Add in financially troubled deadbeats Reading, Wigan being replaced by upwardly mobile Ipswich and Plymouth. Think we will comfortably in the bottom half of teams next year as financial pressures kick in more and more (assuming no new investment).
All the teams in the playoffs are "limited" sides with maybe a couple of decent skillful players each. Certainly nothing like the ability of some of our team. What they do have is a desire tenfold of what our bunch have had. See you next season. Blood some youth, get a lucky replacement for JP. Lose Sarr and anyone else whose not bothered about being here. Lower our expectations and it might be some fun.
Come on. I’ve looked into ours extensively. As you know. I think we’ll be fishing in a more expensive/higher calibre market than West Brom. My point wasn’t oh Pozzo is so wonderful but was merely regarding who I’d bring in if a WBA fire sale ensues. I’m not sure. They were tighter during their time in the PL but I think better given that their owner is self-dealing. He loaned the club’s money to one of his companies in 2021 and the club wrote off that debt. Basically Bassini level stuff. Our loans are secured against receivables, their loans, from MSD Holdings (the main creditor in the Derby County bankruptcy) are secured against the stadium and training ground. Their interest rate is over 10%, over twice as high as our Macquarie debt. It’s just different levels of stuff. And to clarify so my words don’t get twisted: Gino has run the club poorly and is a big problem. WBA’s bigger problems don’t absolve him of that by any means.
Come on what? I really appreciate you as a poster and I engage with you privately - but I think your posts were trying to somehow suggest we are fine - and WBA are knackered. (Apologies if wrong) But we are not fine. Study as extensively as you want in that regard, it changes little.
Hurrying him out of the door? Some of our fans are either doped up to their eyeballs or raving mad so it could be that.
True, but they had an owner willing to spend £100m+ to stay in the Prem, so I’d be amazed if he didn’t look to try and outrun EFL FFP while they have the chance.
Not at all. As I said, just noting that WBA are screwed as someone else said, and that I’d take some of their players. As noted, that they are much closer to insolvency than we are doesn’t mean we are in a good situation and this doesn’t absolve Pozzo at all.
Personally, I think we should be taking players that want to play for Watford. Not players that are looking for a way out elsewhere. A few of those are fine when they are coming into a good environment - but a whole new environment starting from scratch? Not sure:
Seems a logical strategy to want to buy a load of players from a team whose trajectory is one we’re trying to desperately avoid.
I’m not suggesting that we buy 6 players from WBA. I am saying there are 6 players I’d be open to bringing in. They finished above us and maintained top 6 form for much of the season. They have some good players. They might be available if they have a fire sale which is possible given their situation. We finished above Norwich but I’d take Pukki even though they too are on the trajectory we are desperately trying to avoid. Not sure that the club’s trajectory is particularly reflective of the quality of individual players.
If I remember rightly they’ve got transitional rules to cover off what happens when clubs come down, so they don’t fall into a twilight zone beyond the jurisdiction of either league.
My concern here is that it sounds like you want to put together a squad with just a one year objection? Which I think is a massive problem.
A one year objective? Not at all? I would mainly want players like Asprilla or Kone who are good enough to start in the Championship now (perhaps) and could become PL players too. I’d supplement that with available championship players who would offer some experience and know-how on 2-3 year deals. Some of the WBA players I mentioned (Dike, Townsend, O’Shea) could improve to be PL level players too.
We wouldn’t be able to afford a lot of WBA players. Fire sale or not. And if they go under market value, they are going somewhere else. We did this whole thing last summer about spending money we didn’t have. It’s Football Manager talk.
As protests go, throwing a duvet cover around while singing 'we've got a flag' must rank as one of the campest / least effective ever. Well done the 1881
For what it’s worth I think we will spend about 1/5 of what we raise, probably around £10m. Happy to bookmark this and be proven wrong. Some of the players I listed have a year left and if WBA have a fire sale might be available for 2-3m. Swift and Wallace were frees so it’ll be very good for their accounts if they realize a fee for them.
That’s fine. I have no need to rebut that point. I don’t think it’ll happen but I equally hope a version of it does. (People who say I always cause endless debate/argument, take note)
Could be wrong of course, but that sort of amount is also consistent with the types of targets you’ve suggested we’re considering (Riis at Preston would be £2-5m I think) and what Manga said was his approach in that interview in German earlier this year that he likes to sign players in the £2-3m range. Also consistent with some recent tweets by Andrew French and LouOrns. So just wanted to be clear about what my expectations are. Don’t think it’s too crazy but hopefully I won’t be disappointed.
I’m not talking from the viewpoint of what I think they ‘might cost’. I’m thinking of what clubs will ask - I’m not a negotiator so who knows. But Whiteman - PNE will ask far more than £3.5m as the forum suggested for example. Riis - I have no idea - but history tells me we will trying to be do it below market value and using the injury as the reason.
Cannot say I saw anything apart from that either. If anything it was quite "happy clappy" at the end as we won compared to the boos at half time.
This season has seemed like the worst I have experienced in many many years and yet we have ended up with a top half finish and somehow only six points off the playoffs!!! This only goes to show just how crap most of the teams in this season's Championship have been. So let's pick ourselves up and dust ourselves down and start allover again. The Future is Bright The Future is Yellow!!!
Whiteman has a year left. I think his price was £5m in the winter window with Fulham linked. No idea how much he’d cost. Riis was valued at £8m last year during Preston’s negotiation with Boro, off the back of his big 21/22 season. He still has two years left so no huge pressure to sell. I’d think Whiteman would be cheaper than Riis but hard to tell more than that and think we can probably do better than Riis for the likely cost.
Correction - as LeedsOrn suggested; please don't tarnish the rest of us with that! Yeah £5mil is what I'd expect.
If they can’t garner any PL interest then they’ll struggle to sell a player with one year left to a fellow Championship side for that. But could see whoever wins the playoffs snatching him up.
I don't know what's happened to him this season, maybe he's been injured, but last season does stick out like a sore thumb in amongst a poor season in front of goal and a decidedly average one. Would be happy with him on the cheap, I wouldn't want to spend a big chunk of our budget on him though
Great to see we finished above Norwich. They always do really well in this league. So we must have had a great season.
