Would that be Simon Jordan the incredibly successful football chairman? By the way, Nick de Marco is also Citeh's lawyer... what do you think Citeh have had him doing? ...Excel spreadsheets? ...cheating bastards eh ?... or just using the best 'defence' lawyer possible ... One Nick De Marco
Also reckon Nick ain't gonna be short of work ... given they've spent way more than we ever did and some have similar or less attendance capacity - expect Brighton, Forest, Ipswich, Fulham, Villa and Newcastle to be on the blower ... with the exception of Ipswich (and Fulham) guess what? ... all clubs challenging for one (or more) of the coveted Champions League spots ...
Don't think most of those clubs spend more than you on wages. And those which do generate a lot more income.
You might be right ... and hence the plans for stadium expansion and other future commercial income streams ... But we don't pay anywhere near the wage levels of Chelsea nor have near as many 'squad' players ... yet they can circumnavigate the ridiculous rules with clever internal disposals and seemingly without the huge furore surrounding our simply using the rules to our advantage ... The real issue here is that the rules are not fit for purpose - obviously. How farcical is it that the two 'richest' clubs in Europe somehow need the jobbing management accountants at the PL to safeguard their financial sustainability? It's completely ridiculous and would be seen as a restraint of trade in any other business ... and don't give me 'football isn't like any other business' ... because it is exactly like other businesses ... ultimately you are only as secure as the commitment of your owners / shareholders.
One option that might be open to us (or not - depending on what you read) - but if we did I'd piss myself at the resulting faux rage on here ... would be simply to put our hands up and accept whatever points deduction they want THIS season ... that would mean finishing bottom and losing out on £3 million PL place money ... but no points deduction next season!
This is what I reckon might happen tbh. 15 points for Leicester. 60 for City. Plus give Ipswich 12 for shagging tractors. Saints stay up on 12 points
Would you really want to stay up? - with your current squad and restrictions on how much you could spend to have a decent chance of surviving? On a serious note (for once) - I am becoming more and more disillusioned with the state of the game and how much it favours the mega clubs. We have some really talented kids that can just be poached from our academy for small change. Latest is a 17 year old, Lorenz Hutchinson, who is being offered a first professional contract but because he has been banging goals in for fun for the U18s, now has numerous vultures circling that can double what we can probably offer in terms of a first contract - particularly with the PSR bollocks hovering. That's a real threat to the sustainability of clubs rather than accounting losses that are nothing to billionaire owners. Should be a rule that states that any academy players poached should have a 50% automatic sell-on re future transfer and compensation based on years in the academy ... £1 million per year perhaps? Particular rant over...
I wouldn't want to stay up even if we had a good squad. 1 new ground vs potentially 11 and a couple of derbies to look forward to.
If the players are money grabbing whores…. **** them. You should also be asking questions about why you haven’t got capable people at the club who can sell them the dream to make them understand they’re better off staying where they’re. Riggy was offered pro contracts by premier league teams in the summer and chose to stay with us because he understands this is the best place for his development, right now.
For me - provided we can keep hold of them - it's the prospect of watching an exciting much younger team playing attacking football rather than a team with too many journeymen looking merely to finish 4th from bottom at any cost to entertainment...
None of that solves the issue of sustainability undermined by poaching - we had 5 academy lads play against Ipswich last weekend - so the club are doing a lot right in that regard ... but the PL and EFL could and IMHO do more ... .... and anybody arguing 'that's just the way it is' and 'always has been' should remember that PSR / FFP was brought in to counter practices that had 'always been' for the 'good of the game' and 'the sustainability of clubs' ...
Will definitely need some excellent business. Striker wise, for instance, we're immediately going down a notch to a prospect like Delap, as good as he clearly could be, rather than an "I demand champions league football" type, like Gyokores. Who even himself is a very costly risk, given his goals have come in the Portuguese league and is a huge notch down from the PL quality wise. He was ok in the Championship, but again............. Cunha looks a good swap for Mount and/or Garnacho. Mainoo needs to be given game time in midfield, Casemiro needs a long term replacement. Shaw needs to go, we need a RWB. Perfectly ok at centre half. Keeper needs replacing also, to be absolutely honest. Whereas, if we'd got CL football, we could be looking to sign maybe five top players, it's now just three, and promote from within and get rid of some of those who are now just hanging around in corners stinking the place out. I'd agree, up to a point, we're definitely no worse than eight. But I'd also say that realistically we're a good shout for top six next season, when you consider the likes of Forest are currently up there. All those mid table teams like Palace, and Brentford, and Brighton etc. will always just hang around mid table, recycling players along the way. You're also adding European football to a couple of them, as will Forest and your lot also have to cope and deal with that, whereas we won't. Be good to have a season off Europe and all the mid week games and travel.
Unless there is a contract clause that hinges on relegation - I doubt we can afford to get rid of RvN ... but I guess that will become clearer after the weekend ...
I'm keen to see what happens with him, not least because I think if he leaves then we'd be a good choice (though there's obviously a massive reason why he wouldn't come to us!). I think he's with you for another year or two regardless of promotion but that you're more likely to lose him if you come up and then go back down as he'd be putting himself in the shop window even more. He's a good load though and even if he was to leave he's the type that would sign a new contract and ensure the club he was moving to would have to pay a good price for him. Obviously I'd love to see him and Miley forming our midfield in future, for now though he's developing with some talented young English players and I hope he stays at least 12-24 months.
Add Delap to that, and it's an actual cutting edge. Which we've been lacking for a couple of seasons. **** knows what will actually happen though.
Too much is made of players moving or not due to the prospect of playing in European football ... the lure of playing for 'Manchester United' at Old Trafford will, IMHO, far outweigh playing for any no hoper in CL, Europa etc next season - as such, I suspect you'll sign both and Delap too...
Delap should go to you, he should be looking at the opportunities Hojlund is getting at a club of your size and appreciate it's a great chance for him. The other clubs I've seen named are either much smaller than you, or he'll be used as a back-up or both. Cunha I'd say likewise. Be impressed if you get Mbuemo as I think he should get better offers than the current Man Utd set up. The positive is that any players you do get will have had to buy into the belief you're going to improve. Part of the reason we at Newcastle love Bruno and Burn is that they came when we were bottom of the league.
