Chez

I thought we were pretty entertaining most of the time. If I understand the term correctly, we were expansive too. We conceded a lot of goals, which was worrying, especially knowing it would be harder to keep clean sheets this season, but we scored a lot too. Some of the goals were fabulous one end to the other passing moves. For the most part we were a good side. Perhaps flat track bullies, but better than I thought we would be. And that's important in assessing RM. What were your expectations at the start of the season? Over the course of the season expectations grew very quickly, so any poor performances really had fans moaning. The way Hull and Leicester murdered us not only destroyed straight promotion hopes but really hit home that we weren't a great side. Over the course of the season fans quickly forgot that the manager inherited a fucking nightmare situation of talent leaving right left and centre, unhappy players remaining and having to get a disjointed side with no pattern of play galvanised and winning quick sharp. No easy task. RM did a bloody good job there. The idea we were promoted despite RM rather than because of him is disingenuous. Don't get me wrong, I recognise his failings. To be honest I was never a fan or really convinced by him, but after seeing us in the championship with Baguss (then Burley) at the helm, I wasn't expecting us to go straight back up, so was happy that we did it, even if it was through the play offs. None of this has anything to do with the transfer window of course, but in this vacuum (a real shame as I love discussing potential targets) there is not much to talk about. I started to look at talented Championship players that wont be promoted that we can sign in the summer, but it's folly to even discuss them as Sheff United or whoever are more likely to get them.

When Ken Tone says "offload" he is probably talking about trying to sell our players (or allow them to leave for free) not paying up their contracts. No club ever wants to pay up a player contract, but they will do so as a last resort when they player won't leave or no one wants them (and perhaps they are stinking up the place) and you can agree a deal that possibly saves the club a few quid.

Not everyone. Some explained that their promotion winning squad was full of loans, they had a keeper fucking off and lots out of contract players, so they had no choice but to sign a shed load as they had many many gaps to fill. Inevitably, as we well know, quite a few signings didn't work out, and they only just survived, so, using the Brendon Johnson money they attacked the transfer window again with another batch of players but also getting players that didn't work out of the club. Again, they only just survived, but it was more down to poor results than poor performances and players, so recruitment could (and due to FFP had to) be just of a few key players...and here we are. Crazy that they are title challengers, but not a crazy transfer policy. We signed 18 players ourselves this summer and have 6 points to show for it. Now that is a basket case of a club.

Not sure we would be in a better position. The parachute payment for year 2 in the championship would have been about £36m. Instead we will get about £120m for being in the Prem for one season - plus another four years of parachute payments. That extra money (not to mention extra money from commercial) has allowed us to buy THB, Downes, Ramsdale and Fernandes which would probably have been out of our reach if we have stayed in the championship. They may now go, but right now they are assets which we wouldn't have. If they do go, the funds can be reinvested to help create another promotion challenging side. We have no idea how we would have fared in the championship this season. We may have thrived, but the likes of Burnley and Sheffield United would have made it hard to get promoted. The budget would have needed to be cut by about £9m (due to smaller parachute payment in year 2), so we may have been a worse team than the previous season. Promotion was a godsend not a burden.

I care. We are woeful. Still like to see us win...and have a cup run. Wigan won it while being relegated.

Yes, that's exactly how it works. Hence Callum O'Hare moving from Coventry to Sheffield United last summer despite them being similarly shit in the Prem. Money talks.

I hear you and understand where you are coming from, but if these are my choices: a) sign a player on loan that is better than Onuachu and we win three games but still go down b) sign no one in this window and go down winning one more league game, but the extra couple of million saved enables us to outbid Leicester in the summer for a striker we both want and we go on to get promotion ...I go for b).

You can burn money to make you feel warmer if you want, but I choose to save to buy a heater. The point you seem to missing here is no one is coming here in January that will be make a god damn difference to our survival.

Oh, if we are playing that game, I suggest we sign a whole new squad in this window. How are we paying for that you ask? And my response would be...I think you have mistaken me for the financial director. Seriously, I'd like to see us win some games this season too, but if it was your company and your money, would you throw good money after bad on a loan, or save it for the summer putting a promotion winning side together?

18 more of these fuckers. What a nightmare. Ronaldo in his prime wouldn't be enough to keep this side up...so better off saving the money for the summer.

Chunkier? Is there an ounce of fat on him? A lack of fitness is hard to assess. He certainly lacks a yard of pace though.

Got a striker in mind that is going to help us win enough games to keep us up?

I struggle to understand the point of a loan if we are already down. If the player costs £50k a week, that's a million quid before any loan fee. Not a huge amount in Prem terms, but in the championship it's sizeable and would that money not be better spent next summer on another Brooks or suchlike?

I never for the life of me thought we could hold out for £60m for Lavia, but we did. Ramsdale and Dibling (and THB and Fernandes too probably) won't be sold cheaply - unless Ramsdale is on £100k+ a week with no relegation reduction - in which case we might be more flexible. The rest, well, I am not sure we will have too many clubs beating down the door to sign them.

I was not aware of that. Perhaps that relied on us winning two or three of the games to make the gap bridgeable. It ain't now.

If you have no intention of signing anyone, what's the meeting going to be about? The only reason to have a meeting now is to decide who to let go out on loan. Maybe they could have done that a week ago, but it gave Juric more time to evaluate what he has...and for enquiries to come in to make a decision on. Just a thought. Defending SR isn't something I make a habit of doing.

I would suggest Juric was told when he was interviewed that we would not be spending any money in this window. So obviously there has been no urgency at all to discuss signings. I would imagine he was informed that he would have a say on who was sold/loaned out once he'd had three or four games to work out who he fancied. So, having a meeting tomorrow makes perfect sense.

Come the summer, all three promoted sides for starters might see him as an upgrade. The likes of West Ham need a new keeper and all the big sides, even Man City could do worse than adding him to their squad. Is Onana a better keeper? I'm not sure. Last summer there perhaps weren't openings and our patience paid off. Next summer things change again. Hope no one wants him. He's what we have missed for years.

Still don't know why Ramsdale came to us. We only had about £100m to spend in the summer and the THB transfer eat into that somewhat. Was there actually money to sign more Ramsdales? Downes, Archer, Sugawara, BBD, Wood and Edwards weren't exactly big money signings in this day and age. Plus Taylor, Lallana and Fraser all on frees of course.

Knowing money will be tight when we go down, would you sell him if offered £20m?

There will be plenty of interest in Ramsdale. Whether anyone stumps up the amount we will want for him is a different matter.

Man United, maybe? I do wonder what the general `hit/miss' rate is for Prem signings. I guess the starting point matters too. I mean, if your side is already `OK' and you sign 2 good, 5 bad, then you can hide those failures better than if your side is poor to start off with and you have a similar success/failure rate.

Other than Cornet's loan being ended and BBD going out on loan, I am not sure the rest is gonna happen.

Doesn't really need posting on here, as I am sure you are all aware, but for completion, here is the Brereton to Sheff United loan news: https://www.dailyecho.co.uk/sport/24834309.southampton-sheffield-united-reportedly-agree-brereton-diaz-loan/ https://www.thestar.co.uk/sport/football/sheffield-united/sheffield-united-working-overtime-in-transfer-market-as-ben-brereton-diaz-southampton-reunion-edges-closer-4931330

Point still stands...unless Meghoma never really makes the Brentford first team too of course.