Emi Martinez

[Sexual Ealing]

Isn't this the usual consequence of a catastrophic loss? We mull over who of the best players should be sold first?

For what it's worth I'd keep Pau and Emi and replace Watkins with a younger more technically gifted finisher (like Duran) - runs for cover

Same.

[Beard82]

Also - GK just dont sell for big money - his wages may be big but I think hes worth it.

I woudl say in my time of watching it (basically from the very start of the PL) only him and God you could actually say could walk into pretty much any team in the world

[Beard82]

Isn't this the usual consequence of a catastrophic loss? We mull over who of the best players should be sold first?

For what it's worth I'd keep Pau and Emi and replace Watkins with a younger more technically gifted finisher (like Duran) - runs for cover

Same.

I agree - I woudl love to keep Watkins too - but I get the feeling that the writings on the wall

[pauliewalnuts]

Also - GK just dont sell for big money - his wages may be big but I think hes worth it.

I woudl say in my time of watching it (basically from the very start of the PL) only him and God you could actually say could walk into pretty much any team in the world

By the sound of it the problem we are facing is the wages to turnover ratio.

I suspect outgoings this summer will be not just about transfer fees for the three year rolling losses thing, but the wage bill.

[Mellin]

It's the Champions League quarter-finals. Villa are 3-2 up on the night and 5-4 down on aggregate. Your starting centre forward Marcus Rashford is tiring, but you still need a couple of goals to progress. You turn to the bench and see both Ollie Watkins and John Duran. Decision time. Who do you bring on?

[Ducksworthy]

Surely you’d be looking to Libor Kozak?

[pauliewalnuts]

Surely you’d be looking to Libor Kozak?

Am assuming Bowery is injured?

[Beard82]

Surely you’d be looking to Libor Kozak?

Am assuming Bowery is injured?

And McCormack's gates still broken

[Drummond]

What? Samatta. You, hey, why look so sad?

[RamboandBruno]

Rudy Gestede surely

[Rory]

I don't know, and I'm not in this kind of business, but I wonder what kind of revenue/EAV publicity Emi attracts to offset his supposed bumper wages.

How many global supporters do we have that became fans because of Emi; how many additional goalkeeper shirts do we sell? How much more often is our name mentioned on South American or Asian sports news and discussion shows than if we didn't have the WC-winning goalkeeper in our team?

[Rory]

For what it's worth I'd keep Pau and Emi and replace Watkins with a younger more technically gifted finisher (like Duran) - runs for cover

Except keeping Duran seems never to have been an option. He wanted out. That's why he left a CL club in the highest-profile league in the world to join a retirement community in the middle of a desert.

Duran was never going to contribute to our club the way Ollie has. He had no intention of even giving it a go, and the manager knew it. Fuck Duran.

[Beard82]

Thats a fair point.

Also - in reason number 5 millon to hate modern football.  Surely if a successful, well run club with 0 debt, and growing revenues has to sell one of the best players in the world into sports washing just to met some requriements set in place to keep the status quo within the PL - that is the definition of killing the goose that layed the golden egg

And thats before considering that other sport washing regiemes have managed to totally avoid punishment for over 5 years for breaches without being cleared of wrong doing. 

edit: this was orginally meant about Emi, but also applies to Duran

[Rory]

Thats a fair point.

Also - in reason number 5 millon to hate modern football.  Surely if a successful, well run club with 0 debt, and growing revenues has to sell one of the best players in the world into sports washing just to met some requriements set in place to keep the status quo within the PL - that is the definition of killing the goose that layed the golden egg

And thats before considering that other sport washing regiemes have managed to totally avoid punishment for over 5 years for breaches without being cleared of wrong doing. 

edit: this was orginally meant about Emi, but also applies to Duran

Fully agreed. All of the joy is systematically being removed from the game.

[tomd2103]

Rudy Gestede surely

Could be available seeing as he's not wanted at Blackburn games anymore.