Abacus

Even leaving aside FFP, I'm not sure we have much option other than a slow build. Top players will be hesitant to join us, and you can't blame them until we get some sort of European spot. Anyway, I'm quite enjoying the sensible approach taken so far - seems the opposite of the scattergun recruitment that caused Everton a lot of bother. At the same time as starting to sort out the infrastructure and the back office, it just feels like we're going in the right direction. A couple of exciting attacking players and I'd be very happy indeed.

I'd just be disappointed if we had a genuine chance and we didn't take it. But I wouldn't be disappointed in general, if we get who else we're after. I'm still like a kid at Christmas. Admitedly, a kid who might still have a sugar induced tantrum before bedtime.

I loved that pointless sending off in a friendly! There was really no way back after that and it still makes me laugh. But yes, a good player for us at the time and in the situation we were in. I'd love to see him have some late success with an ambitious Championship team.

I imagine it would be on interest free credit, where we don't have to pay the first installment until 2024. But actually yes, if true that would make a great club shop and / or museum.

If there's any chance I'd love to sign him. Just being able to debate people's best positions and how to accommodate them would be much more fun than discussing how to keep certain players out of the team. Imagine Bruce trying to convince him to join, and explaining his ideas of using him as a false Number 10 (or whatever it is).

I like Dubs and would hope he can still be persuaded to stay and fight for his place. Like most others, that's mainly through fear of having to rely on Darlow for long periods. But even as someone who thinks he is a decent keeper, I'd have to admit that Dubs was a bit shaky at times last season. Maybe it was the effect of injuries, but whatever, it wasn't his best. So OK, if he wants to go and we get an offer for what we think he is worth, then fine, let him go. But if we don't get a decent bid, as has been pointed out, we don't have to sell. I'd be tempted to tell him he's going nowhere until January at the earliest and to see how things play out. That would still give us time to find a younger replacement to come in then if he's still not happy.

Speaking of sports scientists, there's a report that West Brom have appointed a new medical director. https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/west-brom-arsenal-confirm-signing-24400492 This one had previously worked with Bruce at Sheff Wednesday (the club he abandoned), you see, and they are keen to avoid an injury crisis at West Brom, so that's great news. Farbeit for me to suggest it's simply another old pal that Brucey turns to rather than having any new ideas or doing any work at all. But anyway, I wonder what the injury situation was like at Sheff Wed, because it must have been much better. Well, oh no! Incredible bad luck seemed to have struck him again! Here's Steve Bruce on his injury crisis at Shef Wed; "I’m sure most of the supporters are absolutely fed up to the back teeth and think ‘why’. Are we just unlucky or is there something underneath it all? When you see the problems the club have had, it is really obscene." Well, I can think of one obscene problem the club had who was underneath it all. But surely the unluckiest man in football couldn't be partly to blame by rushing players back or some other stupidity? Well, here he is on that exact same day talking about Adam Reach not being fit. "Adam hurt his knee last week. He did well to go out and play on it. Typical Reachy. “He wanted to go and play on it but he was not himself and we could see that but at least he wants to play.” Yes, good old Reachy. Everyone's mate, this manager, with his clever nicknames. But it's Reachy's fault really, since he asked to go out and play. But it's somehow also a good thing that he did, so he could be sent out to play when unfit! Silly old Reachy! How unlucky Bruce is!

I think we should have upgraded the squad by getting in a player who is a bit worse than Dubravka, in case he got upset. This whole new idea signing of trying to sign better players will come back to bite us.

Ekitike and Botman were both known targets from January, with their clubs and agents very publicly playing things out. Target was actually a bit of a surprise (most here including me thought we'd moved on), and Pope happened quite fast from initial rumours to being done too. It's a bit annoying in a transfer rumours thread, but I really doubt we're doing nothing in the background. But maybe it's just that less is leaking out, and I do wonder if that's partly Ashworth's influence. Anyway, I'd love someone like Diaby. A genuine threat on the other wing means you can't risk doubling up on St Max on the other side quite so much. And if you flip the wingers to the opposite sides every now and then, you pull their defence everywhere. But it sounds like they're all over that anyway. A striker and an attacking wide player (whether bought or some loan structure), plus anyone else we think might be good and too good to pass up and that's a great window.

From the Birmingham mail. It was third time lucky for Steve Bruce as he finally signed Jed Wallace for West Bromwich Albion after two failed attempts at previous clubs. “I think I’ve tried to buy Jed twice before and not been able to get him,” Bruce revealed. “He’s a very good player, and so is Swift. They’ve added that little bit of quality, which is what we needed at the top end of the pitch." “Can I reveal a secret now? He was at our game on the last day of the season," admitted Bruce. "That’s how long ago we were planning. I shouldn’t really say that, but there you go, if I get into trouble, so be it." A few things from a small amount of words. 1. Top end of the pitch. That phrase infuriates me, as it's his usual lack of precision or understanding of football and he uses it every time. He's just saying roughly whereabouts he wants stuff to happen. Ah, top end of the pitch Steve? Want more goals, right? It's a bit like when he tried to explain how league tables worked. 2. Cosying up to the press by giving them his 'secrets'. In this case, that secret is that he seems to have tapped up a player. 3. Lack of doing his job. So, he is making a virtue of thinking about a specific player on the last game of the previous season, before the new one starts. What forward planning, to be thinking literally one game ahead! 4. It's also a player he had just admitted he'd tried to buy twice before for different clubs, so it's not like he'd put any real thought into it anyway. He just tries to buy the same players again and again regardless of what's needed (see Choudhury, Hamza). What a stupid hopeless oaf. Good old Steve. One fawty two, one fawty three (using his own mental counting system and clapping his hands).

