It's a grey area with players and injuries or so i'm told.

Plus the possible prospect of an insurance pay out which is surely covered under a professional players contract.

Item 1 on the agenda - another extension for Mr Mowbray and his crew ?

Compassion - yes but to guys who've been earning thousands per week and know exactly how the game works. Sorry but this isn't a non league player and we aren't a charity even though we've resembled one for most of the past ten years. If it's a 6 month deal on a grand per week whilst he gets himself sorted then that's commendable and fair enough but keeping him on the same terms then mulling over a new deal if he gets fit is bonkers because at the end of the day he's a poor player probably better suited to lower down the scale. Anyway it remains to be seen but usually when TM drops hints on this kind of thing they then usually come true he's a stickler for better the devil you know, lads probably already been promised a fresh deal if he gets fit. Maybe if he has to pack in the insurance will cover it i'm sure there'd have to be some angle on it to get it past the owns or their middleman at least. Some good signings it'll be forgotten about but an underwhelming window and moans of little room in the budget then he'll rightfully get pelters for not freeing up some much needed space off that list.

Good man ?

I'll stake you a tenner here and now that barring injuries Mulgrew and Evans are in the starting line up first game next season ...

We've seen enough of Samuel and more importantly how Mowbray prefers to use him to know he won't improve the squad at all and that's not a dig at him I hope he gets fit but he brings very little. Gladwin TM signed him then never really fancied him when he was fit to play and when he did apart from maybe one game I recall he always looked like he couldn't be arsed being here yet we got the old 'he bangs them in on the training ground' - sure sign of a gaffer trying to justify a dud signing that if ever there was one ? Conway does at least prove useful now and again but as for the other two lets not be polishing any turds we know exactly what to expect and if you are looking to strengthen the squad yet don't want to or can't oust some of the more established players then this is right where you start your pruning. Also just remember TM constantly paps on about not having a squad too big to manage so it keeps harmony better and you haven't got loads sulking because they aren't playing regularly ? His words not mine so do we really think he's retaining everybody then going out signing another load of players ???? Give over this is a sure sign of what's coming i.e probably not much really let's just hope he gets it right.

What he's also said is he's looking for experience to add to Graham, Mulgrew, Evans etc which pretty much confirms he's building round them not replacing them, for those still thinking that will happen.

He did also say he's not booting anyone out either or forcing anyone to leave just giving them the opportunity to find their own way out if they want to. Not the ruthless type at all so he's unlikely to start now and if the owners and co don't lay any demands of the top 6 and don't issue a larger budget than last season and are happy with stability then he's got one of the best jobs in football at the min. Far from the basket case club some still perceive us to be.....for now.

He's made room for a 4th choice centre half quit yer moaning.. ?

Was going to mention this before as I wonder if when guys like him are out long term does insurance cover their wages ? You'd like to think so but football is an odd beast. Remember Martin Dahlin ?

I certainly wouldn't be pushing the boat out for him at all it would be safer retaining him for another 12 months on the terms he's on with the option of a roll on.

He's already said in the LT Gladwin isn't a football decision which translates as he feels sorry for him and probably wouldn't like to see him end up on the scrapheap. Fair enough if he feels some responsibility he brought him here and it would be his call to let him go, maybe he should personally foot the bill then ? We are carrying too many like this in recent years and it never works out because by and large they are either old and busted when they arrive or were poor players whether they are fully fit or not. Gladwin fits into that mould and as paying fans I think most would want his wages going towards someone who can contribute and as I've said before what if we end up not being able to stretch another five grand per week to a good centre half who might come ? Deadwood weights you down and if he ended up on the bench in his quest for fitness and so the manager can get him in the window to be fixed up elsewhere but he's keeping one of our own youngsters out or someone more capable even worse !

How are you supposed to improve on that though if you don't try ? Pooling whatever resources you have together and putting them towards a bit of freshness that can contribute is usually how it's done.

