Thanks for your work on this - without getting too excited - it all sounds more promising than it has done for some time. Though you possibly already have done might be worth catching up privately with Chaddy to see if the message is consistent or not.

I always remembered Brotherston as a left winger - with Windy Miller on the right ?

And a further drain on the wage bill - though I would obviously prefer us to sign players prior to the start of the season - if it means waiting a few more weeks to get the right signing at the right wage - though impatient I will wait.

Very much doubt sell on fee is 20%. Plus would it not be 20% of any profit.

We may have asked about Davies - been told £4m, wages over £40k and then backed off straight away. We can't compete with wages and transfers fees on offer from other clubs.,

Gotta say - that is a positive spin - on what I find a worrying situation 😁

Right from the start Broughton said we had a good transfer budget BUT within our current wage structure. I would imagine there is a certain amount of brinkmanship going on with wages - it will be a case of who blinks first - the club or the agents. In the meantime - any club with a bigger wage budget is likely to outbid us - but I think most Championship clubs (excl parachute payment clubs) have similar constraints to us. Even those with parachute payments are running a fairly high risk strategy as they get towards the end of them - we are a good example of how it can all go wrong quickly.

Irrespective of the fans - the club really couldn't win with Rothwell. The multi million pound offers were only coming from one club. £3m at Christmas or potential promotion. I think we can argue all day about the club letting the contracts run down - but mid pandemic who was buying players for us to recoup good fees for them ? I think we could have been more proactive - but appreciate it isn't straightforward.

I don't think we can use Rothwell as an example - 2nd in the league and sell to one of our main rivals ? Hindsight has shown the wrong call was made - but fans would have been up in arms if he had been sold.

What is the BBD situation ? He is unlikely to re sign, we have a fee in mind , we now have to wait to see if someone will pay it or lower our fee expectations.

We benefited from it when relegated - just wasted it on Kean, Murphy, Etuhu etc

Our DOF has already spoken about using loan players as a stop gap until academy players are ready - which I think is the right approach (depending on quality and cost of loans). Also - sending out this message about fast track will hopefully persuade some of our more sought after youngsters to stay longer - as well as helping to sell the academy to other youngsters.

I can believe it - and it possibly came down to loyalty to existing players, or not wanting to disrupt the team spirit that took us so far. Whatever the reason, was obviously the wrong call. By all accounts he called the Rothwell situation right - though he wasn't awful ,he wasn't the same player in the second half of the season. So he was possibly right to say sell to invest - which we can all agree with the benefit of hindsight.

Lets be honest - re Rothwell - did he not run his contract down at Oxford as well ? Nyambe was in and out of favour with Mowbray - so possibly that had an impact. Lenihan is the strange one - with many on this board thinking he would re-sign. One thing you can't ignore - is with the absence of a transfer fee, opposing teams can give appropriate signing on fees that make the whole package probably more than Rovers were offering. Which ever way you look at it - keeping a sustainable wage bill with our crowds is always going to be a challenge - especially against the better supported clubs, or those with parachute payments. Luton showed it can be done - whether they maintain the same level next season will be interesting.

Surely, especially for a new manager, you have to assess what you already have. Also, listening to our DOF he talks about loan players being a temporary solution while youth team players break through. Only time will tell what transfer budget we actually have, but I think a bigger challenge will be keeping within the wage structure.

I agree - but I am sure he would point to the owners refusal to sell Rothwell at Christmas as being one of the reasons we didn't get any money. However, personally I feel we shouldn't have been in that position in the first place.

To lose three 1st team players at the end of their contracts is a shocking reflection on our CEO. There is some mitigation with Pandemic, and the owners refusal to sell last transfer window - but due to poor contract handling we have lost millions in player assets.

To lose one player would be unfortunate, but to lose three first team players is a sad reflection on our CEO

I agree, as we paid over the odds in the first place. All comes down to how thick a slice of the profit we have been daft enough to sign up to - 10% is usually more standard than Armstrongs 40%

I agree it is best for all concerned for him to go for the right money. However, I would argue he is a £20m player in todays market - but whoever buys him is taking a risk - if he kicks on as he did last season - he will be a snip at £20m however there is always the risk that last season was a bit of an anomaly and they will end up with an improved version of Brereton rather than the full Diaz

Looking at his playing career - a strange one if true - especially for 500k. Carter looks a better bet based on his success at Portsmouth.

This does smell of an agent at work. However, I do think he has potential, early season we pressed as a team and he had options to pass to (and rarely gave the ball away). As the season progressed he became more and more isolated - being forced into taking players on in the wrong areas and often losing the ball. His work rate is first class, he is a real handful in the penalty area, reasonable (rather than lightening) pace and given the right opportunity he does have an eye for a pass. His finishing can be weak at times. £3m .... I would say £5m plus hefty sell on clause would be good business for both parties. However, based on press snippets - it does sound like he fits into the new tactics, and how much would it cost to replace him (as whoever comes in will be on higher wages.

Maybe he meant considering Mowbrays ability - he over achieved 🤔 I thought the party line was to become a sustainable Premier League club ? I am sure I have seen more than one reference from Broughton to that effect ? Which obviously includes promotion at some point.

I am sure I read somewhere that Lowes contract was up ?

Obviously you can't divulge names, but in your opinion, good or bad candidates ?