Hang on, that clause in the regulation is saying he will receive the higher of the points he is eligible for, not that he will receive both sets of points he is eligible for in table 2. So it isn't 12 plus 4, it's just 12. Am I missing something? Is the 12 for league quality and the 4 is for actual minutes played, so they're in two different tables?

They certainly don't seem to want the money back as things stand. However, if they got into financial trouble, or sold the club, I certainly don't believe they would treat it as though it doesn't exist. Otherwise, they'd have written it off, as Jack used to do (pretty sure Wilsden is indeed remembering that correctly). They absolutely won't get it all back (not unless by some miracle they turned us back into a steady Prem club maybe), but I bet they'd try to extract as much of it as possible. Maybe even leave some on the club's back if sold on, with loan repayments arranged.

Apologies, think I got mixed up with some other club. There's that much yo-yoing goes on from this league to the Championship, nearly everyone else seems to have done it at some point since we came down. They have however been in the playoffs twice since Venkys came, which we haven't done once since relegation.

Getting what they paid for us back would be child's play if they wrote off their debt to us. They could probably get double that if they were interested in entertaining bids. The money in the game has changed significantly. Crappy Derby County were bought for 33 million when in administration last year, but 55 million really as they also bought their stadium for 22 mill. There is a claim that Sheff W turned down 75 million dollars last month.

Hull and Sheff W haven't had a 15 year nightmare with little sign of ending. Hull have been in the Prem in that period. Yes, under different owners I believe, but that's the thing about awful owners, they usually burn out and leave. Ours stick around and the purgatory continues. Chances are, Hull and Sheff W will both get to the Prem again before we do, under new owners. Coventry used to be one of those cautionary tales of what could happen with other owners, look where they are now.

I'd say he usually comes off second best in most debates he has on here. Has his moments though. But if he argues with the poster you quoted, he's basically arguing with himself.

Start what? Almost every player gets more than almost every fan, usually far more. They are generously compensated, he's right. Maybe not relative to what they can get elsewhere, but as Championship footballers they have a standard of living most of us can only dream of, for doing a job we would all love to do even if it was for what we earn now.

I've been meaning to say myself that I found all the timings too coincidental, and that I suspect the club leaked the 'Brittain close to signing' rumour already knowing that there was strong interest from Boro and Derby and that a sale was likely. At a normal club, I'd be willing to believe we got unlucky, or that the story breaking made other clubs hasten their moves, but we aren't a normal club. Whilst I can't say it's definitely the case, I have to wonder whether Brittain was ever close to signing a deal or if they made it up knowing he won't be signing one and that they've got a replacement in ahead of time.

What bookie? Oddschecker isn't showing anybody has relegation odds yet.

You wouldn't have a specialist at hand for a condition you don't know exists yet.

If we do actually sign Baradji (dubious at this point) we very likely are paying a sizeable fee by our standards. Unlike the others, in excess of 2 mill probably is his going rate. Richer clubs have been sniffing previously.

Worst part is we are probably losing all of them.

The club have been crystal clear - selling players will not impact our transfer budget. This makes being a trading club impossible.

That is actually everything I need in order to judge him.

Just seen this in the LT article about the JRC sale: 'After becoming an integral part of the Rovers team under Jon Dahl Tomasson, Rankin-Costello has waned. Callum Brittain re-established himself as the first choice at right-back under John Eustace and has remained so under Ismael. Eustace did use the 25-year-old in central midfield, which looked a natural home, at the end of the 2023/24 season. However, the return of Lewis Travis and his partnership with Sondre Tronstad meant opportunities in the middle were limited.' Thought it was ironic that all those players getting in his way look fairly likely to leave now. Not that I'm saying we shouldn't have sold him, he was never going to be robust enough to make it in more than patches.

And we missed him massively during them.

Tavares could be a Buckley replacement, if he hasn't cost 2 mill, although he does seem to be a different sort of player. If he did cost a genuine 2 mill guaranteed I don't think that he'd only be a replacement for Buckley, who is just a squad player. I suppose it would be possible, just to strengthen our options there. JRC is more of a utility player, the new right back is very likely seen as his replacement. With Forshaw to cover any emergency needs. The new CM definitely means one of Trav or Tron going I'd expect. If we get him. We can't have two 2 mill plus mids, if they both cost that, as well as Trav and Tron, unless we are changing formation.

The club, like all clubs, will leak whatever fees they want. And even if it's not intentional PR, the club could be genuinely signing a player for '2 million' when potential fees are added. 500k guaranteed, 500k based on appearances and goals, another million if we get promoted and you have yourself a '2 million fee'. It could be a virtually guaranteed fee, I can't rule that out no, but it would be a bit baffling if it is, given his profile. If we have paid that, he'd really better turn out to be a good un or we've been mugged. To show you this isn't a club bias thing, I absolutely do believe the larger 2.5 million fee for the other midfielder, he has pedigree and has attracted bigger fish to look at him in the past.

The past rumours are not super recent, but I think they were after the promotion. In terms of right now though, I think it's purely speculation on here as to whether his old suitors have come in. We probably couldn't compete with Celtic either tbf.

Let's be realistic, if Sunderland genuinely want him, we aren't coming close to Premiership money and the player won't sign for us until he has talked to them regardless what we offer.

I think you're being a bit unkind. The Brittain one would seal the deal, but saying 2 players would be coming in before the game when only one was out in the open, and after a fairly long quiet patch with no activity, is a decent effort. I'd give him the full sweep if the Brittain one is within a few days, too (club might decide they'd rather spread the news out to make it look like we are still active).

So Baradji, Tavares, allegedly both with big fees, and Forshaw all signed on this summer. All central midfielders. Has to mean at least one of Travis or Tronstad is getting lined up for a sale, maybe both. The fly in the ointment of that theory though is that Baradji can apparently play, yes, DM or CM, but also right wing. I wonder where we intend to use him, though you'd think he's at least a contingency for if we lose someone there.

Probably because most of the players signed don't remotely fit the profile of players who should cost anywhere near the reported fees. Plus the club have become experts at misleading the fans.

Even if the Brittain contract doesn't get announced before the friendly, I'll give Mercer this one. As Meatloaf said, 2 out of 3 ain't bad.

I'd be amazed if we could get 1 mill out of Charlton for him. If that was the offer, I imagine it'd be something like 250-500k guaranteed max, over 3 or 4 years, with the rest based on appearances, goals, promotion. With his injury record we probably wouldn't see much of that.