Ralph Fastenbüttl

Fuck me, I've gone from never having heard of the word "amortised" to reading it in what feels like every post. Suppose I should probably Google its meaning.

I love the idea of the club management braced against various bits of furniture around the manager's office; the assistant manager curled up in a ball under the desk, the chairman clinging to a pillar by the fire escape, the reserves coach with his back to one bookcase and his feet raised up pressing against another so he's wedged in place. All just waiting nervously lest the fax should spark into life.

So great home win. Edozie looked terrific today and tore apart that poor RB, Fraser was a menace form the moment he came on, and a cracking strike from the Championship's current top scorer, Adam Armstrong. But tell you what, let's glaze over all that and go back to whining and one-upmanship, yeah?

Get in. Delighted to see such a performance from Edozie. Adam A was brilliant. Fraser was brilliant. Fuck me, even Baz was brilliant. Manning too! So nice getting a home win. And, hopefully, we should be getting another striker in to replace Che to add even more firepower! We're gonna win the league!!!! (we're not, but we're gonna be in the conversation, for sure).

There is absolutely no reason to be anything other than relaxed about the situation. SR's recruitment policy is pretty clear to understand from what's transpired thus far: They will happily pay out for young, developing talent who they believe will grow in value and develop professionally from Championship level to Premier League level e.g. Shea. They clearly have a preference to loan in talent that should be well equipped for the Championship push, but may not be as useful beyond that e.g. Holgate. Both of which seem entirely logical. And this also means that we're quite sensibly not going to be blowing the extraordinary piles of cash we've accumulated in this window. the presumption will be that those funds will be available if and when promotion eventually occurs. As for the outgoings, I don't understand which of them have surprised people? And I'm all for getting rid of players who want out. Lavia, JWP, Tino - too good for the Championship, were always going to leave Orsic, DCC, Ely, Diallo - bloated squad needs trimming, off you go Tella - unsurprisingly quite clearly wanted out, as I would had I have been shipped out to the Championship last season while the likes of Djenepo were being rewarded with new contracts. The lad has earned his Germany move. It's a shame for him that Burnley couldn't/wouldn't match our valuation as he's earned a stab at the Prem. Good luck to him. Che - very obviously wants out, or else he'd have signed that contract. And honestly, he's not good enough in the Prem so I'm very happy for us to part ways. Yep, he'd have done well for us in the Championship, but players of that level are not rare. He's very replaceable. I also don't buy into the narrative that our business thus far has been universally uninspiring. Shea - has already put in a MotM performance. Looks legit. Downes - very well equipped for this league and a solid signing. Fraser, Holgate - I'm not sure why folk are so down on these two. Lots of Prem experience and Fraser has enjoyed long spells of looking very sharp at the top level. No reason at all to suspect they won't excel in the Champ. Manning - not exciting or inspiring, but clearly the manager trusts and believes in him. Lumley - OK, I've got nothing here. I still think the keeper situation is a concern, though I'm very prepared to back Baz and hope he comes good. I honestly think he's showing the early signs of finally settling and imposing himself a little. Plus, let's not forget about Amo-Ameyaw, who looks fucking lightning! AND we've got the likes of Ballard and Doyle waiting in the wings and getting better and better. I reckon there's a good chance Ballard in particular starts to push through a little bit this season. Wood, too, looks like a great signing if we can get that over the line. All of which just leaves potential concerns about up front. Che is going to leave - at least, the odds heavily favour it. As I said above, if he stayed I'm convinced he'd have a strong 20+ season for us, but his skills are certainly not at a level that cannot be replaced either by another Fraser/Holgate type loan or a £10-15m signing. Plus, look at the attacking talent we currently have in the squad: Armstrong is finally gonna score some goals for us now he's not playing with the big boys I'm convinced Amo-Ameyaw is gonna be big Alcaraz looks like he's committed and could tear up this league It also looks entirely possible that Sulemana could stay, which would be a good and potentially exciting surprise I think Fraser will be a goal threat at this level Ballard is an exciting wild card imo And we can add whoever comes in to replace Che to the pot, too Even if we go on to sell KWP and ABK (and hopefully get shot of Tall Paul, Lyanco, Djenepo and perhaps even Mara?) that still leaves us with a solid spine - the likes of Smallbone, Bednarek and the Armstrongs should be strong in this League, even if unspectacular. We have to remember that we are only a matter of weeks into the RM and JW era. The scale of the turnaround needed at this club cannot possibly happen overnight, or in a single window.

