Chez

Good point. I forgot about him. Once we get close to the window closing, and West Ham are settled, I can see him as a genuine possibility.

I always enjoy these kind of stories, but no chance JWP drops down a division IMO or we can afford his £100k+ a week wages. Even if West Ham paid him half of it as a lump sum, we are still not going to pay him £60k a week or whatever. We are offloading Ramsdale because his reduced wage is still too high.

Not to get all MLG on you, but you said "get rid" and not renewing contracts and loaning players out for a season because you don't want them counts as getting rid in some people's book, but I take your point, selling 15 players in a window is unlikely. So far its 8 gone this summer, with Ramsdale likely to make it 9. It would surprise no one if Fernandes and Dibling departed and perhaps a few more on loan like ABK, Taylor, BBD...so, that 15 mark could be reached this year too.

We do need to make a tidy profit on transfers to offset operating losses, but that looks probable at this point. We didn't spend a great deal last time, all be it we had the January window nightmare to pay for, but £10-15m for Spertsyan, possibly a keeper (could be a free) and maybe a winger...who knows how much that would cost? It's not a foregone conclusion we will use the loan market, but perhaps if a few are loaned out, then we might consider it.

we offloaded 19 players in 2023, all be it two retired and several were season long loans.

Is Dibling much different to Lavia? Obviously Lavia performed well in most games, all season, while Dibling struggled a little in the second half of the season, but in terms of age, ability and potential, they could be seen as similar. I know its a starting bid, but I hope the £27m offer has been made merely to reset expectations and not a guide of what we might get for him. Unfortunately, we only have him tied down for two years and not three otherwise we could play hard ball.

What agent would instruct their player to sign a new contract for a team that has just been relegated? Dibling would have to be mad to tie himself to us for longer at this point. Sit tight for a year and then make a decision. By getting relegated, the club lost the opportunity to tie him down. Fucking annoying. We have a talent, and like you say, they can't afford to see the value drop after a year or risk losing him for nothing after two.

A key difference is that both has three years left on their contracts, while Dibling has two. They could afford to keep them a year without it impacting the value of the player.

The contract extends a further year, so he signed a 3.5 year contract.

Transfermarkt has us bringing in £32m so far, not including Ramsdale. Mind you it has us spending just £10m on Downs and Quarshie, so maybe it undercooks the fees a fraction?

We lost £35m, before player trading, in the year we were in the championship. £25m was lost in the season prior (in the PL) before player trading. So if you want to break even (which isn't necessarily required) you'd need to make a net profit of £35m or so, based on last time. Its worth noting that we have a sizeable debt that at some point needs paying down too. It's not easy to compare seasons, but the drop in wages (due to relegation clauses) from PL to Championship last time helped overcome the big loss of TV/PL revenue. Obviously, after the first two years, the parachute payments fall to about £8m, so you then need to find further savings in the realms of £35m. After a couple of season in the championship, the income from player sales tends to fall dramatically, so overcoming operational losses through player trading becomes pretty tough.

Some thought we'd go straight back due to the financial muscle, but the pessimists and those that witnessed the shit show under cuntflaps were worried we'd repeat the trick. It will be very tough again. We have financial muscle and the players on paper, but it's on Still to create a winning team...and that's not easy. I look forward to winning a game or two.

Realistically, can you block a player from getting move to a bigger club if they are offering decent money? The player is going to be fuming if you deny them a lucrative move. Once they have decided they want to go, it becomes very difficult to keep them.

I mentioned yesterday Forest are bidding for McAtee, so that might impact things. Not sure they want both.

you also can't build a financial model by giving them away for buttons. There always has to be a middle ground. If we are demanding, say, £50m, which is pretty high, that could create a problem. Who knows what the clubs price is though.

don't fancy yours much.

if he develops a bug and can't make training (I believe thats the standard approach to trying to force a move), aka a "knock", then the club might have to reassess it's pricing policy. Let's hope it doesn't come to that.

would explain the rise in lost baggage.

To some degree the company accounts provide the actual answers, as they show the drop in income when you go down. 2023 (PL season) Turnover £145m 2024 (Championship season) Turnover £85m So, the income drop, or gap, was actually just £60m. Key here is the lower operating costs in the lower division: 2023 (PL) £171m 2024 (Championship) £122m...due mostly to reduced wages (£42m less). The losses before player trading in 2023 were thus about £26m. In the 2024 (championship season) the losses before player trading were £35m.

Does another championship cub have the necessary funds and desire to buy Smallbone?

Me bad. Loved Boruc. Liked Davis for sticking with us despite the West Ham offer.

I think that, because if we don't get promoted, we will be even more keen to lose his wages. That kind of bargaining position doesn't lend itself to getting a top price. Hey ho. The club obviously had no choice. I guess I'm just a bit disappointed to lose the only keeper I've liked since Niemi.

He wasn't first choice, but they must want him. If you are right though, they won't want him next summer. The option is pointless. If we don't get promoted teams will offer buttons for him knowing we need to offload.

They finished the Milton end redevelopment ages ago. It added some seats, not reduced the capacity.

Forest bid £25m for McAtee. May be one less interested party in Fernandes. No doubt that's the kind of figure they will have been thinking they could get him for. My guess is we want north of £35m.