Unbelievable

He's got the job and he knows it.

Weird. Expected a much higher profit.

Yep

Shalke innit?

Well, there's that too. We have made some absolutely horrendous sales lately. Ben Arfa released for free. Yanga-Mbiwa for 5m was it? Santon sold for 2.8m? We will have to spend big just to not go backwards. Ashley will see those as good sales, apart from Ben Arfa, all profitable otherwise And therein lies the problem. Ashley sees a profit instead of realising that he's weakened the squad significantly by letting three of our better players go for peanuts.

Well, there's that too. We have made some absolutely horrendous sales lately. Ben Arfa released for free. Yanga-Mbiwa for 5m was it? Santon sold for 2.8m? We will have to spend big just to not go backwards.

Operating profit/loss is intrinsic to what the club can afford to do. If the club is hemorrhaging £30m a year before player trading, then players have to be sold to plug that leak. If the club is just about breaking even then players have to be sold before we can buy. If the club is earning £30m, then we can spend that on players before we sell anyone. I understand that. It's just from 2011 onwards we have seen very manageable operational losses (which shouldn't have even been posted if SD paid a market fee for its advertising btw) and significant profit after player trading. We have not see significant investment in the playing squad in that time, and even worse, we don't even seem willing to pay the going rate for an actual manager who could transform the club's fortunes. I just don't see the significance of going from a very small red to black for operational profit you attribute to it. Do you really think Ashley will start throwing the cash (generated by the club itself mind you) around now, when he could have reinvested profits for the past four years and chose not to?

Going over old ground, but I fail to see why you keep looking at operational profit/loss as some indicator as to what Ashley might do on the transfer market, whilst ignoring what actually happens in terms of transfer fees incoming and outgoing?

I agree. I just don't think that's how he will see it, or he would have started doing it already. Paying off his £29m first would back you up. What reason was there for him to repay that beyond a stubborn principle that he had said he wasn't putting any more in after the Keegan affair? I think he'll stick to that though and stop repayments with the £29m satisfied. I don't know the ins and outs of accounting, but didn't the club once come out to suggest that debt was necessary in the structure or something like that? I can only assume the 29m loan after the relegation season somehow is a different type of loan than the one from when he paid off existing club debts. To be perfectly honest, none of the club's actions with regards to finances make any sense to me, and with regards to football it's even worse

I agree. I just don't think that's how he will see it, or he would have started doing it already.

It doesn't really say that though, does it? It says that 18m is repayable, not that the rest of the 129m isn't, unless I'm reading that wrong? Also, from what I've read in the past (might be wrong), the debt is not actually non-interest bearing. Ashley has so far decided not to charge interest he is contractually entitled to, but he could if/when he wanted, even retrospectively. And even if he couldn't, there is nothing stopping him taking the profits out as dividend if he so desired, is there? I want to believe you are right in being optimistic, but there is very little evidence that a change in approach for the better is upcoming, and plenty of evidence pointing to the contrary. Anyway, I'll believe it when I see it.

I don't think this has been mentioned: Giovanni van Bronckhorst was announced as Feyenoord manager starting next season yesterday.

Three reasons 1. Aarons are f***ing injury prone 2. Sammy over Gouffran anyday 3. If we let Sammy leave, we may have to play a random player from U18. One thing with this Gouf last few games has been made to look like Pele in comparison to Sammy. Nah

Cheap, fairly capable and counts as homegrown. I would give him a new contract as we have enough gaps to plough as it stands.

If they've handed out these 8 year contracts without get out clauses they are even more stupid than I thought.

Quite how the club could even contemplate keeping Charver on, even as a coach, after the way he has prostituted himself in order to get the job himself I don't know. How is any new manager (yeah right) supposed to be able to trust him, even before getting into how useless he is and not being allowed a backroom staff clearance to bring in their own tried and tested team?

Ridiculously good decision Edit:

Bah

Get in

Paddy

Adam Nonceson coming on

Michael Owen

Wat?