I’m usually more on the optimistic side but I can’t help but feel that our relegation will be pretty much confirmed within the next two days Our rivals are spending big on strengthening and we just seem to have thrown our hands up and given up. It even looks like Everton might get in two players who either are or should have been on our list - the winger and the Coventry striker They aren’t worrying that perhaps the Coventry guy might only be marginally better than what they have. Because what they have isn’t good enough and they know it It’s gone silent on a central midfield reinforcement as well. And Lavia simply can’t play all of every game for the rest of the season and the other options in that role are such a massive step down. It just seems that we are unwilling or unable to financially compete in this league. I can understand the logic from from the money men of spending 50m and it still might not being enough to stay up. I don’t like it but I get it. If 50 or even 100m guaranteed we stay up then they’d go for it. But our results and performances have been so poor that it wouldn’t So it seems like it is gamble and hope time
I get Tom's original point in his response to my earlier post, but with the revolving door for managers up there, they need to keep topping up their compensation fund I would have thought? Personally I don't think we're going to get what a lot of us would like, January is a massive risk month for spending too much on too little, we know that for sure. It could be that out of the blue a recognised goal scorer comes along at a reasonable price, then perhaps the sun won't rise tomorrow, who knows!
We aren’t going to get a recognised goalscorer who is guaranteed to get goals for a good price. There aren’t many of them and if there were there would be a bunch of teams ahead of us in the queue. Brighton still don’t have one and that has basically been their missing link for a few years now. But there should be options to try and improve our attacking threat which is currently laughable. So much so that other teams can afford to bomb attackers at us because they have no fear of us breaking away and damaging them. Our defence mainly struggles because our attack is basically a joke pretty much across the board.
Thing is, we don't even need a top level striker. It'd be nice obviously, but not really realistic unless you get lucky and pluck one out before they start to shine. If we want to stay in the league then we need to accept a short term signing or two, that should have been obvious since before the window opened. A striker that can score 5 or 6 goals would do. Assuming that Orsic and Alcaraz can chip in with a few, Che can get another 3 or 4. Mara a couple more. JWP another 3 or 4 and then others chipping in with the odd goal (please) that should in theory be enough to give us a fighting chance. If we don't add any goals then we are as good as down.
Still time left but if we don't bring in a striker, SR have let the fans down badly. How have we spent £10m+ on Mara & Larios (and handed a new contract to djenepo!) for them to barely feature this season - that could have topped up our striker budget and meant we could have actually afforded a top player. There is no point investing for 3 seasons time if it costs you relegation and likely means we lose someone who could have become an all time club legend in JWP. So far, despite the investment, we have performed better under Gao's leadership than this lot. They have 1 day left.
You seem to really struggle with the idea that this isn’t football manager and there isn’t a completely rigid budget. We did not lose anything from our striker fund through those signings. Being prepared to bid big ( and have the offer accepted) for Gakpo shows that Us not spending 30m on someone like Terem Moffi is not to do with us allocating those funds elsewhere in a prior window. It would be to do with us not thinking he is worth that and/or him not wanting to come And it also isn’t as simple as bunging those extra funds in signing on fees and wages to get it over the line. We have a wage structure to work within. And a much more fixed wage budget - due to ffp
You have contradicted everything you have just said with those last 3 words. Spending on Mara & Larios directly impacts our ability and funds for other business - partially due to us having a finite budget, and partially due to ffp compliance. Moffi doesnt want to leave Ligue 1 so not the best example. But there is a reason all our targets are around the £15m-£20m mark... because that is our budget. It isnt that we dont value any striker in world football at £30m. You do have a point on wage structure, but we were willing to pay Ings more than any other player in history and should be willing to do so for a top striker.
Yes that was the direct translation but that makes no sense at all. I suspect it's more we've made a bit to get him before his contract expires in June.
I think the only way I see Dembele coming here is on a 6 month contract and he leaves as a free agent at the end of the season. We pay Lyon 5 million or so and give Dembele bonus clauses depending on how many goals he scores and if we stay up. It's low risk for the player who probably wants to keep his options open for the summer and we get a good number 9 that we badly need.
