The Rolling Football Thread: Season 2025/26

[DuncinToffee]

"Football is a game of mistakes. Whoever makes the fewest mistakes wins."

The red flag for Isak for me isn’t his attitude over this or the fact he might move on it is his injury proneness and current lack of fitness and I suspect it is that which could scupper the deal because it brings his value down to the £125-£135 million Liverpool are rumoured to be bidding.

The fact he might move on in a couple of years to Madrid or Barcelona (and it would just be those two through his choice) won’t worry Liverpool - Liverpool have a very good track record at getting the money that they want. for them barring the above injury side Isak is an asset he is either an asset who wants to play or if he wants to leave to sell and make a profit (which if Madrid or Barcelona want him would be the case).

That is football it is literally how it works the players move on.

I was looking at the Champions Lwague draw yesterday and Liverpool are playing Frankfurt and the tweets about Hugo Ekitike going back were lovely. The goodbye Crystal Palace gave to Eze was even as a Spurs fan heartwarming

it shouldn’t be this toxic mess (unless you leave on a free to join close rivals that is an exception)

I forgot to post this but yes @JasonTindallsTan his injuries are an issue

I don’t think you can just blame him. This isn’t just one man - Newcastle have suffered this transfer window from not having a director or whatever you want to call the middleman between PIF and Eddie Howe the one who could have dealt with this whole thing a lot better and with wherever Isak felt him was promised

Yeah I think the club have been too slow to sort out the off the pitch stuff at a higher level. But I still think the choice to go nuclear was Isak’s and I do think a lot less of him as a person as a result.

I think Isak should have sacked his agent ages ago. Whoever is advising him is obviously rubbish. Probably a bit like Anelka's brother who was only after getting his own cut as often as he could.

I suspect that might be because there was no one in the role of dealing with it. I don’t blame Eddie Howe contracts etc are not his purview and it is clear the owners don’t want to be involved like Steve Parish so there is a vacuum

I wonder if Arsenal could hijack Isak. We're still only one injury away from Merino playing striker again...

Surely they don’t have the money @TheNewGaard considering the Hincapie deal needs players to be sold to finance it - they have overall spend the most (given the lack of sales)

plus buying yet another injury prone striker wouldn’t solve the issue!

They seem to be finding the money at the moment! Maybe we should sell our women's team to ourselves, or whatever dodgy deals other clubs have done...

Speaking of Chelsea anyone else watch the draw last night and think the only reason Chelsea’s feat of winning the 3 main competitions won’t be repeated is because none of the other teams who could repeat it will ever want to have a season bad enough to be in the Conference League!

I am almost 100% certain that if Real Madrid/Barcelona/Liverpool/Bayern Munich were in it they would win it

Sadly, it looks like we're selling Jakub Kiwior. I can understand that he wants to play every week, he's certainly proved himself good enough, but I'll be sad to see him go.

I think Manchester United fans would be happy if next season they won the Conference League. Most other football fans would prefer it to be the EFL Trophy in 2028.

Actually you are right they could be a team to manage to equal it!

they aren’t going down though there are at least 5 teams worst. My prediction was 14th this season and I don’t think it will be worse than that!

Mourinho to West Ham maybe.......

I cannot see the owners and him being able to work together.

£130m for Isak has been reported, surely this would cheer up the Newcastle fans?

Or the fans it doesn’t seem to be a match for me

and how was that goal ruled out! For me that is taking it too far

VAR is ridiculous this match

yes agreed (even if it does aid me FPL) Fulham have a right to be aggrieved (and I know lots of Fulham fans)

In a beer garden on our way to Gayfield. Feels like it’s been ages as the last two matches were away ones.

I want him out of the club but we’ve been saying the price is £150 million and to accept 20 million less than that (without us signing a second striker) would be setting a precedent that we’ll eventually just roll over if a player strops hard enough or another club unsettles them enough. Whilst there may be some compromising I don’t see it being 130 with us only having Woltemade and Osula.

I’ve heard Liverpool haven’t yet come back to the table and I have to be honest, I’d laugh my arse off if after all this, Liverpool decide they don’t even need him (they probably don’t, their defence is like a leaky sieve and needs sorting more as a priority I would argue).

If fans could make the decision, VAR would be abolished.

Isn't Newcastle after Strand Larssen and that's why he isn't playing today?

Isak isn't worth £130m imo, think you would get a great deal.

Transfer window is closing very soon

We put a bid in for SL which was denied, as I understand it the party line is SL is injured today. Thigh strain? We remain interested but Wolves have said not for sale which is fair enough.

I would probably tend to agree that all things considered (even in the ridiculous world of football) that Isak isn’t worth 150 million. But that is what Newcastle have valued him at and they don’t particularly want to sell, to do so we’d have to be getting top dollar and have the succession plan in place.

Negotiation is usual though 130 plus add ons is what you would expect to have happen IF it happens I mean Nicholas Jackson landed at Munich

and I predicted a injury winner for Man Utd it the same as Ten Hag just enough done last minute to paper over cracks without ever fixing the foundations - it’s like Brentford 2023 all over again

I guess we just have to wait and see, if we get another striker in I will happily wave Isak off and wish him nothing but bad luck in the future 👍🏻