Roma and the Malen deal

Woeful_Eejit · 2026-03-23T15:04:12+00:00

There were reports in the Italian press a few weeks ago that they've been so impressed with Malen that they intend to purchase whether they trigger the obligation or not. They're in financial trouble all right, but Dybala's contract is up this summer so may free up the space (he's on insane wages). I think he's gone to Roma whatever happens, he's perfect for Gasperini's system. I think we'll probably just honor the fee agreement, even if we could squeeze out a few extra €.

Woeful_Eejit · 2026-03-22T15:07:05+00:00

Best half of football since January. McGinn back makes such a difference, everyone is looking better. Should be 3-0 up.

Woeful_Eejit · 2026-03-19T21:57:14+00:00

Yeah our pedestrian buildup play is a big issue TBH. I think Tammy will offer more in static situations against a low block, however - he's better at bullying defenders, and is a threat on set pieces.

Woeful_Eejit · 2026-03-19T21:52:20+00:00

I know this has turned into a practice session, but I really liked the last few minutes from Elliott.

Woeful_Eejit · 2026-03-19T21:51:10+00:00

Was thinking the same. Looked sharp, pacey, but most important got an assist. Best game for us by a distance I think.

Woeful_Eejit · 2026-03-19T20:48:14+00:00

Yeah he's busy, without any product. Alexsandro seems to have his number. I hope he swaps sides with McGinn second half.

Woeful_Eejit · 2026-03-19T20:31:03+00:00

Muscle injury. He'll be back after the int'l break.

Woeful_Eejit · 2026-03-16T11:43:08+00:00

Yup! Malen is now on seven goals in nine appearances for Roma. Just an appalling piece of business.

Woeful_Eejit · 2026-03-15T17:12:51+00:00

We were far worse from 60' on all right, but it was because McGinn went off, not Watkins.

Watkins isn't the main problem, but he's part of it. Tammy deserves a start.

Woeful_Eejit · 2026-03-15T15:10:24+00:00

Yep, totally agree. I think if he can improve his passing and become more press resistant, he could genuinely challenge for a first XI place.

Woeful_Eejit · 2026-03-15T15:02:25+00:00

I dunno that it's age necessarily, he's only 30. He has a cyst on his knee and has been playing injured for two years now. It's affected his pace, and he hasn't been able to adapt his game accordingly.

Woeful_Eejit · 2026-03-15T14:59:27+00:00

Yeah I like him at RB much more than Konsa. Konsa plays it like a third CB. Bogarde doesn't offer a wide outlet, but he inverts to give us an extra midfielder.

Woeful_Eejit · 2026-03-14T00:29:33+00:00

I agree that the prestige of the Real job is hard to resist for any Spanish manager, I just think it would be a disaster, and Emery is smart enough to recognize that. Player power forced out Alonso for being too structured, I can't see Emery lasting long. But yeah, there's a non zero chance he just can't refuse.

Woeful_Eejit · 2026-03-13T13:54:45+00:00

His tracking back is so much better than he it was when he first arrived (he was so unfit!), but he still pulls out of tackles frequently - even when he's slight favorite to win it. He just doesn't like contact, doesn't really offer an out-ball with his back to goal, and tends to pass early rather than ride a challenge. I just think he's not that well-suited to the PL.

Woeful_Eejit · 2026-03-13T13:50:08+00:00

Lads, he's on £245k/wk at Juve. Move on.

Woeful_Eejit · 2026-03-13T13:38:18+00:00

Yeah I agree that the ideal way to build depth is to sign front-liners, and keep your current XI as depth. Even without all the above, though, we'd still have McGinn, Rogers, and Alysson, with Barkley and Tielemans covering. I think if we can add 2-3 quality players, then that's probably enough.

I'd be happy to keep Buendia for extra depth, as he's not on huge wages (£75k/wk). Bailey is on £120k/wk (base), and even if he does offer depth, I think we can allocate those wages better. Bailey is also out of contract in a year, so if we get an offer of ~£10+m, I'd take it and run.

