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InnocentPossum's Season-Long Bets
INNOCENT POSSUM'S PICKS:
Hey, The COVID break means this season is actually starting quite soon after the last one finished. As a Leeds fan I am soooo hyped to get this season underway! Below I will share some season-long bets I have, alongside the reasoning why. I will also have a list of other bets I have backed, but the reasoning for these is mostly because I am an excited Leeds fan. Therefore, back the second list at your peril (And the first one in fairness, I can't guarantee anything beyond I put a bit of thought into them.)
MY PICKS (ALL PLACED ON SKYBET):
Leeds and Sheffield United Top Half @12.00 (£40 for £480) 1.1. Leeds and Sheffield United Top Half @10.00 (£52 for £520) (£92 for £1,000)
Leeds +40 Handicap Table @17.00 (£35 for £595) 2.2 Liverpool +5 @17.00 (£25 for £425)
Bielsa to win a Manager of the Month Award @9.00 (£11 for £99 [Now @7.00])
Sheffield Top Half (@3.50), Millwall Top 6 (@3.25), Blackpool Top 6 (@3.00) and Colchester Top 7 (@2.75) £50 total split £10 4-fold and 4x £10 Trebles for £260 Minimum for 3, £2,150 for all 4.
Aubameyang Top Scorer (@6.50), Ivan Toney (@10.00), Matty Taylor (@12.00), Ian Henderson (@9.00) Backed £2 E/W Yankee (Doubles, Trebles and 4-Fold). 3 Out of Placing in the Top 4 returns Stake. All 4 placing is £300. 1 Win and 2 Place is a bit of profit. All 4 winning is 21k.
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MY REASONING:
This one I ended up double backing. Maybe there is a Leeds bias creeping in, but I feel like at a price of @12.00 and even @10.00 this is a smart bet. Sheff United have proven what they can do, and while they lost Henderson who was instrumental, Ramsdale is a tidy replacement. Leeds are a total wild card; I genuinely think we could come 20th or crack Top 6. I think we will start strong as no-one knows how to deal with Bielsa's play but then will suss it out on the return fixtures. I think this could very easily leave us in the Top half. Assuming Arsenal and Tottenham aren't garbage, the 'Big Six' take the top spots leaving 4 places for who? Everton, Leicester, Wolves, Sheff United; Maybe Leeds, Burnley, Southampton and Palace if they have strong seasons too. Therefore I think these two teams fighting for 2 of the 4 spots left at these odds is great, especially not including Spurs and Arsneal choking...
The way the handicap table works is Sky give each team a + points value (for Leeds its +40) and whoever comes top of the league with all of these values applied wins the league. Therefore it's not a case of Leeds coming 39 or less points behind Liverpool when they win, as Liverpool also get a +5. This means a team like Newcastle could win the Handicap League by coming 8th, as their 52 +48 might be enough to be greater than Liverpool's 84+5, City's 88+0 and Arsenal's 62+25. Ultimately what this table is trying to bet on (all @17.00 until the odds shift as more are backed) is which team will overperform the most. Again, could be a Leeds bias but @17.00 for +40 seems good to me as we are such a mystery, an unknown. Fulham and West Brom are +53 and +52 respectively, but we all know what they are about; it wasn't long before they were in the Prem last. (As a Side note, I will back Liverpool +5 @17.00 as that means if they get like 95 points, even losing the league to City, teams like Man U and Chelsea will need 85 in the same season and I can't see that happening). However, I think the Top 4 will be tighter this year with Man U and Chelsea putting up a challenge, meaning the overall total of points won't be so high as they will take points off one another. This could leave Leeds to take the Handicap victory when given 40+ points (May be consider backing E/W if you follow)
Again possible Leeds bias coming into play but it's no secret Bielsa is a highly renowned manager. Pep and Pochettino both learned what they know from him. Coming up to the Premiership with a newly promoted team gives him so much potential to have a month where he wins 4/4. If he pulls that off, he is likely to get it as no-one anticipates a newly promoted side to have a month that strong. In April we play two derbies against Sheff U and Man U, then also have Liverpool and City. If we have 3 draws and a win in that period, managing to draw against the titanic teams, he could win. With odds of @9.00 (even @7.00) I think this has a tonne of potential.
4. Sheffield United: Have proven they can get Top Half. While it was likely a bit of an anomaly and they fell flat towards the end, I don't see why they can't do it again. They have a similar strength team and the same manager and strong tactics to grind out results all season long. Millwall: Millwall have been knocking at the door and I think this year is they finally crack top 6. They are good defensively and have a good spine. They also have a couple of game winning talents in amongst the squad too. Blackpool: Disappointing 13th last year but it seems like Blackpool have made a real effort to make some key signings and bolster their weaker spots. Out of all of the League One teams, Blackpool's odds looked the best value as a lot of the other teams I fancied were all below Evens. Colchester: Coming 6th last year I reckon they can get top 7 again this year. My concern is they lack attacking threat but their defence seems to be rock solid. Usually defence is what is needed to do well over the whole season, while attack makes the difference between play-offs and auto. 5. Aubameyang: Scored 13 in 10 when he first joined in the back end of the 17/18 season. Won the Golden boot joint with Salah and Mane in 18/19. Last season scored 22 and missed out on Top scorer to Vardy with 23. This guy is consistent and unlike Mane/Salah, is likely to be free from competition of a similar calibre to himself within his own team. Toney: Brentford's new striker. Last season Brentford had Watkins (2nd with 25), Benrama (17) and Mbeuno (15) in the top 15 scorers. The season before that they had Maupay joint 2nd. Now they have brought in Toney to a team who is tipped to be in the top 3 teams most likely to get promoted; this means goals. Toney himself was Peterborough's and League One's top scorer last season with 25 so he knows how to put the ball away. Taylor: Top scorer for Oxford last season, the team that scored the 3rd most goals. This year Toney has moved to Brentford, Guandillet is in Turkey, Henderson has gone down to Salford, Eisa and Clarke-Harris will both compete for Peterborough's goals and Godden and Ladapo got promoted. I reckon we will see a lot of goals from oxford with Taylor being the main supplier. Henderson: Mentioned above, now at Salford, the favourites to win League Two this year after one season to feel out the league. Rochdale only scored 39 goals last season but so goals were few and far between but when the chances came it was mostly Henderson who put them away. Now playing for the best team in the 'easier' league we should see him picking up a serious haul.
