bluebruce

So much news! So little of it good.

Correlation doesn't equal causation though. We are just one of many businesses they own. We can't claim credit for their share increase. We have certainly increased their profile, but they've also looked like bumbling clowns in the public glare for large periods due to it.

11 goals and 7 assists I make it, between his first game in this league and the last of 2019. 4 goals and an assist in the cups in that period too, though I assume you meant league given your phrasing. Either way I'd hardly call that 'very few goals/assists' unless he had been played exclusively up top, which he wasn't. Transfermarkt has him down, in his first season for example, as playing only 11 up top in all competitions, which we know was sporadically too without a settled run there. The rest were in our beloved 'wing striker' role where he has been pretty much the only guy to score a respectable amount in this league for us. He was only 21 when we signed him permanently too so I don't think his numbers were bad. They just came in purple patches was the issue. You're right that his form was getting too wobbly for most just before Dack's injury though. Personally I've defended him throughout his time with us when others criticised, because I've seen what his pace does for advancing us up the pitch and that he always carries a threat and the possibility of changing a game, and would come good. I was tiring of the indifferent performances too though around then, and agreed he needed to spend a game or two on the bench to wake him up. That was the only time I agreed he should be dropped though, and only briefly. Personally I think some people still carry their biases from before when they made their minds up on him, from the fact I've seen some people say we should snap a club's hands off if they offer 10 million, and the general comments they make about him. Not saying that's you of course.

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Good approach. They obviously never asked for it, or decided they didn't care.

Strange perception. Contributed since he joined us. It's been sporadic at times but he's been notching goals for us for quite a while. He cost a decent fee and has a much higher profile. Dolan is very exciting but he has one goal for us. 'Since January' is a lot more than double 'since a few weeks ago' when Dolan started playing games for us. The goals this calendar year are also 14 for Arma, 1 for Dolan. The ratio isn't about right. But that was my point in the first place, that it shows how exciting Dolan is.

If we'd have spent the other 2 million anyway, it would have been spent somewhere. Maybe a CB so we didn't need to sign Ayala. Maybe another striker - and sometimes a cheap option actually works out better than the pricey one. Maybe an actual winger.

Keeping Raya and not buying Gally leaves us about 2 million better off, not half a million. And that's before we factor in Gally's higher wage.

Think those numbers are miles off personally. Raya saved you quite a few more points than he lost. And Walton definitely wasn't only 2 points worse.

Another big test coming for Dolan now. He has had his full league debut and scored a goal and impressed in it. The next couple of games we will see if he can maintain his hunger and focus, or whether the recent successes will relax him too much. Or whether all the above mentioned press coverage will swell his head, or heap pressure on him. He is swiftly losing his 'secret weapon' status now too. Future opponents will start analysing the shit out of his game.

Nah he punched one out when it really didn't need punching. Made me a bit nervous. Hate keepers doing that.

You don't see that. You're inferring that. The reports were clear that Brentford didn't want to sell at all, and other reports suggested they wanted 15 million AND for Raya to be loaned back to them for a year. Until Arsenal, Brentford or Raya comes out and say Arsenal didn't want to pay 10 million, your claim isn't proven. There is also still the possibility that Arsenal are still in for him with the notion of loaning him back and have signed this other, very cheap keeper, with the idea of him being the backup for a season so they can get their man longer term. That may not be the case of course, but even if it isn't, we have no idea what Arsenal were willing to pay and what Brentford were insisting on getting for him.

Chapman, Buckley and Burns with the goals. Also know Lonsdale from the u18s got on for about 20 mins.

You forgot to mention the betting predictions.

Don't forget Fleetwood.

Weirdly I feel quite a bit more optimistic about this one than the Wycombe game. Which means we are doomed.

Not guaranteed at all yet. There have been rumours that Arsenal will offer to loan Raya back to Brentford for the first season. If that's their plan then it makes sense to get another keeper as backup in the meantime. This one cost less than 2 mill, so nothing to a Prem club and considerably less than the Raya price. They might still have intent there.

I do wonder if they're delaying changing it until the window shuts though, to keep clubs from overspending, then will decide on how it's going to change.

They haven't been changed so far.

Thing is Gregg, there can be no begging bowl next summer. Our three year FFP cycle will be up and we will either have broken our budget for it or be very close. I'm not sure on the specifics of the rules, but maybe you could argue that if we are just about inside it, we wouldn't get judged on it again for another season, meaning we could in theory have one last splurge and charge? But even assuming it works that way, can anybody really see the club, nevermind Venkys, taking that risk and massively over shooting the rules the next summer, getting sanctions for sure? No point anybody mentioning the potential loopholes around it either, we are late enough into these processes to know that Venkys have no stomach for that. It would take them years to arrange at their pace too. In essence, the league's rules will be dictating our budget from next summer on. That may even be the real source of limitation this summer too. It's not like we won't be aware of how close we are to it even before covid came along. Really, it's this season or practically start all over again and sell to buy from then on. This is the last time we could really roll the dice on spending to go up. We clearly aren't.

Going to have to wait for the transfer business to be concluded (including who is or isn't sold) before I make a full conclusion here. But at the moment I'm thinking midtable.

I'd say he was being too positive if anything

I can see him getting that kind of player sent off when they lose patience. I definitely used to kick attackers like that when I wasn't getting anywhere near them.

No wonder he approaches games full of such confidence! Maybe this is why Tony is finding some value in Bell after all....

I wonder how he does against Nyambe in training. (I know training isnt the same intensity barometer as games, before anyone starts)