The 'big' clubs pushing for Europe sail close to the wind (with regards to FFP) - they often don't have £18m sat in their transfer kitty ready to splurge in January.

Depends what you mean by 'raw'. Was he the finished article? No. Could he have walked into a dozen PL sides and started from day one? Yes.

Far more athletic and talented though.

You were fully informed about what you were signing up for.

Yeah he's a massive prick, unfortunately.

Agree to disagree. There aren't any Le Tissier's in the PL anymore. Athleticism is at a premium.

Prem style football where they're bigger, better athletes? I'd be amazed if he turns into a good player. He's so small and weak - similar to Markanday. Doesn't matter how technically good you are if everyone can just bully you.

The system is absolutely broken when keeping hold of a kid you've developed since he was 8 years old is seen as a 'coup'. The authorities need to get a handle on this for the good of the game.

I'm ok with 5-7 spots in the 25 man squad being reserved for Academy graduates, yes. Your suggestion is how I would run it too - a number of graduates rotated through the bench and given minutes off the bench to see what they're made of when the result is no longer in doubt. As I said the problem we'll run into is that the 15-18 core players would have to be really good and we're simply not going to fund that. You can't have the likes of Forshaw. JRC (as much as it pains me to say it) or Buckley around the squad either, they're passengers.

It will have opened some eyes in Brighton too. They thought they had a superstar on their hands - he was billed as "mini-Saka" (which is amusing considering how small Saka is) and one they'd stolen from Arsenal. I'd be surprised if he plays most of his career above L1. He's a boy amongst men.

I've honestly no problem with a minutes target for Academy graduates - our Academy is the only reason we still have a football club, in my opinion, it's saved us over the last decade of incompetence / budget cuts. That said in order to promote youth you simply HAVE to have a strong core of 15-18 players in your First Team. We obviously don't currently have that and won't spend the money to make it a reality either.

Maybe don't own a football club if you can't fund it? Just a thought.

But that would require the authorities to have morals and turn down money from billionaires for the betterment of the game. Their snouts are far too deep in the trough for that to ever happen.

Soft, ugly goal to concede that. Couldn't happen to a nicer club - fuck Coventry and all who sail in her.

What are you thinking, a dodgy pre-match lasangne?

Still managed to score against us. I agree though, for £9m they've had their pants down.

Yeah they're both miles off the pace - as the table showed at the end.

On paper at least.

I hope this comes to fruition.* It's a PR disaster. Imagine the public uproar you'd receive, especially if the three Euro's winning Lionesses that started their careers at Rovers weighed in. Utd, Liverpool, City et al already get a load of stick for not financially backing their women like Chelsea do (nor should they imo). Rovers folding the women's team with billionaire owners? That'd be a goldmine for us. *I would like the women's team to be reinstated when we're taken over by owners that care

No. Bristol City are a poor side.

It's just a convoluted way of saying "LOL why have an Academy when everyone good just gets nicked before they turn 18. Here's the latest in the queue"

Liverpool fans booing a player leaving them for a bigger club. They really are scum.

They'd crucify him.

We're now looking at PNE with envious eyes. Thank you, Venkys.

Oh god I'd love him at Ibrox. They ran Cantwell out of town, imagine the stick they'd give Dolan.