If they are possible red flags pretty soon the talk will be of competition for places again not ready made first team signings. We still don't know how it'll go maybe the phone in Pune has gone dead again so they are just preparing for the no budget increase scenario, can't blame people being sceptical though this tends to be how the big let downs begin going of previous.

All very good points although i'll have to disagree slightly on the expectations as he himself has done a bit to whip that up a notch quite a bit recently so it doesn't reflect well if it's just season ticket push talk. If he doesn't get any significant backing I hope he's honest enough and brave enough to say he or the owners felt comfortable going largely with what they've already got again, it's a risk to not prune as much deadwood or players with little to contribute and freshen things up whilst you have the opportunity as he does here with people out of contract.

Yes and we've been thee before, front loading with a few quid on decent signings then nothing for years whilst that team matured enough to be broken up and sold. If you were an auditor coming up with a plan to help the club wash its face a bit better whilst owner input continued to service debt and losses that's probably how you'd pitch it.

When we are told late in the summer that we were close to signing x y or z but couldn't quite stretch to the wages things like this come into play. 4k pwk each ? You're having a giraffe !!!! On the keeper side of things I expect no real changes but if they did land one from somewhere one of the others could always be loaned out we don't want to be starting the season with only one senior keeper. Still think the big commanding keeper talk was just bluster though to give Raya a bit of a reality check nothing more.

It maybe suggests a cheap or young 3rd choice to supposedly put pressure on the other two. I like Mowbray and back him but the longer he's here the more he seems to be becoming an i'll tell them what they like to hear manager whilst having different plans of his own altogether.

What have I been saying all along about Leutwiler and Gladwin ???? Only reason he was getting a run was to be able to trigger that option ! Gladwin ? Stuck for words on that but this is TM all over he's a players man, just wait till the fun starts with Samuel who I fully expect will also earn a new deal. As you were.....

We can't just by half a new team never mind expecting them to gel straight away especially when we have a gaffer who often makes basic things confusing. Let's be honest most of the established ones and some of who a lot of us feel are constant weak links will be in the starting 11 come the first game of next season, we are tied to them and they are tied to us. Best we can hope for is a couple of astute additions for cash (similar to last season where IMO 1 was astute and 1 wasn't at that juncture) that'll mean they've invested c 10 million again. Add in a couple of astute loans ( again last season 1 really really was and 1 really really wasn't ) then the inevitable low cost couple of back up players as is the norm these days. That along with some sensible deadwood pruning and hopefully loan out a few and we should be in decent shape for next season, oh and stick hold of our good ones ! Plus pray upon pray that the manager adopts a more robust style, settled side and for gods sake square pegs in square holes where possible. But stop this pipe dreaming it'll only end in disappointment we all know that deep in our minds.

I'd be sending him out from the start of the season so he can get fit somewhere else and maybe get a goal or two. league 1 would be the place even if they had to sub half his wages this end. It's worth seeing what he comes back like but if he's here I just know exactly how it's going to pan out Mowbray had an obsession with trying to justify him before so he'll be a square peg in a round hole again most weeks and we need to be moving away from that caper if at all possible.

Spot on but even at his advanced age to get someone in like Graham who guarantees you ten to fifteen goals will be a stretch unless there's a nice pot for a big wage loan who can actually play target man as well. Getting someone to back him up should be a bit easier although long term we are going to need another good marksman from somewhere.

Imagine the uproar if I'd said Brereton for example ? But maybe I should've said Samuel. Fact is you can't have too many goalscorers and we need someone - a forward - on that bench who can come off it and put away a chance or two to kill games off or salvage points. At this moment in time it isn't BB and it'll never be Samuel not a good enough finisher but if you know where the net is you know where it is. They must though actually be played or brought on in their rightful position if you want to get the best from them, something Mowbray seems alien to at times for some reason.

Tony's been browsing again. Never in a million years is he going to get all those capable in one summer even IF there was a serious intention to do so. Two out of four would be a good effort though but which two would he prioritise ?