Very odd that Nixon is describing a 1 yr 30k a week contract as 'huge' and 'stunning'. Does he think it's 1998? I'd be stunned if Villareal aren't offering more money, and supposedly it's a 5 year contract. This offer is surely a non-starter.

That was true for Brereton too until this week wasn't it? Shocking goal droughts they've been on, even if they'd just notched 2 or 3 each in that period we would probably still be in a strong position in the playoffs breathing down Boro's neck. Depends when they're scored of course.

I'm confused that you see 20 minutes of football and 90 minutes of football as being the same in terms of strain on the body. You've played football, right?

Unfortunately, I think that's exactly what it will mean. I'd much rather see Leonard given the shirt, but I can't see it happening.

So we're 7th, level on points with Millwall (who have a game in hand) and Sunderland, both above us on GD (by 10 for Millwall, 16 for Sunderland! We won't be beating anyone to a spot on GD this year) Only 1 point (and GD of course!) separating 4th and 7th.

Only downside is potential injuries to Brereton and Dack, our top two scorers. Someone said stick Ayala up top...we might not have much choice soon at this rate!

Well I'll take that!! By hook or by crook.

Someone has to!

You know that doesn't make any sense, right?

Not getting in the team only adds to the evidence that they were worse.

He gave you a whole list, and your only response was to shift the goalposts again.

Probably the Mulgrew days, and half the time he had to put those in the net directly from the corner... (Nah not really, I remember Wharton heading one or two in...did he have one earlier this season, I wanna say in the cup against Hartlepool?)

Those are usually based on numbers of appearances and goals, not whether fans think he's 'one of the worst ever'. Over 100 appearances and over 20 league goals...he has probably triggered some or most, if that was indeed how the deal was structured. There might be something based on the club's performance though (making the playoffs, getting promoted) and those won't have been touched.

We don't actually know the payment arrangements or actual final fee of any player we sign. You're quoting something you've heard or has been reported, there's nothing from official channels. The fact there's a 500k area of uncertainty on the initial fee shows whoever has heard it doesn't actually know. Personally I think clubs should have to put all transfer fee breakdowns into the public domain. I hate this 'undisclosed' nonsense, stakeholders deserve to know.

Looks like this is our 'good' half. Need to make this pressure pay soon or we're open to a sucker punch.

Precisely why it was fairly pointless signing Thomas without signing a striker.

One of the most overpriced strikers we've ever had is a fair debate for him to be entered into. You've still got your Kevin Davies, Ashley Wards, Nathan Blakes and Ciccio Grabbis to compete with though, but they had to play at Premiership level so the comparison wouldn't be quite fair.

🤣Well that's one way to do it!!

I'm starting to form the impression you think this is the usual tripe, and that you're hoping something resembling football will break out in the 2nd half.

Horses for courses. He will have had the best budget in Sweden and been able to mould the team how he wanted. Here, he has to rely on a few loans and the academy.

Christ, who predicted 5-0? Let me guess, starts with M, ends with R?

In fairness, it's how we turned them over at their place. We'll see at the end of the game whether it's the right approach, whether it's boring or not. Is it still the same tosser manager they had early in the season? Thought they'd ditched him.

I don't know what it is about this club in the last two seasons that we've gone 'ooh we can get one of the league's best assist makers on loan...let's bring them in and shunt them into a different position'. Hopefully this one is just because JRC and Brittain are both fresh from injuries. Hopefully a stop-gap until one of them is deemed ready to start again.

Vale is 22, he's not that young. In his time in our first team he has demonstrably offered less than Gallagher. It's a fair comparison. Campbell was better, with his 0 goals in 17 games for us? How can you not agree about Brereton's first two seasons when he was utterly useless and scored 1 goal a season? Obviously since then he has stepped it up a lot. You might not class Butterworth as an out and out striker, but that isn't where Gallagher normally plays either. And your initial point was 'players' not strikers, so I don't think it's relevant unless you want to downgrade your assertion to that of roverandout's. I didn't even have to think for long to come up with worse strikers in the Venkys era. If we stretch it to our entire nearly 150 year history and include players in other positions (Lowe, Murphy, Etuhu, Williamson, ewww) then 'one of the worst' is still an exaggeration unless you consider a large list to fit that definition. Just for the sake of anyone popping into this late, I'm not saying Gallagher is a good player. He does have his uses though at times. Highly frustrating player who we need to upgrade on as a starter if we are ever going up.

You're shifting the goalposts, repeatedly. The initial point I was responding to was about worst 'players'. Then you moved it to strikers, and now it's out and out number 9s over a length of time. By the time we are done it will be 6 ft 3 number 9s who have been here at least 4 seasons and can't jump effectively for headers who are called Sam. We have barely had any 'out and out number 9s' in recent years, and Gallagher himself hasn't been played as one for the vast majority of his time here. I believe someone said he has 38 goals for us.