You know what my point is RP. You of all people are one of the most astute and clear minded posters on here (even if we don’t always see eye to eye), but I’ll explain anyway…… The point that critics of the LJ/Ashton regime keep regurgitating is that they overspent on too many players on big wages - and that Nige inherited a load of expensive dross. We heard phrases like ‘hands tied’ and ‘polishing turds’ etc thrown around when excusing Nige and lowering expectations for his team. Well, they’ve all gone now, with the departure of Kalas. The only players still on the payroll from the LJ/Ashton times have either accepted a wage cut (Wells and Weimann), or came up through the academy, so they wouldn’t be on huge wages anyway. There are no more excuses. We have cut the wages bill AND made huge money from Semenyo and Scott. We should be in a relatively healthy financial position now to launch an attack on the top 6 - or healthy mid-table at the very least.
The only thing I can think of in a positive light, is if we are frugal in the first two years of the three year cycle, can’t we use the three years allowance in one go on the third , ie £13m each year becomes £39m if we don’t use it the previous 2 years. I didn’t explain that we’ll, at work so doing in between actually working
Whether I'm having a senior moment I'm not sure, but honestly didn't have a clue about the point you were making. [QUOTE an attack on the top 6 - or healthy mid-table at the very least.[/QUOTE] Why ? We sell our best 2 players for £35million and then told we can't spend any of the Scott money because of budget constraints. Isn't an attack on the top 6 basically impossible ?
[QUOTE an attack on the top 6 - or healthy mid-table at the very least.[/QUOTE] Why ? We sell our best 2 players for £35million and then told we can't spend any of the Scott money because of budget constraints. Isn't an attack on the top 6 basically impossible ?[/QUOTE] Lets be honest, we had them both last season, albeit Semenyo left in Jan, but didn't even attack the top half of the table. I don't think our league position will suffer that significantly through the loss of Alex Scott tbh.
I'm sorry bcfcredandwhite, but I'll have a sip of what you're drinking please. From the highlights I've seen of us, and every other Championship side, we're absolutely miles off the top half of the table, let alone the top 6 at this point. I know we're missing Conway and others but even so..... Yes, Nige has brought in new players, but to my 62 year old eyes, we don't seem to have the same quality as those teams that will be there or thereabouts when it matters by a considerable distance. We scored quite a few goals in pre season, but against frankly rubbish opposition, but then we only got a draw at Cheltenham and scraped past Pompey. We've beaten Oxford in the LC and got a win at Millwall in the league. No home league win as yet, and none on the cards as far as I can see
Why ? We sell our best 2 players for £35million and then told we can't spend any of the Scott money because of budget constraints. Isn't an attack on the top 6 basically impossible ?[/QUOTE] Lets be honest, we had them both last season, albeit Semenyo left in Jan, but didn't even attack the top half of the table. I don't think our league position will suffer that significantly through the loss of Alex Scott tbh.[/QUOTE] I didn’t either, but the truth is without him we have no creativity through midfield. We have no one who can pick the ball up in midfield and drive us forward, the link up man if you like. We are far too slow in transition to make use of our pace upfront. We also have no one upfront that can hold the ball up, and no R/R it doesn’t need to be a big number 9. Semenyo could do it, at his best. He was big and strong, but not a number 9 as such,
On our early season form we will be lucky to avoid a relegation fight and given our reluctance to spend money it might get worse. I have watched many games this year and I see most of the others are bigger, faster and have the ability to score goals up front, whereas we are weak in all areas of play. It's hard to watch the supposed rebuild under Nigel as I think the problem lies in the type of players we bring in who never seem to fit the bill of the departures. The likes of Cornick, Mehmeti are the usual ineffective blocks on which we want to build a strong front line but, much the same as before, they both look incapable of getting the job done. Our injury bug doesn't seem to have got the message that it is unwanted and the shortage of players on the bench looks like it is an issue with planning or something else. Swansea, WBA, Leicester, Stoke await us and based on what I have seen from all of those teams so far I don't give us much, if any, chance of getting points from any of them. When you add in a visit from Plymouth in the mix I bet they are chomping at the bit to get at us in our fortress and become the pride of the South-West. Ouch is the word and I wonder if we should fail badly at those hurdles who will carry the can?
