Rayvin

Genuinely think Charnley is a bigger problem for the club than Ashley in the short term.

You reckon? I think it implies that Rafa isn't on the brink of walking out, and that there's a time window he has in mind for Ashley to deliver. But we knew that going into the summer, so as I say, it's not really changing anything. Even if the squad remains as it is, I can't see any clear evidence in that statement which suggests Rafa will leave. Has Rafa ever quit from a previous position? Not as far as I can recall.

To me, that reads like we still have time to bring people in, and that Rafa is hoping this will be the case. This situation is no different to where we were a couple of weeks ago to be frank. If the signings come, they come. The only thing that's really changed is the available time left to sign them. Rafa's statement doesn't change anything as far as I can tell. Agree with this.

Still think it's all posturing tbh.

Aye, even if we'd not gone up we could have sold him on for profit.

Aye but it's notable that the TV deal started last year, and yet it's only one year in that clubs are spending the big money. We're a season behind the others. Might be hugely simplistic, but if borrowing against the future was a sensible option, surely everyone would have been doing it last summer. That said, I can't quite remember last summer - maybe the spending was big? Feels more significant this year though.

In fairness to the club though, it hasn't benefited from the windfall yet.

Oddly, yes. He's suing them for breach of contract and the notion that had they stood by the contract, the book would have done far better. I'd be interested to know what the exact termination clause used in the contract was.

Quite. I noticed he's suing his original publisher for $10m though, so he'll probably still get a good payoff out of all of it.

Exactly And speaking as a member of the MSP, I'm happy with this outcome.

I saw that story I didn't even know he'd released it, which is remarkable because the Guardian hasn't shut up about him for months. If they've pulled the data together through Nielsen, then the sales information will be about right. Nielsen isn't the be all and end all, but it does at least give us an insight into general purchasing trends. Milo seems to be making the case that the rest are tied up in the wholesalers, which is potentially the case as those guys can be incredibly slow. To be honest, I think it would have done far better with a publisher behind it. Damning indictment of society it may be, but plenty of people would have bought it if any news about it or any proper publishing campaign had been put into place. Kind of encouraging for publishers though!

Currently being upstaged by Ken v adios though.

....wow.

I'd like to apologise on behalf of adios, to all those affected by the unfortunate developments and misunderstandings caused by his comment on the previous page. I would like to assure everyone that I have already reported myself in penance for this act. I will now embark upon a period of self-imposed exile until such a time that I feel adios' debt has been repaid to the community.

FFS adios, lighten up. Kill joy.

what the fuck was all that about?

I really hope you're right, but we have no concept of realistic negotiation so who knows.

If this is the case, it's not going to happen.

Well, they're gonna try. They'd need some Tory backbenchers to go with them though, which seems unlikely.

Aye but you don't get good value for them either. Abroad is the only real option we have for anyone of decent value.

You don't think it'll be staged?

Aye, you could argue that the point of us being on the planet at this stage is to survive despite breeding.

Every time people talk about kids, they end up saying 'Kids are great, really changed my life for the better' with no examples of how. And then they go on to reel off numerous examples of absolute misery foisted on them by their young. As such, I've always been of the opinion that when people say 'kids are great/wait until you have kids' they mean 'please join me in my misery, I'll feel better about it that way'

Really don't think up front is that big a concern for us. We're not going to be taking the division by storm, it makes more sense to shore up the back, play to Rafa's strengths (defensive/counter attack) and aim to be 'difficult to beat' for the first season back. Counter attacking should win us a few games we'd otherwise be written off for.