MY EXTRA BETS:
Leeds to win the Prem (lol) @201
Leeds to get Top 4 @26
Leeds to beat Chelsea Home and Away (Stop Crying Frank Lampard) @26
Leeds to beat Liverpool Home and Away (Giant Killers) @51
Leeds to beat Man City Home and Away (The Master schools the Student) @101
Leeds to finish above Man U (Not happening with the biased pen-giving refs) @17
Bamford 15+ Goals @8
Rodrigo 15+ Goals @21 (Boosted from @14, seemed insane value even if he is more likely to be a creator than a finisher)
A whole bunch of long-shot Request-A-Bets that I recommend you browse and see what you like
Morning/Afternoon/Evening/far too late for you to still be online, or whatever time you're reading this at. I'm back, with the 4th installment. This one is focused on the Resistance catching their breath after the recent fight, and talking with their new prisoners. It is also the largest one yet, as far as I can tell, so I hope you like it. Currently I'm thinking of uploading on a roughly 9 day cycle. The next episode is already planned out and half done, but I'm planning on putting out a supplemental at roughly the same time, that will give a different perspective, at least as a one-off. If I think it works, there will likely be more supplemental episodes, although I can't really spoil what they'll be about. This episode may contain hints as to what I'm thinking of though. Anyway I've rambled for long enough, here's your story! Comments, questions, etc, please leave them if you got them. (First)) (Prev) (Next) The first thing Murray saw, much like the last thing he’d seen before passing out, was Thompson staring at his face. “Ay, Captain’s awake! How are you feeling, sir?” Thompson grinned. “Like shit. Where are we?” “That’s better than not feeling anything. Sid took us to some abandoned houses, said they were far enough to avoid suspicion of the base but close enough to allow for a withdrawal. We’re about 30 minutes of walking away from it right now.” “Where did they put the prisoners?” “Locked the collabs in the shed, commander got locked in the garage, they brought in some kind of gas filled helmet to keep him drugged. Sid didn’t interrogate them, says he wanted you to be awake for it.” “Fine. Tell him I’ll be up as soon as my legs feel like working again.” “Afternoon Murray. Hope you like months old branflakes for breakfast, because that’s all there is left in here that won’t require cooking.” “That’s the first thing you say? Not ‘are you ok’, you mention food?” “Yeah well I know you’re alright because you aren’t crawling along the floor to me.” Sid changed his tone slightly. “You know, I could have sworn, the last thing I said to you before you took the commander down, was ‘I don’t want any of you getting hurt capturing this guy.’ Yet here you are, with a hole in your arm and nearly a day out of the picture.” “Not all orders are followed through on, Sid. Anyway, let’s not talk about that please?” “Because you fucked up and know it?” Sid’s voice had a clear note of snark injected into it. “Maybe. How’s my squad?” “Slater has been moved to a medical safehouse so we can ensure his health, same with Hibberd. I assume you’ll want us to try and get them back to the continent asap. Rest of your squad is staying here while we handle the interrogation.” “Fine by me. Shall we go talk to our friend in the garage, then?” Sid smiled, and produced a video camera from the cluttered table next to him. Sid opened the garage’s back door, stepping through into the makeshift interrogation building, and out of the now-pouring rain. Murray took time to note that a Hekatian IFV had crashed into the semi-detached next door, presumably in order to hide it from enemy aerial recon. Two Resistance soldiers were inside the garage, guns trained on the sleeping figure. The Hekatian was in an electric wheelchair, the kind that was so large it couldn’t move without power. Sid nodded, and one went over to a jury-rigged contraption with a hose connected to the alien’s new helmet. He flipped a lever to the off position, before withdrawing an opened gas canister and rapidly tossing it away into a far off garden. “We built this little doohickey a while ago, when we realised the effects of tear gas on them. It’s basically just Scuba diving gear with a few special changes. Uses gas canisters, trickles it in small amounts, so they can still breathe but they’re out cold. Give him a few minutes and he’ll be back to life.” “Interesting. Who designs this stuff?” “This particular design, it came from some guys in Manchester, we’re just the first to put it into action. Rest of the time, it’s the work of our chief technician, Erin. She works with Len who’s better at the actual building part, but Erin can get the theory written up better than anyone. She’s to blame for the Mk 5.” Murray glanced around the garage. It was barren and empty, except for a few large boxes of dog food. Opposite the contraption, was a table with several cardboard boxes and a sign that said ‘for special use only’. “Owners had pets. Would they have evacuated with them?” “Hopefully, that’s what my family did with ours. Hekatians made pets illegal, fuck knows why but we guess it’s them trying to avoid catching diseases off them. That or it’s a cultural thing. Vets have their work cut out when it comes to euthanising, but lots of people are hiding their pets decently.” “So what did you do when the invasion hit?” Murray decided to change topic from the quite depressing thought of mass dog murder. “Family decided to evacuate, we got priority status on medical grounds. I realised when I got there, there were so many people trying to get out, and so little space, there was no reason for me to take up room.” “Hope you don’t mind me asking, but were your family-” “On the Bruges? No, they were evacuated before it sank. Terrible to think about though, what are they saying, about 1000 odd killed? Anyway, I went back home, grabbed whatever stuff I still had left over from cadets. Plan was to go up to Scotland, hide out with a few family members I have up there, and wait this out. Then I met up with the rest of my old cadet detachment, we formed together into a group for support, and ended up coming into contact with the nascent resistance. After that, I just kept going up the ranks.” “You heard from your family since?” “They’re in a refugee camp near Hamburg, they’re doing alright for now. Helps to know that they’re safe while I’m fighting.” The two stared at the bound alien. He’d been stripped of his armour, and clothed in a spare pair of pyjamas. Murray pointed towards the zip ties that almost completely encircled his arms and legs, and connected him to the wheelchair. “Interesting choice.” “Ay, well, they work. One time, when I was in cadets, some guys zip tied a guy with tourettes, kind that makes you clap when others do it. Psychos zip tied him to his bed in the middle of the night, then in the morning when he woke up they just clapped over him for a good 5 minutes. They only stopped doing it because of a bloody fire drill. That’s how I know these things are tough enough.” “Jesus.” Murray was at a loss for what more to say, so he pointed towards the alien, again trying to change the topic. “Do we know if they all speak English?” “The grunts have some sort of translator they use to talk to civvies, so I’d assume a regional commander would too, right? Ah, he’s waking up now.” Sid passed the camera to one of the guards, before he then moved towards the commander. Wake the fuck up mate!” Sid began shaking the Hekatian, before pulling it’s helmet off. “What’s your name?” A thin, raspy voice came from the pathetic creature. This was Murray’s first glance at a Hekatian’s face so far. It was heavily wrinkled, with two separate pairs of eyes, although it only seemed to open the bottom two. The nose was effectively just a large hole with a flap that opened and closed as necessary. It’s mouth looked roughly like that of a cat’s, in how they stretched around the curve of its face. It was also totally and utterly devoid of hair. Noticeably, there were several clearly technological parts to it. The ears were clipped with black boxes. Over the top right eye was what looked like a little augmented reality display, which was directly connected into the skull. There was another box located on it’s neck. “Brigadier General Dristankeokiorofenx.” The box was the source of it’s translated speech. Murray also noted that the mouth didn’t move at all, which likely meant a neural interface of some kind was translating his thoughts into speech.. “I’m not going to call you that. From now on you’re called… Joe, fuck it, might as well call you Joe Bloggs. Let’s start off simple. What the fuck are you doing on our planet?” Sid didn’t seem interested in formality. “Simple? Bah. Worthless humour. It’s nothing against you or your planet, we’re just expanding. Bringing our light to countless worlds. You’re not the first people we’ve come down on.” “There are other alien species that you’ve taken down? How advanced were they, and what did you do with them?” Murray decided to ask his first question. “It varied. Some were stone age, others carried medieval swords and knives, others were running around with primitive firearms. A few even developed the art of flying. The Alganemians, they had better guns than you do, but we did bring more down on them in wave one I suppose. They are all part of our empire now.” Murray noted the translator appeared to have some cultural context. “Wave one? Is that what this is? Advance guard before a main force? How large is it total?” “The 85th Strike Army Group is what I am part of. I am merely commander of a brigade of soldiers. Our force is roughly equivalent to… about 1 million Hekatians.” Sid let out a whistle at that. “Of that, how many are frontline?” Murray was intrigued by the size of the army. “A little over a half.” “That’s a good T3R, you must have automated logistics a lot right?” “Indeed.” “So what’s the rough plan? How does this play out normally?” Sid started