As I said, I could see him on the left for Boro, ahead of McGree who rarely seems to play many more than 20 games in a season anyway, 15, 24, , 43, 22 (games in each of the last 4 years) & 13 so far this season https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/riley-mcgree/leistungsdatendetails/spieler/428061/plus/0?saison=&verein=&liga=&wettbewerb=GB2&pos=&trainer_id= Incidentally, I could also see him on the left for Sheff Utd, who could then move Hamer back inside. or Sunderland (if Mundle and Watson are out for any length of time) Leeds, I agree with you, are probably too strong in wide areas for Villa to consider loaning him to them

He is more an inside forward/second sriker than a central striker, could see him wide left for Boro, where he has played mostly for Stockport, Doak plays on the right The only times he has been central striker, is in a 2 up front, cant see him working up front by himself as a lone striker

Boro, Sheff Utd, Sunderland & Leeds (amongst others) apparently https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/sport/football/leeds-united-sheffield-united-and-sheffield-wednesday-dealt-blow-as-rivals-lead-race-for-15-goal-marksman-4912675 https://www.sunderlandafc.news/transfers/sunderland-handed-january-transfer-window-boost-with-latest-louie-barry-update-aston-villa-want-one-thing/

yep https://www.premierinjuries.com/teams/southampton been injured since early October, "hopefully back some time in the new year"

Isn't he injured? (again)

Eustace - "We don't want to bring lots of players in, we don't need to. All of us connected just want one or two top-quality players to really help the group and they will want that too." If its just one or two, then I would imagine it is one centre forward & one wide player, both on loan, unless they can manage a free transfer

A loan for him would be the closest thing I would expect to a marquee signing in January, but competition will be very stiff

Barry more of a wide forward than a winger or striker, but would take him on loan. Ethan Ennis also looks quite useful Rovers have a history of returning to previous targets, so Godo on loan from Fulham may also be under consideration. He seems to have fallen into the same "trap" of too good for the U21s, not quite good enough for the first team situation (albeit in the Prem) that Duru is currently in here, Bindon (presume you mean) looks a decent young player, but I would be amazed if we are paying transfer fees, especially at centre back, I think it will just be loans Nathan Butler-Oyedeji - 21 year old forward with 7 goals and 6 assists in 9 games this season at PL2 level may be worth a look. More of a wide player, but is very pacey, out of contract at the end of the season and will be 22 by that point, so may be able to do a permanent deal there Striker, probably a loan for some 20/21 year old who is having a decent season in PL2

Apparently Vale is doing his "return to training, rehab stuff" at Rovers (presumably we have better facilities & medical staff than Motherwell) and he will be back there "in a few weeks" (as of last week) https://www.glasgowworld.com/sport/football/motherwell-fc/motherwell-injury-update-summer-signing-blackburn-rovers-loanee-4906667

https://www.instagram.com/bbcsportcumbria/reel/DDNDf4_MuVa/ Just seen this from last week, Barnes has still not played for Barrow and still not back in training

I would have thought that was his wage when Leeds were in the Prem, but its still likely to be somewhere between £35K & £40K per week now, (his contract was signed whilst Leeds were in the Prem and would have included a relegation wage reduction clause) so still no thanks 😉

We wont, it will be included in the accounts as part of the sum total of of received transfer fees. However, the initial fee will almost certainly be under £500K, but with numerous add on's based on his appearances at both club and international level, signing a pro contract at Newcastle, Newcastle's performance, which would probably take it over time to somewhere between £2M & £5M as long as he performs, and also a sell on fee (likely to be 15-20% of anything over the initial fee) Fulham got an initial £1Mish, rising to about £4M + a similar sell on for Elliott from Liverpool who was a similar age & had made Premier League appearances before his move, which was also set by tribunal https://www.thisisanfield.com/2021/02/harvey-elliott-tribunal-sees-liverpool-pay-bargain-fee-to-fulham/ Personally I have no real issue with the initial low fees, but the add ons ( taking the Elliott example) are a joke, surely if he performs, then a total fee of over £10M is more fair? If he does not live up to the hype, then they are not paid anyway. But the system is rigged to benefit those at the top

https://www.linkedin.com/in/suhail-shaikh-a626b210/?originalSubdomain=uk Nothing on his job history about Kentaro

Polky posted this list (the list on the right of the 2 below) on the Gueye thread yesterday of most wasteful strikers in either Europe or the World Gueye was 48th. Bamford was 1st. I do recall Bamford offering a lot more than just goals a few years ago (thinking back to when Bielsa was in charge of Leeds), before his injury issues, but he is not the answer if we are looking for anything resembling a goal machine

All injured Tyjon Gilsenan Poku

I think he has followed a very similar trajectory here (hopefully without a sacking around the corner due to clueless ownership, which with our lot is still possible), His popularity has certainly been helped by results, Even if he is a safety first coach, he seems to know in which games/situations his team should keep it tight, when they should be a little more adventurous, and in patches his teams are capable of some very nice football. I liked JDT, when his brand of football worked, it really was a pleasure to watch, but with Rovers financial limitations, it wasn't the most economical way of picking up points. There is an old story about not building houses on sand that might as well be Eustace's motto.

All done with a couple of button presses/keystrokes, they go out afterwards 😉

Do you think Russell Martin was "forced/told" to play in that style at Southampton? Or that he was employed because he had previously played that style at both Swansea and MK Dons? And in my opinion, Martin was not particularly successful at either of those clubs either For the record, I think Russell Martin, and by extension, the people in charge at Southampton, were idiots to assume that they could play that way in the Prem with the squad at their disposal and not be exactly where they are in the table. At least the Dingles didn't sack Kompany for effectively doing what he had agreed to do, and they got their "reward" in the compensation payment from Bayern in the summer

Old school managers, were football people first, and possibly had little or no understanding off business/finance. You may get lucky and get a Fergie etc, but the chances of that are slim Directors of Football have generally (at a minimum) done courses etc on the business side of things, and are also (at properly run clubs) likely to be around for longer than a manager/head coach, the lifespan of which is probably well under 2 years. I think you are overstating how much the Director of Football drives the style of play. It is more a set of broad guidelines/goals/targets that the head coach agrees to operate under/meet before he accepts a job offer. Which is very similar to any number of job roles in any number of businesses around the World So from a clubs perspective*, they are getting a long term plan/vision, and someone who is both football & business savvy, & not going to drive the club off a financial cliff like Harry Redknapp did with Portsmouth back in the day. * Obviously a club still has to make the right appointment, which requires them having knowledgeable people running the club in the first place, (but those running a club are always going to think that they know the right thing, even if its a case of the Dunning-Kruger effect, rather than them actually having genuine insight)

It seems that you broadly agree with my earlier posts then 😉

No problem at all with hypotheticals, they help us to simply state what we mean If the hypothetical Man City/Liverpool 4-4-2 you described brought that level of success in todays game then yes, I would agree wholeheartedly

No, a broad ethos/philosophy is not the same as micro managing how to set up a team, its a set of broad guidelines designed to increase profits Should you wish to know my thoughts, please feel free to read my posts from earlier today, I don't want to bore people (especially myself) by repeat posting

based on all of those 1-0s & 1-1s, I'm going for 4-3 to Rovers 😉