I was thinking about this the other day too, and it's yet another bit of damage Ashley did. I remember when we first signed a few talented players from France under MA, and a few of them were saying how they'd seen the likes of Ginola playing for us, so they knew it was a big club. Rewind the last 14 years and we've been a stepping stone club treading water ever since. It's no wonder players in their early 20's with a bit of ambition barely know us. So, cheers Mike. And well done to whoever persuaded Botman to join, the only way to start to turn this around.

Good idea. I assume it's a bit like when you go on holiday, realise you've forgotten your toothbrush and so pick one up in the terminal. Imagine being a Sunderland fan going to Newcastle airport and suddenly realising you've forgotten to wear your football shirt. A valuable emergency service.

I'd love to sign this Paqueta fella, if he's available. I've seen people debating where he'd fit in our midfield. But there's a good post on another thread about the impact of bring in the 5 subs rule, where more quality in depth will be a real advantage. That's quite apart from the benefits of having competition for places and potentially being able to mix up your tactics. Though, I do agree that a striker and a winger are the priority for now.

I wish he'd bought Derby now. Would have kept him busy ruining someone else's lives instead. That said, I've got nothing against Derby fans. So I don't know what I'm saying, except wishing he'd go away.

Jeff Hendrick has played 60 times for Ireland. They can have him for free, if it settles this rivalry once and for all.

Agree with this. That dressing room sounds toxic and with a lot of overpriced rubbish.

Well, I think the club should send him a text saying he was shit anyway and we faked it every time.

If we get a couple of decent forward players, I'd say; Realistic - 9th / 10th with a cup run Optimistic -6th. That's finishing above the 'best of the rest' and rattling one of last year's top 6. Of those, I really think Man U are there to be got at whilst they rebuild (again) - they were certainly a bit weak last season. Some form of European football would be a great lure for us to new players.

I believe it would, I'm afraid. If you build a new stadium, you don't account for the cost all in year 1 - you spread the cost over multiple years. But it still hits your P&L, every year. A bit like player transfer fees, just over a longer period. But in the case of a stadium, it would count as infrastructure costs, and the annual cost could be excluded from FFP. FFP used to be all about limiting player transfer spend and wages. It explicitly said other costs were excluded because they didn't want to discourage worthwhile long term investment. Interestingly though, with FFP version 1, if a player had already been signed on a big contract before those rules came in, the costs for those players that had already been signed were excluded too. What's the betting there is a similar exemption for any current big clubs who have already spent a fortune on new stadiums (and already earn more income as a result)? If you were suspiciously minded, it might seem like a double pincer movement. First limit income and sponsorships, then restrict what can be spent building your club, so it's even harder to make more income organically too. Anyone would think it feels like a blatant stitch up, and might wonder what has caused it to be introduced all of a sudden...

I thought Chelsea's new owners were required to spend over a billion on infrastructure (new stadium, mainly) as part of the takeover. Not sure they'd look at it too favourably either if that's the case.

I hope we do challenge this legally. How can they just come up with this rubbish? Although, they do seem to say it's OK if people put equity in (which our owners have already done once). But, leaving that aside, just imagine if you took out the infrastructure bit and just said that spending to develop the women's team was to be restricted. The reaction would be immense.

This deal has ekitaken a turn for the worse. Or has it? Stepping back for a bit. He has had one breakout season, which was hampered a bit by injuries in the second half. Clearly very young and with time to develop, but you wonder whether he would slot straight into the first team in the PL anyway. There's a risk signing any young player if they don't develop as you'd hope, and that's before all this noise about his agent. I'm wondering whether it was better to pull out anyway, and maybe come back in a year or two if he develops. Yes there's a risk you end up paying far more for an established player later on, but there's already a risk in paying £30m for someone raw, who may not be happy, may not work and may not go straight into the first team. And stepping back even further, from a transfer point of view, it's surely not be a bad thing to make a statement by turning down unreasonable demands. It's not January and we're not Stewart Donald desperately trying to buy Will Grigg on Netflix.

No-one has even mentioned Jimmy Nail.

You worry a bit for Leeds. First Phillips, but also constant links about Raphinha. Fine, decent money assuming one or both go, but even with that I think they would struggle to attract replacements post Bielsa and they only narrowly avoided the drop last year as it was.

It's certainly a very specific number of people that he needs for his confusing rampage. Still. Nice that he ends by quoting One Love by Bob Marley.