At the same time I'm pretty sure GB is on record as saying JDT approves all signings. It's also clear he speaks to the potential signing before the transfer goes through.

This time 12 months ago were you thinking Szmodics and Brittain were a waste of money? Tbf you wouldn't be the only one but both, to different degrees, show it's dangerous to write a player off after 6 months

On a plus side, Dolan looked good for an hour last night, closer to the player who got injured than the one who started the season. Was almost too keen to get involved, was dropping into holding mid at times to get the ball, but perhaps that was to get some running and sprints into him. His movement and pressing had been missed, even if his end product can be inconsistent

Very good post. Off the top of my head the only players in recent(ISH) years who stayed when they probably could have played for a bigger club is Pedersen. Seem to recall there was an instance where he didn't renew until the last couple of months of his contract and so could have gone on a free. As the post highlights this happened when we were a top division side nevermind where our standing is now. Palace may be having a poor season but they're established in the prem and play young players. I'd be puzzled if any of our players didn't give a move to them serious thought and that's before wages are considered. As for Gally I can see why he would be frustrated if we haven't opened negotiations with him - hardly the signal he's wanted. But he's likely in the Dack situation albeit he would play more when fit. Club probably considering if we can afford the highest earner to be unavailable so much.

This will be the test of GB as DoF. It'll be the first time he has had a genuinely significant windfall. In fairness the more expensive signings he has made - Sam, Hyam, Brittain - have turned out between ok to very good so maybe bargain basement isn't his forte.

If we get £20m guaranteed for Wharton and it allows us to spend at least £10m on 3 quality players, I'd reluctantly say we should. CM is probably our strongest area - Tronstad and JRC will probably play and there's Garrett and Buckley when he returns, as well as the Swedish loanee. Sometimes you have to cash in to build the rest of the team.

Not necessarily. Maybe a higher down payment or shorter full repayment period which they accepted, or even other clauses like £350k now, ££200k in the summer and 10% of a future profit. Could be all sorts of ways to find an agreeable deal.

By the same logic Ash Phillips isn't all that to be bothered by as there's no indication any other club wanted to pay 2m for what some believe will be a generational talent?

Turned a Belgian that nobody on here had probably heard of into a Prem keeper whilst getting call ups to his national team? Took a young Spaniard and helped develop him so that a premier league bound team wanted him and he has played for his country and a title challenger? Jason steele is also now a Prem first choice keeper for a top half team. If we did this with every single keeper we signed it'd be a miracle.

Respectfully disagree. If the money isn't available soon it could force us to sell an asset to cover general outgoings and leave the squad even weaker than it is. Relegation then becomes even more of a possibility and the loss of even more players. We go from barely treading water to head under the water line.

Super ITK Fabrizio Romano said the clauses for the Raya deal to be permanent were very basic, implied that it was as good as done unless Raya somehow missed the full season which hasn't been the case. It was due to FFP that arsenal didn't make it a permanent signing at the time.

Bordering on conspiracy. Next to be targeted will be the retail manager and the lottery ticket sellers. Could it perhaps be possible that these people do a reasonable job for the wages we can afford/pay and therefore successive coaches/management have been fine with them remaining in situ? Or must it be something more devious and underhand?

He brought in his assistant and I also think he appointed Ben Rosen. But that isn't the point, if Benson was so poor as some make out, why would TM and JDT have persisted with him? Why would Kaminski have specifically thanked him instead of pushing for a new GK coach during his time here - along with all the other GKs we've had on the books? Benson seems to get a lot of flack for our keepers not being a cross between Manual Neuer and Alisson yet it's ignored he has coached our last 2 senior keepers, both of whom are established in the prem.

Certainly wouldn't be a purchase then. Sounds reminiscent of selling Rhodes and ending up with Graham on loan (if memory serves me) although that ended up well enough, eventually.

The Benson criticism puzzles me. I'm neither a fan or critic of him, but when have football fans been so intrigued by the GK coach? I watch and follow a huge amount of football and have done for 30 years, without looking it up I couldn't name a GK coach at another club at present. I look at this factually. Benson was promoted to his role from the academy by Mowbray. You may not like TM but he has managed clubs in the first and second tier for years. Still gets jobs. JDT comes in following GB, Benson stays. Kaminski, the now established top division player, specifically praised Benson when he left. You could also argue Benson played a role in Raya's development, the keeper now playing for a top prem team. Why is Benson now running warm up and set pieces? Cos he's been told to. We haven't got someone in to do these things for whatever reason but is it his fault he continues these activities and roles? He's hardly able to say no. If JDT/GB aren't satisfied with how these are handled it's not for Benson to recruit someone else to do it.

You can find all the gems in the world but if you've no budget you're not buying them. Of the signings under GB I'd say Szmodics is absolutely a success, yes he wasn't an unknown, but who else took a punt? Hyam is decent although his form has dipped and Tronstad and Siggy look reasonable. However GB's most important work has been sorting out most of the contract situations.

Alternatively as soon as the article page loads, click the x (the one which becomes the refresh button) to stop it loading further. This stops everything beyond the first paragraph from being hidden.

I'm sure it's been said there's a one year extension option as well, so he only goes for free if the club decide to release him, like Dack. The difference with Gally is I think JDT wants to play him, he generally does when he is fit.

JPvH and Reed were loans, they pretty much had to leave. Nyambe, Lenihan, Rothwell, BBD and King went as their contracts expired - another issue which has been discussed endlessly. Rhodes was desperate to leave and I believe we got 8m, so hardly peanuts.

JDT also said Travis wanted to leave in the summer and expressed the same wish again in October, as he wanted to play more in the role he wanted. Had Trav not wanted to move, it's difficult to say what may have happened. We all know our finances are tight but even if they're not, do you keep one of your higher earners around if they're not a key part of the team, not just the squad? If the 2 loans were possible due to him leaving, we've got more cover now than before he went. Time will tell if they're better options for the team as a whole, compared to if we'd have kept him around.

Fully agree, there are different ways to solve a problem. Look at Cambridge's goals - neither in my view were the fault of the keeper. First one we failed to clear our lines 3 times and nobody got out to block the shot. 2nd goal the cross could be stopped, Pik easily beaten and worst of all the striker had no defender within 5 yards, the CBs were literally marking nobody. There's been many times in the past where we've seen players literally throwing themselves in the way to block shots. We seem to be lacking some of that mentality when defending our box at the moment

When Alan Nixon links Wharton away, it's usually met with a number of comments about how he knows nothing. He links Ennis away, which people wouldn't be too bothered about, and I don't think I've seen a single comment about how hopeless Nixon is.

If he's not given the option of experienced players as we can't afford them what is he supposed to do, decline all suggestions? Or if he wants numbers as the squad is thin, choose one experienced incoming over 2/3 players? It's likely not as simple as this but yesterday we lost a squad player on one of the higher wages and brought in 2 squad players to cover the same position as well as other midfielder roles, and cover at left back where we didn't have it (as Batty hasn't been deemed good enough for a look in). If Gally was fit and someone offered to loan him and it enabled is to bring in a pacey winger and another striker, I imagine there'd be a fair few willing to take the punt. Yet, when fit, I reckon Gally is closer to starting games compared to where Trav was.

Would have been a bold move to take the captaincy off trav and give it to a new signing in his first summer. If you mean last summer, that would probably have put Trav's nose out of joint even more. He already wanted to go, it hardly convinces him to stay if the armband is taken off him.