turning it back to matters of strategy. “We land on an island of reasonable size, and good geographical location. Doesn’t matter about population, we’ve landed on everything from uninhabited ones to completely packed ones. Set up permanent bases, defeat counterattacks, whatever. Wave 2 usually lands anywhere between several months to a few years after, depending on urgency and strength of resistance. Last plans I looked at said about a year and a half latency for you guys though. Wave 2 then expands outwards from there, using the original island as a springboard for total conquest of the world.” Sid looked slightly unsettled by the alien’s comments. Not surprising, his plans were likely operating on a much longer timescale. “What about nukes? Do you guys not just use them to wipe resistance out? You ever been nuked during an invasion?” “Not all of wave one works on the ground. We have to set up our own infrastructure for when the planet is ours, you know? Part of that, it’s anti ballistic missile stuff. Same reason we don’t just nuke you to dust, we want this planet and it’s people as close to intact for integration. We have no ill will towards the humans, we want you to join our stellar imperium.” “Let’s say that, tomorrow, the entirety of wave one drops dead, just because of magic. What happens to wave two? Can they carry on their mission?” “No. Wave two is so large that it requires special beacons to prevent landing issues, as well as plenty of infrastructure to sustain itself. If we went dark, then they’d be forced to cancel, and a new wave one would have to be organised. It’s happened before, although that was due to an unfortunate combination of geological events wiping out the first wave. If some of the first wave survives by the time wave two arrives, then only part of wave two can land, the rest will have to wait in orbit for additional beacons to be placed.” “Number 3, you getting this?” Sid turned to the soldier who held the camera. He nodded and held up a thumb to signal the camera was functioning. Before entering, they’d agreed to not use real names, in order to prevent the enemy possibly finding them out in the event of a successful escape. Reprisals were a real threat, just because you were in the Resistance didn’t mean your family members were safe. “Just to clarify, if wave one were to be destroyed, then wave two would be incapable of landing, which would give us a reprieve from the invasion, at least for a while?” “Correct, although the second attempt always comes back much stronger. We will try again and again until we succeed. If enough attempts fail, well we’ll just take an FTL drive, and crash something into the offending planet at beyond light speed.” That was a worrying prospect. How would they be able to prevent further incursions, if the Hekatians controlled so much territory? Why were they fighting if the Hekatians could just obliterate them instantly? “How large is your, ahem, stellar imperium? You have faster than light travel? Any other ftl species out there?” “Yes, our assault pods are equipped with faster than light engines. The Hekatian Stellar Imperium spans a 10th of the Milky Way. The rest is owned by different empires, yet none have the same size as us alone. However they are in many alliances which make it difficult for us to expand through their space. We came to your world, like many others, in order to uplift it into the galactic community.” “Your motives sound nice, though I can’t help but notice your means. Overcrowded refugee camps? Martial law? The Ilford Massacre? I’ve been under your occupation for 6 months, and you don’t seem to show a lick of care for the people you’re trying to ‘uplift’.” “You’re that terrorist leader aren’t you… what’s your name then boy?” “Don’t remember giving you permission to ask questions.” “Fine. Look, we have plenty of info on your people, we know all about your history. You think your empire was kind and polite to it’s subjects? You think...Iraq, that’s it, you think they were happy about you coming in?” “Two things can be bad at once, you know?” Sid responded without missing a beat. “Look, before this gets into a debate between you two, I still have questions to ask. Joe, if you’re so advanced that you have ftl, why aren’t you that much more advanced than us on the battlefield? Your stuff is ahead of us, but mostly only by decades. Sure the plasma weapons are advanced but in some ways they’re behind our guns, mainly rate of fire.” “You assume progress in everything is infinite, or that we need it to be improved. Past a certain point there are real physical limits on improvement, and diminishing returns. The Hekatian Star Imperium has been in space for 10,000 years, and the core kit of an infantryman hasn’t changed since the premiership of Lagrandaultrex, 4,000 years ago. Much better to invest in getting between worlds faster, than shell out for some tech that saves you maybe a day or two in your conquest.” “2 more questions. What’s with the other eyes? Why don’t you open them?” Murray was still bugged by this and wanted to know. “My upper eyes are for long range vision, the lower eyes are specialised for close range.” “Makes sense. Final question, what did you do to me in that fight? I was out cold for a whole day.” “My armour carries special miniature injection ports for killing opponents in hand to hand with toxins. It seems our drugs only knock you out though. How unfortunate.” Murray was amazed by how the sneer came through the translation device. “Ok. That’s me all done now.” “Excellent. Number 1, if you’d kindly step outside for a few minutes while I talk to our friend about the limits of his knowledge on the resistance, that would be much appreciated.” Sid was walking towards the ‘special use’ boxes, and Murray suddenly felt he would not enjoy staying much longer. “Actually, might be worth you talking to our collab friends while I’m busy. Ahmed will give you the shed key.” Murray walked out of the garage, closing the door behind him. He immediately heard the sounds of a drill being turned on, and realised now definitely had been the right time to leave the garage. Murray wandered towards the small shed, flanked by Ahmed. He was a young one, couldn’t have been older than 16 or so. Cadet-turned-resistance-fighter, Murray assumed. Ahmed stuck the key in, unlocking it. This gave Murray his first glimpse inside. There were 4 collabs, all over the wooden floor. They had been tied together, with zip ties or garden hoses, whatever seemed to have been available. Ear defenders covered their heads. All had blindfolds, not that it made a difference, as the shed was incredibly dark, until he pulled out a small torch. “What, you thought we were gonna waste guards on them?” Murray supposed Ahmed was correct. Still, it was weird that the aliens seemed to garner more care than the collabs. Murray pushed the ear defenders of the prisoners up, likely the first time they’d had their sensory deprivation broken in a while. “Can you all hear me? Can you speak?” A chorus of relieved yeses came from the group, who must have been under the impression this represented a rescue. “Good. Now, I’m here to ask you some questions. If, at any point, I don’t get answers I like, I’ll be giving out some interesting tips on how to properly lock you all up.” There was a sudden nervous twinge to the prisoners. “For example, I could tell them how to build a high quality, CIA-approved isolation chamber, with just a few bits of cardboard tubing and those very ear defenders you have on right now. Do you want me to tell them that?” A frantic shaking of the heads ensued. “Good! First off: what work do you do for the Hekatians?” “We’re police! Nothing more, nothing less! They tell us where to patrol, they give us some vests and their radios, and we stop people from looting! That’s all!” One man, probably in his late 50s, immediately responded, almost crying out. The others nodded frantically as he emphasised the limited nature of their role. “So you’re just like, government approved vigilantes then? Or do you get extra food for collaborating?” Murray noticed that Len was walking up the garden path towards the shed. “They give us and our families extra food! We get guaranteed housing, food that’s not just fucking bread, guaranteed medication! My kid has epilepsy, I need this to make sure she gets her meds!” The reply came from a younger man, probably mid 30s. This was the first time Murray noticed little name stickers, on which the last names of the collabs had been written by resistance soldiers, placed onto the blindfolds. This man’s sticker said “Fern” on it. “That’s funny Fern, because our info from the council database says you don’t have a family. Or kids.” Len had reached the conversation, and was reading off a notebook. “Here you go captain, all the info we scraped about ‘em. Don’t be surprised when they keep lying. Oh, and this flask has tea in it, here’s one for you as well Ahmed. You’ll have to use ratpack stuff if you want anything in it though. Spoon is in the top.” “Thanks man. So Fern, we’ve established you’re a liar. You there, Daggart, what do you do for them then?” Len walked off towards the garage, with a small backpack with several more flasks inside it. Murray pulled out a creamer packet, opening it up and tipping some in until a small cloud of white erupted in the tea. He then opened the top of the flask, finding a small spoon, like those in ice cream pots, stashed alongside water purification tablets. “Policing work! Patrol the streets, patrol the camp, make sure people are getting their food! Come on, let me go, I know they’re bastards, I don’t believe their propaganda! This is just to keep going, you know? I do the bare minimum to keep them off my back! In fact, I’m behind on my beating quota, please just let me out of here!” Murray stirred as Daggart sputtered. He then returned the spoon to it’s container, before picking the notebook back off the shelf he’d let it rest on. “My notes inform me that 5 separate