Isak reaches 'point of no return' as Liverpool 'have played a blinder'

Newcastle lose ‘no matter what’ in this transfer scrap with Liverpool as Alexander Isak has reached ‘the point of no return’ at St James’ Park.

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Liverpool are bossing it properly

If you still think Newcastle have the power here, you have eaten some bad cheese dip.

Liverpool have gazumped Newcastle no matter what.

Liverpool have long sought Isak – their interest is long established.

This summer they approached Newcastle informally but through official channels from a position of power, knowing the player had some interest, and informed them they were willing to pay a British transfer record fee to get their man.

As an ultimatum they said if you don’t that’s fine, but we’re going to approach the player we known you’re targeting, who we’ve also been interested in, and bid for him, knowing he’ll sign for us. Power move.

Newcastle, as is their right said no, we’re not selling our star asset.

Liverpool heard the message, left the table, stuck to their plan and a week later, Ekitike was a Liverpool player.

Head turned, Isak thought on his situation, noted Newcastle’s lacklustre (being kind) transfer window, questioned some broken promises and agitated for a move. Newcastle’s panic, despite their firm affirmations he was not for sale, was clear. Why hadn’t they offered him an improved contract?

Liverpool, having already shown their willingness to declare their intentions and act accordingly, made an official bid for Isak.

Of course it was less than their previous bid. Why would they bid more given what transpired? They didn’t massively undercut their previously touted figure either. It was close enough. Fair.

Again, Newcastle, as is their right said no, we’re not selling our star asset.

So now Liverpool have a target they’d wanted anyway and have walked away from Newcastle, not willing to pay over the odds, when they believe they’d already made a fair offer, as is their right. Which leaves Newcastle painted into a corner of their own making.

No one is going to sweep in and pay more than Liverpool have already offered – he’s already told the Saudis no. Isak, their biggest star is completely unsettled, very clear with his desires, has upset the fanbase to the point of no return, and it’s hard to see how he can reintegrate into a squad he’s avoided doing pre-season with.

It all points to Liverpool getting their man in the end. It’s happened to them a few times with Torres, Suarez and Coutinho…but this time is different. They are the ones knocking. And they’ve played a blinder.

IJR (Saving a cheese dip for the inevitable)

As a neutral I think SC, Belfast hit the nail on the head, so credit to them for their take on the Isak situation in the last mailbox.

However, the invocation of horny scousers was, by some distance, the worst thing about this transfer window so far.

Please don’t make me throw up again.

Thanks in advance

Evil Weavil III

Newcastle should be playing boss-level Football Manager

If you would indulge me briefly, back in the early 2000s I had one of my all-time favourite Football Manager saves. I started with Xerez in LaLiga 2, gaining promotion after a few years and eventually winning back-to-back La Liga titles, and on course for a third, until a struggling Man Utd – my team – came calling mid-season.

They were 17th in the league and reliant on an ageing Wayne Rooney and Antonio Cassano. I kept them up, gutted my Xerez team in the summer, who unfortunately didn’t secure the third title, went on to win the next12 Premier League titles back-to-back, before taking the England job, underwhelmingly never getting past a semi-final, and finally restoring my reputation by taking over a mid-table in the Championship Leicester City and taking them to Champions’ League glory within a few seasons.

Now, this may sound like the beginning of a Ruben Amorim mail, but it isn’t. After a few titles and Champions’ League wins I decided to challenge myself a bit further with United and only bought first-team players where absolutely necessary. Instead, I spent money ensuring the youth and training facilities were the best the game allowed, invested in the best trainers with a focus on youth development, and every summer scoured the database for the best 14-16 year-olds and snapping them up for a fraction of what they would eventually be worth. Using this system I developed the first Brazilian player to surpass Pele’s goalscoring record – pre-Neymar back then – sold him for a huge profit and replaced him with the player who would eventually surpass him as Brazil’s all-time top scorer, who played alongside Italy’s all-time top scorer and France’s all-time top scorer.

