That's mine done!

Rather quiet recently.

Yep literally are the forgotten champions

A permanent transfer requires a new work permit - I guess the benefit would lie in him not taking up an ESC slot of any prospective new club. This might be particularly helpful if he were to move to a L1 or L2 club as they only get up to 2 ESC players. It would also make it easier to loan him out as currently he’d count as an ESC player for both us and the club we sent him to.

If you’re on gardening leave you’re still technically employed.

Well unless I'm misremembering, it would also allow him to be sold to another UK club, as once you have the exemption thingy you don't need to reapply at another club. So it would increase his pool of suitors, helping him get a move, plus put 'Championship experience' on his CV rather than 'signed but never played a game'. I also think it's less disrespectful than the alternative - outright cancelling his contract to make way for the deal, which is absolutely what will happen if we need the space and he isn't exempt from needing to use it.

Mention of Waggott being "still employed" sends me into a cold sweat. Is it normal for employees who have been dispensed with but who are on gardening leave to be referred to in that way? I take it he doesn't actually do anything or wield any influence any longer?

Nope, not said it for a while now.

Fantastic post, well put. (Except perhaps the very last point, I'm starting to not believe the club's line on that in a literal sense, but I won't go into that now) That list really shows how rare good CMs have been for us, and yet I'm sure certain posters will still say they expect a Travis level replacement.

Charge your battery!

Can anyone confirm if Travis has changed his bio. Im positive it mentioned rovers but could be wrong

…there’s plenty of older Venky apologists in the fanbase too.

Never forget....those tossers took the piss out of our protesting fans.

It's almost a carbon copy of the last big fire sale that lead to relegation when you stand back and look at it and of course the younger Venky apologists in the fanbase won't have seen that or won't really remember it and how it all started. Add in the revolving head coach and staff door and directors and staff leaving or being shoved out whilst inside the club a novice from nowhere suddenly seems to be running everything. Only difference this time is players sold aren't being replaced by old men on tens of thousands per week. End result will probably turn out the same sooner or later though.

The City lads didn’t look happy during that mauling. Well played chaps.

They might, the fabric is getting a bit ropey. 😉

My bad but as you say the point holds (I think).

The ticket office hasn't been open on a Monday for a while.

I can’t see why not.

This clearly doesn’t affect your overall point but the E is Elite (Elite Significant Contribution).

Our recruitment has been a bit strange when you think about it. We signed a player who had been playing at left back for last season and much of his career as a winger. A central midfielder to play as a number 10. And 2 right backs, one who has kicked on playing as a wing back and the other as a right sided centre back. I wonder if we will end up playing a back 3/5 this season purely by accident because of imbalances in the squad and recruitment.

I’ve not been following this, but if Mafoumbi came on for his 30 second cameo and converted his whatever to a whatever, could we then send him on loan? Because if I were him I’d want to go somewhere in league two where I might get some senior minutes, and would gladly make a first team appearance just to be able to get that? Or am I misunderstanding this?

Actually thinking about it, if it was me I'd get the ball and whack it into my own net walk to the dug out and drop my shorts. But that's just me.

Re the pushback on my Mafoumbi comments: 'Exceptional' to my knowledge is the 'E' in 'ESC' not my assessment. There's a difference in my mind to someone being told they're not good enough and to find another club in private, it's another to force the guy to walk on to the pitch for 30 seconds with 10K+ people sniggering about how useless he is and he's there only to free up an admin glitch. Hedges - funny quip, like it. I'm just saying we're fairly decent supporters at this club and I'd like to think we'd agree it would be a painful and embarrassing thing to witness. That's all.

It would be interesting to see how close to the Sheff Wed situation we would be had it not been for the decision to liquidate £45 million of playing assets to pay the bills. That particular 'strategy' is coming to a shuddering halt now and at best they've another £5 million to cash in this summer before the well has run dry. The only hope then for the regime is that one or more of the cheap foreign punts / academy lads turns out to be a hidden gem and attracts big money interest - a stretch with the state and length of contract we are offering people. Whether the regime here would allow it to get to that state not sure - we're going to find out soon enough - my prediction is that Sheff Wed's problems will be behind them and they'll be under ambitious new ownership before then.