Summer Transfer Window 2023

[Bad Wolf]

1 minute ago, James said:

Maybe SR are just fast forwarding to the 2023 version of the Jason Euell/Stern John era? Mason Holgate the new Andrew Davies?! 

Sign for us, play about 9 games, transfer to another midtable team 4 months later and still win player of the season?

Is Tall Paul the new Tomaz Petkhart?

[Stu Man Do]

Just now, Bad Wolf said:

Sign for us, play about 9 games, transfer to another midtable team 4 months later and still win player of the season?

Is Tall Paul the new Tomaz Petkhart?

No Pekhart actually scored a goal once  sad to think we’ve spent circa 40 million on Tall Paul and Carrillo for the sum total of zero goals! Eek!

[maysie]

45 minutes ago, goodymatt said:

Well according to Jacob Tanswell on his Fraser announcement tweet, we are having to utilise the loan market as we spent so much last season. He pretty much confirmed that in his replies:

https://x.com/j_tanswell/status/1695119121506058564?s=46&t=7raSKCMt6LV8RJ1C2d39WQ

Record sales for this league and we don’t have much of a budget by the sounds of it? Maybe we need to sell Tella just to cover the loan fees and Wood… 

See now I’m a bit annoyed. Not that we’re not spending, I totally get that we wasted shit loads last season and don’t expect the owner to not want that money back.

I’m annoyed that the club have been disingenuous. All the noises coming from the club is that we will reinvest to strengthen the squad (not all the money obviously). However, if we need to wheel and deal and use loans/frees then be open and say that or probably better say nothing at all. Don’t string fans along. It’s why so far I’ve been fairly relaxed as have been impressed by what Wilcox and Martin have been saying.

Thats obviously on the basis that Tanswells info is genuine and not merely supposition.

[Osvaldorama]

1 hour ago, Pilchards said:

Tella was in tears when we shipped him out.

Some of the ladies in the kit team had to confront him. So yes he owe us nothing and deep down he’s making a good career move.

BTW Alcarez was the player that had changed his mind about leaving. Hoping that seeing all these guys leaving doesn’t sway him to think again?

If that’s true it’s gutting. 
 

We should never have let him go in the first place. Clearly better than Djenepo/Mara/Elyounoussi/Aribo

He’s earned a move, and good luck to him. Seems he’s actually too good for our retarded club. We are run by fucking morons. 

Edited 25 August, 2023 by Osvaldorama

[niceandfriendly]

Waving goodbye to promotion with every passing departure. Who’s next?

[hypochondriac]

5 minutes ago, maysie said:

See now I’m a bit annoyed. Not that we’re not spending, I totally get that we wasted shit loads last season and don’t expect the owner to not want that money back.

I’m annoyed that the club have been disingenuous. All the noises coming from the club is that we will reinvest to strengthen the squad (not all the money obviously). However, if we need to wheel and deal and use loans/frees then be open and say that or probably better say nothing at all. Don’t string fans along. It’s why so far I’ve been fairly relaxed as have been impressed by what Wilcox and Martin have been saying.

Thats obviously on the basis that Tanswells info is genuine and not merely supposition.

Yes I agree. If the poor house is the way forward then they coukd have been a little more honest about it, or at least not falsely built up expectations. 

[Saint_Ash]

8 minutes ago, Osvaldorama said:

If that’s true it’s gutting. 
 

We should never ever have let him go in the first place. 
 

Glad he’s gone, and good luck to him. Seems he’s actually too good for our retarded club. We are run by fucking morons. 

What do you mean by retarded club?

[James]

3 minutes ago, hypochondriac said:

Yes I agree. If the poor house is the way forward then they coukd have been a little more honest about it, or at least not falsely built up expectations. 

All that BS about how they didn't want the quality players to leave but the fees would support the squad rebuild etc etc. It's utter rubbish, just a front whilst ticket sales soar. 

Feels like our entire season turns on who they bring in to replace Che now. 

[Bad Wolf]

13 minutes ago, Stu Man Do said:

No Pekhart actually scored a goal once  sad to think we’ve spent circa 40 million on Tall Paul and Carrillo for the sum total of zero goals! Eek!

