Rayvin

Huh... that'll complicate matters. I really hope they just sell him They should just accept the inevitable and go down

Are both you and Dortmund in the CL? And maybe Spurs aren't? Could that be a reason why they rejected your bid? I'm just trying to determine if the game is just snidey.

Why, out of interest, do you think he has an affection for Sunderland? Beyond any other player's affection for the club that's paying them millions, that is.

Fucking hell... not sure I want to continue beyond the first season after all, just sounds massively aggravating. How do you keep them all happy? Do you give them the contracts they want?

All that happened after we lost to Blackburn was that people lamented that we have no backup to Shelvey, questioned why we don't change our system when this happens given the ineffectiveness of what they just saw (and the fact that related issues have seen us suffer in other games), and pleaded for some manner of divine intervention to strike down Colback before the next game. I'm slightly puzzled by how defensive some people got over this. Yes it was more emotionally phrased, but it's not like there were 'Rafa out' comments being bandied about. Everyone is still on board with the project as far as I can see. It's just that Rafa isn't above criticism, you know? No one is.

I also took from that article that Reading are only 3 points behind us if they win their game in hand Good as we are, let's not get ahead of ourselves. Caulkin makes it clear that we're going to have to scrap for every point.

https://www.readytogo.net/smb/threads/simone-zaza-swap-deal.1315749/ They're really going for this Defoe business incidentally - they have another a separate thread getting all worked up about some random "ITK" guy on a West Ham forum claiming that Defoe is about to put in a transfer request.

Do you reckon it's actually like this or has the game taken it too far? EDIT - also, I always found that once you've cemented your position as one of the most reputable clubs in the world, this sort of thing tends to happen less.

That sounds more like being a woman than a man...

I don't consider apologising when I make a mistake to be a sign of weakness I'm actually bemused that it is considered as such on here..!

Quite possible. All of this said though, aren't West Ham also trying for Hogan for £15m? Would they go for both?

They won't have to offer £20m IMO. I think £10m would do it for Short. They just have to make it large enough that the small chance of staying up looks less attractive than having the money.

West Ham are fucking desperate though - they can't go down, it'd be a disaster for their long term ambitions. Taking Defoe has the effect of giving them a boost and making Sunderland terminal. Ultimately they'll be paying Sunderland to go down so they don't have to.

West Ham apparently asked Sunderland to name their price... It really is going to come down to whether or not Short believes they're down, IMO.

Was that disallowed because of half time?! I've never seen that one before...

Sorry, my post was poorly worded. I meant that going down and getting a clean slate would only be a good thing if Short was able to sell them. If he can't and they go down as they are, the second sentence of my original post onwards applies.

Only if the new owners intend investment. If they just go down as it stands, they'll get stuck there. The core group of players would probably do ok, but they lack squad depth and the resources to rectify this.

Not sure he'd be just an option, he's scored quite a few this year and West Ham look desperate. Even if West ham don't quite match it, if they offer him a two year deal, he's still improved his situation. Anyway this is all academic - Sunderland would be crazy to sell him. I still feel they're capable of a decision that poor, but we'll see.

Without doubt.

Why is he still free to tweet? Why??

Presumably no one else would pay him what Sunderland are - if he wants to play in the PL next year and on the same money, it makes sense for him to try to keep them there. If Wham offer to match his wages then the story could change.