13 minutes ago, JHRover said:

But to say he was never going to sign a new deal isn't right and suggests the club could have done nothing to avoid this situation.

They could- if they had dealt with contracts in the lead up to summer 2021 whilst other clubs were doing such things.

As with Rothwell a deal was there to be done and the club did nothing but rely on 1 year options and time remaining on existing deals.

As for this summer zero ambition has been shown to improve or better on last season. Despite managing to land what looks like a good manager he hasn't been supported up to this point and we are now in danger of momentum being lost and of him becoming disillusioned. The warning signs are there.

I meant never in the context of this summer, which is what your original post referred to. I’m sure he would have signed prior to the summer of 2021 but to be fair I don’t think anyone expected the journey BBD has been on since. Doesn’t absolve the club from blame but it’s important not to lose context. 

As for the ambition of the club - the signing of JDT would signal that ambition is there but it’s clearly been a disappointing window so far. Ultimately there’s still time left in the window so I’m reserving judgement but there needs to be a lot of movement in the next week to turn it around.

6 minutes ago, JHRover said:

Never? How about summer 2021 or before?

 

Your argument was that our winning start to this season was the best opportunity to get him to sign, which is what I contest. He wasn’t signing a new deal this summer regardless.

9 hours ago, JHRover said:

If ever there was an opportunity to persuade BBD to sign up to new terms or hang around for the season our winning start was just that - momentum, positivity, new manager. Sadly the failure of the Club to back up the momentum and positivity with strengthening the squad in any way shape or form and allowing the situation to drift without even managing to add a single player to the ranks shows just what the intentions really are - the PL is not the ambition - if we had 'gone for it' over the last few weeks with 3-4 decent signings then that might have suggested we were serious about trying to maintain our form. What we have done shows we are not.

There was never an opportunity to get BBD to sign. Regardless of our start or signings, he had no incentive to sign given the clubs interested in him, but don’t let that hold you back. 

This must be the first southern based cup tie we’ve had for several years. 

3 minutes ago, Exiled_Rover said:

Oh, Batty played against Hartlepool. 5.

Mowbray defenders harped on about how he utilised the Academy to it's fullest extent. 

Let’s be fair here. JDT is using the academy lads because he has no choice. Unless we want to go full strength and risk injuries to big players. You get beneath the first XI and this is what you’re left with.

I’m not getting carried away with the JPvH talk. Did well last season but was part of the same clown show that became the second half of our season. Think it said a lot about BBD’s loss of form that JPvH won POY. Would be a good addition but won’t lose sleep if it doesn’t happen, esp if we’re talking big money. 

37 minutes ago, JHRover said:

I think the benefit of having Brereton in the team for the next 43 games is at least as great if not greater than receiving a few million quid profit that won't be spent.

You’ll be first in line slamming the owners if he leaves for nothing next year. If we want to be less reliant on Venky’s, this is the model we have to live with. 

Dont want him to go but it seems inevitable, as it was with Armstrong. If it gets north of £15-17m then we can’t turn that down.

1 hour ago, roversfan99 said:

I think he will play but I wouldn't be surprised if he didn't. He wouldn't be the first player to become unsettled and pull out of a match due to transfer issues. It's all well and good saying he plays regardless but if he is visibly unhappy then he won't.

You think he’s that desperate to join Nice? We rejected a similar bid in Jan and he’s played a few games since then. 

21 minutes ago, Ossydave said:

Strange one Nice.

Although so was Kasper going there as well I guess.

Rather let him go for nothing than take anything like 10m though tbh.

Aaron Ramsey has gone there too. Can’t let this drag on for too long. Hopefully will tempt others to get involved. Big loss but can’t let him go for nothing.

39 minutes ago, Exiled_Rover said:

£10k a week for a lad that you can play once a week (when we have to double up on fixtures) and can sell for tens of millions in two years?

No brainer. He looked so assured on Sunday.

Can potentially sell for millions. Potentially. All based on an hour against West Brom. 

Be interested to see the crowd for this. As positive a feeling around the club as there has been in years, top of the league, not on TV, school holidays, not unreasonably high ticket prices. 

7 minutes ago, RoversClitheroe said:

You'd assume Butterworth too? 

So far I reckon we'll sell:

Butterworth

JRC.

I reckon Harlock will get a chance Wednesday, JDT rates him

Got no time for Butterworth. Didn’t lift a finger in any of his cameos last season. I think it was the Boro game at home when he jogged around the centre circle for 15 mins whilst the team desperately held out for the win. Pathetic display, don’t want to see him in the first team for some time. 

38 minutes ago, Gav said:

Its dead simple, break the wage structure, offer him a new deal worth £40k+ with a buy out clause above £17m.

Letting players walk for nothing is an absolute disgrace for a club in our position, its criminal. 

You break it for him, you break it for everyone. Besides which, he still wouldn’t sign, why would he if he’s confident of getting top flight interest in England or abroad. All he’s doing is limiting his options in the long term.

2 minutes ago, West Yorks Rover said:

I can't help worrying that this team could be torn apart in the next few weeks.

We have all known that BD could go at anytime, but Lewis Travis is our midfield gem and

after his recent performances, richer clubs must be watching.

He signed a contract last year (didn’t he?) so can’t see him going anywhere. BBD is slightly different.

46 minutes ago, MarkBRFC said:

End of the day if we were a normally run club with genuine financial issues, i'd be shipping out Diaz tomorrow for anything around £15m, doubling our money on someone who looked like he had never played the game for his first 2 years here is decent going i think.

