Tomphil2

The sole ambition is to do enough to finish comfortably above relegation whilst growing the new assets into profitable saleable players. Then there'll be a repeat of the recent scenario in a couple of years time where players will be sold with contracts ticking down, perhaps the odd bigger sale or two of a few good strikers and the wage cap will remain (reduced in real terms) or even reduced to 8k a week ! Agents will fill their boots again and Suhail will be a couple more years wages better off. Maybe even Val and Rudy have loftier ambitions themselves but they know the score here so if they over achieve fair enough but the stall is set now for a repeat performance of this summer, probably forever more. You might not be familiar with Dario Grady's Crewe Alexandra but maybe look them up because we are a bigger version of them now. Forget this Brentford model talk.

One swallow doesn't a summer make but obviously to you clappers one good win justifies everything that has gone on. We'll revisit this in a few months and see if genuine concern is indeed misplaced or being a mushroom wins the day.

Oh i don't know it's quite nice being able to see the clear picture rather than the dark illusions of having one's head perennially in the sand.

It'll come to a point soon where the likes of Preston, Oxford and similar will come in and take our better players simply by offering standard championship wages of a couple of grand a week more over 3 years. The happy clappers are going to need lots and lots of blow up snakes in the near future.

The point he purposely leaves out is once they know they are being low balled and their agents put the feelers out then they won't sign unless better terms are offered. The club have now even made it public all they were offering was one year extensions on the same terms in a clear 'take it or leave it move' because they wanted to cash in. They'll continue to do this and we'll continue to lose the better players whilst they also won't offer better contracts to long serving academy grads who've proven themselves championship standard. Therefore we'll lose them as well.

Respectable turnout but below our usual Saturday afternoon standards i'd suggest especially after a two week break. For context we took several hundred more there last season for a 12.30 kick off game so i'd say there has definitely been a knock on effect from this window. Before yesterdays result the anger and disillusionment was still rather obvious.

I was actually going to dare to suggest in a few months we may be debating if indeed it was Waggot and his methods who has been holding the whole club back for years ? Something which has cropped up in the past. Still way too early for that though but the transition might turn into a mini revolution, a load of people with something to prove rather than going through the motions. We'll see.

Very early days but it isn't really a one off as there was the Hull performance and both the Brum and Norwich games were thrown away really we weren't battered. So to turn in a display like yesterday after so much recent changes and upheavel they ALL deserve a bit of credit, Biggest test yet is to come in the shape of Ipswich and we need a complete performance in that one to start to build up a bit of genuine belief.

They could do worse than getting him watching some early Nzonzi games and coach him to get a foot in and keep it simple. He needs to grow into Nzonzi but he's trying to be Patrick Viera .

Exactly, apart from maybe size he bears no comparison to Nzonzi football wise.

Great win we seem to have a decent away day formula at the min so now there needs to be one for home games.

Iv'e often wondered how many advisers and consultants are on the payroll.

Surely they couldn't be diverting wages from the football squad into the non playing staff whilst keeping the overall costs the same ? Could they .......

It just smells of some of the stuff we've seen in the past. Bring him in - get commission Get him fit then a large pay per game fee - Commission In the shop window hopefully plays well and earns a contract, not necessarily here - Commission. Proper 'vehicle' stuff.

A right back replacing an established 3 million pound centre back at his peak who didn't miss a game all last season and has got into the International squad himself ? Yes great planning.

The Rovers account tweeted about a couple of hours ago about a last training session before setting off for Watford. So it looks like train this afternoon then off down South on the bus in peak Friday traffic.

Saving then thousands per week though having a player in the squad who isn't being paid until he players. I'm sure they'd love a few more like that if they could find them.

Mowbrays very system of developing players involves playing them out of position and moving them around trying to make systems fit them and vice versa. After watching his methods for 5 years it was very obvious. AA, Dack, Buckley, Giles, Gallagher to name just a few, sometimes it worked sometimes not and was often detrimental to the team itself. He even said he wasn't that bothered about results or league position as long as he felt individuals were developing and presumably increasing in value by gaining appearances and proving flexibility. He did bring in some big fees and should have had a few more big sales if it wasn't for various factors. End of the day that was his remit from the owners, not promotion but i guess at Sunderland and Brum that was on the agenda unlike the mid table target here.

If it 'works' and by that i mean we avoid anything catastrophic for a couple of seasons - unlike the last 2 times they conducted massive player and personnel overhauls to bring money in and get costs down - then Gestede and Ismael will be deemed very good at their jobs. In Pune at least and whatever place the middleman COO calls home. So much so that they'll probably go and do it all again.

A contract for a player like that coming in on a pay as you play set up can never be straightforwards. Be very interesting to see a breakdown of the particular deal 🤔

But they are owned by one of the top 10 wealthiest groups of people in the Championship. Who've shown they can easily underwrite enough losses to make the club compete with those outside the parachute money but from bigger catchment area's. However their reluctance to employ higher calibre people and install enough ambition and foresight in running the club means crowds remain lower as do income streams outside of player sales. Coupled with long periods of lack of backing leading to further financial problems, off field issues and good players not wanting to stay means they constantly lose ground on similar competitors and renders the whole 'owned by billionaires' model rather pointless.

Or get their properties back that were allegedly 'seized' to the value of the VLL anomalies ?

It's no rumour it's fact the only thing for debate is if they'll cash in during the Jan window. They won't offer him anything remotely good enough to tempt him to stay but for benefit of the lemmings they'll spout the usual... 'offered contract, didn't want to stay'.... 'Did all we could'.. This Outer Mongolian Defensive mid from the Belgium second tier really wants to be here and we want players who are onboard with the project so say bye bye Sonny !

They signed Miller in advance because they knew they were nudging Hyam towards the door they'll have known there was genuine interest. He was never going to sign a poxy contract and they'll have expected that but in the event he didn't go then you have a fresh player who can cover 2 positions. Some will say hey that's great planning but others will see through it for what it is, a cheap replacement and another likely downgrade.

Where is our official Doctor Who themed kit in honour of our most famous celeb fan ? Or maybe a one off Max Farnham edition ( for those who remember ) Missing a trick here Macron !