Don't get me started on parachute payments. I believe the EFL are keen to see them scrapped to level the playing field. There's not many businesses where you effectively get a bonus payment for failure (bankers excepted of course..)

All well and good and you'd like to think so, but as I said earlier, getting there in itself guarantees absolutely nothing as several clubs who have sucked from the golden tit before have already found out..

These days, I struggle to really understand what the actual 'point' is of the professional football pyramid system.

I take your point - if we somehow went up then obviously you roll with it and accept that the following season will, in all probability, be like slowing down to rubberneck at a car crash..

No, that's not what I'm saying. Promotion this season, with this squad would be catastrophic. You make out that going up is nirvana - for every Burnley there's a Leeds/Sunderland/Bolton/Derby. Look at Huddersfield and Cardiff, in the Premier League as recently as 2019 and now 3rd & 4th bottom respectively in the Championship. Cast your eye over Norwich, for all their yo-yoing they look no more fit for promotion than we do and how much money have they received and spunked away over the last few years? The 'point of all this' ultimately is to support are club,no? The point, for me, isn't the Premier League in itself, at all costs..

It's just an opinion and you know how the saying goes about those. It might be shocking to you but I'm comfortable with it. I'll expand on it though a little. For me, the Championship is probably the most genuinely competitive league in the world. Most of the teams in the division will, over a season have genuine claims on either promotion/relegation/both of the above, sometimes at the same time. This makes nearly every game meaningful in a way you'd never really see in the Premiership (I'll accept this season is something of an outlier given how well Brentford, Brighton and Fulham are doing). Chasing the money guarantees nothing in terms of our situation given our peculiar set-up and there's something soulless and morally bankrupt about the premiership promised land. A fair chunk of the owners there leave a particularly nasty taste in the mouth. Have a read of the article below; for sure it'll make you laugh in places (it did me anyhow, Delia Smith at #15, for example). By the same token, after reading it I felt grubby as fuck, in need of a shower and reminded yet again that money doesn't buy class.... https://www.football365.com/news/ranking-premier-league-owners-morals-bin-salman-abramovich-mansour

Personally, I'd run with what we've got now. Genuinely blood the youngsters - see who's made of what and then hopefully we're clear on who we're going to retain in the summer and who is surplus to requirements. I see no benefit in promotion if I'm being honest as I think it would make next season a car crash of epic proportions, but I would prefer to see the likes of Leonard, Wharton, Garrett etc. all being given genuine chances to show if they're going to sink or swim. If you're good enough you're old enough.

At this point, irrespective of any appeal outcome (we all know how that's going to pan out), I'd take some humility, honesty, self-reflection and a clear sense of what changes are going to be be put in place to prevent this type of thing happening again. We've made ourselves look like mugs and this mustn't happen again. I'm not a big one for scapegoating and prefer openness and a commitment to putting processes in place to ensure it never happens again. Having said that, if the whole debacle did result in some degree of staffing 'reconfiguration' I'd be okay with that as we do have some muppets working for us unfortunately. A solid victory tonight will help me to try to start focusing on a potential good second half to the season as opposed to our propensity to 'death-spiral'.

He had such a stellar career after he left us too...

It's a fair question as I see no evidence we ever planned to buy any of those we loaned under that proviso...

Well done on kicking off the meltdown with not a lot in the overall scheme of things...

Talk about covering all your bases: you don't rate him but will be kicking off if he walks. Sounds like either way you're ready to go ballistic in around 4 months time. Maybe time to practice a bit of mindfulness...

Bury, Rushden & Diamonds and Gretna by any chance?

Sadly, the whole loan (shark) ponzi scheme is a construct of the greed at the top of the game whereby the big clubs, not simply content with hoovering up all the best current talent, then can't resist getting their grubby hands on the next-gen talents too. Frankly, it stinks, and the sooner the footballing authorities do something about it the better for the game as a whole. Personally I'd limit the maximum under of under -21 players they can sign/register and also stop their ability to ask for loan fees and/or wage contributions if only to level the playing field just a bit...

One stat I picked up from this link was Dwight Gayle having scored1 goal in 21 leagues so far this season. IIRC he was being touted as a good transfer option by several people on here pre-season. Proof that every transfer is a risk ultimately....

Always nice to see a bit of balance. Morton is clearly the current whipping boy when plenty of others in the team have regressed somewhat. Morton will have a good career but admittedly requires further development in decision making and physicality. Anyone suggesting he's League one standard at best I think will ultimately be proved wrong.

If you'd speak to him like that if you were to meet him him in the street then fine, but I'd suggest it says more about you and not in a good way.. I appreciate it's a forum and different opinions are encouraged but sometimes less is more.

The only way anything is now salvaged from the Brereton Diaz fiasco is if Diaz comes to the fore again and helps take us to the promised land. If this did happen, and I appreciate it is very unlikely, then I'll wave him off, wishing him all the best and also say well done to Venky's for playing a blinder! 😁

Joe, whilst it's good to hear that, belatedly, there's an increased focus on scouting the obvious response to your comment above is that surely they need to focus on scouting options which we have a decent chance of getting over the line. I see absolutely no benefit in having a list full of players who can and will do better elsewhere (wages, facilities, ambition, trophies etc...). I'm still surprised there hasn't been more of a dive into the scandanavian market for instance. I appreciate there will be work permit issues for some but wages certainly won't be an issue. Also, not that I particular want to heap praise on Kompany and and our six fingered sibling shagging rivals, but it has to be pointed out that they seem to be utilising the Belgian market very effectively.

...or the stench of shattered dreams and suffocating disappointment.

Of course you do...

I've been wondering why I've begun to think of Mrs Brown whenever you post and I think I've nailed it... maybe time for a change of avatar?

Breaking their press pretty well but final ball rubbish.

such a poor first touch by Gallagher..