camp survivors have specifically named you as a, quote, ‘constant source of harassment’, we’ve got evidence of you giving civilians injuries that’d send them to hospital, and you attempting some stuff that, if I had free reign to decide your punishment, would have you strung up off the bridge. So you’re a liar too, and an awful person to boot. What about you… Higgins? What do you think the Hekatians are doing here?” “They’re here to help make sure we’re on top!” “We? That the royal we? On top of who?” “You know, us, up at the top once more, the lesser races in their place! I can tell by your voice, you’re not like these degenerates, one of the n-“ Higgins was interrupted by Ahmed delivering a heavy kick to his chest that sent both him, and Daggart who was tied to him, to the floor. “Thank you Ahmed, I could tell that wasn’t going a good direction. Takes a special kind of person to think an alien invasion is a chance for them to be more racist. So we’ve got a liar, a racist, and an attempted rapist. What about you… Lockjaw? That can’t be your real name.” Murray had turned his attention back to the 50 year old, who had been first to answer him. He looked back at his notes, finding only the phrase “deed poll user” and “nonexistent history.” “It is, I swear! And I can tell you, you don’t have anything on me! I just patrolled and stopped fights, that’s all I did! Believe me! Please!” “Perhaps. But you can still answer my questions. Some general ones here. Where did your gear come from? Are they confiscations or personal ownership?” “Both.” Daggart, who was still fumbling around trying to upright himself, provided an answer. “I had an old Webley that my great grandad used in the war, kept it up in the attic til now. Fern got an AR-15 into the country, fucked if I know how, but it’s in his house.” Fern attempted to kick Daggart for that especially compromising information, but his foot simply impacted an old rusty lawnmower, provoking a shout of pain. Murray noted that down, any source of weaponry was useful. “Right. The vests, you had them standard issue so they must be Hekatian built.” Again, nods. “Now, be honest with me, or I’ll follow through with some of my promises to the resistance. What is your stated purpose as collaborators? What do they say is the job description? “We handle foot patrols of the camp and some street patrols, help them build defenses. Some of us are assigned to infiltrate the terrorist groups, but I haven’t seen any of them in a while.” That was slightly alarming to Murray, he made sure to jot it down. “What have you been told about their long term goals? Do you know why they’re here? Higgins you’re banned from answering this question.” Higgins, still stuck on the floor, attempted to open his mouth, only for Ahmed to provide yet another kick to keep him quiet. “It’s about, they want to take us to the stars! We’re gonna become interstellar! That’s way better than we are now!” Lockjaw seemed dazzled by the concept as he spoke. “Alternatively, we could just, I don’t know, kick these arseholes out and steal their shit, and then become interstellar by ourselves? Seems like a better option to me than prostrating yourself to their rule.” Murray gave them time to mull that over, before sipping from his tea. When was the last time he’d had tea? Probably at the airbase before they set off. It wasn’t perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but it was more than enough for him. “Listen, it’s time for the real question. “What is so important to you that you needed to join the enemy? There’s thousands of people out here in the resistance. Many of them are kids. Kids! They’re fighting against the Hekatians with anything they can get their hands on! That’s true bravery, and what are you doing? Aiding them!” “No! I… if you were in my situation, you’d… either they win, and I survive, or we win, and I survive! It’s… there’s no other option man!” Daggart attempted to justify his actions. “They tried the kapos, after the war, the ones who’d led their own people into the gas chambers. Lotta people who were “just following orders”, too. Hell, the Norwegians brought back the death penalty for Quisling himself. The way we’re going, if we win we’re gonna have a purge to rival Stalin, and I doubt anyone in the world is gonna stop us. You think we’d let you get off the hook for assisting in this?” Ahmed spoke up, the first time he’d said anything in a while. For once the prisoners were silent, having realised their extremely grave predicament. Murray replaced their ear defenders and exiting the shed, before Ahmed locked it again. At the same time, Sid left the garage, now wearing a cooking apron, stained with blood, over his combat jacket. He waved towards Murray, who jogged through the pouring rain. “Joe’s going back on the gas immediately. I want to try and get him off this island if possible, UNCO will do a far better job thinking up questions than me.” “Ay, I’m thinking of organising casevacs for our worst cases of injury and rotation of other SAS troopers in. If you can help me in organising that, we can make space on the boats for several prisoners. I want those collabs off this island ASAP, far more trouble than they’re worth.” Murray didn’t think highly of the idea of having to spare food and guards for a bunch of really rather useless prisoners. “Definitely. There’s a strong faction in the Resistance who advocate just shooting on sight, and I can’t blame them at all. At least it’s Joe’s job to do this, these people threw their hat in because they wanted to be power freaks. My view is that we’re gonna be having quite a few prisons built after this is all over.” Murray and Sid both fell silent, contemplating the idea of a postwar Britain as they walked inside the house. What would it look like? Could it ever really be the same again, after the bloodshed and damage? Murray had considered the likelihood of the people simply refusing to accept the government-in-exile upon it’s return, and as time passed it became more and more likely. The main question was, which side would he take in that issue? On the one hand, his duty as a member of the Special Air Service was to the Queen, and by extension, to the emergency government she had given her blessing to when the invasion hit. Even if she was dead, that oath would still apply, and simply transfer to whichever monarch took the throne. And during his time with the Resistance, he’d heard talk that had left him uneasy, due to the deep change it would spell. Words of republicanism, anarchism, communism, socialism, that reminded him of what he’d heard when he’d been deployed on the ground in Syria against ISIS. A radicalisation was happening, the kind that only happened when people felt betrayed by their official government, and often led to some rather nasty conflict between the government. Murray was by no means a political radical, he’d voted for the Monster Raving Looney Party in every election he’d got a ballot for, not being very interested in voting for politicians that, in his estimate, wouldn’t damage his life. So these words were concerning to him, because they’d likely lead to the kind of upheaval that he was meant to deal with. His career was spent cleaning up the effects of radicalism. But on the other hand… the Resistance were right to feel betrayed, and even regardless of their complaints had accepted him and his soldiers gladly. Their quarrel was with the organisations who had abandoned them, not the soldiers, as Sid had put it. They were willingly putting their lives on the line every single day in service of something, and their vision had more legitimacy based on that alone. And it wasn’t as if the Resistance were turning upon those who still thought of a return to normal, there were devout Muslims working hand in hand with Christians, self proclaimed anarchists building bombs detonated by Tories, marmite haters assisting fellow soldiers who had bad taste, and so on. It again reminded him of the Kurds, where people put aside their differences politically in the face of a common foe, and even when that foe was vanquished, they still would work happily alongside each other, in recognition that the brotherhood of humanity trumped their differences. Plus, at this point, with the Resistance likely to be battle hardened and well equipped postwar, would it even be possible to put the genie back in the bottle and expect these people to be happy? What would he do? What could he do? Would it even matter, when the Hekatians had the capability to just obliterate his world the second it became too hard to deal with? Murray’s head was starting to spin, and he felt rather sick at the idea of finally overcoming it all, only to be instantly wiped from existence by an unpredictable threat. “You all right mate?” It was Sid, grabbing Murray’s arm to steady him. “Yeah, yeah, I’m fine, think I need something to eat.” Murray sat down in the closest chair, feeling the need to rest before he toppled over. “Ay, makes sense. We can get you a good lunch sorted.” “Listen, before you go, when I was in the shed, one of them, they mentioned collaborator infiltrati-” Murray was interrupted by Sid placing a hand on his (uninjured) shoulder. “Don’t worry mate. Their infiltrators are shit. For one, they don’t know where to find the resistance. They keep knocking on random civvies doors, asking them how they join the resistance. The aliens have a total weakness at humint, if you’ll pardon the pun. Joe confirmed it to me.” “Speaking of Joe, what did you do to him?” Sid smiled in response. “Asked him what he knew for certain regarding our bases, gave him a map to point to the things he already knew for certain. Then I asked him where he thought our stuff might be located, and I had to start using some stuff to get him to actually think about it. Don’t worry, we’re clear, and so’s the base, thank god. Added in a few more questions about force disposition, both his and what he knew, those were especially hard to get. Len also had some tech