Chez

That lack of size in that line up is a concern. If we go longer, more often, Archer is not ideal as the focal point of the attack. Bree, Taylor, Stephens, BBD, Downs and Stewart would all provide more height. Whether we want to be playing all or some of those, I am not sure.

I agree, its not pitiful in the championship and I applaud your continuous efforts to tell people that we have players that have done it at this level before. Keep in mind though that BBD scored 14 goals in 43 games back in 22/23 season. That's a little while ago now. Stewarts goals again came from 22/23 too and Archers goals were from 21/22 and 22/23. It's good to have this track history, but it's the present and future that matters. Are these guys now confident, comfortable with the system and being supplied with the chances they all need (because none of them really create things out of nothing on their own)? I am always mindful that Deli Ali scored 10, 18, 9, 5 and 8 goals in consecutive season for Spurs...and then, well, he didn't score goals for Spurs. Things change quickly in football.

Downs and Robinson to start, possibly? Is Smallbone really going to be our number 10?

Lavia seemed to fit the needs of both Liverpool and Chelsea. Do the big sides have a Fernandes shaped hole? Not so sure. And its those CL sides that have the big money available.

Does THB start for a single PL side? he wouldn't dislodge Burnley's pair, not sure Leeds or Sunderland would start him either, but maybe I'm mistaken.

is that realistic? The market is mad these days. I've no idea how half the clubs afford the fees they pay.

Up front, Vardey gone, Daka still there. Mavididi and Fatawu still there. No idea why both were not starters right from the off last year. I think Mavididi was injured for the first couple of games, but should have started, They were both very good in the championship.

yeah more complete is a good term, but even Lavia had a few things to learn. He also didn't have to do the `second' hardest thing in football, dribble past players. Players that can do it against top opponents are rare. When I see £27m, I just think of the amount we speculated on Sulemana, not far off that, who at the time was on the bench at Rennes. That was a 2.5 years ago too...and the prices keep rising. Dibling has actually done it in the PL, all be it for half a season.

If, and that's a big if, he had continued to run teams ragged, like he did at Brighton, scored lets say four more goals in the run in, then maybe that massive price tag we put on him in January wouldn't look so out of place as it does at the moment. The club know what a talent he is, and they are no daft enough to ignore that, even if their hand is not as strong as they'd like.

Obviously no club chucked him a life ring then. Has he played in the friendlies? Did he look any good? I slated him last season, but am hoping for a second season bump (especially as he will have much more space in which to display his woeful first touch).

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.