A greater coup would have been getting it sorted weeks ago before other clubs got involved and pushed the price and wages up.

Ok. Most of the rest of us know he is though.

Brereton was a stupid signing at the time, hindsight doesn't change that, he hadn't shown enough to merit the fee. In this case, we get a season to see him in our shirt and decide whether he is worth the fee. The people deciding are hopefully not as dim as Mowbray. Despite that, Brereton still turned out to be worth more than double what we paid, probably around 3-4 times what we paid if he was fully under contract. Gally wasn't worth 5 mill at all, although he isn't as bad as some make out. The main reason our squad is woefully short in every area isn't because we spent 7 mill on BBD and 5 mill on Gallagher, years ago (not counted in our next FFP cycle I think). It's because we dropped a bollock on contracts, relied heavily on loans, and signed has-beens on inflated wages.

Two good seasons and a 10 million profit? Sounds fine by me.

We have done it twice since parachute payments ended and not gone bankrupt.

Travis will make a serviceable stop-gap RB, but we will lack bite in the midfield without him. In an away derby that could be a mistake. Mind you, last time at Bloomfield we lost the match down our right flank thanks to the pathetic performance of Magloire at RB. I'd be using Carter instead though.

Don't think it's that version of dibs. A scout thing apparently, and google suggests it's actually 'dyb' for do your best. Language eh?

I can imagine that from the club tbf.... 'We're gonna sign 3 more players...SYKE!' (The Americans will get it)

You've lost me there, what's that mean?

Yeh I managed to find the number. Apparently, because it was a bank holiday they couldn't post them that day, and then there's been a postal strike, so they have to be collected from the ticket office at Bloomfield. She thought the website would have told me, but it did no such thing. Communication from the club pretty poor here.

Bought my tickets on Monday, the first day they were on open sale. They still haven't arrived. Any suggestions? The website is pathetically slow so I'm struggling to get a number to ring.

You might be our next goalkeeper signing, but you're not making the scouting team like that.

But we already have Sam Gallagher.

The post directly before his was the set up.

Ok so, Hirst's spell at Rotherham in the Championship keeps coming up. Rightly so, but saying 31 games doesn't really give the full picture, and neither does only saying 4 starts. 27 sub appearances could mean lots of 5 minute cameos or lots of half hour ones, so I've dragged up the stats. Hirst played 662 minutes that season. That's the equivalent of 7.35 full 90-minute matches. And yes, he scored 0 goals in that time, and had 0 assists. He did score for them in the EFL Trophy in his only appearance in it, against Hull in a 2-1 win. Hull were a strong League One side at the time having just been relegated from the Championship, but of course it doesn't mean much. Of course, 0 goals and 0 assists in 7.35 matches isn't a good record and doesn't endear him, but it's also nowhere near as bad as 0 goals and 0 assists in 31 matches. It was 2 seasons ago, and he started the season aged 21. Young, although not so young it can be fully excused. He only played 60+ minutes on 2 occasions, and only played half a game or more on 4 occasions, two of which were in the first three matches. In fairness, it can be hard to impose yourself as a youngster from another club during a relegation battle whilst never getting a real run in the team. It looks like they gave him a shot at the start of the season, he didn't immediately take to a new league and new team, and then never really got a real crack of the whip since. Understandable to a degree as Rotherham were in a relegation scrap and probably wanted proven senior players who were already ready. Scoring in 7 straight starts would probably be easier than scoring when mostly given 15 minute cameos spread out. None of this should be read as he did well in the Championship, as a striker he clearly didn't pull up any trees. But I think the amount of minutes he played, combined with his age at the time, suggests we shouldn't read too much into that patch. For me, we're getting a young player who has just scored 13 league goals in 40 League One matches. That's not all that impressive given the league, but if he replicated it at Championship level I think we'd all be happy enough. We'll see how he goes.

Tbh, I was thinking if I warmed the bench I get to see the games for free. But at 2.5k p/w I can probably afford it anyway. Good times ahead for both of us, and a slight improvement in the goalkeeping department for the club. Well, I know I won't throw the ball into the net and I assume you won't either?

Me, as a Pears replacement. I can't promise to do the business effectively on the pitch, but I promise to be an upgrade and I'm really looking forward to the 5k per week.

This was said of Pickering, Douglas, Cunningham, hell probably even Bell.

Official announcements never say things like whether there is a loan fee, what the wage contribution is, or the amount in any loan-to-buy deals. Every deal has been 'undisclosed' for the last decade or two.

They're signing a player from themselves?

This rumour seems like it might be dead already, but I don't expect a loanee would result in the sale of anyone else. When it comes to senior players like these, probably not a loan either.

Yeh I especially feel for A Wharton, who has to occupy both flanks of the pitch simultaneously.

I think it's because of the way your post showed when formatted on a mobile phone:

Announced as having no chance of happening?

Tbh...I'd probably take about £5 mill for Dack if it was offered and we had a good replacement lined up. Nobody say Szmodics.