Just wondering what people think the point of the Forum is.

For me, I think it should serve any one of three purposes:

1 To share useful information (e.g. IPO listings)
2 To help each other/ask for help (whether it be player tips or trading techniques, etc)
3 To be entertaining

If a post hits all 3, that's the holy grail.

Several threads have become arguments recently or the same points have been made over and over. Some of it really has me scratching my head trying to work out what the purpose of some of the posts has been. Player tips seem to be a bit thin on the ground and I'm longing for a good pump!

If it's not useful information or funny, I've definitely reached the point that I don't want to read it. Do we think we can strive to get the Forum back to these values or am I missing the point as to what it's for?

And before someone says what purpose did this boring message serve, it's a vague effort to encourage people to look at what they've been posting and to think about what they are positively adding to the Forum. Let's stop deliberately picking fights and start helping each other again. I've gained so much from the Forum in the past and we can all make it be a fantastic place again.

@SDOAFIT completely agree. Regardless of whether you like the changes or not, I do not believe for one minute that these were made to screw over existing users. FI are investing in more advertising to grow, so deliberately annoying the current users would be crazy, as Twitter and the Forum get negative, people get scared off and all the advertising would be for nothing.

If I genuinely believed that they were deliberately screwing me over, I would not post on the Forum or Twitter, spreading more panic. I would sell and get out as quickly as possible.

As I say, not saying the current situation is good or that the transition to OB is going well so far, but I'd rather we come together as a Forum to help each other through this and find new ways to make money, rather than the continual attacks on FI, or worse, on someone else with money tied up too, just because they disagree with you.

You hear on the radio that Thomas Cook shares have plummeted 20% and you think, who does he play for?

@BringBackTrueIS I see your concerns about the current removal of FI backed IS and I also understand the logic of trying to get FI to reinstate it by telling them as a user base that there is a problem. Clearly more voices here would help.

However, my issue with the current strategy being employed by some trying to achieve the above is that the posts are way too emotional, aggressive and/or factually incorrect. If somebody could put together a properly thought through argument that stacked up, especially in light of current world events, then maybe more would get on board.

I'm really not sure how much more FI could have done to product both themselves and their users during this time and it's unfair/inappropriate to judge the ME when football is only just returning. We'll know far more when the transfer rumours start seriously and it's building up to the new season.

I don't expect you to agree, but just trying to say that if you want people to get behind your bid for change, you probably need to rethink your user name, lose the footer which is an unnecessary dig and don't pick an argument with everyone who disagrees.

@Tom7471 I'm always accused of being negative at work as I challenge new ideas and ways of doing things. But I believe you need to challenge and question, as it's how things improve. If we always pretend everything is great as it is, nothing would ever get better, so I agree with you on that, but there is a way of doing it.

I'd have no problem with "I will be using the upcoming survey to ask for FI backed IS to be returned as a back stop, which will return confidence to the market and boost trading at the lower end". That's constructive and something FI can work with. "FI have screwed us, changed our bet, made it impossible to make money, etc. and I'm selling all my portfolio and everyone else should leave cause it's all over Twitter" is less helpful, probably not factually correct and is always going to spiral into an argument. There are ways of making the same point, that would be my argument. If we want FI backed IS to return, there needs to be widespread demand for it. That's not going to happen if we fight amongst ourselves.

Never thought I'd have to defend someone of Mbappe's ability on a football Forum, but here we go...

• Putting FI marginally to one side for the moment, as a player has already lit up a World Cup final, Golden Boy winner, 3 x in top 10 Balon d'Or, FIFA best young player award, 2 x French player of the year, 2 x Ligue 1 top goal scorer and it goes on. At 21! Messi and Ronaldo have been the best two players in the world for years, but they are now both well into their 30's. Mbappe is an obvious contender to take over that mantle.
• As for FI, Mbappe is likely to be one of the players who will benefit from the upcoming media review due to his international appeal and the removal of the one-name/specific name bias.
• His PB chances are unlikely to be harmed by the annual review of the current matrix, as his game is not naturally matched to some of the current quirks.
• Despite this, his PB average over the past 3 months based on 90 minute performances is 162. The PB beast that is Messi has an average of 151, Neymar stands at 140 and Rashford has an average of 93. If you go back further Messi's numbers are higher, but it is to be expected that Mbappe's figures will continue to improve, as he adds maturity and match awareness to his current physical talents.
• Mbappe's improving PB is, in part, evidenced by one PB win already this season and a current placing of 2nd in the forward TOTM standings.
• Transfer links unlikely to go away any time soon, which is handy for MB too.

Not saying all of the above means he should be the most valuable player on the Index. Not even trying to say he is a good buy. But I do think that having somebody like Mbappe at the top of the pyramid is good for FI, as it would seem logical to new users and others having a browse, as his combined ability and age makes him the most obvious purchase when placing a long-term bet.

Revived this old Kane thread, rather than start a new one.

No obvious stand out games for me today, but will be interesting to see if Spurs carry on where they left off today, having scored 13 in 2 games so far in October, which is hardly typical Mourinho.

Bale likely to take the headlines today, but if he's still got some of that magic left and Spurs can integrate him into their system (both big ifs) then he could really add extra fire power.