based questions, so I had to extract a few answers from him on that.” “I don’t know how to feel about working with a possible psychopath.” “If I’m the first person to do dodgy stuff that you’ve met, then how long have you been in the army?” “Point taken.” “What’s next then?” Sid and Murray sat down in the living room, sipping what little remained in their flasks. Murray had just finished lunch, and the last throngs of sickness had long since disappeared. “We want an evac of our prisoners, you want an evac of your wounded, I’ve sent word to Eleanor and she’s talking with UNCO about organising that asap, and texting details over. We’ll prepare a quick transport operation, shouldn’t be too hard. I’ll tag along, I assume you’ll want to as well.” “Sounds good. Any news?” “Eleanor says UNCO have been deliberating over targeted airstrikes. They’ve redeployed the B-2 fleet and want to start using them, on targets we designate, so long as they can be assured they’re not gonna get blown up by AA immediately. After that, they intend on progressing air strikes, doing SEAD, and generally degrading enemy capabilities until they’re weak enough to fly helicopters over. We’re also getting promised an increased supply effort.” “You’re setting me up for bad news, I can feel it.” “Yep. You ready?” “Probably not.” Murray gulped down the rest of the tea, bracing himself slightly. “They’ve informed us that the idea of an invasion into Hull is being dropped. The Resistance will be expected to take the Hull region alone, with the port as intact as possible, and then reinforcements will be deployed.” “You’re fucking kidding me.” This went back to the issues from earlier. How could the Resistance be expected to trust their government, or the rest of the world, when they got stabbed in the back like this? “Nope. I have no clue what they’re thinking. We’ll have full air support, and likely much heavier special forces support, but they expect us to liberate and hold Hull without a lot more professional boots on the ground.” “God damn it.” “Eleanor reckons it’s them hedging their bets after we told them how many guys we’re up against. They probably don’t want to launch D-Day 2.0 on a heavily occupied Hull, so instead they’re going to wait for us to bear the brunt of the fighting, kill as many of them as possible, and deploy as necessary. If we lose, they simply land somewhere in Scotland and fight south. If we win, then they have a beachhead.” “And what do you reckon?” “I reckon she’s right, and furthermore, that the generals don’t believe we, as in the Resistance, are valuable enough to justify excess effort to save. Our lives are not being viewed the same way as their soldier’s lives. It’s fucked frankly, because if we get crushed, then the entirety of Hull is gonna get obliterated in the process, and that’s 250,000 thousand odd people they’re gonna leave to die as a test.” “What do we do about it then?” “Well obviously, we have to make it evident that we are pretty valuable, and that our lives should definitely not be treated like test subjects. We can’t make a stable beachhead without them, and the only other way they can make a beachhead will result in them taking so long the second wave lands anyways, at which point we’re fucked.” “Well yeah but, what do we do?” “Do you want to know the dumb idea, or the really dumb idea?” “Both.” Sid gestured to Len, who wandered over and sat down next to Sid. “The dumb idea is that we put full effort into taking apart the weapons we’ve nicked, and rapidly reverse engineering it into something we can deploy. Furthermore, we hold back from sending our tech samples to UNCO while we do this. This isn’t too hard, in that we have the energy to run the weapons, considering the power cells we keep acquiring from their bases. With coordination across country, we could get working prototypes fast. From there, our problem is the resources to build them, but if we have the tech we can get parts off UNCO. Either that gives evidence of our effectiveness, or it gives us the necessary edge, combined with our numbers, to guarantee a win in the uprising.” Sid looked at Len after he finished talking. “After some glances at the pistol design, and incorporating some of what we’ve already got off our plasma rifle stockpiles, I estimate, using an L85 as a base to stick parts in, we can have a working plasma rifle prototype within a month. It wouldn’t be advanced or refined, it would effectively be borrowing the parts of their weapons and sticking them elsewhere, without understanding the mechanisms of how they work, but it would be good enough. Think of it like a kid copy pasting off google for his homework. Ultimately, in this case, it doesn’t matter that we don’t understand, so long as it’s on time and in large enough numbers. An L85 derivative would help us, because it cuts down on material necessities, and it’s what our best troops are familiar with carrying.” Len picked up the final part of the conversation. “I thought their weapons are locked to their armour, so we can’t use them?” “They are, but the lockdown procedure leaves the internal mechanisms mostly intact, so they can be retrieved and put back to work after some repairs. It’s like that thing where the gas plug on an SA80 has a setting you can stick it on to make it useless, except it’s far more generous to repair. We’ll just strip the internals out and put them somewhere else, effectively.” “Sounds doable to me then. What’s the really dumb one?” “With support from local Resistance units, we launch a long distance operation to the least defended landing pod we can find, and seize it. Then we do a rapid snatch and grab on as much of their ftl tech as possible, along with anything else we can, cart it back to base ASAP. From there, that’s a watertight case as to our effectiveness as a fighting force, plus we can make clear that they’re gonna need to send troops or we’ll not be able to guarantee safety of that tech in the event of a failed city-wide uprising.” “Sid, you’re missing one key fact.” “What’s that?” “We can do both.” Murray grinned as he said it, and Sid’s eyes lit up. “See this, this is why I like having you around.”
Firstly, I’ve got back into FM after I huge hiatus and started a non-league to legend save. Starting at Queens Park, Glasgow Scotland, I got them promoted to league 1 in my first season before taking a position at Forfar. I then got them promoted to the Scottish championship and then mid season of keeping them out of relegation contention, Livingston, a premiership team who were in the relegation zone fired their manager and I was touted for his replacement. I took the position and made them a mid table team. The next season I managed to grab a champions league spot after a gruelling and stressful end of year playoff cycle for the second spot. Celtic basically dominated for the 3 years of the save. With a new season and increased budget I focused on building a young Scottish team, with some foreign flair, the whole season I was dominant against the mid table teams and lower but always scraped a draw or lost to the big teams. And had to listen to Neil Lennon confess his better ability as a manager every time he bet me. But thankfully to a late season slump from Celtic I managed to win the premiership and secure my first champions league spot. After getting through knockouts I was drawn against Man City, Real Madrid and Olympic Lyonnaise. I was never going to get through. But that was fine. I managed to draw away to Man City, lost to them at home, managed to draw at home to Real Madrid (huh) and lost both opportunities to OL, then in the last game away at Real, I managed to come down from 1-0 and being absolutely dominated to FM them 2-1 and celebrated as if I won the whole thing. It that win allowed me to win a 3rd spot with 5 points knocking Madrid to last position. Domestically, Celtic only have won 2 games all season and lost 9 mid way through. Neil Lennon has been fired for his aging/injured team. Although I’m doing amazingly well with Livi. I’m a Celtic fan at heart, and although I’m not on the radar to take the spot (relegation contention) I’ve applied anyway to try get the team back on track. I’m not even at odds to take the job though, most likely cause I am at the top of the league and still in Europe and they are out of all Euro action and cup contentions, so I assume they think I wouldn’t be interested. But I hope the application is successful. All of this without scum saving. Although there has been plenty of times I’ve wanted to. FM got fun again!
Sky sources understand Rangers have rejected West Brom's £3m bid for James Tavernier and will not consider selling until their valuation of the full-back has been met. 17:54
Morecambe survived relegation to the National League by the skin of their teeth last season and have beefed up their forward line in a bid to avoid a repeat performance this season. https://twitter.com/ShrimpsOfficial/status/1027235878429773824 17:41
SCHOLES: UNITED NOT CONTENDERS
Manchester United legend Paul Scholes does not believe his former club have the quality to challenge Manchester City or Liverpool in the Premier League this season. "When you look at Manchester City, possibly Liverpool, I don't think they [United] have the quality of those two teams at the minute. Liverpool have made some really good signings. United finished above them last season," said Scholes, speaking in Hong Kong. "I just don't see United getting closer to City. City are a really good side, great manager, some great players, a way of playing that they all know about and Manchester United seem to be not too sure what's going on. "You don't really know the team, you don't really know the players, you don't know how they're going to perform from one week to the next. So I hope I'm wrong, but I don't see them challenging for the league this year." 17:23
WATCH: TRANSFER CENTRE
The Transfer Centre rounds up of all the latest summer transfer stories from Sky Sports News. 17:13
LOAN DEAL
