I reckon if Rafa goes they’ll do everything they can to sell it, and I mean strip it back, reduce money owed and try to break even. He will never get another Rafa.
I'll refrain from plucking unsubstantiated figures from the internet (Manquillo really on £40k?) and simply say that if Joselu, Manquillo, Lejeune, Murphy and Merino had a higher combined salary than Thauvin, Anita, Gouffran, Sameobi, Riviere, De Jong, Hanley, D Murphy, Krul, Vuckic, Mbabu, Satka and Gibson then it is simply further proof we are badly run. We presumably saved some reasonable amounts on that huge list of loans too.
I wouldn’t be so hard on yourself mate. Some of the stuff you come out with sounds almost reasonable.
No I think we definitely reduced I was simply pointing out that we did add back in too. Therefore the progress we've made will be significant but we all have to understand that it was pretty bad. We had to do it thought to get out. Charnley alluded to this beginning to correct, you'd imagine wages will be part of this. I have to say I'm a little sceptical of the reported wages for Manquillo and Joselu. I know the PL is always going to be generous for players but looking at wages across the league its not as inflated squads wide as everyone thinks. Our nearest competitors don't spend that much more on wages. If we have paid that then you just have to accept Rafa's judgement I suppose. I honestly think our wage bill will be back in the realms of respectability. I think our balance will be healthier. The question is simply how much we spend now or do we do what we did previously with McClaren and wait a few years building a warchest. We won't spend massive in one go this summer, the finances haven't had time to make that much of a recovery. The only way to do that would be on the never never and that is not the way we do it. The question is really will we spend what we have or try to skimp by for another and then make a push. The danger with the latter is losing Rafa though. The wages will be much more free after this summer and will allow us go after a better calibre of player. Rafa spread it thin in the Championship, I hope and assume he will go for quality rather than quantity now. If that means we sign 3 or 4 instead of 6 I think it would make much more sense.
So when you are plucking figures from the internet you are simply using them to support a point but I allegedly use them as a source of information. The difference being...
The Mag though. What next The Sun? To give you an equal comparison it would be like me using Mike's media machine the Mirror.
Even the Sun gets some things right sometimes such as the date. Anyway I note that you keep your "reliable sources" close to your chest. Doesn't happen to be the MikeandLee Daily Post by chance.
I tend to look at the actual accounts which are produced by professionals who would lose their ability to trade if they started massaging figures. In terms of wages I'd never be so daft as present anything as fact, because the club are the ones who know that. I suspect though it would be accurate to think Joselu is on between 40-50k and Manquillo between say 30-45k. Shelvey appears to be our top earner on 70-80k. Although I'm reliably informed by the anti Ashley brigade we can't sign people on those wages, so it must be wrong.
When it comes to wages, I think its all guesswork. However educated guesswork as those are the parameters most appear to work in. That information will be leaked from somewhere for very obvious reasons. The accounts are fact.