This could also be good for Kane, who seems to be enjoying getting involved in more of the all round play this season, which is where he started making his mark before his goal return saw him pushed to be an out and out number 9. I've believed Kane has been one of the safest premium holds for a while, with good dividend returns and a decent candidate for PB and MB, without being a beast for either.

Being England captain with the Euros coming up, transfer links likely if it goes badly at Spurs this season and still being only 27 all give reasons to be optimistic. I always look for multiple reasons to buy and for me, Kane has several strings to his bow at the present time.

Anyway, North London rivalries aside, I'm hoping for something decent from Kane today.

I saw this advert in a window that said: ‘Television for sale, £1, volume stuck on full.’ I thought, ‘I can’t turn that down.'”

I've answered that I'm not prepared to engage with them, which is not entirely true in that I know how they work and if FI adopt them, I will use them. However, I think one of the most appealing parts of the product is it's simplicity and it's still in its infancy with loads more potential for growth, so I just don't think it's needed yet. As with anything, there'll be winners and losers with any change and with the way things have gone for me in my year here (both financially and from an enjoyment perspective) I just don't want this level of change (I know I'm in the minority on the Forum so wanted to give an alternative view as most on here seem to think it's a no brainer but there must be lots out there like me who enjoy the product as it is).

@NewUser621862 this used to be recorded daily as part of the Daily Dividend Winners thread. The new system started on 11 September and the opening FOOTIE was 364. Not convinced it's ever been higher, but I could be wrong.

@NewUser406849 taken from the homepage:

FOOTIE 100:
The FOOTIE 100 is an aggregated price of the top 100 footballers on the platform, similar to the FTSE100. The FOOTIE 100 is a Sentiment Index that acts as a barometer of momentum within the Market; essentially how well FI is performing.

@Ericali I think the point being made above though is that there is middle ground here. If you think someone is going to return £5 in 3 years, but then be valueless, you wouldn't buy them for£5, otherwise you've just made a very risky interest free loan. But if you consider career dividends, you may well be prepared to pay the£5, if you think they will continue earning dividends in the future, as it is likely to mean they will still hold a value in 3 years time.

I see your logic and it certainly makes sense to look for short term dividend winners, but any dividend yield has to be considered alongside the capital position.

The best example I can give about the benefit of looking at career dividends would be Messi. Surely a 25 year old Messi would be worth more than a 32 year old one? The 3 year dividends may well be the same, but people would pay more because of what he is expected to do beyond that 3 year term (I.e. career dividends)

@King-Fergus this will be the most scrutinised and checked election result ever, it's just going to take time. As you say, no need to fall out. The campaigning and voting is all done. Let the process take it's course and try to ignore the crazy stuff being shared on social media.

@Dan-The-Man I think the fact that people are still market buying should encourage sellers to be patient and not under value their holds. Unfortunately, for every tale of a market purchase, there's 10 others of panic and dropping prices. Seen lots of comments along the lines of "I hope... drops to....so I can buy more" and I think there are lots more like that who are not so open about it. Unfortunately, there will be people losing out when they sell too cheaply in a panic, but that is exactly what some people are posting in the hope of achieving.

Of course, all players are different so maybe selling is right for some too. The point is people need to try and make rational decisions and not let emotion take over. Easier said than done though when there's money on the table.

@AndydfopT sorry to hear it's all getting you down. If it's getting to the point you are getting depressed, might be worth taking a hit on any non dividend earners that you can, to start reducing your exposure. As @Dan-The-Man said, the money has already been spent, so getting anything back might start to make you feel a bit better. Difficult to say though without knowing how much you've got in which players.

Not many players don't ever have an IS, so keep an eye on it if you really want out and I'm sure there will be opportunities to sell. I've got a real collection of dodgy holds and they all have IS options at times.

@Sparks365 I hold and have done for a while. Long term he still feels like a good hold to me, but lots of people looking shorter term at the moment, moving cash into immediate dividend earners. I actually think Mbappe will yield a reasonable amount this year and with Euros on the horizon, I expect him to be one of the beneficiaries when sentiment improves. However, I understand that looking at historic yields and his status as one of the most expensive players on the Index has put some off him.

I have a portfolio made up of mostly youngsters, bought with CA in mind, so the changes have hit my port harder than most, so I will continue to hold Mbappe for now, as he's one of the premium players that I think will at least bring in some dividends.

However, you need to do what's right for you and your appetite for risk, as clearly being one of the most expensive players does mean he's got further to fall than others.

@NewUser395079 got to be an improvement on the current lack of visibility. I'll hold back on full judgement until I've seen it next week, but seems a decent upgrade on the face of it.

@Kanzz unfortunately those videos have been edited to look that way. If you Google to look for similar things about Trump, you'll find pictures of him with a 13 year old, questions about his links to Jeffrey Epstein and a rape accusation against a 14 year old. All pretty disgusting stuff but no credible evidence to support any of it. Mostly looks like stuff put out there to deliberately deceive.

The vote counting and appeals will all go through the proper channels and until it's concluded, the US will be under this uncertainty. Thought it was worth clarifying the other issue though, as that's a horrible thing to be tarnished with and there doesn't seem to be any reliable evidence that suggests either of them have done anything inappropriate.

@Dan-The-Man sorry, I didn't mean FI backed IS, I meant that by restricting the bid zone, IS as provided by bids would be higher. At this stage I think bringing back FI backed IS could be a disaster, as there could be huge sell offs, so I think that ship has sailed sadly.