Does every fanbase not contain a "hardcore" and then a considerable proportion who will attend more fleetingly and dependant on various factors, success included?

The article says twice that we just want cash, it is very contradictory and this is the third swap deal that Nixon has dreamt up, the LT says that any deal for Idah would likely be a loan anyway. There is no way that we cant even spend a small fraction of that money on a permanent signing. We are surely not 13m (20m take Newcastles cut) over FFP rules, we need a permanent replacement and it will be dreadful if we dont get one. Its impossible to see anything other than a dog fight with a team full of kids and loanees this season.

If we replace Armstrong with Idah on loan as per the LT, a striker with 6 league goals in his career, on the back of the summer so far and who we have as manager, we are asking for relegation. Such a depressing situation, I dont see why people are getting excited about a bidding war, its immaterial if at least a small proportion isnt reinvested on permanent players. We cant afford to hold off until January to start signing players, we could be cut adrift by then or at least be in a position similar to the season in which we went down. There is no reason that we shouldnt have a list of players ready and waiting for this expected eventuality so I dont understand why we would wait. As it is, I suspect that it will still be loans only and then the money will never be seen. If that is the case, can you see us staying up?

6 career goals then. Im not saying he should have scored more in his limited game time, my whole point is that he has barely any senior experience and thus it would be a gamble with him yet to prove that he can score consistently. Not saying that he would be bad, I am saying that nobody really knows. No, I have no idea who we should sign up front. No idea who is available either in the UK or beyond using our supposed scouting network which seems to have disintegrated. And yes, I am aware of the new regulations.

His goalscoring pedigree was at Coventry in League 1 wasnt it? And he struggled at Bolton as a winger.

I think/fear that it will be Brereton left, Gallagher right, Dolan central.

From what Mowbray said last week, it seems that a permanent replacement isn't even guaranteed. Idah is a similar one to Obafemi, he may prove to be a worthwhile calculated gamble in the absence of us being able to attract, find or indeed afford anyone more proven. I saw him a couple of times for Norwich last season and he looked fairly bright but he has 3 league goals ever, so it is a huge risk. His appearances for Ireland are not something to overly focus on really, I am not meaning to be snide but looking at the latest squad that was named, the strikers were Parrott who is again on loan in League 1 and has 2 senior goals ever, Ogbene who is not a regular at Rotherham and James Collins who is going to likely be back up to Moore at Cardiff, the standard is particularly low. I know that there were absent but even players like Maguire and Burke I have seen at Preston (the latter has left) and arent decent Championship players and Long is long since past it. He has yet to score internationally. Pre-season form is meaningless, that shouldn't affect our decisions, games whereby the result is fairly meaningless.

He would if its permanent, at the moment he is relatively untested although has shown glimpses as Pukki's back up. Playing for Ireland is not really an achievement these days!

Idah would be a similar situation to Obafemi, a young and largely unproven striker who on a permanent deal could be a decent investment, but on loan would be no good. Armstrong leaving will leave us in a terrible place as his goal record is superb but we cannot allow him to leave for free.

https://footballleagueworld.co.uk/exclusive-southampton-closing-in-on-deal-for-blackburn-man-as-danny-ings-replacement/amp/?__twitter_impression=true

https://www.portsmouth.co.uk/sport/football/portsmouth-fc/transfer-gossip-portsmouth-close-in-on-loan-deal-for-ps800000-former-arsenal-midfielder-who-has-been-linked-with-swansea-and-blackburn-this-summer-3331999 A rumoured loan target going to League 1.

