Tommy

I’ll be very surprised if I go on YouTube for exactly this reason!

Has the fanbase of predominantly aging, cynical Yorkshiremen reflected on the ultimate meaningless of football & indeed, life itself? I'm going to guess the answer is 'aye'.

I mean fundamentally if your question is what is the point of it all, I have some bad news on that front.

Given everything we know about our situation - specifically the scale of the task at hand & our PSR restrictions, an outside chance is all we have. Still have to give it a go, even if we've got both arms & one leg tied behind our backs.

By definition, building the strongest possible side for the PL also sets you up for a return as soon as possible should you be relegated. You get the best players you can in the hope that some of them stay & others can be sold at a profit. I think some of our new signings should generate funds.

I assume the owners know all this as well as you & I but they can’t just give the season a miss unfortunately. Thus, within the PSR limitations & the PL being a bit of a closed shop now I think they’re doing everything they can within the rules? Only question is should they obey said rules? #lufc

Out of curiosity what more do you think can be done in the current circumstances? Do you think think we should take the risk with PSR and/or replace Farke? Those are the major two decisions made by the club this summer. I can see both sides on both.

It is indeed but I’m hoping that fans are a bit more understanding on the grounds that this is arguably the most ‘us against them’ season in the club’s history. It’s not just us against other teams, it’s seeking to redress a significant & growing inequality being reinforced by established PL clubs.

Yes, lots of clubs are in for the same players we are because we’ll be using a lot of the same data & similar if not identical analysis. However, as we’ve seen there are invariably other names on the list, we’re just financially quite restricted even beyond the current position of the club. #lufc

Yes that’s true it’s a classic frying pan/fire situation for sure. The same entities will inevitably be able to use their influence to game the system.

Well yes, the odds are we will be relegated again but that’s largely due to the ever widening gulf within the PL. On the whole it does seem like they were able to bring in the targets they wanted (think it’s 8 signings so far?) but missed out on one who was a bit of an outlier. It happens. #lufc

Aye that’ll be it. That’ll also be why they’re all against an independent body too. Plus why the PL is now a plaything of soft power & sportswashing for competing regimes. Nowt to see here etc!

When the supposed top six clubs threatened to leave to join the ESL, one of their demands was no relegation & it’s hard not to look at Scum & Spurs last season & think that ultimately they’ve managed to instil this into the PL. The existing clubs won’t vote against their own best interest. #lufc

Aldi is genuinely my supermarket of choice, by the way. I don’t like Lidl quite as much but I don’t look down on it either. You can take the Yorkshireman out of Yorkshire etc.

I do actually think they will find some more good players, they’ve got some smart people at the club, particularly in recruitment. It still might not be enough but I can at least see that they’re trying to give us the best shot within our limitations. #lufc

Fundamentally I have to respect the level of transparency shown by the owners in that what they want is for Leeds Utd to be a stable PL club so they can develop the ground & sell us at an enormous profit. Given that’s their main stated purpose, they will still be looking to make that happen. #lufc

As you can see from the signings thus far, it doesn’t totally preclude us from enticing very good footballers, it just means we’re going to have to be patient going into the last weeks of the transfer window. This is one of those rare occasions where the fans & owners all want the same thing. #lufc

Thus whenever you see any given player going to another club - even those we might consider peers - it’s important to be mindful that realistically we’re not shopping in the same stores. We’ve graduated from Asda to Aldi but we’re now in a league where almost everyone else has a Waitrose card. #lufc

As discussed at tedious length, we’ve only really got a handful of players worth selling & it’s arguably better to keep them. The ones we are indifferent about will almost certainly be going out on loan due to their contextually extortionate wages. The oft referenced sins of the past, again. #lufc

With that in mind, I think this essentially means we can dispense with the whole ‘just want to see some ambition’ stance this summer. Everyone basically knows how much we have to spend to stay within the PSR limits & in the grand scheme of the PL it’s sweet fuck all, pending a few sales. #lufc

Forest are an interesting case study but we also have to observe what happens to Leicester this coming season to see one other future. Other clubs got away with it completely, I strongly suspect Leeds would not. With that in mind, I have to respect the decision of the club not to tempt fate. #lufc

I think ultimately the club have made the right decision to obey the rules despite the real possibility that it will cost us dearly. You don’t have to have a conspiratorial mindset to know that if you’re Leeds Utd, it’s best not to give footballing authorises anything approaching an excuse. #lufc

This summer the two big decisions made by the club were to keep Farke - something I broadly support despite recognising the valid arguments against it - & arguably the bigger one: whether to stay within PSR limitations or just say fuck it, football is broken & we’ll take the points deduction. #lufc

Last summer for example, I’ll be totally transparent here - I didn’t want anything to do with Red Bull & I’ll never accept them in any capacity. Likewise, I didn’t really like having Manor Solomon at the club. Both of these things ultimately worked out for us, though it might have done anyhow. #lufc

Tricky line to walk knowing that footballs fans should always scrutinise the owners because fundamentally they’re merely the temporary custodians of the club & also wanting criticism of said owners to make sense - particularly when you mainly only post in places with a strict character limit. #lufc

After much thought, I've decided that England should now bat out a draw.

What about Raphinha, would you have him back if Barcelona paid his wages?

Jokes aside, Mitrovic wasn’t as prolific in the PL I seem to recall? More of a Piroe sort (watch Sleepy Joel hit another ten now).

Yeah maybe they’ll cover his £22m wages to come & play for us because reasons.

I suspect wages would be a sticking point.

Nah there’s too much batting to come even without Woakes.