Dr Jinx

Do the value of the shares stay the same as the purchase price off Mike Ashley? Or go up as the value of the club has increased?

Really didn’t expect this window to be “breaking up the band” - it would seem like good business if we get over 20m for him but there’s a lot of assumptions that we’re going to upgrade. This summer will be this summer but there’s a possibility we sign fuck all this month. Perhaps FFP margins are worse than we think and these sales are to ensure we stay on the right side of a points deduction?

Nah, they’re just class players with massive resale potential. Well perhaps not Tino as we paid big for him, unless he becomes a Bale and adds goals to his game. (It’s a possibility) Don’t think selling these any time soon is on the agenda in any case. Certain young players will be the bedrock of the side going forward (Botman, Isak, Gordon, Tino, Tonali)

I see it as more of a safe space, getting someone in you know you can communicate your ideas to clearly and swiftly. The issue is, British managers with the exception of Alex Ferguson have won fuck all. They put too much faith in what they see as familiar. Howe bought plenty of British players at Bournemouth and got them relegated. He’s having a difficult time this season and the names of players linked are mostly English. I don’t think Howe should be identifying targets, he should be approving from a list that Nickson/Ashworth provides.

It’s fucked, like they’re a hard club to turn down because almost guaranteed success. But we don’t have to sell, and Trippier may not mind staying either but if that does turn out to be the case, how unsettled is he going to be? But let’s look at the obvious, no official bids come in for a player unless the back channeling has happened first and a player has indicated they want to go. Trippier wants out for whatever reason so we should just get on with it. No player is bigger than the club. But it’s worrying that basically our club captain in all but official title wants out, it raises concerns about how things are going behind the scenes.

No mention of a fee, was there one or were we just happy to get the wages off the books?

Whilst there’s an argument that Barnes injury was a freak, he also missed some substantial time 2 seasons before. It can’t be a total shock that he’s taken so long to heal. (Was a knee injury before where he missed more time but less games)

Would rather he stayed but I reckon if the club got offered anything over 25m and they’d listen to offers.

Yep, it’s disappointing that Tripps wants out but he’s helped raise the profile of the club. We need some leaders to step into that void because his influence is massive on the pitch. If Wilson leaves I wouldn’t be massively disappointed, he’s injury prone and misses as much as he plays. Needs a run of games to get sharp too which is hard when you have someone like Isak playing. As Eales mentioned, selling someone for 50 million opens up a chance where you could spend 50m on 4 or 5 different players so there could well be a bit of a spree at the end of the window.

Our medical team

Realistically it would be a chance for him to win some Silverware before he retires. It probably won’t happen here in that time frame. If they really want him, let them pay over the top for him. Don’t recall Bayern ever doing us any favours.

How much do you get for a 33 year old striker? To Saudi, I think we get back 20m.. anywhere else and it’s 10ish.

Caulkin was riding a wave of popularity around the time leading up to the takeover and then after seemed to just step back but in hindsight it was clever, he’s one of the few who have never pissed off the fan base and just stuck to reporting on verified info and not getting clicks by spreading doom or horse shite. As The Athletic are behind a paywall, I don’t think he has as much pressure on him to generate clicks. The others are a bunch of charlatans.

Oh football in general is such a scam.. imagine having a job where you do so shit you get fired and your employer has to pay your salary for a few years. Steve Bruce absolutely loves being sacked.. in fact he’d get sacked from every club in the world if he had a chance.

Good post, I hadn’t realised that revenue would be so low. It’s almost not worth it for the division in opinions over the whole thing. It may seem like a catch 22 with out FFP predicament but getting one of those famous names currently based in Saudi could be a big earner for us. How many shirt sales is Ronaldo shifting these days? We need a massive injection that doesn’t involve selling the Crown Jewels.

Limited as a player but he played at that limit for the vast majority of his appearances in the black and white. Can’t be too negative on him for that. You pay peanuts, you get monkeys.. which was mostly the case during Mike Ashley’s tenure. Best of luck to him.

Is there anything even remotely similar to a Didier Drogba in the game today?