Didn't know you still posted on here!

[verlaine1979]

Wasn't the talk when we went down that the club would invest for immediate promotion? Regardless of how you feel about the individual quality of Downes, Fraser et al, there's no way you could argue that we've laid down any sort of marker as far as building a promotion-worthy squad goes.  With the quality we've got in attack and defense, we're in the mix as it stands - but that's all.

[CSA96]

Has the window closed already? You’d think so based on some of the hysteria tonight. 

[MarkSFC]

Tanswell maybe true BUT I think he's just one of these journos that writes a story that fits a narrative and sounds plausible even if he has no clue.

Spending money has not be a problem at any point by SR and they won't scrimp now. But if you can save money with loans why not!! 

Judge on Sept 2nd. 

[James]

2 minutes ago, verlaine1979 said:

Wasn't the talk when we went down that the club would invest for immediate promotion? Regardless of how you feel about the individual quality of Downes, Fraser et al, there's no way you could argue that we've laid down any sort of marker as far as building a promotion-worthy squad goes.  With the quality we've got in attack and defense, we're in the mix as it stands - but that's all.

There hasn't been any investment at all so far bar Shea Charles, he's the only transfer fee we have paid out. Appears we were prepared to bid for Piroe but fucked that up so remains to be seen who we spend that money on.

Feels fairly clear cut we will lose ABK, KWP and Che next week and bring in Wood and a striker. Fingers crossed for no sting in the tail sale like Alcaraz or Sully but if SR want their money back already after screwing us last season then anyone is for sale.

[maysie]

2 minutes ago, MarkSFC said:

Tanswell maybe true BUT I think he's just one of these journos that writes a story that fits a narrative and sounds plausible even if he has no clue.

Spending money has not be a problem at any point by SR and they won't scrimp now. But if you can save money with loans why not!! 

Judge on Sept 2nd. 

I hope so, that’s why I caveated my post above regarding Tanswell.

I’ll still reserve judgement but it’s the first time a journo has said anything about needing to tighten our belts.

[Ex Lion Tamer]

1 hour ago, goodymatt said:

Feels like they rolled the dice, got burnt and now want to balance the books before doing anything. Unlike Gao they actually have access to money and seemed to understand you’ve got to invest to make money. I think being in the championship they are treading very carefully. 

In short still an underwhelming sustainable approach that isn’t competitive in this mega rich modern football space.

To be fair, I remember reading a year ago that that we were planning to invest heavily at first to get the pipeline going and then become self-sustaining. I had hoped the spending might continue this summer but apparently not.

The spending of the last year has got people thinking Solak is going to invest billions but that was never the case. Basically it's always been Gao but with big upfront spending, a more detailed strategy and a multi club model.

What you can say is that we are still investing heavily in a couple of young players with big potential resale value - Charles and hopefully Wood. Getting the older players to complement them means looking at the loan market it appears.    

The interesting question is which bracket a striker (Che's replacement) will fall into

Edited 25 August, 2023 by Ex Lion Tamer

[EBS1980]

I just baffled as to what people expect us to do.

Tino - champions league football with Newcastle

Lavia - gone to Chelsea

JWP - European football with WHU

Salisu - Monaco

Tella - European football with Bayer Leverkusen

We aren’t just losing them to the likes of Luton or Burnley. Do fans really think the players will be happy if we just turn down those opportunities? 

 

[petermcpete]

3 minutes ago, EBS1980 said:

I just baffled as to what people expect us to do.

Tino - champions league football with Newcastle

Lavia - gone to Chelsea

JWP - European football with WHU

Salisu - Monaco

Tella - European football with Bayer Leverkusen

We aren’t just losing them to the likes of Luton or Burnley. Do fans really think the players will be happy if we just turn down those opportunities? 

 

It's quite obvious isn't it? It's not that the players are being sold, it's that the replacements coming in are decidedly underwhelming and it's now being suggested that we don't actually plan to reinvest much of the cash at all....doesn't bode well for a promotion push.

[Miltonaggro]

Wilcox is going to need a Paul Daniels week now! 

