2016/17 Transfer Rumours and Squad Discussions

[rss1969]

There has been another financial sea change just over the last 2 seasons in the championship.

When Cellino arrived there was a chance of growing a team with clever use of the loan market, good transfer policy with released players and lower league signings..............if you have a decent academy that produces decent kids (retaining them as long as possible) you had a chance.

Add to the above a coaching team set up to embrace all of this and top six is there if you have patience.

This route has been blown away the past 2 years. Cellino is a beggar in the doorway of the money men in the championship now. We would not be able to afford Chris Wood now (even with all his failings) as his fee would just go up and up...............a Wolves or Villa would simply outbid us to make him their 3rd or 4th choice striker.

The game has changed and we are looking on covering our eyes.

Look at Wednesday, a worse team than us 2 years ago and looking likely to go down again. They have spent their way into the top 6..........Wolves will do much more than this......................add the 3 relegated teams pockets stuffed with cash, Derby, Wolves, Brighton (not counting any new takeovers)and we have no chance.

Meanwhile, Wolves have been purchased full up for 45m.

Cellino would want his money back (35m?) ER purchase (20m?) TA (15m?)...............without sorting out the barnacle bank who own 15% and a squad of Pooh players!

With all our star players gone and a promise of a huge season ticket refund to sort out we are stuck with what we have by the looks of it.

I can nothing but a bitter, devisive season again on and off the pitch

[Deleted User 3289]

Retain is the key... Howson, Johnson, Clayton, Ross, Cook, Snodgrass, Becchio all left to further there careers at bigger clubs? Norwich, Fulham, Bournemouth, Huddersfield. Norwich I think may have been in the prem when they signed? I admire Totti, I think he was the best player in Italy for a good few seasons imo, and I no that man u were sniffing around him at one point but he decided to stay loyal at a bigger club.

[Deleted User 3289]

There has been another financial sea change just over the last 2 seasons in the championship.

When Cellino arrived there was a chance of growing a team with clever use of the loan market, good transfer policy with released players and lower league signings..............if you have a decent academy that produces decent kids (retaining them as long as possible) you had a chance.

Add to the above a coaching team set up to embrace all of this and top six is there if you have patience.

This route has been blown away the past 2 years. Cellino is a beggar in the doorway of the money men in the championship now. We would not be able to afford Chris Wood now (even with all his failings) as his fee would just go up and up...............a Wolves or Villa would simply outbid us to make him their 3rd or 4th choice striker.

The game has changed and we are looking on covering our eyes.

Look at Wednesday, a worse team than us 2 years ago and looking likely to go down again. They have spent their way into the top 6..........Wolves will do much more than this......................add the 3 relegated teams pockets stuffed with cash, Derby, Wolves, Brighton (not counting any new takeovers)and we have no chance.

Meanwhile, Wolves have been purchased full up for 45m.

Cellino would want his money back (35m?) ER purchase (20m?) TA (15m?)...............without sorting out the barnacle bank who own 15% and a squad of Pooh players!

With all our star players gone and a promise of a huge season ticket refund to sort out we are stuck with what we have by the looks of it.

I can nothing but a bitter, devisive season again on and off the pitch

Just about sums it up that.....

[Mellor]

That's a list of players who left VHTM - how many of those left for a club in the same league because they wanted more money and we couldn't afford to pay it? Clayton and Becchio were sold cos Warnock wanted his own in. Everyone says Howson was sold against his will etc. Who were we trying to retain but couldn't? It's a vital distinction surely?

On a general point, we change the team around far too often. Every season we start again. Fans seem to like this - we need 6/7/8 new players is a common refrain. Exactly the opposite of what we need IMO. It's what the director of football thing is meant to sort out - new manager, new team. The good news of course is under MC we don't get stuck with players we 'want' to move on. Previously we did.

[Deleted User 3289]

Mellor it was a slip of the tongue it didn't add up. On the general point, changing the squad every year wouldn't need to happen if we had a decent team and was competing at the top. I think fans only like it because we believe the team will improve every season and it gives the fans a lift, but imo all we seem to buy is average gamble players that no other clubs seem to want, on top of this selling our best players to balance our books. Its tough love, if we have a decent player, we cant compete on wages so we sell him on...Oh the days of a decent settled side.

I suppose its called lower league football survival.

[Mellor]

I never understand swapping one average player for another. The average players need supplementing with 2/3 above average players. My gut feeling is it wouldn't cost more and would be more successful.

I blame FL Manager for many fans wanting to recruit whole teams every season

[rss1969]

It is impossible to keep hold of good young talent indefinitely when you are in our division.

The key is to try and hold on to them long enough to build around them properly............or get promoted and then it is a different ball game.

We should have a plan in place for when a player is poached...........firstly put them on long enough deals so that our hand is strong, secondly lets see what we have in our acedemy and get them out on loan for a transition ala Lees & Taylor, thirdly keep an eye on lower league talent and identify replacements way before we are up the creek with a week to kick off.

It is about plannng and infastructure.............the owner has had long enough for this to be firmly in place..................didnt he say that he had a worldwide scouting network when he joined?

[Mellor]

I think the owner knows exactly what he's doing by giving relatively short contracts - the home grown stars are in the shop window as a result and established players are easy to move on. We may prefer a different model but our owner has a model he believes in and continues to use it.

In fairness to the owner we have fallen foul of the long term contract approach in the past [big time]. Also, in fairness to the owner, championship clubs in general don't make profits. There are ways round FFP of course - ignore it and hope for promotion or the Foxes approach on the industrial site in Sheffield. Legitimately (the experts will know the way) I think its possible to invest in the club 'infrastructure/shares' (?) so that the pot available for players increases (but the %age figure remains the same). In well over my head now.

[isrodger]

The situation now is barking. Cellino for all his good work has failed to deliver on two key fronts the ground & retention of our young stars; as regards the latter wether any club in our financial position can do so is very much debatable. It's noticeable that despite Mel Morris being willing to throw "whatever is required at it" given the restrictions of FPP, a salary to turnover ratio of over 90%, he is now hamstrung re investment (ex infrastructure) in his beloved derby county without pulling a major flanker. Maybe watch record breaking sponsorship deals emerge with related companies, a la Leicester? Incidentally ...If Cellino did that he would be called a crook!

Cellino has bullshiited there is no debate about that. But conceivably Shake Mansour could take over our club now and there would still be mid table in terms of being legitimately funded.... Which is a major for that corrupt ..... Harvey to sort out.

[Mellor]

If it wasn't for the 'play offs' competition would pretty much have been kicked out of the championship given the ever increasing size of parachutes. The FL is also in the process of messing up the Johnstones Paint trophy.