The general vibe I get. And the losses we have been posting. The way we seem to be leaving it very late (as far as what I've seen reported says anyway) to submit the final clarification over our accounts, and the league needing clarification over them. Which to me suggests we may have been trying some 'creative accounting' to avoid an embargo (yes I know some will say we want an embargo but I don't buy it). I could be wrong of course, it's just a general impression/expectation. We will see. Or we might indeed be doing creative accounting and it actually work. But the EFL seem to take a very dim view of that kind of thing these days.

Today's (yesterday's now) LT article made depressing reading. What we thought was nearly 2 million for Brentford's promotion turned out to be 500k. Getting rid of five loanees, Downing, Mulgrew, Evans, Bell, and Holtby only comes to savings of 50k per week apparently. On the plus side this means we were paying less for them than we thought, but the downside is it doesn't free up as much budget as we thought. I'm very much suspecting that when the Financial Unfair Play decisions are made we are going to be in an embargo. Which will weaken our bargaining position for Armstrong and other players (including contract renewals) even further. And as has been mentioned, the usual nonsense hard luck stories with zero accountability will come out. Couldn't possibly be things like selling a highly rated keeper for peanuts to a club renowned for finding bargains and foregoing the next season by loaning and sticking with one of the worst keepers ever to wear blue and white. Or raising season ticket prices in a pandemic, resulting in millions in lost revenue. Or fannying about with delayed season ticket and shirt sales. Or signing 12 million quid of strikers who haven't delivered and playing them on the wing. Or signing expensive crocks from TM's old club. Or knowingly paying players to do nothing because we feel sorry for them. Or tactical midgetry that repeatedly cost us any real chance at the land of milk and honey. Nope, it will all be us being the only club affected by covid, and that FFP thing we've known the parameters of for years. Hell if Maggot is feeling especially talkative he might even implicitly blame the working class fans again for not spending enough of their hard earned, limited money to support millionaire footballers whilst the club utterly takes the piss.

I'm 90% sure you've got the wrong end of the stick there. The entire remainder of the contract isn't owed. The loyalty bonus doesn't come close to that amount most/any of the time. It's a prearranged amount separate to that, and is standard in footballer contracts. It's paid for not demanding a move during the length of the contract. If the club sells you anyway, you've been 'loyal' (no matter what chicanery you pulled, as long as you don't put in a direct request) and you get the bonus when you move. Otherwise you get the bonus at the end of your contract, or spread across it in annual sums as long as you're still there. The player's wage-level protection is more in terms of the fact they're under no obligation to sign terms with the buying club. So a club can't just shunt a 100k p/w player onto a conference side for 500 quid p/w to avoid paying the wages, as unless the player has lost leave of their senses they won't move. They're entitled to the full value of their contract if they see it out, not every time they move. Selling clubs might also agree to cover some of the wages until the end of the contract they had with the player to get it over the line if they're desperate enough, but that's more because the player won't accept a huge wage drop.

Because we are not a club that can afford to spend 7 million pounds on a player and wait 2 years for him to start earning the shirt, even if we make a profit somewhere down the line. That 7 million invested properly at the time may have been enough to get us into genuine playoff contention before now. Then again under this manager, maybe it doesn't matter how we spent it. Any future fee would have to be ludicrous, upwards of 20 million, before I'd be willing to reconsider that maybe it was a good move when everything was factored in. This assuming we didn't stick a nice sell on fee in there for Forest, which would be very like us... Or of course, if he fired us to promotion. Either scenario is fantasy-land in my view though.

About the same as Mowbray and Waggot resigning tomorrow with a statement that Tony knows playing 6 ft 5 strikers on the wing is stupid but he just can't help himself.

So is this a guess based on the above, or have you heard something specific about us?

To be fair, he's meant to be absolutely class.

He was 17 when we signed him I think? Maybe 18. That's a fair age to take a punt on someone's potential. The weird ones were White and Lyons.

I wonder which Premier League academy he belongs to... (If Nixon weren't frequently full of shit)

It probably isn't worth 8 million to have Armstrong for one season. Or even the 6 million ish we would probably have after the Toon's cut. But I'd still reject any such bid out of hand on sheer principle, it would be a ludicrous price. Hopefully the Mail don't know what they're talking about, and it contrasts sharply with the 25 million that has been reported as our price previously. I doubt even this lot are bungling enough to set the price for the league's player of the year at 8 mill.