 

[beavis17]

1 hour ago, Appy said:

Yeah, he hasn’t wanted to move there at all, I wonder whether someone like Fulham might come in after Mitrovic left. 

Crystal Palace keen

[CSA96]

9 minutes ago, EBS1980 said:

I just baffled as to what people expect us to do.

Tino - champions league football with Newcastle

Lavia - gone to Chelsea

JWP - European football with WHU

Salisu - Monaco

Tella - European football with Bayer Leverkusen

We aren’t just losing them to the likes of Luton or Burnley. Do fans really think the players will be happy if we just turn down those opportunities? 

 

You can just press the reject bid button cos that’s what they do on FIFA 👍🏻

Virtual world is a nice delusion because you don’t have to worry about important things like the team dynamics and the players being people rather than a stack of ratings 

Edited 25 August, 2023 by CSA96

[maysie]

Just listening to the second part of Russell Martin’s pre match presser and sounded like ABK played 45 mins in the friendly against Brentford. I think that is what I heard anyway…

Interesting if that’s the case…

For info other players involved were:

Ballard, Aribo, Mara, SAA, Dibley, Bree

 

[EBS1980]

2 minutes ago, petermcpete said:

It's quite obvious isn't it? It's not that the players are being sold, it's that the replacements coming in are decidedly underwhelming and it's now being suggested that we don't actually plan to reinvest much of the cash at all....doesn't bode well for a promotion push.

We are a league lower so obviously the players coming in won’t be as good as JWP Lavia etc..

I don’t have a problem with getting players in to get us out the league. You don’t spend £15M+ on players in this league. In the summer if we get promoted, we are more attractive to signings again, then we spend the cash.

Last season everyone wanted a mass overhaul of the squad, now it’s happening people are up in arms. 

[Fabrice29]

Lots of bed wetting. Not much focus on the fact that the team that starts tomorrow will be good enough to get us out of this league, and will have a good bench. More players will leave, some will come in, we’ll be very competitive. It’s okay to relax. Nice to have new players, team, vibe and hope. Wish more would leave. 

[Ex Lion Tamer]

21 minutes ago, petermcpete said:

It's quite obvious isn't it? It's not that the players are being sold, it's that the replacements coming in are decidedly underwhelming and it's now being suggested that we don't actually plan to reinvest much of the cash at all....doesn't bode well for a promotion push.

Are they underwhelming though? Holgate and Fraser have a ton of Premier League games under their belts. They ought to do well at this level and will be the envy of most teams.

Charles looks quality. Downes has already excelled in this league in the past.

Manning has looked a bit shaky, granted, and we need a top striker if Che leaves

Edited 25 August, 2023 by Ex Lion Tamer

[CSA96]

Our transfer policy is not confusing. There are three main ‘buckets’ of players we are signing from. (Exc. free agents)

1. It’s pretty obvious that we’re prepared to spend £10m+ on players who we think are viable long-term (Shea Charles and seemingly Nathan Wood) because we think they will grow into starting calibre PL players over time and/or be a saleable asset with a strong profit.

2. However, we are not prepared to shell out on jobbers who might not be useful in 1yrs time, and then be stuck with them on long-term deals bloating the squad and soaking up the payroll. We will acquire these players on loan because they are handy to good at this level but past record suggests they’re not suitable PL starters and don’t warrant the long-term commitment at this point. 

3. We can also acquire some rising talents that PL clubs have no interest in selling, but can be talked into loaning: ex. Downes. They’re too good for the Championship but are stuck in a backlog at their club. 

All of the above is perfectly sensible business and means the ownership have acknowledged the error of last season bloating the squad by just signing a mish-mash of different profiles for millions and millions each time and not moving anyone out. 

What they simply must get right - and this is the crux of it all - is that those who don’t want to stay and tell Martin they prefer to go are adequately replaced and that we end up with a dressing room that is both talented enough for the task at hand and also has grit and attitude to get stuck into the challenge ahead, something that has been sorely missing for too long.

Edited 25 August, 2023 by CSA96

[Matty's Caddy]

So has Tella actually gone then?

