Are we? Not a lot of noise apart from the young loanee from City coming in. Hope you are right, because another young keeper and a young loanee at the back is nowhere near enough to improve what is a very poor defence.

I look at evidence, in all likelihood a 23 year old keeper will be sold for £3 million and replaced with a 23 year old loanee. The club needs to balance the books, fine. But even if Raya did want to leave, that doesn’t preclude experience being brought in as a replacement Along with the expected defensive signings, extremely odd business for a club with one of the worst defences in the EFL.

How is it ‘dreaming up scenarios’? The manager literally said last night we ‘sold the goalie to help buy a forward’ As said goalie is to be replaced by a loanee, that says to me that’s exactly what’s happened. Now if it’s all a game of poker and an experienced keeper and centre half are soon to emerge, then great, but don’t you like to bring up Occam’s razor?

Is that an admission that there is no master plan for an experienced keeper and defenders to be brought in? Feel free to be optimistic, but don’t get arsey with others if it’s proven to be unfounded.

No problem, got great game management has Bradley Johnson.

Fairly obvious, as alluded to by TM, that the sale of Raya was a necessity and nothing to do with ‘wanting experience and a keeper with game management’ £3 million into the budget, and replace him with a lad of the same age on loan and a cheap, back up journeyman.

Joe Hart, Fraser Forster, Ruddy... to lad from Wigan and Simon Eastwood.

On that point. Someone on Facebook posted a pic of a kids soccer school, in Chorley I think. I was first depressed as I didn’t spot a single Rovers, Bolton or PNE shirt (or Chorley FC for that matter), clubs that have always had a decent support in the town. However, what did lift my spirits is the lack of United shirts. Amazing how quickly club’s fall out of favour.

I’m well aware of the club’s model. Oh good, it is just your view on the 75 million. Thought the club had completely taken leave of their senses. You give plenty out, so don’t be so thin skinned if wild claims like 75 million for a handful of players in our fairly average second division squad is challenged.

So it’s the club that thinks we have up to £75 million worth of talent once Dack goes? I was hoping it was just your fevered imagination.

Problem is Paul, you make everyone else out like they are idiots (WOW! ??? Etc) whilst you are the ‘football man’, realistic etc. But it’s you that thinks we will avoid FFP by selling one player in 12 months time, even though we have no idea on his worth at that time, just an assumption it will be enough - oh and 1 year left on his contract by then (so a reduced fee), unless he signs another? Another assumption. But even if we do sell him, that’s fine as we have up to 75 million of talent coming though. Its cloud cuckoo land stuff coming from you.

Then we need to be bloody careful with what we do spend... last summer’s deadline day could hamper us significantly.

To be fair, using pre season matches as a sign that a player is over the hill is a fool’s errand. Johnson looked like he was towing a caravan, but again it’s all about minutes at this stage. Graham can’t get a kick in August and September then fair enough.

In talks with Blackpool.

I notice Liverpool have that all singing and dancing ‘main’ badge, but their kit has just the Liver Bird and ‘LFC’.

Not sure why you are rowing with me and arbito. Nobody disagrees that we have to trade. However, in the next 12 months, only Dack has the reputation to pull in a BIG fee. So it would need to be a different approach if his form fell of a cliff. I.e a sell off several of our better players, then we do ‘languish in the bottom end of the Championship’ anyway. Do you remember the fag end of the Bowyer era? The embargo and a succession of our best players gone, as was us knocking on the door of the top 6. It is what it is, this being the madcap division it is, but it’s a risky business projecting the sale of one player 12 months in advance as a strategy to avoid FFP.

Samuel? I know we’ve all forgotten he exists.

Obviously the ECB trump card is that the BBC will be showing games. Bang anything on BBC1 and you have millions watching.

Best laid plans and all that. Lot of assumptions in that post, especially if the form of one player is our future financial fall back as a club. so we hope Dack continues in decent form, doesn’t suffer an injury and the other players actually do ‘kick on’.

Paul - You sticking to your view that Mowbray needs to be be held responsible for a failed transfer policy, if by the close of the window we haven’t significantly improved the defence?

How many relegated teams win the league? Very, very few. Having Scott Parker as manager could be their undoing.

‘Negative brfcs’ They all come back in the end... though he NEVER was

Yeah, he’s back as one of their ‘roving reporters’, isn’t he?

End of the day, worse came to worse all that would happen is even more of the area’s kids will have Man City shirts bought for them. That, and TV being the limit of their football exposure.

Bobby Moore’s final game in England for Fulham at Ewood in 1977