summer with Caicedo. For us to be strung along by a player and then jilted at the altar again, the fans aren't going to react favourably.

 

The line coming out of the club is that Zubimendi gave Hughes his word that he wanted to come here and then he changed his mind. What can you do about that? Not much, other than maybe be a bit more sceptical about a lad who has repeatedly turned down offers and said only a few weeks ago that he would only leave if they kicked him out. I don't necessarily see it that way but others will, and they may be right. Hughes is close to the agent though so if the agent and player are telling him they're up for it and that's the player you want, you have to go for it. 

 

I said repeatedly I wasn't arsed about Zubimendi and indeed I'm not that arsed if we aren't making signings, but I'm probably in a minority of one there. What I would say is that Slot obviously wants another six so with that in mind, failure to get him one would not be acceptable. Personally I'm quite happy to roll with what we have and to further develop Bajcetic and Morton rather than block their path, but Slot isn't and that's what matters here. 

 

You all know how I feel about Edwards. I think he owes his entire reputation to the brilliance of Klopp, but at least he has a reputation. Hughes doesn't, he's achieved precisely nothing and therefore has it all to prove. He's been here months now and all he's done is appoint a coach who was not top of the wanted list (they sounded out Alonso and Amorim first) and then left the poor fucker in a situation where three of his key players don't have contracts beyond this season and we're a few days away from the season starting and we're the only club in the top seven leagues in Europe without any new players.

 

Still, he managed to bring in £25m for FSG from selling Carvalho and he's doing his best to flog Bobby Clark and Ben Doak too, so he'll get brownie points from his bosses for that.

 

I hate this shit because it's putting a downer on the promising signs we're seeing from Slot and the team. The performance against Sevilla yesterday was really good and we appear to be in good shape ahead of next week. Most of the line up against Sevilla will start against Ipswich, and to be honest nobody other than Elliott did enough in the Las Palmas game to stake a claim for a spot. That wasn't a great performance but I put most of that down to the absence of a crowd. 

 

The lads in the first game are out there in front of sixty thousand and will have had a real spring in their step. The ones who featured in the second game were probably feeling a bit flat and resentful they didn't get to play in front of the fans, and also assuming it means they aren't starting at Ipswich. Motivating yourself to play flat out in what is basically a training session can't be easy. Doak did well though, which will have had Hughes salivating at the potential fee he can get for him. It's a shame he can't clone himself, send the clone to Bournemouth and then pay well over the odds for him with a nice little sell on clause included too.

 

Also today, we found out that City's hearing will start next month. It's expected to last a couple of months and any appeal would be heard before the end of the season. I have no idea what will happen other than it won't be even 100th of the severity of what should happen. When this is all said and done, we'll all be left fucking fuming and disillusioned and it will be another nail in the coffin of a once great sport.

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[Anubis]

 

[dave u]

 

[redinblack]

Good call on Ed Sheeran...."he is a demon, let loose on the earth to lower the standards"

[DalyanPete]

if we sacrifice the domestic cups of course. 

 

One for the shitiness of modern football thread, not how i want us to do things.

Transfer stuff is beyond a joke now, they want us to believe that unless it's "opportunistic" there's no-one out there who can improve a team that finished third?

Also think Gomez likely moving on makes a mockery of anyone believing Slot wanted to wait and assess his squad before signing anyone. The Gomes decision must have been made months ago.

[Red_or_Dead]

Surely, this is we've built you a stand therefore no transfers this year, just like when they did the Main Stand, no?