A tip for anyone who, like me, is finding this thread increasingly insufferable. Make a list of the the most annoying posters here and play a game of "Idiot or Child?". There are also bonus points on offer for correctly identifying the adult virgins. Really takes the edge off.

What sort of questions? Q: "Oi! Do you intend to replace all our players with highly experienced loanees who have a good chance in excelling in this division? Do you? And you call that a 'strategy', do you?" A: "Erm, yeah, quite possibly." Q: "And I suppose you have no intention of spending the £100m+ made in player sales in the next week?" A: "I mean, we're in the Championship. Not sure we even could if we wanted to? Especially when we're trying to reduce squad size, not increase it."

There ARE some 'indications' that some fuckers are barely literate and should be let nowhere near quotation marks. Dear me.

This is what folks are missing. As a Championship club there's a very definite ceiling to who we can attract. If we can loan in the talent we need for promotion then that leaves us with a bigger transfer coffer for Premiership-level signings. Loan in the experience + purchase younger players who can grow and develop as the club theoretically advances upwards. Lots of ifs and buts there, but I should imagine that's the strategy.

Aye yeah, fair enough. And to be clear, I was never saying I'd think he'd come back.

Some managers definitely advocate youngsters stepping down a league when on loan. Not saying they're right and you're wrong, but it is A Thing That Happens Sometimes.

I think it's more a case that having been a top performer in a side that won promotion, he could well feel like he's earned the right to have a stab at the Prem.

Che could stay at Saints, score close to 30 goals, look shit hot and quite possibly get promoted, or go to Everton, score fuck all, look shit and get relegated. But I guess scenario 2 comes with bigger payout, and the lad probably has enough self belief to think he can be prolific at Everton. Which is a shame 'cos he won't be, but hey, at least he'll be fucking loaded, so fair play to him.

The numbers we're rumoured to be asking for seem very high - almost to the point where it'd be silly not to sell. But I find it hard to imagine any club willing to cough up in excess of £20m, and presumably Wilcox and co are very aware of this.

Bit surprised to read this in Alfie's article: I'd got the distinct impression Tella wanted out, but glad to be wrong.

Imagine having a Summer Transfers thread that is actually about transfer news/rumours and isn't just pages and pages and pages of the same half dozen bawbags endlessly passively-aggressively 'well actually-ing' everyone to death (sorry, I mean "having conversations with people") and then whining like little babies when they're called out for their utterly tedious behaviour? The dream.

Jesus fucking christ, man. Goading strangers on the internet is no way to be spending your Friday nights. We were fucking shit last season. And for much of the season before. Proper, proper shite. Underequipped for life in Prem, yes. As a result, I'm not super upset to see the squad undergo a rebuild. But yes, that means some not quite as shite players, and dare I say one or two actually quite good players, may move on in the process. Not least because our relegation means they will demand it. Is that OK? Does that summary meet with your approval? Can we continue on with our lives now? Or shall we carry on poking one another with sticks?

I'm not saying that for one moment. I'm just pointing out that he's demonstrably unproven in the Prem.

C'mon dude, don't be obtuse. I was really very clearly implying that having sold the good stuff, we're now moving onto the 'rest' 🙄

Tella? Huh, OK 😘 But yeah - JWP, Lavia, KWP and Tino are all Prem quality for sure. No doubt. Which is precisely why they were guaranteed to leave when we lost our place in the Prem. Sure, it would have been just splendid had any of them decided they fancied a stint in the Championship, but that's obviously not the case and we sure as fuck can't force them, can we?

You're all losing your minds about the club selling players who have proven they are thoroughly underequipped for life in the Prem - and life in the Prem is what awaits if we're successful in the Championship. What on earth would be the point in this whole exercise if we fight to keep hold of these players, claw our way back up to the top flight and then find ourselves in a similar position to that which got us relegated, with a team of fucking wasters who cannot score or defend? Are we really thinking RM is so talented that he can get things out of this squad that three successive managers have been unable to? We've all spent months and months and months begging for a clearout. Now we're getting it and y'all are kicking off? I just cannot fathom.

I mean, I was honestly hoping we could double up and find one who is both tall and good?

Exciting, fun to watch football? After Selles-Ball, I'll take it TBH. Today was great fun.

Agreed. If by "tweak" you mean "replace both central defenders and the keeper with proper footballers".