Chez

What's your take on his press conference? What do you see differently? Mine is, nothing really changes in terms of money available or the type of player will sign, but we can get our first choice instead of fighting for the scraps at the end of windows. For this window we will sign two players, one who probably will stay at the club until the summer. Johnstone seems to fit that situation. The other will be a youngster like Delap.

by shoestring, I meant no £30m players and very much self financing/sustaining, which caps our budget somewhat and that budget will be determined by prize money and transfers. If we sell JWP for £50m, then we could spend £20m on a single player, but otherwise we will looking at less than that, which is fine if the scouting is top notch.

he talks about signing players "earlier", and "not needing to sell first before buying" - basically have the necessary cash flow when they need it, so players they want don't go elsewhere before we are in a position to buy. There was a hint there that a player we were going to sign in the summer, would be targeted now - perhaps Johnstone? And also that they would sign a player now (perhaps to prevent another club getting him) but allow him to stay until the summer - could also be Johnstone, as WBA will want to keep him for their promotion push. The type and price of player will be same as before ("the Livramentos and Brojas of this world") - so still a relative shoestring budget, but just without the pain of having to wait until Ings is sold first before doing that transfer business. In short, we wont see much of a change in policy and type of player, but we will have more chance of getting our first choice as we will have the cash flow to do it when we need to - at the start of windows or dare I say it before the window opens - which we didn't before.

yeah, I agree. They might get him for even less. he'll only have a year left on his contract and Barca are absolutely desperate to get the players on high wages out the door to allow the to sign new stars.

Not sure I quite agree. They might sign him in the summer. They have an option. if he shines then they will certainly try. Can you have too many flair players? If he fit our budget, which is doubtful, I would have been very excited at his signing on the basis of how good he was for Liverpool.

I wonder how winter signings/loan like Coutinho are justified/costed? I guess if you have obvious squad gaps then maybe you don't need to do any sort of cost analysis, but if the manager simply says we need him to make us better, then the paymasters are going to ask - what does that mean in terms of results and return on investment? With prize money at £2m+ a place, I guess if he wins you a game that you would perhaps have lost, that may be enough to cover the investment.

That's exciting, but does Tella getting a new contract count as a new signing? Cynical, me? Never.

Can you name 12 championship keepers without using google?

It felt like the Ings money may have been used to pay for the incoming players in the summer, although maybe staggered payments might provide extra capital now that we didn't have in the summer? As last winter, a loan rather than transfer perhaps? Another Minamino (flair player in the hole) type perhaps to create a few more chances? I'd of thought the only `paid for' transfer we'd make in this window would be for a keeper and we'd only be buying him now to prevent losing him to another side (such as Johnstone) - otherwise we'd make the move in the summer. Perhaps the `longish term' injury to McCarthy changes things a little, although if they are giving Willy an extension, then I really can't see us signing a keeper in this window at all. Has he signed a deal yet?

I guess in your first season, moving from Reading to Bayern Munich, that isn't unexpected/terrible. Worth our scouts keeping an eye on, I'd say.

Any chance the admins can separate sport from politics?

Anyone know how Omar Richards is doing at Bayer Munich? I was disappointed we didn't/couldn't sign him (no brainer for him to sign for Bayern) as I thought he'd be ideal replacement for Bertrand. Wondered if he was getting games, on the bench or rotting in their reserves. If things were not going well, perhaps we could bring him home, so to speak, in the summer to bolster that left back position. I guess if Small works out there wont be a need.

I watched the Cho videos and he seems to play up front, but doesn't look like a goalscorer, more of speedy wide player. He is completely one footed, which is not uncommon, but noticeable. As you say, he has a nice turn when defenders get too tight and was quick, but most of the time his trick was to kick the ball to one side of the defender, and go round the other and often had to foul the defender to regain possession. None of the refs seemed to pull him up on that, for some reason. No shortage of confidence mind. Not sure he would improve us right now. I'd say Tella was a better player, but for a 17 year old he was impressive. Bringing in 17/18 year old's is needed to bolster our lacklustre youth development. How much you pay for some like Cho is the real challenge.

have Brighton benefitted in terms of acquiring players from that Belgium club too?

Blackburn have an option to extend his contract by another year, so he ain't walking for free this summer - hence the £30m price tags being mentioned.

the 41 year old Drago Solak plays chess, not invests in SFC.

what's the equivalent modern day position called for inside forward? If its the skill players behind the striker, then I agree.

Very. In fact it is never happening. So who has linked us to him and why? Its either the agent working for the player, or the agent working for Blackburn, who will want to attract a fee rather lose him for nothing. Not sure the journalist, merely knowing we have signed a player from Blackburn recently, would create the link out of thin air.

the five year deal ensures they get a decent fee. It might not mean they actually intend to keep him. As you say, if they sign someone big next summer, then he slides back down the pecking order. It would unusual for Chelsea not to spend big on a striker in favour of allowing a kid to work his way into the first team. Only the transfer ban allowed Abraham a chance. Before then they spent money every summer. The more goals he scores for us, the less chance we can afford him/attract him to sign. We kind of need him to do well, but not too well! The Ings money allowed us to spend a few quid in the summer, but without that income, will there be any `proper' money to spend next summer? I'm not so sure - unless we fly up the league and earn a lot more in prize money - although perhaps staggered payments for Ings (should that exist) might help a bit. The success of Livramento and Broja might tempt us to go that route a lot more, and signing quality youngsters is a great move for a club of our size.

makes £1.5 billion profit? That sounds like a lot for a product that they need to buy from the Premier League first before selling on. Usually these guys own companies and shares that have a value, rather than him having cash in the bank, but I know nothing.

when I read the word `invest' I think owner gift or loan. Or do you mean, the club using its own money will buy young players.

not being leveraged is certainly a great start. Not sure is buy this great plan as yet, but hope it pans out I also trust the current folks (Semmens) and their track record, although don't believe they turned down a credible `higher' bid, as the shareholder will just want to maximise his return. Actual football people involved can be a good thing. is he a billionaire like Gao? Yep, like the top of a pyramid thing.

please tell me one reason why Gao sells to someone offering less money (assuming they both actually have the money and can complete the deal)? Semmens and anyone else can spin it how they want, but its all bollocks. Gao sold to the highest credible/real/actual bidder.

1. Not if they simply turned down offers that were too low. I dont buy this `right' buyer. Right price more like. 2. was the football guy instrumental in finding and signing the players that came good? If so, thats a big plus. 3. if we can take the best of our feeder clubs, that is big win. Long way to go before this is a reality though.

is the strategy one that gives the fans what they want or gives the shareholders what they want? Maybe thats the same thing.