The Rolling Football Thread: Season 2025/26

[DuncinToffee]

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

i don't think the window should be allowed to close after the start of a season either. It just means that any player that other clubs are sniffing around can't be played in case of injury etc. Or the negotiations necessitate keeping them out of your side for a cup competition so they're not cup tied etc etc.

The window should be once a year, opens for each country on the day after the season finishes, and closes the day before that country's season starts again.

I imagine squad rotation there are enough games particularly if you want a good cup run and they had both Nunez and Jota. For the most part I think Liverpool have let go a player for who they have signed (or lost)
Kerkez/Tzimkas Frimping/TAA Nunez and Jota/Isak and Ekitike Leon/Quansah and Wirtz Diaz and Doak (unless you also count Wright) and the GK is fairly even (not spelling that out!) so I think the feeling is enough games.

I would be furious at the Newcastle board tbh they have caved at the price that frankly they should have done 3-4 weeks ago if they were going to sell him or at least last week. Now they have under 12 hours to get Wissa and they could have had a premier league ready player for the matches who could given the two 0-0 made a difference.

they called two sides bluff and neither budged.

Antony to Real Betis seems to be on a well.

Marc Guehi is an interesting one - I think both him and Liverpool are happy to wait until January or next season particularly if Konate goes and the fact Joe Gomez to Milan rests. That one is an internal battle I think between Glasner who wants him for the Europe
season and Parish who wants to make a profit. And it hasn’t affected his form he has been incredible this season so far!

@JasonTindallsTan the hatred dies down you only get triggered when for example someone claims they deserve royal recognition (to be fair I think he wasn’t saying knighthood) and then it comes back a bit!

You've got to love the Murdoch media and their pundits trying to push a narrative!

Saliba off injured within 5 minutes. Liverpool's first touch in the Arsenal box - 49th minute.

But, apparently, "only one team came to play"...

Wissa in, let’s hope he doesn’t decide he’s too big for the club in a year as he has form for being a spoilt brat as well now. He better bag 20 goals this season for that price, we’ve been done.

I do still wonder if we have one more player left in us today though. Interesting links from Villa re Will Osula, I’d take Watkins coming the other way with say a 20-30 million fee. Midfield is where we really need to strengthen though.

I have to say I kind of admire it most of us would have blinked but both held firm and both got the moves that they wanted!

@TheNewGaard i think the game yesterday was both of them been cagey given the fact that everyone else at that point has lost points and 7 would put them both even with Chelsea and neither wanted to lose. And were it not for a brilliant free kick then it would have been that and both sides would have been relatively happy. I think playing that way was the choice really given both teams starts.

Arsenal do have a habit though of massively scoring in one game and then not the next

That said having just been made to guess FotMob ratings for both teams they were not kind to Arsenal

Ten Hag has been sacked by Leverkussen

Newcastle £55m agreement for Wissa is being reported

Glasner could be a good fit for Leverkusen if he gets irritated!

and Sancho for Villa why they didn’t try for Grealish (who has been good so far for Everton) I don’t know

that is 3 ex Man Utd Managers out of a job now in a weekend!

you need a strong stomach for Leverkusen though. They have had a sniff at success, after 50 years of being called, basically, the factory team and not taken seriously by many (so not a Traditional Club along the lines of Dortmund, Bayern, Gladbach etc)

The Special One would be an interesting coach for them...

Do you know anything about Freiburg's Merlin Rohl @Brefugee ?

no but i know that Mr Bref will. I'll ask him later and report back.

@JasonTindallsTan you've been annoyed about Isak for about 2 months. Just be thankful you weren't stupid enough to ever buy Jason Sancho 😂 We've had to deal with this pricks attitude for 4 fucking years!

I think Sancho is worse as it’s his wages that have caused so many issues

Contracts should work both ways though, there’s an argument to say why should he go elsewhere for less money when Man U agreed to pay him X amount for X years. A club shouldn’t be able to force a player out against their will any more than a player should be able to force a club to sell them against their will.

If we sell Will Osula for 30 million that is quite frankly a sensational bit of business.

sorry, he's heard of him. That's about it.

No worries, this morning was the first time I heard of him. Looks like a loan signing for us.

Sancho seems to be off to Villa

Unfortunately only on loan with us paying half of his wages or whatever.
He refused a permanent deal.
Wanker.

Yep it is his wages he refuses to have a wage cut even though he is t worth the amount and other teams won’t pay. There is no clean break here at all he is unwilling to let go which is odd

I'm obviously sorry to see the Guehi deal has collapsed at the very last minute. I can't blame Palace but they are lucky that Guehi will no doubt go back to representing them wonderfully till the next transfer window. Lots of comments being made about how it's not a great look that Isak and Wissa have both behaved badly and forced through the moves they want, while Guehi has behaved so well throughout and is rewarded for it by having the move he wanted being pulled by his club at the last second (after passing his medical, agreeing personal terms, the lot).

Poor Guehi. The guy is a model professional, conducts himself like an absolute gentleman and has his loyalty rewarded by being shafted on his dream move to a Champions League club at the very last minute by Palace. Meanwhile, Isak & Wissa’s appallingly entitled behaviour gets rewarded.

If you were an ambitious, talented young player at a ‘smaller’ club, what lesson would you learn from this?

Looks like we've got Hincapie, and lost Kiwior. I hope that means that Saliba's injury isn't serious.

It will be interesting to see how he reacts to Glasner who clearly is the one who blocked it - I suspect January could be interesting
Lookman is another interesting example wanted a move but wasn’t allowed to go to Inter and all other prospects never materialised due to clubs getting other targets. Fans hate him, hasn’t trained and may well go to Turkey at least in the short term. From a shortlisted Ballon D’Or to this

But yes I think a lesson may well have been learnt for younger players having seen Isak and Wissa - I still think the Newcastle board need to take a look at how they handled this as it should have been done 2-3 weeks ago if they were going to capitulate at these prices becuase it sets a precedent

I have lost track: did Isak go in the end? And Wissa?

Yes, they said that he twisted his ankle during warm up and so they were prepared to sub him if he couldn't continue.

He is not going on international duty.