Hartlepool goalkeeper Ryan Catterick has joined Guisborough Town on a short-term loan deal. 17:13
New Southampton goalkeeper Angus Gunn says working with Pep Guardiola at Manchester City played a big part in his development. 17:07
NEWCASTLE UPDATE…
Here’s the latest from Sky Sports News’ Richard Graves… “It’s certainly never dull is it around Newcastle United, especially in the transfer window. You feel they are probably still in the market for another striker, despite bringing in Salomon Rondon on a season-long loan. They also need to strengthen in defence. Federico Fernandez, the Swansea City defender is certainly one name that has been linked with Newcastle. In terms of attacking options Liverpool striker Danny Ings is another name.” 17:03
GERRARD THE TRANSLATOR
Rangers boss Steven Gerrard entertained journalists in his news conference by acting as translator for new signing Nikola Katic. 16:57
SPURS LATEST
SSN reporter Roger Clarke gives us an update from Tottenham's training ground in Enfield: "It will be interesting to see what Spurs do next, with Villa seemingly digging their heels in. They are saying Jack Grealish is not for sale. "So do Spurs go back in with an improved offer and hope they can force Villa's hand going into TDD? Or do they look elsewhere? "But Grealish seems to be the one they really seem focussed on and have been all summer..." 16:50
'THIS SEASON IS ABOUT WINNING'
Alexis Sanchez says he has put last season behind him and it is all about winning things with Manchester United this term. 16:48
HIBS WON'T BE DISTRACTED BY MCGINN TRANSFER TALK
Efe Ambrose is confident Hibernian can brush off the loss of Scotland midfielder John McGinn and produce another memorable European performance against Molde. McGinn was absent from training on Tuesday and Wednesday after going down to Birmingham for talks as Aston Villa battle Celtic for his signature. "I don't think it's going to affect us," the former Celtic defender said. "We are a team, not an individual. We know it's been coming so we will just focus on the game, that's the most important thing for Hibs. "We know if John is here he is a plus for the team, he is a good player. So we are without John but we are still here and we still have the quality of player to do well. "So we focus on the game and leave John to deal with everything that is going on around him. "We wish him well but in football players come and go so we are not going to be distracted by his transfer." 16:40
HIBS IN HYNDMAN LOAN TALKS
Hibernian are in talks with Bournemouth over the loan move for Emerson Hyndman, according to Sky sources. The American has previously played in Scotland while on loan at Rangers in 2017. Hibs want to get the deal done before the UEFA Deadline tonight so he can play in the Europa League qualifier against Molde at Easter Road tomorrow. 16:35
EVERTON LATEST…
Here’s an update from Sky Sports News reporter Vinny O’Connor at Everton's Finch Farm training ground: “It’s good news for Evertonians at the moment. This deal is close, very close. Bernard flew into Manchester airport earlier this afternoon. "Not only was he met there by our camera, but he was also met by Everton’s player liaison officer as well. He made the short trip to Everton’s Finch Farm training ground. He arrived at around 4.15pm and he’s been in there ever since. "He’s going through the formalities of a medical and they also have to go through the process of sorting out a work permit as well. No real problems are anticipated, certainly from the information we are getting at least. The way this is going to pan out it seems is that once this deal is signed and sealed the likelihood is that Everton will announce Bernard tomorrow, well into time of the 5pm deadline." 16:32
West Brom have made a £3m bid for Rangers captain James Tavernier, according to Sky sources. The 26-year-old full-back has made more than 140 appearances for the Ibrox club since joining from Wigan Athletic in 2015 and scored a penalty for Rangers in their opening day draw against Aberdeen on Sunday. 16:18
'MAN UTD WORKING ON FOUR TARGETS'
Sky Sports News reporter Kaveh Solhekol gives us an update on Manchester United's pursuit of Jerome Boateng and Harry Maguire, among others... 16:08
ALEXIS WANTS 'BIG SIGNINGS' AT UNITED
Alexis Sanchez says Man Utd must sign players of Arturo Vidal's calibre if the club are to compete for trophies this season. "At United we have to sign big players, with experience," Sanchez told Sky Sports. "Barcelona just signed Arturo Vidal, who is a great player and my team-mate from Chile. "He is an example of the type of players we need to sign in order to win trophies and compete at the highest level. "From what I've seen in training, Fred is a player who always wants to get forward, he is always trying to get forward and from a personal point of view I think we'll be able to combine well and it will be good for my game." 15:53
Bournemouth defender Brad Smith has joined MLS club Seattle Sounders on a season-long loan. The Australia international made 11 first-team appearances for Bournemouth after moving from Liverpool in 2016, and missed the majority of last season with a hip injury. Bournemouth retain the option in January to recall Smith from Seattle, who are currently eighth in the Western Conference. https://twitter.com/afcbournemouth/status/1027215975203188736 15:35
MAN UTD WANT BOATENG ON LOAN
Man Utd are keen to bring Jerome Boateng to Old Trafford – but only on loan, rather than on a permanent basis, SSN understands. Jose Mourinho still has the German international as his No 1 choice recruit – but privately behind the scenes at United there are fears over a permanent contract for a player with a chequered history of injuries. Boateng, 29, suffered muscle and tendon injuries over the past three Bundesliga campaigns, missing 27 games in total since December 2016. With one day left of the summer window, Mourinho is running out of time to find a new central defender. Privately, United believe Harry Maguire is not for sale at Leicester and as things stand, Yerry Mina’s chances coming to Old Trafford looks increasingly slim. Executive Vice-Chairman Ed Woodward has made funds available to Jose, but is determined not to pay over the odds in the current market. 15:32
WOLVES CLOSE IN ON DENDONCKER
Wolves are closing in on a deal to sign Belgium international Leander Dendoncker, according to Sky sources. SSN understands the Anderlecht midfielder travelled to England on Wednesday to discuss personal terms and undergo a medical with the Premier League club. Dendoncker has made more than 170 appearances for Anderlecht since his debut for the club in 2013. The 23-year-old has represented Belgium on six occasions and was included in Roberto Martinez's final 23-man squad for the World Cup in Russia, in which the Red Devils finished third. 15:22
BERNARD ARRIVES AT FINCH FARM
Brazil midfielder Bernard has arrived at Finch Farm to undergo his medical at Everton. 15:19
Hibernian will be without John McGinn for the Europa League encounter with Molde after Neil Lennon resigned himself to losing the midfielder following bids from Celtic and Aston Villa. 15:03
WATFORD KEEN ON WARD-PROWSE LOAN
Watford are interested in a loan deal for Southampton’s James Ward-Prowse, according to Sky sources. However, SSN understands the young English midfielder is not available on loan and the Saints will rebuff any such advances for the player. 14:46
TRIO IN TALKS FOR SLIMANI
Sporting Lisbon, Fenerbahce and Besiktas are all in talks to sign Leicester striker Islam Slimani, according to Sky sources. Slimani was Leicester’s record signing when they paid Sporting £28m for him two years ago. The Algerian spent the second half of last season on loan at Newcastle. 14:42
Jack Grealish is very disappointed and disillusioned that Aston Villa are refusing to sell him to Spurs, according to Sky sources. We understand the midfield player was promised he could leave before Villa’s new owners arrived at the club last month. Grealish has not given up on moving to Spurs and he is still hoping that Villa will let him move. 14:23
ALL QUIET AT HUDDERSFIELD
As we wait for new signings at Huddersfield, the locals enjoy a game of crown green bowls... 14:20
GIROUD TO HOLD CHELSEA TALKS
Olivier Giroud says he is set to hold talks with Chelsea over a new contract. The France World Cup winner joined the Blues from Arsenal in January, but his current deal expires at the end of this season. Giroud attracted interest from Atletico Madrid earlier this summer. "No, I am happy here at Chelsea. I just arrived a few months ago and am just starting to settle well,” Giroud told the Standard. "I still have one year (of my contract) to go with Chelsea, plus maybe another one. I'm going to discuss that with the club at the right time. There is no rush." 14:15
BERNARD ARRIVES!
Good news for Everton fans as Brazil international Bernard has arrived at Manchester airport ahead of his expected medical at Finch Farm, which the midfielder is expected to have in the next 48 hours. 14:09
Lyon manager Bruno Genesio admits Nabil Fekir could still leave the club as the summer transfer window comes to a close. 13:45
WHY GREALISH IS IN DEMAND
Why is Tottenham transfer target Jack Grealish worth £25m? We have compared his stats against the average Premier League midfielder to find out.. Read the feature HERE 13:39
DOCHERTY JOINS SHREWS
Rangers confirm midfielder Greg Docherty has joined Shrewsbury Town on a season-long loan deal. Docherty, who joined the Light Blues from Hamilton Accies in January, has made 14 appearances so far in his time at Ibrox. 13:25
CRUYFF NAMED CHONGQING LIFA BOSS
Jordi Cruyff has been named manager of Chinese Super League side Chongqing Lifan. The former Manchester United player ended a successful six-year spell at Maccabi Tel-Aviv earlier this year, which included stints as sporting director and head coach. The 44-year-old succeeds Paulo Bento, who lost his job with Chongqing Lifan last month. 13:11
BOATENG STILL KEEN?
