Football

#stopfootball

The brown envelopes in Monaco must be huge.

Suitcases.

And David Cameron told me we were all in this together. Lying bastard.

£20m still seems high, but what do I know we paid £30m for Lamela inc add ons and if he goes to Marseille or juventus, we'll suck up a big loss on him.
Martial looks like the kind of big, do it all striker, the Sheriff is looking for, almost a Kane/Adebayor replacement, which is why I'm confused with the Berahino interest, @Soul or @clintsmoker will have a better take on him, but not having seen much of him, I have the impression of him being a Defoe, on the shoulder type, bringing pace into the front line. And not sure whether he leads the line on his own or with Kane as a two, or operates across the three we have playing behind Kane?
I'm also a bit tired of Levy low balling offers into clubs for players, specially when there's not much time at the end of the transfer window, he's obviously returned to the Jol years manifesto of buying 'em young and cheapish with resale potential and profits possibly attached, and that's the market we have to operate in because of our wage structure and stadium restrictions, but (isn't there always a but) we're playing with Premier League money and every club on the continent and around the world knows it, so they'll just wait for you to come back with a better offer because they know no matter how much you say I don't have the money, you do.

Ps those rumours of Adebayor being on Man Utd's list made me snort beer from my nose..

That's a lot of words. Glad Dan is here to balance

#stopfootball

Expect don't because 'boro might be doing well

Can we stop the nicknames for managers? It's a bit embarrassing.

The more you mention it, the stronger it becomes.

#stopcorney

A great time for United fans. De Gea, Ramos, Bale and Ronaldo all lining up in the same team.

Zing!

#stopmaizey

Just doing my bit

Add Modric, Benzema and Varane to that list as well.

Soldado - sold
Chiriches - sold
Capoue - sold
Paulinho - sold
Lamela - loan

That Bale money was well spent then

Got to take a punt. We don't have the financial resources of the champions league perennials, so our transfer mistakes loom larger, we should be scouting longer and harder to make sure the money is spent wisely, well as wisely can be when you're talking athletic endeavours of men who haven't reached mental or physical adulthood.
Man city pissed away millions on jovetic, dzeko, Robinho, negredo, Tevez (though he was/is a great player, sold at a loss) and come back to break transfer records for de bruyne, sterling, and whoever else they covet whilst paying them millions of pounds of wages a year.

Which is why I'm hopeful that the academy products and the new director of football/scouting guy from Southampton whose name I forget will mean we have fewer instances of money being squandered. But that also means that Levy has to make sure there's some stability/continuity there...

@dst, you should know by now @dan is a counter puncher, left to his own devices he generates little, to nothing but the odd two line I am disappoint bile spill.

@tommmmmmm The Sheriff is here to stay.

Looks like the De Gea move has collapsed because it wasn't all done by the Spanish deadline. Madrid are blaming United for not acting quickly enough on the deal that they have been dragging on for months. United might be stuck with unhappy De Gea and without a big chunk of the money they've splurged on players who should have been half the cost.

It couldn't have happened to two nicer clubs.

Are United now clearly the league's worst at transfer business? I think they've outstripped even Spurs and Liverpool.

Looks like more brown envelopes than usual will be arriving at the Spanish Football Federation and FIFA today.

@tommmmmmm The Sheriff is here to stay.

Or at least until 'Arry returns to guide you back to the promised land.

'Happy 'arry.f'rever in r 'earts.

Potentially big news from Madrid on De Gea, brought to you by the Spanish newspaper El Pais via our man Sid Lowe...

The newspaper quotes LFP (Spain’s football league) as saying: “Rules are for everyone ... FIFA has no jurisdiction.” It means they are refusing to register De Gea,

Hilarious!

Chelsea fans, what can you tell us about Papy Djilobodji?

I got a mention in Corny's magnum opus!
Life = complete.

If I'm a counterpuncher - what does that make you?
A windbag?

@b&d, thoughts?
theguardian.com/football/2015­/aug/27/kevin-nolan-leaves-west-ham-mutu­al-consent

bilic clearing house? Nolan losing a step?

Nolan was a liability last season and was at least half a yard short on too many occasions.

Anyway, apologies for the lack of gloating about any results this weekend - me and the missus have been away...

b&d, looks like we've had a busy final day.

Song
Jelavic
Moses
Antonio
Adebayor: released by spud so on a free

@dst Butterfield, you sold him to uddersfield in 2014. We just splurged c.£4m on him. Panic last day buying or worth the money?