Joe Willock is a massive talent but he’s injured so much.. there hasn’t been a season where he’s not coming back from something. It will eventually take its toll on his ability. We’ve got a few sick notes in the squad at the moment.. from our longer term players that is. Wilson has his issues and Longstaff seems to be “unlucky” as well. How many can a squad this small afford to carry?

Wasn’t suggesting it. I’m just aware it’s an option the club have possibly looked at. Hes got positives to his resume, chiefly being a serial winner of trophies. He’s done it at most of his jobs. It would be a massive change in style and ethos at the club though so it’s highly unlikely to ever happen. Michel from Girona is a different prospect though, he’s going right to the top, probably to Barca unless an English club can get in first. Cut from same cloth as Pep. That’s something we should be all over with a view to a season or two down the line. Remember how long it took City to woo Pep.. that’s what’s involved in bringing the elite here.

You’d think voting against that rule change on loans would see us do some sort of business there this month. Really odd that we haven’t.

If a club can afford to put in whatever they want and not be in debt to anyone who can bring about insolvency proceedings, they should be allowed to. It’s so disingenuous to parade FFP as the measure to protect smaller clubs. It should be clear on a clubs balance sheet what they owe and that’s all that should be factored in. Chelsea have proven that an open chequebook is no recipe for success so there’s nothing to suggest that a club with the ability to spend what they want will really hurt the elite clubs anyway. Man Utd have spent a boatload too and same result. If the premier league could truly boast the best players in the world, the tv revenue would surge and help out every other club down the food chain.

So am I correct in thinking that if a club is in breach of the rules on one given year, unless they do something drastic to reduce spend, or sell off half their squad, that a club will then get the same points deductions the following year and the year after?

From UEFA’s site. 3) Are clubs no longer allowed to have losses? To be exact, clubs can spend up to €5million more than they earn per assessment period (three years). However it can exceed this level to a certain limit, if it is entirely covered by a direct contribution/payment from the club owner(s) or a related party. This prevents the build-up of unsustainable debt. The limits are: • €45m for assessment periods 2013/14 and 2014/15 • €30m for assessment periods 2015/16, 2016/17 and 2017/18 In order to promote investment in stadiums, training facilities, youth development and women’s football (from 2015), all such costs are excluded from the break-even calculation. 4) Are clubs automatically excluded if they are not in line with FFP? If a club is not in line with the regulations, it will be UEFA's Club Financial Control Body that decides on measures and sanctions. Non-compliance with the regulations does not mean that a club will be excluded automatically, but there will be no exceptions. Depending on various factors (e.g. the trend of the break-even result) different disciplinary measures may be imposed against a club. There is a catalogue of measures: a) warning b) reprimand c) fine d) deduction of points e) withholding of revenues from a UEFA competition f) prohibition on registering new players in UEFA competitions g) restriction on the number of players that a club may register for participation in UEFA competitions, including a financial limit on the overall aggregate cost of the employee benefits expenses of players registered on the A-list for the purposes of UEFA club competitions h) disqualification from competitions in progress and/or exclusion from future competitions i) withdrawal of a title or award In addition the CFCB have decided in numerous cases that the objectives of FFP can be best achieved by taking a rehabilitative approach rather than a punitive approach. This has led to the conclusion of settlement agreements between a club and the CFCB, combining certain financial contributions with numerous restrictive conditions, which provide a roadmap for clubs to reach break-even in the foreseeable future (see further detail in points 11–16). 5) Are owners allowed to inject money into their club as they like or through sponsorship? If a club's owner injects money into the club through a sponsorship deal with a company to which he is related, then UEFA's competent bodies will investigate and, if necessary, adapt the calculations of the break-even result for the sponsorship revenues to the level which is appropriate ('fair value') according to market prices. Under the updated regulations, any entity that, alone or in aggregate together with other entities which are linked to the same owner or government, represent more than 30% of the club's total revenues is automatically considered a related party. There’s a certain amount there left to interpretation. Especially related sponsorship.

No need to challenge it. Just wait it out as it’s being scrapped in its current form from this summer. They haven’t announced what will replace it yet but it’s likely to fall more in line with UEFA’s model.

Training ground/kit sponsor are a must and renaming the stadium will have to happen. It’s an easier thing to do if the stadium gets a redevelopment. New look/feel and new name.