The fact is though we're not, venkys don't give a hoot about money here and never really have done. So on that basis I would rather keep him as I know he will get somewhere around 15 goals this season. Take him out and goal scoring looks very bleak in this side.

Who’s paying £15m for him at the moment? No one has been seriously linked. 

We sold Armstrong last season under very similar (almost identical) circumstances so I’m sure he’ll be gone if a serious offer is submitted.

30 minutes ago, Mercer said:

Huge blow if correct.

We've played 1 game and have already lost 2 centre backs.  

Our squad is paper thin and we need 6 more very good additions.

Huge blow? He’s not played a competitive game for us. Shame for him but doesn’t massively change anything.

11 minutes ago, SuperBrfc said:

If true, the two we've gone for are also cheaper than the other two are likely to be. That would be this hierarchy down to a tee.

Make do, it's alright, we can save a few quid. Stats look good.

Or the money might be better spent elsewhere..?

10 minutes ago, neophox said:

No Van Hecke in Brightons first team.

https://www.brightonandhovealbion.com/teams/mens-team

 

Chance it hasn’t been updated from last season..? They’re not wearing the 22/23 kit.

Just now, JBiz said:

The response is in the parts of the post you didn’t include to reply.

Everyone has their own circumstances, the competition for players with the necessary ability to challenge is fierce and we’re miles behind other clubs with wages.

Rather than simply grumble, what suggestions do you have to enable the club to work better? Sweeping “Get rid of wag/Venkys/Mowbray” not enough, how does a club of our current position maximise turnover, avoid ffp sanction and ensure success on the pitch and in recruitment?

Exactly. The suggestions given are to cut ticket prices, scrap the wage cap, pay any player looking to leave what they want, criticise loan signings for limiting youth development, get angry when we don’t permanently sign the loans who do well, sack the board, sack Benson, paint Ewood, abuse Nicko and post VENKYS OUT in caps at the end of each message.

Problem solved.

20 hours ago, Wheelton Blue said:

The fact that Waggot has stated that ST sales are 'above budget', it's clear that he's purely measured financially - by squeezing the remaining customer base - as opposed to being proactve and finding credible ways to increase bums on seats.

Job done, in his world. How he's allowed to get away with it, is unfathomable.

It'll be the same approach next season, no doubt. He'll cover the anticipated drop in revenue/churn with yet another price increase.

Because surely there is a need, at some point, to maximise the financial profit? It is relevant, particularly given the impact of Covid.

I’m disappointed with the lack of imagination regarding ticketing, particularly given last season’s acknowledgement that they got ticket prices wrong. But it’s a balancing act, if people want this club to be self-sufficient and have less reliance on Venky’s, it needs to become more profitable.

I don’t think they’ve got the balance right, but reducing the argument to ‘how dare Waggott think about maximising profits’ is a cheap shot. I’d be judging him if that wasn’t one of the key drivers behind ticketing initiatives. 

7 hours ago, Angry_Pirate said:

So basically, "Blackpool met the release clause, but I'd rather stay at Oxford than go to Blackpool. I've doubled my wage in exchange for an extra £1m on the release clause and an extra year on my contract. Might still leave this window"

Ps. EXACTLY what Rovers should do with Brereton-Diaz.

So naive to think that BBD would sign a new deal with us if we just offered him a better wage. He’ll be eyeing up a move to a PL side, why on earth would he limit his opportunities by signing a new contract? 

In his shoes, no one on here would re-sign. Identical to Armstrong. We could offer him anything we liked, it won’t be enough.

24 minutes ago, BankEnd Rover said:

I honestly think the best thing to do is invest in getting Diaz to sign a new deal…He’s a proven goal scorer at this level…How do we know his money will be invested straight away…we’re then left with Gallagher & Vale.

As if any salary we offer Brereton would be enough. Why on earth would he sign a contract with us under any circumstances when a PL club might come in for him this summer? 

16 minutes ago, neophox said:

For gods sake... Give Brereton a new better deal. He wont be easy to replace and the cash and funds are there... He would not cost us any fee.

Rothwell, Nyambe and Lenihan has left. Thats three key players.... If I was JDT I would do my best to keep Brereton. 

Because that’s how simple it is? He’s been linked with clubs in the champions league, what on earth can we offer him to compete with that? 

Stop refs having to watch a pitch side monitor at the request of VAR on the pretence that he will objectively review the footage despite being told he’s made a mistake. I’ve never seen a ref uphold his previous decision when asked to view the monitor, so what’s the point. 

7 minutes ago, DavidMailsTightPerm said:

When I initially read the interview he had my sympathy  - then I thought a little deeper - we have an important match today and he made the press conference about himself rather than the team - with a thinly veiled attack at the owners . Not defending how they have handled this - but the time for recriminations was after our final chance had gone. Unfortunately it seems to be a pattern where he will seemingly throw players, owners and fans under the bus to justify his position.

He answered the questions he was asked. 

Mowbray doesn’t deserve abuse. Some of the rhetoric on here is sad to see. We’ve faded badly this season and the buck stops with him but it would have been a remarkable achievement to get this squad of players promoted.

We should have made the play offs and I’m glad Mowbray is going but ultimately, he’s leaving us in a better position than when he joined. Wind the clock forward 12 months and I wouldn’t be surprised if we are dreaming of days like today..