At least we don't have a manager on the touchlines in a Moncler jacket. That would be the end of it for me.

I actually think we started the second half fairly well. Or, in the very least, looked better than we did in the first half.

Shame. Shame. My envy for Adam Wharton is no greater than it would be for any professional athlete. As for disregarding circumstances? Some on here make it seem like he was sold into slavery. He could have stayed. He didn't.

We have too many players playing out of position. If you're being generous to JDT, that's because the recruitment hasn't been good enough. If you're being unkind to JDT, you could say that this is a level of stubbornness that we have seen from several managers in the past. I think it's probably a little bit of each, but it's difficult to expect players to gel when we have them learning on the job.

I can feel this being the day Telalovic gets his first goal. Even though he probably won't even make it onto the pitch.

You're correct. My lack of empathy for professional athletes getting raises is one of my least desirable character traits.

Bossed is a little strong. They've edged it, but not by a ton.

This is a particularly awful half of football. From both sides.

Can we stop feeling sorry for Wharton. He's earning tons and living his dream. He wouldn't swap places with you. Leave it be.

Maybe, but he does show how dangerous a bit of pace up front can be.

That model doesn't really exist anymore. We'd struggle to find a manager who wants or expects to also be running player recruitment. I hope JDT doesn't go as I think there have been enough positives to think that he could be part of a rebuild next season. He also comes across as someone who genuinely cares about his job and delivers a fair amount of honesty in the messages that he sends to supporters. That being said, this season has been more negatives than positives. As others mentioned, if we removed that likeability (which isn't really part of the job description) he would be under a lot more pressure.

Overall, I don't think it was the worst window that we've seen in recent years, but the real test will be what money is available in the summer and how it is used. We can only hope that the funding issues will have been resolved, the coffers will have been topped up, and, with no FFP excuses, that we have a good shortlist of players to go after in the summer. Hope springs eternal, but I won't hold my breath. We made a couple of sensible additions and added a potential goalscoring threat who will have to be judged in the next 6-18 months. It's not like we're knocking on the door of the playoffs, so I take no real issue with saving some of the spending power for the summer. Losing Wharton is a real shame, but we all knew it would happen eventually. It happened sooner than we may have hoped, but I do think we got a good fee for him (assuming that there's a decent sell-on clause in there). It's impossible to not feel saddened by losing a talented player who clearly cared for the club. That is a rare thing these days. We've lost more talented players, but it's been long time since we lost talent who actually had an affinity for Blackburn Rovers and who probably didn't want to jump ship quite as quickly as he did. All that being said, last night's performance from Kobbie Mainoo also provided a timely reminder. There's lots of talent out there and those thinking that we've just sold a future England international who will grace multiple Champions League knock-out stages may find that we've overestimated how unique his ability is. Wharton is replaceable in terms of the actual impact he was having on our squad and performances. He may not be replaceable in terms of a player with that much upside and room for development. Over to the owners and our CEO to prove that a sensible business model can be achieved at this club. Over to GB and the scouting department to prove that they can make good use of money when it is available.

I don't buy the loyalty bonus story for a second. Like most of the things surrounding this saga, it makes no sense. First of all, I doubt that Wharton had the leverage to negotiate that kind of percentage (or to have that type of unpaid bonus). Secondly, are we really supposed to believe that would expect to be paid before we are? And that this would hold the transfer up?

I'm not sure I believe it either, but there is a reason that I can see. Orlando is 5 hours behind, so he's landing in the middle of the night local time for them. That means that it would be difficult for us to give them any update between about midnight and noon (when likely our admin are fully signing off for the day and when there's might be starting their day if people are paying extra attention given deadline day here). It would actually be honourable to communicate a potential snag before he lands, but it still doesn't make some of the other information line up.

I actually don't mind us keeping most of our powder dry - assuming that there is any powder. There are a couple areas of the squad that desperately need to be addressed, but good deals are rarely done in January. I'd like us to get some key pieces in to keep things from falling apart and to plan to really shape the squad this summer.

Why is everyone so adamant that Wharton was forced out? I don't think he was actively looking for a move, but I also doubt that he took too much convincing. Because of the podcast I'm part of, I know that his agent has been very actively promoting him over the past 6 months and things really increased in January. Could just be described as an agent doing a good job, or it could be that they decided that a move was likely in the next 6-12 months and they needed to raise his profile. Nothing, absolutely nothing, about this seems bizarre or makes the club look poorly run. I'll judge them on how we use the money now, not for the fact that we sold a 19-year-old for our club record fee. Never mind all of these 'to Crystal Palace' comments. How do you think other fans have felt when Blackburn Rovers have stepped in to snap up their talent?

'Worked out' is a bit difficult to define. I can certainly think of several times when we've sold our best player at absolutely their top market value and when their subsequent career has been disappointing. Did we miss them? Almost always. Might their careers have been different had they stayed? Quite possibly. But history would tell you that selling a player when a big bid comes in is rarely a dumb decision. Now, in spite of all that, we've consistently failed to wisely reinvest windfalls (if we even reinvest them these days).

We've tried the keep them as long as possible route. They leave on frees.

Not entirely sure how that logic really works.

I'll take that bet. Peak Tugay vibes? Come on. That's an insult to Tugay.

Dunn was better at the same age. By a young age he was a driving force in a genuinely good side. Wharton makes some nice passes and had a lot of talent, but he drifts in and out of matches and isn't the type of player who can really grab a match by the scruff of the neck.

No, because we have a substantial sell-on fee with Phillips and we will likely have something similar with Wharton. If either one of them fulfills their potential and the 'crown jewel' status, then we will probably have brought in closer to 40m+. That's a lot of money for two relatively unproven players from the Championship.

Maybe he will, but the certainty with which people say it is, quite frankly, insane. He's very talented for his age, but still fails to make an impact for us consistently. Now he has to do that at a much higher level. The higher level might suit him. He may benefit from having more talented players around him, but it's still a big step. We can sometimes have blinders on when viewing our own talent. That player x is definitely the best in a certain position in the league or the type of talent we haven't seen in years. We're not long removed from serious debates of 'Dack or Grealish?'. I wish him all the best, but there's a very good chance that he never comes close to the heights that many on here are expecting. A good Premier League career would still be incredible and a testament to his talent and our academy, but people talk about him as if he is a world-class talent. We could go through a fairly long list of players of a similar age who are already proving themselves at a much higher level.

I'm not sure this is the best timing for Wharton to leave (for us or for him) and I'm not sure it's the best move, but do wish him luck. Some on here regard him a little too highly. It's a fair price, he's talented, but a lot of development ahead if he is to establish himself in the Premier League.

Gallagher seems likely. Wharton not necessarily. There's also the Raya money. And technically there should have been this famous 'war chest'.