Sky in Germany are reporting that defender Jerome Boateng turned down a move to Manchester United for football reasons but, we are told he wants to move to United and Jose Mourinho wants to sign him. 13:05
MAGUIRE HOPING FOR MAN UTD MOVE
One source has told us United have already had two bids turned down by Leicester for Harry Maguire. The second bid was worth about £60m. Leicester are in advanced talks to sign two centre backs – Filip Benkovic from Dinamo Zagreb and Caglar Soyuncu from Freiburg – at a combined cost of about £35m. As far as Leicester are concerned, Maguire is not for sale; they signed him for £17m from Hull City last summer and he has four years left on his contract. Leicester are expected to offer him a new deal after his impressive performances for England in the World Cup this summer. 12:59
BREAKING NEWS
Sky sources: Leicester defender Harry Maguire is still hoping Manchester United will sign him with just one day to go before the window closes 12:56
AGENT WORLD LIKE 'WILD WEST'
Football agent Jon Smith says FIFA's deregulation of agents has created a 'watery' situation when it comes to player representation. 12:48
CONNOLLY TO JOIN WIGAN
Sky sources: Defender Callum Connolly will join Wigan Athletic on a season-long loan from Everton 12:35
VILLA LEAD RACE FOR McGINN
Aston Villa are in pole position to sign John McGinn despite renewed interest from Celtic, according to Hibernian head coach Neil Lennon. Hibs midfielder McGinn spent Tuesday in talks with Aston Villa but Celtic are believed to have matched the Sky Bet Championship club's offer after having several previous bids rejected. Lennon said: "He went down to Birmingham, I think he is having a medical there. A fee has been agreed. I don't know if personal terms have been agreed yet. "I think Celtic have matched the offer but I think Villa are in the driving position at the minute." 12:24
BREAKING NEWS
West Brom have rejected an offer from Watford for Craig Dawson, according to Sky sources. It is understood the offer was an initial loan year-long loan for a fee of £750,000. The offer also included an option to buy Dawson for £2.5m instalments over four years adding up to a potential total of £10m. 12:18
LATEST TRANSFER BULLETIN
Here's your latest Transfer Centre bulletin from Sky Sports News at lunchtime 12:16
SARRI ON KEPA
Chelsea are in advanced talks to sign Athletic Bilbao's Kepa Arrizabalaga and Maurizio Sarri has been impressed by what he's seen of the goalkeeper. 12:08
NO POGBA WAGE DEMANDS
Paul Pogba has not made any wage demands to keep him at Manchester United, according to Sky sources. On Tuesday, a newspaper report claimed he had demanded a £200k-a-week wage rise to stay at Old Trafford following interest from Barcelona. However, we have been told that Pogba has made no wage demands. 12:05
HUGILL'S BORO MEDICAL
Sky sources: Jordan Hugill has arrived on Teesside to undergo a medical with Middlesbrough. This will be a season-long loan deal for the striker, who signed for West Ham for £9.5m in January. 12:04
GREALISH 'KEEN TO LEAVE'
This one is slaloming a tad, isn't it? SSN understands that Grealish is disillusioned that his dream move to north London now looks doomed and remains desperate to play for Mauricio Pochettino and to test himself at the highest level for a top four Premier League club. 11:57
BREAKING NEWS
Sky sources: Jack Grealish remains keen to move to Spurs and is desperate to test his skills in the Champions League. Grealish, who trained with the Villa squad this morning, was due to complete a £25m move to Spurs until Villa's new owner, Nassef Sawiris intervened. 11:47
BREAKING NEWS
Leicester City are closing in on the signings of Caglar Soyuncu and Filip Benkovic, SSN understands. Soyuncu, 22, could cost up to £20m. The Freiburg defender has won 15 international caps for Turkey and Leicester are confident a work permit won’t be a problem. His agent, Mustafa Dogru, has confirmed on Twitter that they are in negotiations with Leicester over a deal, but he’s stressed there is no agreement yet. Croatia U21 international defender Benkovic is in Leicester today discussing personal terms. He is expected to undergo a medical later today. 11:29
BREAKING NEWS
Sky sources: Real Madrid midfielder Mateo Kovacic to have medical at Chelsea today ahead of a loan move. 11:18
CHELSEA DUO TALK TO FEKIR
Olivier Giroud says he and Eden Hazard have spoken to Nabil Fekir about the possibility of joining Chelsea and would “welcome him” at the club. The 25-year-old Lyon man looked set to join Liverpool from Lyon earlier this summer before negotiations between the clubs ended. "I spoke to him when we were together in the French national team, when his move to Liverpool fell through," Giroud told Foot Mercato. "Then we discussed Chelsea, and I even think that Eden said a couple of words to him. "We would obviously welcome him, he is a super player, but I don't know if this is something that could happen as the window closes on Thursday." 11:11
WHO IS KEPA?
We profile Kepa Arrizabalaga as the Spanish goalkeeper edges closer to a big-money transfer to Chelsea... Read the feature HERE 10:55
GREALISH 'GOING NOWHERE'
Big news coming out of Villa Park. Sky sources: Jack Grealish will not be sold to anyone in this transfer window, despite interest from Tottenham and 'other clubs' this window. Sources are telling us Aston Villa's new executive chairman Nassef Sawiris has told Tottenham and any other potential suitors he is not interested in their money. 10:52
BREAKING NEWS
Aston Villa's new owners says Tottenham's £25m bid for Jack Grealish has been rejected outright. 10:44
BORO IN TALKS WITH BOLASIE
Sky sources: Middlesbrough remain in discussions with Yannick Bolasie as they attempt to persuade him to move to The Championship. Everton winger Bolasie has been told he’s surplus to requirements at Goodison Park; Crystal Palace are interested but Boro is a more likely destination. Middlesbrough are discussing both a permanent transfer and/or a loan with a view to a permanent deal. Bolasie is valued around £15m. 10:39
Sky sources: Huddersfield Town defender Jordan Williams undergoing a medical at Barnsley ahead of a permanent move 10:31
BORO WANT HUGILL
Sky sources: Middlesbrough are in talks with West Ham over a loan move for Jordan Hugill. The Middlesbrough-born striker only signed for the Hammers for £9.5m in January. 10:30
KEPA SITUATION
Quite a complicated one, this, but let me explain... Athletic Bilbao have announced that Kepa Arrizabalaga has bought himself out of his contract. This is the done thing at Athletic Bilbao; the same happened with Ander Herrera, Javi Martinez and Aymeric Laporte. It essentially means Kepa is now a free agent and will join Chelsea. The Blues will have paid the money to Kepa, his agent or the company who owns him in order to buy himself out of the contract. Make sense? Good. 10:23
BREAKING NEWS
Athletic Bilbao have confirmed goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga's release clause has been activated. Sky Sports News reported yesterday Chelsea were advanced talks to sign Kepa. 10:16
LOPETEGUI TIGHT-LIPPED ON COURTOIS
Real Madrid head coach Julen Lopetegui refused to comment on the strong rumours linking Chelsea goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois with a move to the Bernabeu. "I always say that I'm not talking about players who are not at Real Madrid. Keylor (Navas) is our goalkeeper and there are no other goalkeepers I can talk about except Keylor, Kiko (Casilla), (Andriy) Lunin and Luca (Zidane). "Keylor is phenomenal, he has our full confidence and is an extraordinary goalkeeper. He's delighted to belong to Real Madrid and we're delighted with him." 10:04
DOUBLE IPSWICH SIGNING
Ipswich have signed centre-back Toto Nsiala and midflieder Jon Nolan from Shrewsbury Town for a combined fee of £1.75m. Both players have signed three-year deals with the club having the option of a further 12 months. 09:48
BREAKING NEWS
Celtic look set to complete a long-term loan deal for Australia World Cup youngster Daniel Arzani later today. The 19-year-old midfielder, who made three sub appearances in Russia, has passed a medical and joins Celtic on a two-year loan, having completed his transfer from Melbourne City to Manchester City, SSN understands. 09:47
BAYER STRIKER SIGNS DEAL
Bayer Leverkusen striker Joel Pohjanpalo has signed a contract extension until 2022, the Bundesliga club have announced. The 23-year-old Finland international, who is currently recovering from an ankle injury, has made 18 Bungesliga appearances for the side and scored seven goals. 09:32
HUDDERSFIELD IN TALKS WITH MBENZA
Huddersfield are now in talks with Montpellier winger Isaac Mbenza, according to Sky sources. Sky Sports News understands Terriers boss David Wagner is keen to add another wide player to his squad after selling Tom Ince to Stoke. Mbenza scored 10 goals in 43 appearances last season as Montpellier finished comfortably mid-table in Ligue 1. 09:30
WAGHORN SIGNS FOR DERBY
Derby have completed the signing of Martyn Waghorn from Ipswich. The 28-year-old striker signs for £5m on a three-year contract. 09:15
WHERE NEXT FOR BOATENG?