Out of interest, was you told specifically that Reach was the in and Rothwell was the out? Do you still believe that "all you need to do is ask" Venkys even now? Just seems crazy and contrary to the last 10 years. In regards to your comments suggesting that NOBODY shares ITK information to "willy wag," I would disagree, not aimed at anyone in particular but some seem to get a power from having a supposed inside source. At the end of the day, if people say something and it doesnt materialise, it will be judged as being incorrect, whether something changed along the way and it was at one stage correct, whether it was based on assumptions and second guesses, whether it was a random social media whisper or whether it was quite simply made up. That doesnt mean that people should be discouraged from posting when they hear things, this is absolutely the place for it, but they shouldnt be above a bit of ribbing if it doesnt happen. It is such a worry that we are dealing solely in this market. I disagree with the notion shared by @RoversClitheroe that we should avoid loans, if players ae better than what we have, then it makes no sense to dismiss them. The key is to moderate usage of them, maybe a couple at most a season, and get the balance with your own assets and experience around it, which is where we will go wrong. These players may be talented but it is very much dipping our toes into unknown waters because there is no evidence of what they are like in senior football, kids football is no barometer. Roberts is the exception but he comes off the back of a string of failed loans at this level. I do remember watching that Nkounkou against Fleetwood and he was very impressive. But why would Everton loan him when he would likely be back up here?

I dont have any issues with prioritising clean sheets, but I just dont think that the Ireland comparison is in any way a valid one, just because of how different the situations are. Ireland have for the last 10 years plus had a void of any attacking flair and creativity, but plenty of workmanlike, experienced players. Being resolute and hard to beat was always going to be the only way really that they can play. With Rovers, I feel like inviting pressure is much riskier, the team is far less suited to sitting in great numbers, we lack the experience and concentration that Ireland had, neither side is technically very good but we do have alot more energy and pace in forward areas. Plus there is also the competition that both sides have faced, at international football you go from one extreme to another, half of the group will be international minnows, some of whom are full of part timers in which one goal and youve basically won, and some have a far superior group of individuals than Ireland had so the key was to play the percentages, set pieces etc and rely on organisation and experience. The Championship is far more balanced, there arent the extremes of either side. If you play 3 centre backs, they are likely to have more of the ball, and ours are all really poor on it. I dont agree with us playing from the back in general really, we should really be trying to turn teams around much quicker than we do. I also think that even if we are to play 2 centre backs, we are lacking in numbers badly. Lenihan is a given, Ayala is made of glass, we dont know when Wharton will be back fully at it, and then beyond that, big question marks on Carter who had a good loan spell but was out of his depth initially, maybe he has grown but he doesnt look good on the ball, and Magloire is even further back. I also dont think that Nyambe is better at wing back, I think his one on one defending is good and I prefer him as a full back. Unsure on Pickering without seeing him competitively. Obviously its impossible to take too many conclusions from friendlies, hence why the part in bold is a massive statement. But do you think that we have the quality and depth at centre back to play with 3, and do you think that they are suited to playing in that formation? How do you feel about constantly changing formation as Mowbray likes to do?

5 at the back doesnt seem to suit the current players, our centre backs are not comfortable on the ball, and we are already short at centre back so to play a second of 2 untested kids instead of someone like Rothwell seems illogical to me. The fixture on paper is as favourable as most will be so it seems unnecessarily negative to play such a defensive formation.

I think everyone is open minded to hearing genuine rumours with substance but often yours are just "rumours say that" or at their most specific, "someone on twitter has said." And have also avoided questions as to where the rumours have come from, if a rumour is shared, people are naturally going to want to know as much as possible about its source as to be able to ascertain how likely and believable it is. How many times has Mowbray been about to be sacked for example? Totally vague rumours are totally pointless, surely they are only useful if there is at least a bit of meat on the bones. If it is someone on twitter/facebook, copy the tweet/post, screenshot, at least mention the name. If it is some sort of super hidden source that cant be named that someone knows personally, perhaps a member of staff then at least say that and it is up to everyone to believe it or not. Much of the time, the rumours I think are just rumours already within the public domain with assumptions added to make them ITK. This isnt about J*B's rumour about FFP by the way, as there was a source there.

Swansea are in crisis, a good manager gone a week before the season and replaced by someone unproven, and so many key losses/absentees, Guehi, Woodman and Hourihane returning to their parent clubs, Ayew leaving on a free, Grimes with a knock and an unsure future, Roberts injured, Walsh a doubt and Fulton suspended. 7 of the 11 that started the play off final al out. We wont have many easier games all season from an opposition persepctive. That being said, we dont win our opening day under Venkys, usually off the back of a languid summer, this one is very much no different so I am certainly not confident. I also feel like the crowd will be (understandably) but depressingly low. Kaminski Nyambe Lenihan Ayala Pickering Travis Davenport Dolan Rothwell Brereton Armstrong Subs - God knows! Gallagher, Buckley, Carter, Chapman and 3 more kids. Any chance of a signing at any point seems remote.

