Dr Jinx

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.

What’s clear is that the Premier League are terrified of expensive litigation.

We’re not selling anyone to Liverpool. Wishful thinking on their part, or red journos. We're obviously in need of reinforcements but you have to admire the confidence in the longer term plan. There’s zero risk of being relegated and the second half of the season is a free hit essentially. We may get a European place, but equally it might suit us to have a proper go at Champions League for next season with a much improved squad. Whether the manager will be the person to take us there is a different debate but for the here and now he has confidence in the overall squad to turn things around. It’s also safe to say that as a fan base we have a much better knowledge of how football finances work now.. so knowing that next season will ultimately be a far healthier position, it’s probably best not to get the hopes up for any major changes this month.

All this tactical analysis is a bit pointless as it doesn’t really address the catalyst which is fatigue. We're conceding most of our goals after 70 mins so let’s just assume that with the right energy levels out “flat midfield” is actually fairly effective. Not so much when running on fumes. Post game and post training recovery needs to change/improve as it’s not working. Can’t really lay all that at Howe’s door either. His sports science department should be able to give him data that backs up what we’re all seeing on the pitch and make recommendations based on that.

I’ve been very negative on him in the last few weeks but thought tactically we got it spot on first half. We were dangerous on the counter and hurt them repeatedly. Was same old story though second half. No energy and we shrank like we’ve done so much this season. Fitness levels have been poor this season for possibly multiple reasons. If a squad ever needed a holiday away to a warm weather training camp it’s now.

We either take a baby step this month and then again in the summer or we hold off until then and make a giant leap. The financial picture for next season is going to be very different unless we do something dumb that takes a short term view. I still think we get a loan in, possibly 2.

See the media are doing their best to unsettle him yet again.