Mike look at the next five games i will be amazed if we get points from any of them. swansea away plymouth home wba home leicester away stoke home
I said we SHOULD be looking at top 6 or upper mid table based upon the following: - the reasons given for Nige NOT matching LJs league positions to-date were cited as partly due to financial constraints and partly due to having useless players. Now SORTED. We have achieved around mid-table so far under Nige despite these constraints - which are now gone, so surely it’s logical to expect SOME improvement? Another reason banded around for ‘meh’ results was that Nige was working with LJs players. Todays squad are now HIS players - selected by his regime and not players he’s been ‘dumped’ with. We didn’t exactly miss Semenyo and we won’t miss Scott. Sometimes losing a ‘star’ player doesn’t necessarily mean imminent demise - look at Spurs without Kane - currently sitting top of the Prem. If sorting the financial situation out and allowing Nige to build his own team does NOT a result in any improvement in league position then what the flying fk has it all been for? it’s early days. We will settle in after 10-15 games. We need to sort home form out in particular but I think we have the tools to do it. In Nige I trust (for now) - but do YOU??
HIS players as you put it, but ones he had to buy from Poundland, you say the constraints are now gone, is that the constraints that mean he’s unable to buy anyone because we’ve no wage allowance. The wage constraints are not sorted out despite Nige bringing the wage bill down, getting rid of deadwood and finishing 14th. He’s now had his best two players sold and a third injured for months, with no ability to bring anyone in. The point as you put it, apparently, was to set up a “nest egg”, I don’t get how you expect a finish better than last season when we’ve lost our best players, and not replaced them. He’s been set up, having done what was asked, trim the wage bill, get rid of excess players bought at high costs on high wages, whilst still managing a mid table finish, rather than giving him the means to add some quality he’s been told we still can’t afford anyone. The expectation, at least by me, was once he’d cleared out the Sh!t, he’d be allowed a bit of freedom, (which he’s earned), I’m afraid he hasn’t been given that freedom. He won’t be here much longer.
I quote SL once again funds generated by the team can be reinvested. Where Steve on players from Poundland Night seems a excellent buy. Dickie seems decent The guy from Scotland should be a cracking signing. But Mehneti and Cornick look out of sorts from what i have seen so far.
I wasn’t expecting much this season because it’s a lot harder this season with teams in this division. You will end up with two of the relegated teams top two. The other will be in the play offs with three others who we can pick from being Stoke, Coventry, Boro (**** now but they will get going) Sunderland, Watford and possibly Ipswich. Let our players steady the ship and progress together and with a clean sheet financially we may be able to compete next season.
Up until the Scott sale I could see the logic of not using the Semenyo money, this would allow us Leeway to ensure we didn’t fall foul of the ffp after COVID etc. I was really positive about the season ahead in the belief we’d either A)have Scott, or B) some money to invest in the team to bring some quality in to supplement the mixture of raw talent and willing runners we’ve assembled. Instead we’ve got just the raw talent and willing runners, we’ve also been told by our owner he’s going to put the money in a “nest egg”, I’m sorry that’s not what we were told. Obviously we don’t know what goes on behind the scenes, but Nige’s body language recently kind of gives the game away. I hope I’m wrong, but I smell trouble brewing at BS3, I genuinely think if we carry on as we are at the moment we’ll be in big trouble.
People expected it from LJ - and there was no excuse. Constantly having his best players sold from under him was just ‘how it was’ we, who empathised with him were told. We are a selling club. That’s how it is.
Nige has bought his players from Poundland - and Lee wasted money on ‘useless’ ‘turds’. Apart from the money spent, what’s the difference??
But Lj was at least given the money from the sales to reinvest, NP has turned around the financial mess, that’s understandable, but now we’re starting to see the benefits he’s still not being given the opportunity to reinvest. That’s the difference
We’re a selling club, not spending big on wages any longer, but because of this policy we are now not able to attract the talent to be anywhere near the top If the Lansdowns dont understand that these restrictions and policies will only give us Championship survival at best, then they are even more out of touch with the reality of modern football that I assumed they’ve always been anyway. Previously we’ve been fed nonsense re the 5 pillars etc followed by getting to the promised land isn’t far away. Nowadays there seems to be very little communication from the top at all. Maybe they’re busy counting the money instead ?
Agree it don’t look good going forward. imagine James another striker getting injured and dickie and O’Leary getting injured during the season we are fooked.
