Cos evidently we only deal in frees and loans.

If they had an ounce of pride they'd sell the club.

Yes he was let go by Plymouth (cos he's crap).

They've spent £25m this year alone (before Morton). They spent £16m last year and £10m the year before that. So they're literally spending every penny that comes in on rom transfer fees on transfer fees.

That's not the calibre of signing that fires you into the Playoffs though, is it? Not when you look at the signings Middlesbrough have made. I think it's pretty clear that the top 5 slots are taken now - Sheffield United, Leeds, Burnley, Sunderland and Middlesbrough. Your January transfer business being a 5th choice CM, a 4th choice CB, a backup LB, a £1m punt on an unknown from the Italian second tier and a 29 year old Scottish striker hardly reeks of ambition (or any money spent).

"joins on a permanent deal until the end of the season". So Braga have let him go on a free then? Eeeek.

How do they get round FFP every year? Also that's a tremendous waste of money so I hope they get him at that price.

Surely not?

This is the incredible thing - we've been in and about the Playoff places the last three years with THE worst owners in all of professional sport and 15 years of neglect. Imagine what this club could do with the leadership at Brighton, Brentford or Bournemouth (nothing clubs). Hell, imagine what we'd achieve with bang average leadership. Sell, you cunts.

11 of the 24 squad players don't have a contract beyond the summer. Horrendous mismanagement.

A Board of cunts.

That would entail paying an ineligible player a salary (and a transfer fee). As their ultimate goal is to spend no money I'm afraid I find this scenario far too far fetched.

The fact he's going to the Belgian second tier suggests perhaps that we couldn't arrange a loan to an English club.

I bet it's more to do with a) getting his wages off the books b) seeing if he can hack it in men's football. He's hardly set the world alight in England so far.

I'd be very, very surprised. He's playing in a top European league.

Ah c'mon, he's a good player.

He's still on our books, so I doubt you get that ESC slot back just because he's on loan.

"Do they bounce cheques?" "No". That's all most players / agents need to know - well the ones not looking for a promotion fight of course.

I don't think Danns has chosen Sunderland, I think Liverpool have. As for Sanderson, I don't think it's fair to call him appalling, but each to their own.

"Hi John, no we can't sign any promising your L1 / L2 players on permanent contracts for you. We can piss away £30k a week on a crocked, washed up England international though. How does that sound?"

I'd have liked him 2 years ago when we offered about £500k for him. He'd be our fourth choice, if not fifth choice, CB now though. He's also a massive knobhead, which biases me slightly.

Ryan Porteous on loan from Watford, for anyone wondering.

Wooof, that puts it into perspective. 1 point behind us and they've brought in 4 players that would walk into our first team.

As far as I understand it; first it was a straight cash deal - then at some point shortly after he was told the deal was off and not to get on the plane. By that point he'd already said goodbye to Orlando and his agent thought he'd be able to get a deal elsewhere, if not at Rovers. So clearly someone at Rovers (Suhail?) decided there's no way we're paying £3m for someone and scuppered the deal. It's at this point that I think Broughton went rogue - bearing in mind McGuire was sat in a Sheffield hotel lobby - and tried to rescue the deal with Orlando by offered a loan with a mandatory buying fee. Obviously by now Orlando were pissed off, so asked for £1m+ more, which we agreed to. Again someone at Rovers scuppered this at the last possible moment by 'forgetting to press send'. Silvestre fell on his sword and Broughton was sacked shortly after.

I still don't know how they manage to pull it off financially, or why Carrick is still seen as a fantastic manager - he's had an embarrassment of riches for this level.