Gamst

We were playing in the division higher than Brum last season, why are we not bringing in sponsorship revenue on this scale?

It’s easy to criticise and I’m all for building up the pressure on the owners but I think everyone expected us to lose comfortably today (myself included) but we fought and were unlucky to lose. No points accrued but some hope restored and it gives us an outside chance of staying up this season if we play with that degree of fight. Despite the disappointment today I’m actually a lot less despondent than I was this morning.

I thought exactly the same. Then wikipedia told me he was a 30 year old lower league journeyman. Then I was really concerned that he stood out so much against our team.

If Derby are willing to pay him twice his salary then that is the going rate. It’s not a coincidence that none of our established players are signing contracts. We are not paying people what they deserve and why on earth would they sign for inferior terms? It’s not like Derby are Al Ittihad.

Trav, Brittain, Eustace are completely right to jump ship. They don’t support the club and are looking after their own careers and maximising their earnings. It’s a complete no brainer for them and the supporters who cannot see the obvious decline of our club are blind/stupid.

Good old loyal Hedges will no doubt stick around.

That was pretty concerning. By the end we had a strong team (for us) out there and really didn’t create much or appear superior in any department to our newly promoted L1 opponents. I’m not bothered about losing and can forgive the young keeper making a bad mistake, my concern is how little we created against supposedly inferior opponents at home. Where are the goals going to come from if we are only adding an unknown European RW to our ranks? I would be seriously shocked if we don’t get soundly beaten on Saturday.

For reasons unknown, 0-2 this afternoon.

Brittain leaving is not mismanagement. It’s deliberate. Everyone at the club knows the contract status of the players and I’m sure if he offered to sign on a contract on the same or worse terms then he would have done it already. The issue is penny pinching and the goal is to always do things as cheaply as they can get away with. The same applies for Dolan, Travis, Batth and Tronstad. The club aren’t stupid, they just won’t stump up the money required to seal the contracts. If we are unwilling to pay the going rate for these players then they won’t sign and nor should they. I see it differently with Sammie and Adam Wharton who deserve to leave for a higher standard club. Brittain et al will make horizontal moves to teams who pay the going rate.

Reinvesting a portion of profit on a player who has potential and is younger seems far too sensible.

The exiting summer continues!

I do wonder whether this could be the latest Venky strategy to save some money. Agree a fee and then negotiate down based on something incidental and clinically irrelevant picked up on a medical.

A complete failure of planning by the club AGAIN. Good luck Ty! I hope he smashes it and becomes a £20million + player. Would be amazing for him but it would also rub the Venkys/Pasha nose in it and serve as further proof of their incompetence. As a previous poster stated, even in the event of him failing in Spain and never playing a minute for the first team, he will still be worth several million and will be purchased by a championship club. I don’t see a top player there, but he deserves his chance to prove his doubters wrong. His work rate and commitment were always excellent despite his impact on the pitch being hit and miss. His contract should have been sorted years ago. He should have been offered a deal commensurate with his importance in the squad and this would have retained his value. Instead we chose to pay him like a junior player to save a few thousand quid for a couple of years. He was absolutely right to reject this and move elsewhere. Myopic in the extreme.

Living near Hull I have seen McLaughlin many times and have friends and family who support Hull City. He is a popular player and generally regarded as being a solid pro. Unspectacular but reliable. I think he’s a good sort and has the championship experience our other signings lack. He’s always looked a bit short of pace when I’ve seen him, but that didn’t seem to hold Danny Batth back last season. Sensible signing I feel. Scored a lovely own goal for us last season too!

In other words, no other clubs want Dom Hyam