The Reid one was 3-0? Someone above posted it as 2-1 and my memory for scores from so long ago is poor so I went off that.

You said he is better in an offensive role. What kind of player is he offensively? How is his crossing? It looked a lot better than our current incumbent, but hard to tell from a highlights video. We are essentially hoping for a Nyambe (current RB) that can contribute more in the final third. He looks to have the same physical attributes as Nyambe but sounds less reliable defensively. Also, what fee do you personally think is fair for him?

1400 minutes is equivalent to about 15.5 games. Picking up a red for a second yellow in that time doesn't suggest it's not a problem to me. Added to what you say about arms flailing and potentially giving away penalties, I'm a bit concerned about this area of his game. Poor backpasses are also a worry. We don't play that way too much this season, unlike last, but plenty of Championship sides who try to close down teams passing at the back and having success with it. Including us. What I do like the sound of is that he is best in a 3-5-2 setup, as that's what we play.

12 times just at the JJB since 05? Have we really spent that much time in the same league as them? That's a bit embarrassing...except for the Prem ones of course. In contrast to JH, I think we've only won the games I've attended there. What I think was our first game there, when we were at the time their record attendance thanks to us commandeering one of their side stands. I think we won that day but my memory can be crap. I want to say 2-0? And the Reid thunderbolt game, 2-1. I feel bad for not attending now!

I'm curious what the perceived reasons for him not really breaking into the Hertha team are.

Plus a loss of Nyambe's asset value. Unless we are selling Nyambe for a good fee this window, or rate this lad significantly higher, we appear to be cutting off our nose to spite our face.

This article says Poveda has had his loan cancelled, which as far as we are aware hasn't happened yet. This makes the rest a bit questionable.

I'm not sure it will. If he is rested it won't be a surprise. Granted if he does start, it's probably bollocks.

His name is said several times in the highlight reel. Sounds a lot more like 'zay-fuck' to me, or possibly 'zay-vuck'.

It's been regurgitated enough times by enough 'sources' that I'm ok with dismissing that as most likely just being a coincidence.

It hasn't, it's come out absolutely ages ago and probably wasn't worth posting. It's just a regurgitation of what has already been said before.

For what it's worth, which may well be nothing, a FB post just popped up from someone saying their nephew's friend who works at the club reckons Nyambe was saying his goodbyes to staff at the club today. Hopefully cobblers, 'nephew's friend' is moving into 'my mate's nan's dog' territory, but not impossible it's legit.

Not only would you have thought it, but it was said, repeatedly and by numerous posters (not by me), how easy it was to replace and improve on both players. Meanwhile we thought Armstrong would be extremely difficult to replace (that one I did say) and yet we ended up doing it without even signing a new player! Point is, replacing players with better ones is a crap shoot, and mid-season sitting 2nd in the league is a poor time to attempt it.

He will only have been 20 when he left Ajax, and only played 6 times for them. Who knows how much of him he saw at Groningen, and probably hasn't seen him for Hertha at all. 3 years of development between 20-23, a player can change a lot. Besides, whilst the Dutch league isn't outstanding, Ajax fans, used to European competition, probably have a higher standard than we're looking for. Cheers for passing it on though.

Apparently Bild reported that Hertha are willing to entertain bids of 3.5 million Euros for Zeefuik. If that's the cost of buying him in the summer, we had better think he is a LOT better than Nyambe. Because that cost, likely with high wages, versus the likely wage cost of giving Nyambe a deal he will sign, factoring the loss of asset value for him leaving for free...there's a huge difference there. Unless we intend to sell Nyambe now for a similar price.

That was the only part I needed to read. Don't go on about it if you're not willing to back it up.

So go on, what kind of money is he allegedly seeking on the advice of his agent?

I guess this is where 1 million was mentioned. Yes I should bloody well hope we do value him at 'more than 1 million'.

I was mostly pointing out I couldn't see that figure mentioned anywhere outside the poster I was quoting. I wondered if I was missing something. But I'd want a lot more than a million to contemplate it. The Rothwell of last season, playing for the midtable Rovers of last season, I'd probably expect about a million with 6 months left yes. The Rothwell of this season, in the promotion-chasing Rovers of this season, to a promotion rival? I'd dismiss it out of hand and tell them not to make another insulting bid.

Where's the 1 million mentioned? That would surely be considered derisory.

Hopefully bollocks. A good way to unsettle us though, potentially even if they don't actually sign him in January.

There are championship officiating standards? I thought they just flipped a coin in their heads for every decision.

Has played in their last 3 matches apparently. Although that raises the question why they're willing to loan him out? No such thing as a perfect-looking transfer lol

A very good point that I hadn't considered. However I do feel the extreme of that defeat drew something out of the players and manager. It may be that resilience will be easy to tap back into after a drab cup exit, or it may be that it doesn't evoke as much emotion and just lets us wobble back towards mediocrity. Winning is a habit. Hopefully you're right though (or better yet, our fringe players take them to pieces and there's confidence right through the squad).

That squad was bigger, better. We were actually a fancied side in the promotion chase. What we have now is a thin squad who time will tell but may well be performing a fair bit above themselves at the moment, with a manager prone to an extended death spiral. I feel our momentum is much more vulnerable than it was back then.