If I were them I'd offer us a bit less than that, knowing that we will value not having to pay 40% of profit to them. A 12 million bid from them, waiving the sell on, is worth more to us than a 15 million bid from someone else.

Even if we assume he had been signed on a free, yes I'd be unhappy to lose him on a free. He was pretty good for most of the last season and we missed him when he was injured. Whilst he's not worth 7 million as yet (and never should have been bought for that at the time even if he goes on to be worth 20 million), he is still worth money and still a useful member of the first team. With everyone we currently have fully fit, he starts for me. Fortunately even if his contract runs down, then as long as we offer him a new one on the same terms I think we would be eligible for compo. I think he would just about be the right age for that. Given what we paid for him, I expect the compo would be pretty high and therefore clubs might be put off trying to snatch him anyway.

If someone had told you a couple of years ago that Ben Brereton was going to be sharing a pitch with Messi in 2021 (or, ever, really) you'd have called them a damned dirty liar!

It'll be especially irritating if we get a crap fee for him now. Buendia didn't win this, Toney didn't win this. Buendia just moved for 33 million, same age as Arma and doesn't carry the English premium. Toney moved to a Championship club (bigger risk for them than a Prem team) for 10 million at 24, same age as Arma now, when he had only played at League One level. If we end up selling him for 10-15 million, which is looking increasingly likely, we have really done ourselves by letting this contract run down. And that's before Newcastle take a huge chunk of it. Hopefully this award adds a couple of million or so to his market value.

It sounds like this might not be the thread for you.

There's no guarantee he will be playing. Kipre didn't.

Some scars never heal.

Yep I agree, this goal was unreal and definitely one of his very best.

I didn't question you on whether it has a place in this thread, that's why I only pointed out it's got nothing to do with politics, just heart. It was off topic like 90% of the topic, but that's not what I took umbrage at. I'm not twisting anything, you are. It wasn't political, you twisted it to being political. I suggest you rethink what politics is, or you could take the word of someone who has a degree in Politics. I'm sure you won't do either so I'll leave you to the various misapprehensions you harbour.

Gone full Ben Marshall.

You don't have the first clue what you're talking about. It's not politics. Whatsover. It's 96 dead people. It's not posturing or sanctimony, it's basic decency. Grow up, or grow a heart, you need to do one of the two.

Having a heart about 96 people dying at a football match is not political. You should be ashamed of yourself for suggesting otherwise, frankly.

*sigh* I wasn't chiding you for posting it. But it does matter to some people, me included, what publications they give money to (clicking it grants them money from advertisers). Usually because of something that paper has done, or its toxic (in the eyes of some) social agenda. I'm aware the Daily Mail, along with the Sun, are two such publications so I gave people an alternative option if they prefer. It's not a big deal. Post whichever sources you like, I'm not having a go or looking for an argument.

https://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/sport/19361251.blackburn-rovers-receive-efl-cash-boost-academy-productivity/ Cash boost (unspecified amount) for having played more of our homegrown players than anyone else. In a separate article, LT are acknowledging the Thomas link, but they don't really appear to think there is anything in it at this stage.

I'm reluctant to click on Daily Mail stories, and I doubt I'm alone, so here's a different link for anyone who would prefer: https://www.lancs.live/sport/football/transfer-news/blackburn-barnsley-sunderland-transfer-news-20781234.amp I'm noticing that this window, people seem barely interested in discussing any links. There have actually been a fair few and hardly any discussion on them. Perhaps because they haven't hit the LT too, but they're hardly on the pulse these days. Or perhaps because we all know we will drag our feet for weeks yet, whether we are looking at these players or not. This particular one does have a bit of the three club rule about it. Although it makes sense for us and Sunderland to pursue the same targets at times, with our head of recruitment moving there. I don't mind being in for the same player as Barsnley either, they seem well ran nowadays. That said, it's not an inspiring link. League One defender freebie who missed the second half of last season. But there are hidden gems down there.