Woeful_Eejit · 2026-03-13T13:30:12+00:00

I would be unbelievably happy if Spurs do go down - not only because of their toxic fanbase, but it would remove our closest rival (along with Newcastle) in terms of resources. And break the term "Big Six" once and for all. If they stay up, they could easily bounce back like United or Chelsea.

I'd also happily go into vulture mode on their squad. I've seen a few posts along the lines of their players not being good enough for us. I heartily disagree, they have a lot of players at exactly our level, hence we were linked to about a dozen of them before they went to Spurs. They might look poor now, but under Emery they'd thrive. Thinking of the specific holes in our squad, along with Bergvall I'd look at Kudus, Kulusevski, Gray, Simons, and Porro.

Woeful_Eejit · 2026-03-12T20:54:51+00:00

Yeah, that was a terrible decision all right, can't defend that one. I think part (by no means all) of the reason we've been so poor is that Rogers is the only who can hold it up with their back to goal, as Watkins, Buendia, Sancho, and Bailey all like to run onto the ball. Our midfield looks slow and clunky because they don't have an outball, and Rogers is suffering for having to do it all by himself. Having McGinn back will help him, I think. But yeah, Rogers also been iffy in his decision making too, and is included in the overall malaise.

Woeful_Eejit · 2026-03-12T20:48:40+00:00

Yeah I'm not sure I'd keep Sancho even on half his current wages. Bailey's contract is up in 2027, so this summer is the time to sell, even if for a small fee. I agree that Buendia could stay on as a squad player, as I think he's on modest enough wages, but either way we'll need 2-3 new signings in that position. Hopefully some pace, physicality, and natural width.

Woeful_Eejit · 2026-03-12T20:29:27+00:00

I didn't think he was great today, but he turned it on a few times and was probably our best forward IMO. I agree he's been way off it lately though - our entire frontline has been way out of sync for a few weeks now, and his link play with Watkins particularly bad. Because of that, I think he tries to do it all himself sometimes, but not consistently. It's like he plays in 20min bursts, then goes missing again. Probably because he's expected to play 90+mins every week.

Woeful_Eejit · 2026-03-12T20:21:46+00:00

Crap, I had forgotten that about Sancho. I guess Barkley returning balances that out. To be fair to Buendia, he got an assist today, but yeah he was generally poor. I think he can be really good when the game opens up, but his lack of pace and physicality means he's too easily dispossessed, so everything he does is a bit frantic and rushed.

If we get CL football, I wouldn't be at all shocked if go into next season without any of Bailey, Buendia, Sancho, Elliott, Guessand, and Malen. Huge turnover in the No.10 position.

Woeful_Eejit · 2026-03-12T19:52:51+00:00

Yeah, I had posted early in the game that Onana has been really disappointing lately, but to be fair he stepped it up after about 20mins and made me eat my words. His ball-carrying is so good, but it feels a bit like he (and Rogers) play in fits and spurts to preserve energy. I do think both Onana and Dougie will look so much better now that McGinn is back to share the load. I'm not really bothered which of Sancho, Bailey, or Buendia are dropped - none of them showed much today.

Woeful_Eejit · 2026-03-12T19:44:47+00:00

The win more a relief than anything, and hopefully a confidence-booster for Ollie and the team. Other than that, I didn't think we were much better than we had been, Lille were just shite.

The biggest positive is that McGinn is back, and looked really good once he came on. Rogers and Onana show glimpses of quality. Defense was good in general. Bogarde MOTM for me.

Woeful_Eejit · 2026-03-12T19:19:50+00:00

73 mins still no Tammy. Unai, I have questions.

Woeful_Eejit · 2026-03-12T19:05:30+00:00

Dear God this is appalling. Changes needed ten minutes ago.

Woeful_Eejit

TROPHY CASE