08 Sep 2017 12:38:27
Football is a law into itself. Imagine if it was like any other business where you could give a week or a month notice and switch employer (club) . It would be absolute carnage.
Footballers are commodities owned by clubs and obviously contracts are designed to protect both player and club.
I think the sooner Barkley future is resolved the better for the player and club. I'm still positive about the season coming. It Will be transitional but I can't see us finishing any lower than 7th come end of season.
08 Sep 2017 12:56:44
geoffj. Early I know but we will know where we are at 1700 tomorrow. I don't buy into this, 'well we have a lot of players to settle in' comments, after all, the other Teams are in the same position.
08 Sep 2017 13:32:05
To be fair, tomorrow we could quite likely start with: Pickford, Keane, Martina, Klaasen, Sigurdsson, Sandro and Rooney, all of whom have limited experience playing together or with the rest of the squad - how many new faces will we see from Spurs?
This is a project and patience is required - having said that, I've got a good feeling about tomorrow - 2-0 blues.
08 Sep 2017 14:26:58
Big dunc, spurs brought in hardly anyone do they have less to bed in.
In all fairness regardless of how many players come in, it is still 11 v 11 and in this league anyone can best beat anyone else.
I think we could do spurs tomorrow. Going for 2-1 to the blues with Rooney and siggy scoring with reply from kane.
08 Sep 2017 14:59:19
Beating Spurs tomorrow does little to tell us anything. As does losing. It's a long season and still have Coleman, Bolasi and Mori to play a part. We will have to be patient as there is no way that results at this early stage of the season can tell us anything.
Players do need time to settle in, especially the younger ones. Pogba and Mikharterian are looking much better this season compared to last and they are some of the best there is. Spurs will take points from teams above us so losing to them won't mean we will finish where we did last season or that we haven't improved.
08 Sep 2017 16:16:36
Not sure I understand what anyone means about results not telling us anything, bedding in etc?
The league has started, this is the profession of these guys and a clubs survival is all about points! We have had pre season EVERY game now matters and every point matters.
We built last season for this year we should not be talking about next year at this point.
{Ed025's Note - i get that wakka but in the end signing players is a bit of a guessing game, like will they perform in this league?, will they connect with the other players?will they adapt to the culture plus many other things, and when you consider the volume of players we have recruited then you see the problems mate..
08 Sep 2017 16:43:10
I understand your point Ed025 and agree that these are factors, however I'm sure they scout and research players thoroughly before they sign them (Niasse? ) but this is a results industry and let's hope they have got it right!
{Ed025's Note - koeman at the start said it would be at least 2 years for the plan to come together wakka, as fans we tend to be a little impatient at times mate but you never know it could well be sooner..
08 Sep 2017 17:01:21
Lets hope so Ed025, like many I feel we are getting better but so are those ahead of us, so the gap is still there but this year a bit smaller.
08 Sep 2017 18:17:03
geoff. Son pays for my bets and season ticket so I will have a punt on your 2 - 1 prediction. I don't agree with the pundits saying we will be down 0 - 2, thought perhaps a draw but will get good odds on us 2 - 1.
08 Sep 2017 19:02:04
Wakka57 as long as it gets a bit smaller every year that's what's important. Its not easy breaking into the top. Imho Ed25 is 100% right we all need patience.
Good post Toffee Ace.
{Ed025's Note - not east at all NBTB, we are putting things in place but these things take time mate and the last thing the club need is for supporters to get on the lads backs and heap even more pressure on them..
08 Sep 2017 19:04:19
Also wakka57 a bit smaller this season is a good thing. Last season from the season before a big chunk of that gap was closed by Koeman in his first season. So to still progress more into his second season is good imho. From where he started we are miles upon miles better imho.
08 Sep 2017 19:24:16
Bigdunc I will take half if it comes in. I work in town so ya can drop it in after the match bud. Hahaha.