I'm not downplaying anything, if a fee is to be paid then happy days. It is the knocking of signing free agents that I'm talking about, when it is becoming a more and more important part of the process.

It does, as I said, depend on how good, or not, your recruitment department is. Not paying a fee "should " mean more is available for wages which "should " mean you get better quality. I would imagine there will be an emphasis on foreigners.

Obviously , if you're paying many millions for players then you can guarantee quality . At the level Rovers and many others are at, you're just as likely, even more likely, to pick up a good player on a free. Josh Murphy is a perfect example, whether the recruitment department is up to it is another matter,I'll wait and see how Gestede does,

It's the Gestede show now, I'm prepared to see how he does, putting timescales on transfers is a bit silly in my opinion. I'm also not fixated about paying transfer fees,If the recruitment staff can do their job properly.

Your last 4 points are valid ones though. I wouldn't criticise Chaddy or anyone else for making them.

I can't help reading that summary and thinking it's quite sensible.

They're just 12 short now then.

Similar to last pre season, let's see what happens instead of tuning into another episode of Jackanory.

To me, he's a good lad who never causes any bother and is the hardest working player on the pitch. 13 goal involvement including 7 goals would stand up to the majority of attacking players in the division. If that's 10% of the time, then so be it.

Reading your first line there, where do you get that opinion from ? I can't say I've heard him say anything to support it, then again I don't go on twitter or any of em.

It's the early kick off times that have made it more awkward for me, with the grandkids' footy, but I don't generally miss any games .

I know what the original point was, but you said you couldn't bare to watch Rovers in a stadium with 6000 rattling around, did you or did you not? If you stay away because of the lack of support, you're obviously adding to the problem that you're complaining about. Are you Einstein in disguise ?

I don't, and I appreciate people's situations and the struggles they have, but there will never be a better atmosphere until people turn up, it stands to reason.

You can watch them all for free on the stick, and if they're crap you haven't even had to leave the house. AND YET, like others you still choose to buy a season ticket,because no matter how comfy your seat at home and how bad the weather is getting there, you just can't beat that big screen experience.

I get that, and I understand, my mate doesn't go to night matches any more. But to say I couldn't handle watching us play in front of 6000, then staying away because of it is adding to the problem. I'm sympathetic to the situation, but it's all connected. It's the reason I'm always sceptical when people say they're boycotting, it isn't boycotting if you weren't going in the first place.

Staying away because of the crowd figure, then complaining about the crowd figure, mmmm.

The reality nowadays is that we're probably more likely to sign a better player on a free, if the recruitment department does its job properly. It's the reason why Gestede makes it clear that wages are part of the transfer budget. The power, as we're finding out with Dolan, is with the player. Gallagher could have sat it out for another 12 months and made more money, i'd like to think he was thinking of the club when he went for a fee.

Aye, well said Chaddy. I had my neice's fella and their young son at Burnley's parade, along with many good mates. I had my daughter's long time fella at the Leeds parade. Very, very sad.

The tedious Alexander-Arnold saga made national headlines.

The parachute money used to be to cushion a club after it spent big trying to compete in the prem. Now clubs go up, lube up and bend over and come back down £150 million richer.

Tuchel only has a chance of winning anything because of Southgate, he overhauled the whole system, it's a completely different proposition. Players were sending in a sicknote from their mum to get out of turning up before Southgate started, now they're champing at the bit to get in the squad. Tuchel has to reach the final or it's failure, semis at the absolute least. That is the standard Tuchel has inherited from the wet lettuce.

Brilliant goal

Which is your team? I was born in Accy, but my parents moved here from St Helens before I was born. All my relations are over there, I've been brought up watching Saints. When my dad died, I found a letter in the loft from 1951,it was from Saints offering him a 3 match trial. I knew about the trial but I'd never seen the letter, it brought a tear.

To be fair, I was going to say the first goal against Watford, said at the time, Hedges did well there.

Always liked the yellow and green West Brom, Bomber Brown away strip in the 70s