Don't forget Fleetwood.

Weirdly I feel quite a bit more optimistic about this one than the Wycombe game. Which means we are doomed.

Not guaranteed at all yet. There have been rumours that Arsenal will offer to loan Raya back to Brentford for the first season. If that's their plan then it makes sense to get another keeper as backup in the meantime. This one cost less than 2 mill, so nothing to a Prem club and considerably less than the Raya price. They might still have intent there.

I do wonder if they're delaying changing it until the window shuts though, to keep clubs from overspending, then will decide on how it's going to change.

They haven't been changed so far.

Thing is Gregg, there can be no begging bowl next summer. Our three year FFP cycle will be up and we will either have broken our budget for it or be very close. I'm not sure on the specifics of the rules, but maybe you could argue that if we are just about inside it, we wouldn't get judged on it again for another season, meaning we could in theory have one last splurge and charge? But even assuming it works that way, can anybody really see the club, nevermind Venkys, taking that risk and massively over shooting the rules the next summer, getting sanctions for sure? No point anybody mentioning the potential loopholes around it either, we are late enough into these processes to know that Venkys have no stomach for that. It would take them years to arrange at their pace too. In essence, the league's rules will be dictating our budget from next summer on. That may even be the real source of limitation this summer too. It's not like we won't be aware of how close we are to it even before covid came along. Really, it's this season or practically start all over again and sell to buy from then on. This is the last time we could really roll the dice on spending to go up. We clearly aren't.

Going to have to wait for the transfer business to be concluded (including who is or isn't sold) before I make a full conclusion here. But at the moment I'm thinking midtable.

I'd say he was being too positive if anything

I can see him getting that kind of player sent off when they lose patience. I definitely used to kick attackers like that when I wasn't getting anywhere near them.

No wonder he approaches games full of such confidence! Maybe this is why Tony is finding some value in Bell after all....

I wonder how he does against Nyambe in training. (I know training isnt the same intensity barometer as games, before anyone starts)

Think it says a lot that Armstrong signed 2 years ago for the first team for 1.7 million rising to 3 million, has done great for us and has 14 goals since January, and he has 11 pages on his thread. Dolan signed about 2 months ago for nowt, for the u23s and has 5 pages already.

So is what you just quoted me saying.

Sorry but I am surprised by this question

That's surprising considering the ringing endorsement his former manager gave.

Yes and the manager's belief in that regard is terrifying. Opinions sure but can you not logically lay out, like I did, why a potential weakness is a bigger concern than a definite weakness? The fact you mostly just told me what the manager believes is making me think you're forming your opinion based on his, you see.

I don't see how that is true. GK - got a first choice now, hopefully decent and not let us down so far. Keepers are rarely injured. Backups inexperienced. Don't rate Fisher so far but he or others could prove sufficient. Emergency keeper loans might still be a thing? LB - first choice is undeniably not good enough (which some would consider putting it very lightly) and having a regular detrimental effect on the team. Has occasional injury troubles. Best backups are a RM who would have to move from his main position or a CB who has shown he is decent at CB and just as bad as Bell it worse when played LB. Much rather recruit where we definitely have a problem than where we might have a problem. Obviously we could do with both.

Ayala's wages and signing on fee mostly I expect.

I like pretty much everything about that post, cheers

I don't think not wanting to play him as their main central striker is going to stop them being interested.

Yep 2.5k p/w at the absolute maximum. Although as has been pointed out, loan fees can be used to get around that. They're hardly flush though surely.

So it's been widely understood that LB was the next target, but now we are only buying one player in total, or loaning two, and there are other areas, plural, that need strengthening first. Which, logically, means we don't intend to get a LB at all unless we get more funds. I was buzzing until this interview. Worst thing is we really aren't far, and it wouldn't take all that much money in relative terms to have a serious chance of going up this year. But come the end of the season we will have to sell to meet FFP. Depressing.

It's not the first time that recruitment expectations have steadily dwindled through the course of the window, but I think you're right. Something isn't quite adding up. Whether it's a reliance on King, Raya or Williams being sold, the financial people changing their minds as covid cases rise again, Ayala costing a bomb, the self-confessed 'poor negotiator' strategically downplaying our actual financial muscle, some combination of these, or something else entirely, the picture has changed quite quickly even by our usual standards.

As squad players? I'm sure tons of worse players have been in promoted squads. Evans has actually been a regular starter in a promoted team before.

Ignore it Joe, it's ever the way, there's no point taking what strangers say to heart. I and others want to hear what you've heard, whether it pans out or not.