[Ex Lion Tamer]

6 minutes ago, CSA96 said:

Our transfer policy is not confusing. There are three ‘buckets’ of players we are picking from.

1. It’s pretty obvious that we’re prepared to spend £10m+ on players who we think are viable long-term (Shea Charles and seemingly Nathan Wood) because we think they will grow into starting calibre PL players over time and/or be a saleable asset with a strong profit.

2. However, we are not prepared to shell out on jobbers who might not be useful in 1yrs time, and then be stuck with them on long-term deals bloating the squad and soaking up the payroll. We will acquire these players on loan because they are handy to good at this level but past record suggests they’re not suitable PL starters and don’t warrant the long-term commitment at this point. 

3. We can also acquire some rising talents that PL clubs have no interest in selling, but can be talked into loaning: ex. Downes. They’re too good for the Championship but are stuck in a backlog at their club. 

All of the above is perfectly sensible business and means the ownership have acknowledged the error of last season bloating the squad by just signing a mish-mash of different profiles for millions and millions each time and not moving anyone out. 

What they simply must get right - and this is the crux of it all - is that those who don’t want to stay and tell Martin they prefer to go are adequately replaced and that we end up with a dressing room that is both talented enough for the task at hand and also has grit and attitude to get stuck into the challenge ahead, something that has been sorely missing for too long.

It's also great that we're signing players who 1) fit Martin's passing style, and 2) are more vocal than what we've had before. There is a strategy here which, whether or not it works, has been thought through pretty carefully

Edited 25 August, 2023 by Ex Lion Tamer

[verlaine1979]

12 minutes ago, Fabrice29 said:

Lots of bed wetting. Not much focus on the fact that the team that starts tomorrow will be good enough to get us out of this league, and will have a good bench. More players will leave, some will come in, we’ll be very competitive. It’s okay to relax. Nice to have new players, team, vibe and hope. Wish more would leave. 

We'll be competitive I'm sure, but the team that starts tomorrow isn't so overwhelmingly good that we can assume promotion. We could win the league, we could finish 7th. I wouldn't say either was more likely on the basis of how we've defended so far.

[Master Bates]

1 hour ago, James said:

Maybe SR are just fast forwarding to the 2023 version of the Jason Euell/Stern John era? Mason Holgate the new Andrew Davies?! 

Who's Nathan Wood the version of?

[Gingeletiss]

We really do have some colossal melts on here. Those same names calling for the whole team to be rid off, in the summer, are now crying because those very same under performing players, are in fact, being got rid off. For me, this is the reset the club needs, and I am quite happy to be playing football at a lower level, where we can at least win games, and are not competing with clubs richer than some countries. I will await the closing of the transfer window, before making judgement, but as a championship club, we are conducting our business as our status dictates. Those calling for all the incoming transfer fees to be squandered, have very short memories. We have done that, and ended up with the very same players, we now can’t shift.

[Saint86]

To be fair to Holgate and Fraser, they seem like good blokes who want to be here, want to play, and want to push for promotion. They're good quality additions for the championship, and i suspect they can be added longer term quite easily if they do well. They also both know the league and what its like to be in relegated sides. Fraser, Martin, and Tella all know about promotion from the championship, and Manning, smallbone, and Downes have had very good seasons at this level. As have some of our other players such as Che and Armstrong. Looks to be a tidy squad that's being put together.

Plus we look to be keeping at least 2 of Sulemana, Tella, Alcaraz, and ABK... When that window "slams shut" we really should have an embarrassment or riches for this league.

Edited 26 August, 2023 by Saint86

[woodsaint1]

29 minutes ago, CSA96 said:

Our transfer policy is not confusing. There are three main ‘buckets’ of players we are signing from. (Exc. free agents)

1. It’s pretty obvious that we’re prepared to spend £10m+ on players who we think are viable long-term (Shea Charles and seemingly Nathan Wood) because we think they will grow into starting calibre PL players over time and/or be a saleable asset with a strong profit.

