Parky

He put Jimenez in a position of responsibility for transfers. I still can't work out how that ever happened. Told Modric's agent that he wasn't good enough for the PL when we were close to signing him.

I remember the old 'I'm going to put in 20m a season' chit chat.

IMO our defence is better and will be more organised under Rafa. Our current attack looks weaker in so much that Nolan and Carroll had a great understanding and we had Hatem frightening defences across the land. The first 5 games will be key in setting up the belief and confidence of the current side. We are still a Tier One striker and CM short. Probably get away with the left back thing for a while.

We are going into the season as it appears so far with what is essentially a Championship side that has has some incremental improvements to the squad as a whole. Rafa due to the financial constraints being discussed hasn't been able to do anything else. It might well be that the quality of the man might be enough to bring the performance of the side up a notch but I would be lying if I said I wasn't worried about a season long struggle to get wins and points.

This isn't a club that should ever think about 'just being fine'. Yes there is a lot of money at the top end of the league but also more modest sides that have over performed and let's not forget a tiny team winning the league. With modest investment and good management I have no doubt that we can punch above our weight. The message from Ashley is completely counter intuitive. He should be saying that he will put in some extra cash this season to make sure we don't struggle.

Even in 2014/15 when we finished 15th our share of the telly money was 75m. I mean where does all this money go? We don't pay stellar wages. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/competitions/premier-league/11620171/Premier-League-prize-money-how-much-each-club-earns-in-2014-15.html

He could put 20m in without blinking. His shares in SD are worth a fortune.

The man literally has no vision or appreciation of the responsibility of owning a major football club. He doesn't understand what it means to the City and everyone following it. I bet it has never crossed his mind even when we finished 5th that we could compete near the top with intelligent and progressive management. Nobody is even asking for silly money.

Ashley playbook Version 2.0. (Now with laminated cover).

Quite. It's hard to kill the gingers mind. Probably be around after Armageddon.

Wildly talented left foot.

The lower two thirds of the PL are massively overrated on here. don't get me wrong lose gayle for the majority of the season it'll be hard but i still think we've got a good chance of a spread of goals through the squad now to make up for it get another striker in* and i think it'll be a good, enjoyable season *plus more hopefully obvs Yes, I've been saying this for some time now, if we get a quality striker in then we'll be fine. But getting that striker is going to be the most difficult and expensive signing yet. I'd be lying if I thought we were likely going to land one. Relying on Perez and Mitrovic if Gayle is out for any length of time really scares me. ...and so it should.

Straight out the Ashley playbook. Pure smoke and mirrors.

Seemed up beat with the usual caveats. Obviously hasn't given up the ghost but the window is still open. It will come down to what we've got in once the window is shut. Says we made a couple of 'mistakes' in the market early days...The feeling I get is that he is hoping the management will go the the extra mile and he is doing everything possible to encourage that. Personally think that the purse strings are quite tight and it's more than 'mistakes'. Ashley and Co are balking at the full package when it comes to signing good players and that will inc fees and wages. I still believe they tell him more or less what he wants to hear and then don't fully commit to signings.

Always the same...Say whatever the manager wants to hear and then do the bear minimum they can get away with.

How are the PL payments allocated this season. Is it a lump sum or chunks through the season? That's the key to all this.

Endgame.

They aren't going to spend 50/60m on 2/3 PL ready players to make the first team competitive. End of story.

It's clear they've been feeding Benny stories. No way did they ever intend to spend the money to get the team right.

Mike 'my word is my bond' Ashley.

God only knows what bullshit they are feeding Rafa.

We still need 3 straight into the first team players. Can't see it happening now barring some miracle. The club will balk at the cost if what we have seen so far is any guide.

Says the PL money drops at the end of July. So we'll see first week of Aug if there is serious intent to buy some quality.

You never know with this cunt in charge.