The point is, I ran a massive profit every year, dominated the league, and did so almost entirely through youth investment.

If you’re still reading, thank you for the indulgence. The point – long-winded as it was to arrive here – is, you know what doesn’t count towards PSR in the modern actual world of football in 2025? Youth team training and development, investment in training facilities, and, crucially, youth team transfers.

For all the many evils inflicted on the modern game by Sheikh Mansour and the City Football Group, the one thing I have always eyed with extreme jealously as a United fan was the massive investment they made into the Etihad Campus. You know what Newcastle still have almost four years after their takeover that led them to become the richest club on the planet? The same training facility. In late June 2025(!) the club announced a ‘soft timescale’ for a new facility that won’t be complete until 2028, at the earliest.

From day one, if PIF were even half serious about making Newcastle a viable player in the Premier League and Europe they would’ve been laser focused on developing training facilities and heavily investing in youth acquisitions that could circumnavigate PSR rules. Alejandro Garnacho was bought by United at 16 and, if they can convince someone to buy him, will constitute tens of millions of pure profit from a PSR perspective. He’s not a local lad made good. Newcastle, or more accurately PIF, are able to do that as many times as they wish without ever falling foul of the PSR rules.

The initial focus for PIF should have been to build La Masia on the Tyne by the end of 2023. Barcelona just won a La Liga title and reached the Champions’ League semi-final with all of the following players elevated to the first team since PIF’s takeover: Lamine Yamal, Pedri, Gavi, Pau Cubarsí, Alejandro Balde, Fermín López, and Marc Casadó.

They should have also been building a global network of academies attached to small teams they’ve bought in Rio, Buenos Aires, and other places, sucking in local talent and offloading the good ones for suspiciously low prices. They should have been buying mediocre junior players from large media markets – Dong Fangzhou anyone? – and touting them as the ‘next big thing’. Are you telling me there isn’t a semi-talented Indian youth, or maybe someone from Indonesia or Malaysia, they could’ve have signed as someone with ‘huge promise’?

These are all the basic building blocks United and others used over the years to build their commercial base to what it is now. This is what PIF should’ve been doing for the past four years. Ironically, Newcastle are one of the few teams in the Premier League with the heritage, badge, aesthetics and story that could actually translate into massive commercial appeal. Great history, iconic image appeal, great simple aesthetic (TOON, TOON, black and white army!) and, frankly, a pretty cool badge. It’s not a hard sell to eager young fans around the world looking for a team to support.

Yes, it kind of sucks for you that you can’t cheat-code your way to massive success like Chelsea and City did. But to read these endless emails from Newcastle fans lamenting how PSR is singularly holding them back and is all part of some grand cartel conspiracy is tiresome, boring, and fundamentally misses the point. Yes, you suffer disproportionately from the PSR rules, but you also have a profoundly poorly run club that contributes just as much to the situation. After four years of ownership, what youth products have made a major impact on the first team? I can’t think of one single one. In the same period, United have had Garnacho, Mainoo and Collyer (sort of) come through to the first team. But also sold Elanga, Álvaro Carreras, and Axel Tuanzebe. Stretch it a bit and you can include your Angel Gomeses in there too.

If you want to see a club genuinely screwed over by PSR, look no further than Villa. But, honestly, if you’re going to spend >90% of your club revenue on player wages then frankly you get everything you deserve. I get Newcastle fans want instant gratification through mass purchases, but I assure you the titles are so much sweeter when half the team comes from the academy. Instead of lamenting why the best of the best don’t want to join your club, maybe turn that reflection inward and ask why it is your club isn’t producing the very best of the best.

Noj (just a bit tired of all the whiny NUFC mails) MUFC

Right of reply

There I was, minding my own business, reading the mailbox on a quiet Sunday morning. Good job I was seated, because I had to read, re-read, and re-read again. Yes, yes I did see James “Wool” Outram suggest that I was unhinged.