2. However, we are not prepared to shell out on jobbers who might not be useful in 1yrs time, and then be stuck with them on long-term deals bloating the squad and soaking up the payroll. We will acquire these players on loan because they are handy to good at this level but past record suggests they’re not suitable PL starters and don’t warrant the long-term commitment at this point. 

3. We can also acquire some rising talents that PL clubs have no interest in selling, but can be talked into loaning: ex. Downes. They’re too good for the Championship but are stuck in a backlog at their club. 

All of the above is perfectly sensible business and means the ownership have acknowledged the error of last season bloating the squad by just signing a mish-mash of different profiles for millions and millions each time and not moving anyone out. 

What they simply must get right - and this is the crux of it all - is that those who don’t want to stay and tell Martin they prefer to go are adequately replaced and that we end up with a dressing room that is both talented enough for the task at hand and also has grit and attitude to get stuck into the challenge ahead, something that has been sorely missing for too long.

Most sensible post I've read all week 👏🏼.

Some balloons on here expect us to be shelling out 10-20m for every single signing on some unknown but cool sounding foreigner. But because we've brought Holgate and Fraser in on loan, we're pissing our promotion chances away 😂 deary me.

We are in the championship, we are less attractive, our best players will get better offers and we need to be shrewd in the market.

[Saint86]

9 hours ago, maysie said:

See now I’m a bit annoyed. Not that we’re not spending, I totally get that we wasted shit loads last season and don’t expect the owner to not want that money back.

I’m annoyed that the club have been disingenuous. All the noises coming from the club is that we will reinvest to strengthen the squad (not all the money obviously). However, if we need to wheel and deal and use loans/frees then be open and say that or probably better say nothing at all. Don’t string fans along. It’s why so far I’ve been fairly relaxed as have been impressed by what Wilcox and Martin have been saying.

Thats obviously on the basis that Tanswells info is genuine and not merely supposition.

Sheldon is a little weasel in the first instance, certainly no friend of saints and a bang average (at best) sports journo to boot. As for the club's public stance, the fans need to stop being so childish about stuff like this imo. Whether its true or not, we took a hard line bargaining on lavia/jwp/salisu/Tino by representing a position of relative strength - we had fans on here saying we'd never get more than £40M for lavia etc. - so we've done very well on the sales front. And I'd far rather we make the most of whatever position we're in than be kept fully informed about the club's negotiating strategy to the detriment of the club... The alternative is more than a bit precious lets be honest.

Besides, we're on course to have a very competitive squad for this league despite the player sales, and we've got some cracking youth players coming through that we really shouldn't be blocking off.

Edited 26 August, 2023 by Saint86

[Ralph Fastenbüttl]

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:

1. 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.
2. 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.

[Master Bates]

What he said ☝️ we're saving the money for the Prem.

Edited 26 August, 2023 by Master Bates

[Farmer Saint]

3 hours ago, goodymatt said:

Feels like they rolled the dice, got burnt and now want to balance the books before doing anything. Unlike Gao they actually have access to money and seemed to understand you’ve got to invest to make money. I think being in the championship they are treading very carefully. 

In short still an underwhelming sustainable approach that isn’t competitive in this mega rich modern football space.

To be fair, if I were them I'd be protecting my investment. Not popular, but money ain't free, and add in relegation and we're probably looking at circa £200m shortfall with last year's shit transfers. 

Add to that FFP, and it'd be interesting to see if we CAN'T spend right now as would lead to future problems that we won't be able to deal with. 

Edited 26 August, 2023 by Farmer Saint

[Farmer Saint]

1 hour ago, Ralph Fastenbüttl said:

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:

1. 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.
2. 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.

This post wins the thread. 

[Baird of the land]

Well that news has put me in a bad mood. 

Pathetic sale. Lowers my expectations for the season. Clear there’s very little ambition at the club.

[Pamplemousse]

There are some very excelllent, well-thought out posts who have summed the situation up far better I could have put.

Yes it is disappointing that key players have left and more may be going, but it's not like the transfer window has shut and we can't replace them. I'm feeling very positive about the football club - we're unbeaten, I go to the stadium expecting us to win and I'm enjoying my weekends again.

