Rayvin

Well fair enough, but that only mirrors what you see at every other club. He wouldn't let Cabaye go for £10m over the summer and as a result we're benefiting from a strong season from him. If his policy is to buy low, raise the price through long contracts and good performances, and then sell at the right time then so be it. You could argue that such an approach actually has the club's interest at it's core rather than his - he could sell earlier into the contract for a faster return if he was prepared to drop a few million from the asking price. If you're saying he'll take a lower price at the end of the contract, how is that different as far as he's concerned with taking lower prices mid way through the contract? Say Cabaye is worth £20m now, and Arsenal offered £10m in the summer. In a year's time, Cabaye will be entering into the final year of his contract, so his value will fall to what? £10m? Why wouldn't Ashley just take that now if all he cared about was the financials (and technically, £10m now is worth more than £10m in a years time) There's only two possibilities in my mind: 1 - He's holding out in the hope of receiving bigger offer while the players are at peak value 2 - He actually sees the value of the players to the long term success of the club, and therefore while he could sell earlier, he's choosing not to unless we receive a really good offer that can assist the club in replacing the player. I just think that on some level, it's not just about recouping the money through transfers, it's about recouping it through making the club sustainable.

Does look like a nice pie though

it does all seem very half-hearted. We should get that Gene guy back to show them how it's done.

Jermain Defoe signed for Toronto...

He's absolved himself of any responsibility again the craven bastard.

Manchester City striker Edin Dzeko: "We are getting better all the time. It's not easy to win 5-0 at home against a Premier League team but we did. "Was it 6-0? Oh."

Surely he'll just give it up. He must know there's no coming back from this.

Y'know what, Barcelona aren't going to put City out easily. I know West Ham are God awful but...City are immense.

...Ouch.

West Ham with 28% possession so far...

While frustrating, this isn't an entirely ridiculous strategy. Especially since we've clearly seen he won't let players go cheaply.

So, on a scale of 1 to hilariously, how badly are West Ham going to get beaten tonight? Allardyce has just listed his new signing (from League 1 - Roger Johnson) as having two key assets for this game. He is both not cup tied, and tall. Therefore, he is expected to mark the 6 City players who are also his height.

That is a superb piece. I wish he wasn't behind a paywall...

Your avatar has gone. Stuff like that troubles me.

Sorry, off topic but... What happened to your face?

What exactly is it that he does that allows him to look down on people so? Tory MP? Also, that how's I'll picture him forever now.

Really? He's actually reading this thread? That's actually kind of creepy. Also, I love how outraged he is about window cleaners, as if any other profession is somehow better suited to insult him.

Ok mate, you've got more experience on this one than I do. I guess I'm reassured by what you're saying anyway, so thanks for that.

Right but then they were heavily controlled by the police weren't they? Which we're saying may not happen this time given the current position of both sides. I'm not saying anything will happen, but somewhere down the line someone at the club has considered it and thought the commercials outweighed the risk.

Transport is one thing - I have to say I don't have much of an opinion on that really, but I'm sure official travel is there for a reason. I'd agree that people should be responsible for ensuring they arrive safely. Gemmill's point is a good one though, and it just feels like the club is looking the other way in terms of safety considerations, even if it doesn't really have a responsibility. And my objection to that essentially boils down to Mike Ashley weighing up how many hospitalised supporters are worth the prime time viewing rights fees for the match.

Yeah that makes sense. In fact I'd agree entirely, with the added point that even with this being the case, the club is still washing its hands concerning the issue of supporter safety - which bothers me, even if they're essentially correct that it's the police's problem. In my minds eye I'm just imagining Mike Ashley weighing up supporter violence against a few extra quid...

Fair enough - to be honest, the more I thought about it, the more I think I shot out of the blocks because of the fan meeting notes. My default position is to assume the club is screwing us somehow.

Worth the £3 to see Moyes face at the end there

I have £3 on Januzaj getting the final goal as he's looked up for it all game... But eh, probably Borini now since Manure are falling to pieces.

Yeah I guess there's no chance of them beating City is there? I suppose I should enjoy it.