sadoldgit

I don't know what the circumstances of these people are, but perhaps they are terrified of being shipped back to Syria?

I am not saying it is. I am just saying that desperate times call for desperate measures and I am pretty sure no one would risk the lives of their loved ones with good reason. We have no idea what these people have been through and what their circumstances are.

Of course it isn't. We have had a huge extra expenditure with the training facilities and there is the wage bill to be considered. The owners have made it clear that the club has to be self sustainable and books have to be balanced. It is easy to sit behind a computer screen and say spend more but we have been down that road before and it didn't go well. What has been our biggest spend? £15m on Osvaldo? That is put into perspective when you consider that we got £16m for Chambers. I have supported this club since 1966 and we have never been a club to spend a huge amount on players no matter who has been in control. Cant see it happening any time soon. What they will have to consider though is their spend on wages. We will never compete with the big boys but do need to compete with the likes of Newcastle and Stoke. The money we have spent on van Dijk and Clasie is a lot for us, we have brought in lots of new players this summer and have made around £3m net. I think we manage our transfers well for a club of our size.

No, just a closet Spud, which is probably worse!

That's him! Dementia clearly setting in!

He does. It is SOGGY. Never fails to crack me up!

Everything is relative. I am sure that people are risking their lives and the lives of their families for a reason.

Read an article by him the other day and he admitted he did like a drink after training. Mind you there wasn't much else for them to do then. Things have changed for the better now, they just go shopping and spend their wedge nowadays.

Would you have done that to flee the Nazis if you were Jewish or a Slav?

The fella from Barcelona who I think Alan Ball signed. Name escapes me but was quality and linked up well with MLT. That seemed to go on for weeks.

Very trying!

Was gutted when we sold him both times and I agree with Art, Strachan made a big mistake with him. I think he will be doing some media work so hope to see more of him on the telly.

bdewetting

Probably not his agent!

transferwindow

I think it is just players wages - it says so in the editorial. From elsewhere it looks like Ron is on £3m and he is about the 5th highest paid manager in the Prem.

PREMIER LEAGUE CLUBS' FINANCIAL FIGURES FOR 2013-14 SEASON Club Wages Turnover Wages to Turnover Profit after Tax Manchester United £215.8m £433.2m 50% £23.8m Manchester City £205m £346.5m 59% -£22.9m Chelsea £192.7m £319.8m 60% -£49.4m Arsenal £166.4m £298.7m 56% £7.3m Liverpool £144m £256m 56% £0.4m Tottenham £100.4m £180.5m 56% £65.3m Newcastle £78.3m £129.7m 62% £18.7m QPR £75.3m £38.7m 195% -£9.7m Sunderland £69.5m £104.4m 67% -£17.1m Everton £69.3m £86.4m 58% £28.2m Aston Villa £69.3m £116.9m 59% -£3.9m West Brom £65.4m £86.8m 75% £9m West Ham £63.9m £114.9m 56% £10.3m Swansea £48.1m £98.7m 64% £1.7m Stoke £60.6m £98.3m 67% £3.8m Southampton £55.2m £106m 59.30% £33.4m Crystal Palace £45.7m £90.4m 50.50% £17.2m Hull £43.3m £84.5m 64% £9.4m Leicester £36.6m £31.2m 116% -£20.8m Burnley £21.5m £19.6m 110% -£4.2m Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-3049099/Southampton-FOURTH-lowest-Premier-League-salary-total-despite-seventh-does-club-fare-wages-table.html#ixzz3khN9QNz6 Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

I agree. It is one thing picking up decent players relatively cheaply, but at some point we will come a cropper if we don't pay players more. We can be a forward thinking modern club, but we also need to be competitive on pay scales with other clubs of our size.

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2015/09/02/12/2BE1F8D600000578-3219430-Net_spending_broken_down_by_club_in_the_Premier_League_during_th-m-1_1441192513573.jpg net spend table

Balancing the books is never as exciting as a big signing but there is something satisfying about doing well on a budget. Swansea looked quality the other day and Palace look a really good side this season. I think the club had its fingers burnt over Osvaldo, Ramirez and Mayuka and perhaps are playing it a bit safe right now and I cant really blame them for that. Still, if Vic can sort his head out and we get more consistency out of the Pelles, Tadics and JWPs we could be up for another decent season. Just a shame that the European expedition was such a damp squib!

7th highest spenders. Spent some £40m on improving the training facilities. Not too shabby for a club that isn't owned as a billionaires plaything.

It is only just September. Perhaps we should wait for 10 games before we start judging?

He is no Frank Lampard but then there aren't many who score as prolifically from midfield. In our purple patch last season goals were coming from all over the pitch. We need to get back to that. If you rely on one or two to score your goals unless one of them is Suarez you are stuffed.

If you pay top wages and you cant afford it, you could end up out of business.

lurker