It now looks likely Jerome Boateng will stay at Bayern Munich or move to PSG. If PSG are able to present an interesting total package for him, he is likely join them. A decision is expected within the next two weeks. Boateng has a great relationship with Bayern’s new coach Niko Kovac; they are both from the same district in Berlin and Boateng feels Kovac appreciates him as a player. 09:11
BOATENG TO MAN UTD OFF
And here's why... Jerome Boateng’s decision not to join Jose Mourinho at Old Trafford was because he doesn’t believe Manchester United can win the Champions League this season. Sky in Germany understand that Boateng spoke to Jose Mourinho earlier this week to explain that he was honoured by United’s interest in him. However his aim remains to win one more Champions League title – and he feels United are not strong enough to do so in the forthcoming campaign. 09:05
BREAKING NEWS
Defender Ben Mee has signed a new three-year contract at Burnley. The 28-year-old is now committed to at least 2021, with the option of a further 12 months. 09:01
BREAKING NEWS
Winger Adama Traore has completed his move from Middlesbrough to Wolves on a five-year deal. 08:48
BRIGHTON SIGN SIMPKINS
Brighton and Hove Albion have completed the signing of midfielder Emily Simpkins. The 28-year-old joins the club on a free transfer after leaving Doncaster Rovers Belles this summer, and has signed a one-year contract. 08:43
BREAKING NEWS
Sky sources: Bernard is currently travelling from Brazil and is expected to arrive on Merseyside this afternoon ahead of a medical at Everton. Sky Sports News understands that Everton manager Marco Silva has played a key role in the last 24 hours, in persuading Bernard to join the club 08:32
WOLVES SWOOP FOR CLUCAS
Midfielder Clucas saw his move to Burnley collapse over the weekend, and Wolves have moved quickly to try to bring him to Molineux. A formal approach is expected later today. 08:30
BREAKING NEWS
Wolves are keen to sign midfielder Sam Clucas from Swansea before tomorrow’s deadline, SSN has been told. 08:28
COURTOIS > REAL DETAILS
It is understood Thibaut Courtois is currently in Belgium awaiting permission from Chelsea to fly to Madrid to undergo a medical. Real have offered to loan midfielder Mateo Kovacic and pay £35m for the Belgium goalkeeper, but Chelsea are yet to accept the deal. Courtois is keen to move back to Madrid, where he spent three years with Atletico, due to family reasons. The 26-year-old, who has less than year remaining on his current contract at Stamford Bridge, did not report back for training on Monday after being given extra time off following the World Cup. 08:26
BREAKING NEWS
Real Madrid are expecting Thibaut Courtois to arrive in Madrid on Thursday ahead of completing a move to the Bernabeu, according to Sky sources in Belgium. 08:11
HIBS CONFIRM AGYEPONG
Thomas Agyepong has joined Hibernian on a loan move from Manchester City. The 21-year-old is now awaiting the completion of the necessary visa process before joining up with Neil Lennon’s squad. The winger signed for Manchester City in 2015 from the Right to Dream Academy, spending his time since then on loan at Twente and then two seasons at NAC Breda. 08:03
PAPER TALK
Watford have made a £10m offer for Southampton midfielder James Ward-Prowse (Daily Mail)
Everton are confident they can sign Chelsea defender Kurt Zouma on loan if they are unable to complete a move for Yerry Mina (Daily Mirror)
Burnley have offered £10m for Abdoulaye Touré, the Nantes midfielder (The Times)
Fulham have offered £8m for Hugo Mallo, the Celta Vigo right-back (The Times)
07:52
THE BEST OF GREALISH
Spurs fans: here's what you'd be getting. The best of Jack Grealish from the Championship in the 2017/18 season. 07:44
ATLETI SIGN KALINIC
Atletico Madrid have completed the signing of former Blackburn striker Nikola Kalinic from AC Milan. The 30-year-old, who made 42 appearances for AC Milan last season - scoring six goals - completed his medical in Italy on Tuesday. Sky Italy report the deal is in the region of €15m (£13.5m) including bonuses. 07:30
'SPURS A GOOD FIT FOR GREALISH'
Moving to Tottenham is perfect for Jack Grealish, says the panel on The Debate show. 07:27
FEKIR LATEST
Nabil Fekir was left out of the Lyon's squad to face Chelsea last night admid reports of a move to Stamford Bridge. He did come close to signing for Liverpool this window and Lyon Manager Bruno Genesio can't rule out a late move. "It's too early to say. He wanted to leave at the end of last season, but came back to training yesterday and was happy. "Who knows? There may be opportunities that come up before the end of the window. For now, he is a Lyon player." 07:18
Maurizio Sarri has hinted Eden Hazard will stay at Chelsea after he held positive talks with the Belgian. Hazard had been the subject of interest from Real Madrid this summer but Sarri confirmed he has had talks with Belgium star the attacker more than once, suggesting the 'problem' surrounding his future has been resolved. Sarri said: "I don't see a problem in this moment. I have spoken with Eden two or three times in the last two days. "He has spoken of everything. I think this problem - the Hazard problem - is not present now." 06:59
POGBA: THE REPORTS
There are plenty of newspaper reports surrounding Manchester United the day before the window shuts, and the majority of them concern Paul Pogba. It would be the biggest shock of the window if he was to leave... but the clock is ticking.
Pogba wants a £200,000-a-week pay rise to stay at the club, according to The Sun.
Meanwhile, the Daily Mail report that Pogba has told United team-mates he wants to leave and has already agreed a £350,000-a-week contract with Barcelona.
The Daily Star say United are furious with Pogba's agent Mino Raiola for trying to engineer a move to Barcelona for the France star.
Sky in Italy say United have rejected an offer for Pogba from Barcelona of £45m plus Yerry Mina and Andre Gomes.
But United apparently have no desire to part with Pogba, who has just returned to training after winning the World Cup with France.
06:47
ROONEY: UTD NEED TWO SIGNINGS
Wayne Rooney hopes Manchester United can mount a Premier League challenge against Manchester City but admitted they need two more signings to do so. "I hope someone can catch them - it would be nice, so hopefully Manchester United can. I think maybe another signing or two. "I am sure Jose [Mourinho] has been getting the team right. I know there has been a lot of talk about pre-season in the press but I am sure behind the scenes, Jose has been giving them the right amount of work." 06:35
'BOLT WON'T GET SPECIAL TREATMENT'
Central Coast Mariners coach Mick Mulvey says Usain Bolt will be treated as any other player when he joins the Australian A-League club this month on an "indefinite" trial. Mulvey will make the final decision over whether Bolt is offered a contract as the Jamaican sprinting great pursues his long-held dream of playing professional football. "If it was up to him he'd be coming in without any hoopla but that's impossible for a person of his stature. I'm really happy and really looking forward to having him train with the club. "I'm sure when he arrives he'll give a good account for himself and we'll see what happens from there. If it works, he will be offered a contract." 06:22
TRANSFER CENTRE
The latest transfer bulletin from Sky Sports News this Wednesday morning... 06:15
And welcome to Sky Sports live Transfer Centre, bringing you all of the latest news and rumours from the window. It's Wednesday, August 8, and we're in the bizarre position of having just a day-and-a-half of the window left. It's sure to be a frantic day, and we'll bring you absolutely everything until close of play this evening. Join the discussion on Discord. I am a bot. Found any errors? Contact /Football Mods
There was a nice and lengthy pause in the English Premiership proceedings last weekend, and it couldn’t have come at a better time as some of the lower clubs in the relegation battle look for ways to escape the drop. At the top end of the table, defending champions Manchester City have fallen a gigantic twelve points behind bitter rivals Manchester United. City will have to do some soul searching, and come up a better game play to topple the Red Devils. City have drawn two and lost one in their last three, whilst United have only drawn one, and won four of their last five. Considering who Manchester City are up against on the weekend of the 23-24 of February; they will need to be extra skilful, for one more defeat followed by a United victory, will almost certainly end their title defence, and surrender the championship to their most successful neighbours. Fulham - Stoke Fulham host Stoke City this weekend, and the home side have been finding form of late. They’ve taken five points from a possible eighteen, which might not sound like much; but considering the form they were in prior to that is nothing short of a miracle. Martin Jol’s Fulham side meet a Stoke City side that are suffering from similar form. This one could go either way at Craven Cottage, so a punt on a draw is good value at 3.39 with Pinnacle Sports. WBA - Sunderland West Bromwich Albion will be gloating after their victory over Liverpool, though they must get back down to earth fast if they are to upset a Sunderland side that is incredibly unpredictable this term. Martin O’Neill’s Sunderland aren’t exactly flying at the moment, without a win in three games; though they have options enough to force West Brom’s hand. West Brom´s victory is valued at 2.10 at You Win sportsbook. Man City - Chelsea Manchester City are at home this weekend, however it is against Chelsea. Chelsea have picked up only eight points in fifteen, having won only two of their last five. Chelsea have Spurs snapping at their heels for third, and Arsenal and Everton aren’t too far behind either. Victory to Chelsea would help them cut the gap on Manchester City to one point, even though they are out of the title race by most accounts. Victory for Manchester City would put them within nine points of Premiership leaders United at best (provided that United lose). Can City do it? People will be calling this one every which way. Chelsea can win, Manchester City can win, and it could all amount to nothing more than a draw. If you want to win decent money with a punt though, then our bet would be on Chelsea, for Bet 365 offers them up at 4.00 odds to beat the defending champions. Good Luck, somerjoki
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