I doubt that he could have been possible even with a sale of Armstrong with no funds guaranteed but I am unsure why Surridge warrants such a fee, especially in a covid marketplace, never particularly impressed that much bar some moderately decent loan spells. That being said, Stoke have impressed me in this window and shown us how to act. They sold their key asset Collins early in the window to Burnley, bringing in a good replacement in Wilmot soon after, also signing Vrancic on a free and now Surridge to boost the forward line. They also will soon have Campbell back from injury, joining Doughty and Fox.

Crooke doesnt know what hes talking about but is probably echoing what the LT reported last week, which is why the embargo happened. I still revert back to asking why we signed a player for a fee in January when we are so perilously on the line of FFP regulation breaking, or are been beyond that?! Or indeed why there isnt more urgency to get Armstrong sold.

I mentioned in another thread but surely with full capacity stadiums allowed, the option to stream games from the UK will be discontinued otherwise attendances across the country will never return to normal?

https://www.pressreader.com/uk/scottish-daily-mail/20210731/283390539901649 Saw this, but seems like it isnt for this season.

Where is this rumour from? He used to play for Barnsley but I don't think he was particularly great. Doesn't fit into the loans from Prem teams only policy.

What is the situation with walk ons, are they allowed past a certain time as Leeds games went off sale a couple of hours prior? Is there still a surcharge? Another thing that I was wondering about is potential streaming, surely that service should stop now that fans are allowed without restrictions, otherwise it will massively hinder attendances across the board?

What sort of logic is that? Obviously we dont want to sign overpriced players of any age, you can also point to overpriced younger players (Kevin Davies, Ashley Ward, Ben Brereton, Sam Gallagher) or indeed shrewd older ones (Downing, Friedel, Nelsen, Berg, Graham) so there is little pattern. The squad is crying out for experience, when we hit a tough run I really do worry. I feel like you are being purposely obtuse about my Pickering comments. My point is that I don't understand how we can go from signing players for above 500k to not being able to sign a couple of freebies within 6 months, how the landscape can change so much. If the embargo was sustainability related as per the LT, then it makes it even more perplexing, although it makes no sense either way. Also those players you listed that Bowyer signed were under another transfer embargo, hence why he could only afford to bring in absolute shite to replace all of our best players leaving.

Again, I dont have sympathy with Mowbray because at the end of the day, he is already a year into continued paid employment at a big Championship club that he does not warrant and wouldnt have under owners who cared. But Tony Mowbray is perhaps a great example of how managers tend to have a shelf life and if you are kept on too long beyond that shelf life, things get sour to the point where things get exaggerated out of control and you go from leaving with your head held high to being seen as a villain. He is at the point now where he is blamed for things out of his control and made out to be far worse than what he has actually been, understandably as we are all frustrated with how stagnant and hopeless it seems. @Mercer suggesting that the relegation was indefensible is beyond hyperbolic, typical to someone on the wind up, hence the comments about Coyle being better and boasting about having a journalists phone number. If Mowbray had left last summer, I think he would have been deemed to have done a good overall job here, nothing remarkable, but any return (not as our manager) would be warmly received. His first task was to keep us up, and I have always said that there is no use in extrapolating results (same as people doing so with the 2 in 17 stat from last season) and that he did fail that season, it was a very difficult task with a shoddy squad already in the relegation zone, he came close but not close enough. Then what followed was good (not perfect, I found the attitude from him before that Charlton game very aggravating) in getting us promoted comfortably at the first attempt, and very much stabilising us as a Championship mid table side. It became evident a while back that he had taken us as far as he could and had no idea how to push us on further, confused tactical ideas, recruitment wastage etc, no more signs of progression. As a side note, I have been surprised by the reaction in the ground v Leeds and also what I heard on the stream watching the Leeds game, various songs specifically in support of Tony Mowbray.

That is the impression that I am under, I am in the same situation as yourself, presumably in the same seat? Would also not mind clarification though myself.