James: I didn’t read Chris’ mail suggesting burning Anfield down, but I would like to place on record that I’m appalled at this. Nothing wrong with the stadium, most of the players seem like nice lads, and the manager still hasn’t quite fallen victim to the main issue you have as a club, you and your fellow kopites (mostly). There’s a reason you all think you are balanced and fair while the rest of football guffaws at the utter ridiculousness of the vast majority of your fanbase.

Anyway, you should be a Tranmere fan, no?

RHT/TS x

I blamed the wrong person

Recently I pooed on the p*ss poor United team and awful management which I blamed whole heartedly because I forgot about a red nosed scot who needs to answer for his crimes.

United became a power house under sir Alex ferguson and brought them to the near pincale of football excellence, undoubtedly the best manager in Premiership history. Now that’s out of the way let’s discuss how he f**ked up United.

When the take over was happening one of the most influential voices would of been ferguson, he had a huge amount of opportunities to say no to the glazer family. Ferguson was United for a very long period of time and for a team he says he loves he has done the most damage by not standing up for it.

I understand usually a manager does not have the power to influence such a big decision but this was ferguson, he literally could of taken a sh*t on the centre circle and United fans would of said it was a masterclass in mind games like Liverpool fans would say about klopp.

Back to the point, he boasted about these horrible b*stards that own your club, he was happy to suck on the tit of the glazers and also happy to sell his legacy as well as the rest of the clubs so he could taste that sweet sweet glazer nip.

Ferguson should be held to account, his star has now burned out, he has stuck up for these pathetic owners for far too long, he should be booed for being so complicit in the down fall of a club he brought back to life.

I said relegation will be the only thing that saves United, I still think that’s true, until you clear this toxic atmosphere that starts at the top you will never be a proper challenge again.

Rich Jennings, Hull (that United team is still sh*t with Brentfords best players)

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Observations from a non-Prem weekend of watching

Hi Mailbox, hope all is well!

Excited for the prem to begin of course.

I have a teenage boy and we watched some non prem footy this weekend, the Bradford City league one match and both the Rangers and Celtic matches in the Scottish prem. It was fantastic watching! The fast pace in all three, lots of great tackles, no slow playing out the back (or minimal in the case of Celtic), no overall slow possession like I see every weekend in the prem that is so infuriating to me (it has its place for sure but it’s sometimes a hard watch to be honest).

My son commented multiple times on all three “why can’t it be this fast paced in the prem? It’s so boring when a goalie loses the pass back after 10 mins of side to side slow passing and possession based football”. I agree 100%! I know people raise this a lot but I think it’s important to note; I think there would be a lot of people that miss real, fast paced football and of course there is some of this in the prem and certainly supporters of Championship, Football League etc would feel this way but do you think prem executives are aware of this potential feeling?

Maybe it’s only a small minority but I think I will tune into more Championship/League One and Two and Scottish footy this season just because I’m so sick of watching slow possession based football and a “banger” these days in the prem is 28 consecutive passes from the goalie up finished with a pass in an empty net or a dunk on the side of a leg save keeper…thoughts?

Thanks

Dom

Sad goodbye to the favourite Son

It’s sad to hear Son is leaving Tottenham and the Premier League. I’m not a Spurs fan but even I can see what a great player he has been for Spurs and the longevity of being at one club for 10 years is almost unparalleled in the current professional era.

He always played with a smile on his face and was truly a sight to behold with his electrifying pace, wizard dribbling and devastating finishing ability. Additionally, in these most polarised times, he seemed to be a player that had few detractors even amongst the most passionate rival fans. In fact, I would wager top dollar that even the most ardent of Arsenal fans would have been delighted if their daughter had brought Son back to the family home and introduced him as her boyfriend.

What a great player Son has been for the Lilywhites and the Premier League will be poorer for his departure.

Phil (exiled in Brisbane) Chiz

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