Hasta

There isn't one yet. For some reason he's bullshitting.

What odds?

Ismael is actually blaming Rudy when he says that. JE wanted the contracts sorted before Christmas and that was Rudy’s job.

The only reason I believe he was offered a contract because that story and the previous one was around the time we were actually extending peoples contracts. I can’t see why we would extend the likes of JRC and not Dolan. How much we were offering him in comparison to our other regular starters is another question.

Depends if you believe Broughton.

Would you do the same now with Hyam?

So if Batth wasn't brought in as a key player then he was a backup player which was the original point. Unless there is a difference between a backup player and a squad player. And if so, what is Forshaw 🤷‍♂️

I have moved on. There is more chance of Brittain signing a 4 year contract than you explaining yourself.

Ok. So you have players that play more than others. The ones that play less are backup players. Therefore Baath was on the bench at the start of the season, got in due to Carter having to move to right back and then dropped to the bench again once Brittain was fit. So he was brought in as a backup player, but injuries and then solid performances forced him to become a regular starter. Which is all we are saying.

Word was Halim Bangura.

Waffle, waffle waffle. Tin pot deflection . You make a comment and then are unable to explain what you mean.

I imagine @Tomphil2 will say a squad player and a backup player are practically the same thing. I agree. Someone who doesn’t expect to start many games unless there are injuries or people drop out of form. You say they are different. Therefore I’m asking you what the difference is.

Yeah but having the fourth best team in England win it, whilst the top two from last seasons Premier League sit it out, just about sums it up.

You must know what a backup player is as you said “who said Batth came here as a backup player”. Then you said Batth came as “not a backup player but a squad role” implying that they are different. To me they are the same. So I’m asking you to clarify why they think they are different, not the original poster. - What do you define as a backup player compared to a squad player? - If Batth came in as a squad player do you think this means he was told he was to be an important player for the first team? - Therefore does this apply to Forshaw if he is also a squad player?

Not watched a game, but I hope Chelsea win just to make a bit of a mockery of it.

So what’s a backup player? And if you said not to worry as Forshaw was only 5th choice, why did you keep telling us he had signed as a “squad player” if that’s not a backup player?

I’m a bit confused here. A squad player surely isn’t a first choice. Therefore he’s a backup player who plays now and again as cover. Or are you saying squad players are expected to start quite a few games and be key to the first team?

Gestede can’t comment on it in the next Fans Forum meeting. Doing it in a friendly is one thing, doing it in January when we are chasing promotion is something else.

Carter & Hyam started the season. Batth was on the bench. Brittain got injured so Carter went to right back. Batth played. Brittain got fit. Hyam & Carter started, Batth was on the bench. He was clearly 3rd choice for the first couple of months.

The problem for Championship clubs is it’s difficult to know what to offer salary wise if you don’t know what you will have to pay when it goes to a tribunal. It no good offering an extra £10k a week over 4 years which will cost you £2million if you then get stung for £2 million. If he went to a Premier League club it is peanuts and abroad it is irrelevant. In the league where there is most interest, he is not truly a free agent. This was told to me by a Baggie fan who is fairly close to their club who says they are interested.

Diego Jota. Show some respect remember.

Ah ok. Hyam is good enough. He wouldn’t be easy to replace with our current transfer policy. His positioning isn’t always the best ( Burnley’s goal away last year springs to mind where there was only 1 guy in the box in acres when the cross come in). I felt like his real dodgy spell was under JDT when we were less defensive-minded so he had more space to ‘defend’. Under JE we were a lot tighter so it suited him (and I suspect Batth) more.

I've skimmed the last few pages so not sure if you two are just being pedantic, but Bath was the best centre back we had last season by some distance.

Gestede was a change in personnel, and since his predecessor was sidelined became responsible for contracts. The refusal to engage with Travis, Tronstadt and Brittain when there was only 18 months left on their contracts was his responsibility. As regards to the strategy for keeping players until they are worth nothing, that remains to be seen. However it's irrelevant as RG has confirmed the budget for transfers is set and doesnt change regardless of the amount of money we bring in. There is no evidence the money will be reinvested in the squad budget. Therefore, as a fan, if we are not going to re-invest I would rather have one more season out of Travis, Tronstadt and Brittain. The Indian Goverment is clamping down on people who falsely declare what the money they are sending out was for. If they had spent the money they said was for Rovers on Rovers they wouldnt have had a problem. I am happy to give the new signings a chance. Brittain was in the squad or available for 34 out of 46 league games last season. 45 out of 46 the season before. 33 out of 46 before that. Thats 81% of games over the past 3 seasons. I have no idea where this "sicknote" tag is coming from.

It won’t be. Eustace wanted to renew contracts and the club wouldn’t (or couldn’t). I don’t believe Ismael suddenly has significant clout. Rudy has been in situ for 12 months so it’s already his fault anyway, although I suspect his hands are tied.