John McGinn - signed (Captain)

[Fred Crump]

Why do we bother? I am sick of this. I thought the new owners meant the end of this?

it's just the football food chain - we don't get sick of it when we're taking Watkins and Konsa off Brentford, Buendia off Norwich and Cash off Forest etc

Absolutely. While Football continues to be structured the way it is ( and there is no way capitalism is going to let it be anything else) it will always be so. Which is why I take Purslow and Co’s marketing bs about European ambitions etc. with a hefty dose of salt. The reality is we will almost certainly be a mid / upper table club at best, because we will always be a selling club. The only possible exceptions to this football food chain are Spuds and Wet Spam, because they have the huge advantage of being in London.

[Ads]

Mid-table at best? Why?

[Ad@m]

It is, but wee got to break that chain sooner or later or we won't progress.

Why won't we?

Man United lost Ronaldo years ago when he was their best player.  Liverpool lost Countinho when he was their best player.  It's fair to say they've both had a reasonable amount of success.

What's important isn't whether we sell our best players - all clubs do - it's whether we sell on our terms and reinvest the money wisely.

[markeeeebeeee2005]

Big teams do sell they're good players from time to time and like Adam says it's how they move on from this.

Alongside this they flex their financial muscles at the right times. Our owners are about twice as rich as Man United's. I'd like to see us starting to bully other clubs both on the pitch and in the transfer market more.

[Stu]

If the interest is genuine then I expect he'll want to go, and fair enough, but I'd be very surprised if we let him go mid-season.

[Stu]

Just checked, McGinn's contracted with us until 2025. I don't think we would accept £50m, especially after Gerrard's recent comments about him.

[Rigadon]

It is, but wee got to break that chain sooner or later or we won't progress.

Why won't we?

Man United lost Ronaldo years ago when he was their best player.  Liverpool lost Countinho when he was their best player.  It's fair to say they've both had a reasonable amount of success.

What's important isn't whether we sell our best players - all clubs do - it's whether we sell on our terms and reinvest the money wisely.

I agree it possible to sell a star player now and again.  Losing them every transfer window isn’t what you’re talking about though. 

I’d have to say that selling our best midfielder to Man Utd wouldn’t signal any flexing of muscles. 

Anyway, it’s a stupid rumour in the sun.  So fuck it. 

[Smithy]

He's going nowhere, unless it's silly money.  This is just what happens when players have a run of good form, paper speculation.

I have no concerns about him going anywhere, I'm far more excited to see how Gerrard develops his game this season.  I suspect the SJM that finishes the season will look even more valuable than the one on the pitch right now.

[sickbeggar]

Sounds a daft story to me. They can't even fit Fernandes and Pogba in the same team so they want another midfielder who's better going forward? If they wanted Nakamba that would make sense 

[not3bad]

He's going nowhere, unless it's silly money.  This is just what happens when players have a run of good form, paper speculation.

I have no concerns about him going anywhere, I'm far more excited to see how Gerrard develops his game this season.  I suspect the SJM that finishes the season will look even more valuable than the one on the pitch right now.

Indeed. SJM is going to have a great season for us I think, and by the end of it Man Ure can get in the queue.

[KevinGage]

I seen one of those Scottish players who never made it down South (Kris Boyd?) on Sky Sports News yesterday saying McGinn would be just what Yanited need.

If I seen that, I'm sure some of the spotty Herberts who knock out online articles ripped from TV and podcasts did too. More fool their editors who decided to fill up space in the papers with it.

[Demitri_C]

Remember not saying i want or that it will happen, but if we sold mcginn for lets say 70m thats a profit of 65m add that to the grealish 100m we are secure for ffp for many many years

[Fred Crump]

Mid-table at best? Why?

I probably should have said mid to upper mid, Ads. My point is that the system is self limiting. If we get a good enough collection of players to threaten to ‘break through’ into the very top group of clubs one of them will inevitably come knocking as they did with Grealish , and for all the talk of replacing top players with players of similar quality, we and other clubs hardly ever do e.g. Barry, Young mk1, Milner, Benteke, etc. Although they have bought or developed good players, I would argue that Leicester also haven’t replaced the likes of Kante, Maguire, Mahrez and Chilwell with the same level of quality.
Obviously we all (me included) like to dream that we may be the exception that proves the rule, but the harsh reality is that ‘it is what it is’ and we probably are what we are. Still a great club, but not one of the plastic Sky three or however many it is.
Sorry to be such a killjoy or Buzz Killington for any Family Guy aficionados out there 

[not3bad]

Remember not saying i want or that it will happen, but if we sold mcginn for lets say 70m thats a profit of 65m add that to the grealish 100m we are secure for ffp for many many years

He'll be worth more than 70 mill come the Summer hopefully.

[not3bad]

Mid-table at best? Why?

I probably should have said mid to upper mid, Ads. My point is that the system is self limiting. If we get a good enough collection of players to threaten to ‘break through’ into the very top group of clubs one of them will inevitably come knocking as they did with Grealish , and for all the talk of replacing top players with players of similar quality, we and other clubs hardly ever do e.g. Barry, Young mk1, Milner, Benteke, etc. Although they have bought or developed good players, I would argue that Leicester also haven’t replaced the likes of Kante, Maguire, Mahrez and Chilwell with the same level of quality.
Obviously we all (me included) like to dream that we may be the exception that proves the rule, but the harsh reality is that ‘it is what it is’ and we probably are what we are. Still a great club, but not one of the plastic Sky three or however many it is.
Sorry to be such a killjoy or Buzz Killington for any Family Guy aficionados out there 

However we do have ambitions to break that mold and I'm sure that's the vision the owners have sold Gerrard. Also remember, that "Sky Plastic 3" are by no means set in stone. Just ask Arsenal.