Hopefully that will stay that way after today's game. For be, if we're in the top 6 come the end of the month and we will finally have a settled squad where we know who's here and who isn't, I'd consider that a great platform to really kick on for a promotion push.

[Boris Karloff]

Reading the Burnley forums most of them are saying that they'd have loved to have bought him but we pulled off a blinder to get 20m for him. 

With hindsight, I feel NJ messed up by recalling JB and not NT in January. If Tella had come back and carried on his Burnley form we may have stayed up. If he didn't, he may have lost some of his shine in terms of transfers and just knuckled down for the season ahead. 

[bangkoksaint]

6 minutes ago, Boris Karloff said:

Reading the Burnley forums most of them are saying that they'd have loved to have bought him but we pulled off a blinder to get 20m for him. 

With hindsight, I feel NJ messed up by recalling JB and not NT in January. If Tella had come back and carried on his Burnley form we may have stayed up. If he didn't, he may have lost some of his shine in terms of transfers and just knuckled down for the season ahead. 

The ‘NJ messed up’ is a thread of its own……..just when I was enjoying my football again!!

[AlexLaw76]

Clearly, we have massive financial reasons to sell

[dankiz15]

32 minutes ago, Pamplemousse said:

There are some very excelllent, well-thought out posts who have summed the situation up far better I could have put.

Yes it is disappointing that key players have left and more may be going, but it's not like the transfer window has shut and we can't replace them. I'm feeling very positive about the football club - we're unbeaten, I go to the stadium expecting us to win and I'm enjoying my weekends again.

Hopefully that will stay that way after today's game. For be, if we're in the top 6 come the end of the month and we will finally have a settled squad where we know who's here and who isn't, I'd consider that a great platform to really kick on for a promotion push.

My thoughts exactly so I won't bother posting

[LGTL]

6 hours ago, verlaine1979 said:

We'll be competitive I'm sure, but the team that starts tomorrow isn't so overwhelmingly good that we can assume promotion. We could win the league, we could finish 7th. I wouldn't say either was more likely on the basis of how we've defended so far.

I’d say finishing 12th is much more likely then those other two currently. 

[AlexLaw76]

5 hours ago, Master Bates said:

What he said ☝️ we're saving the money for the Prem.

errr

[dankiz15]

5 hours ago, Ralph Fastenbüttl said:

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:

1. 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.
2. 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.

Another post I totally agree with, saves me a lot of time posting my own lol! I can go and watch Tubes and Ange on Youtube now! 

[Long Shot]

I’ve actually not been that impressed by Tella this season. I know he’s has been responsible for 2 goals but his all round game has been underwhelming and Sam A-A has been much more exciting. 
Adams going does concern me as we will struggle to replace him. He is good for 15-20 goals this season and those sort of players don’t grow on trees. 
 

How many loans are we allowed as we are up to 3 already and I thought that was the limit?

[goodymatt]

As much as I can see the logic in the sensible posts above regarding our current situation and wider strategy, selling a guy on a two year contract that just fired debt leveraged Burnley to the big time is not good business. We have a choice here and we are choosing to let an important player at this level leave, in the same week we will lose our main striker and reportedly lost out on his replacement and don’t have a big budget left.

I can see what we are doing generally but as things stand, there seems to be a huge risk being taken with the goalscoring element of our team. The one place I’d rather we didn’t take that risk. Week to go in the market and we may yet keep Sulemana and buy a Che replacement that is better than Piroe, but I think it’s reasonable to have some doubts!

[Harry_SFC]

7 minutes ago, Long Shot said:

I’ve actually not been that impressed by Tella this season. I know he’s has been responsible for 2 goals but his all round game has been underwhelming and Sam A-A has been much more exciting. 
Adams going does concern me as we will struggle to replace him. He is good for 15-20 goals this season and those sort of players don’t grow on trees. 
 

How many loans are we allowed as we are up to 3 already and I thought that was the limit?

Agree with this. 

The Adams replacement is they key one and has to be the one where we show some ambition. It'll possibly make or break the season promotion wise. 

[saintwbu]

Blimey, the sensible posters do exist, they just wait til the early hours to appear!