TheBrownBottle

Sure, I’m not angry about it - it’s just a bit rum being held to a standard like you’re the one who said it

I don’t remember signing up to it as a statement - I’ve never thought it was a good idea for anyone to make statements on behalf of the fanbase, and people are then held to it like it’s a fucking contract. One of the many things Wor Flags has got right is avoiding statements of this type.

I think they’d definitely have asked (though I also think some players wouldn’t give a shite). But I also doubt he was sat there going ‘the bloke from Bournemouth? I’m in!’

Ho’way man, I’d be surprised if Bruno had heard of Eddie Howe in January 2022

*club that tries

We didn’t have a CEO nor a DoF for Trippier or Bruno tbf

We didn’t is the problem - we dithered and fannied about and eventually sold Isak. You have selling as part of your strategy - we did everything we could not to before admitting (inevitable) defeat

That’s why you sell ‘purples’ you’ve bought as a priority. It’s what got Spurs from a mediocre midtable club to a member of the ‘Big Six’. They sold every top player they had for megabucks

That doesn’t stop recycling players, though. With the way PSR worked until this season, you are incentivised to sell for profit. We were never, ever going to hold onto players longterm - they either demand higher salaries if they’re insanely good (Isak) which we can’t pay, or we risk good performers who won’t attract massive wages elsewhere declining and having to replace them with nothing in the kitty (Almiron, Wilson, Willock, Joelinton …)

I agree - but we knew this from day one - I agree the approach from all of them has been short-sighted. This always should have been Brighton on steroids - every player signed should’ve been with the view of flipping for a profit until revenues were high enough to compete - instead, management clung onto players until their value had shrunk or the player was gagging to leave. It is what Mitchell meant two years ago when he said it wasn’t fit for purpose - it isn’t; it’s an amateurish approach which is massively high risk. The scramble to get rid of players should’ve proved a lesson in June 2024 - it saw Staveley sacked, effectively - but we doubled-down.

It was the biggest mystery of last summer to me - we desperately needed a new keeper, and we lowballed on Trafford despite having the usual tiny shortlist. A club should be prepared to spend more on a keeper than any other position than CF as far as I’m concerned - it’s so vital to have a competent keeper.

Tbf I support Newcastle United, and you support Nick Woltemade. We’re not coming at this from the same place

Dropping 25 points from winning positions isn’t bad luck - it’s a pattern. We have a mentally weak side and a coaching team seemingly unable to arrest it. The odd moment will balance out over a season.

A manager can waste money on a player and then realise he’s dropped a clanger. As a truly great football manager once said after wasting a shitload on a bad-fit centre forward:

Got you - apologies, misunderstood - yes, agree 100%

I laughed, and then thought ‘actually, I don’t think Ramsdale is better than Tommy Wright or Pav. And I could name a few forwards / wingers who I’d start ahead of Osula (Quinn, Kelly, Peacock, Thompson …)’

I’m not as sure that Howe didn’t want control Investing money has zero impact on reducing losses in terms of PSR. You can’t get round PSR by injections of capital

PIF investing money would make zero difference to PSR Howe wanted control and got it - do we really think Howe had zero say on players being sold?

I think the manager can be reasonably criticised for his signing, but I can’t criticise him for not playing Woltemade - he sees him train, and he didn’t look good at all at when he started. He had a purple patch where everything he touched went in, but his (and the team’s) performances weren’t good. Granted, we look utterly shite at the moment, but if Howe thought the lad could offer something - given the pressure he’s under - it would be crackers not to play him. He’s not playing because he likely isn’t worth a start.

He wasn’t, but that’s in part because he didn’t sell players at peak value. His failures to trade at opportune moments isn’t reflective of good squad management. PSR existed when he was at Bournemouth, he can’t possibly be unaware of the implications. Edit: that doesn’t mean PSR hasn’t hamstrung him - but he’s been hamstrung from competing with Liverpool and Man City. No-one is criticising him for not being in a title charge - he’s being criticised because we don’t appear to be able to compete with Palace, Brentford, Bournemouth etc - and last I checked PSR leaves us better off than them.

Spurs haven’t won a PL game in 2026, I doubt they’ll win four of their last five.

Yeah, me too - this is my biggest worry with all of this. Howe has papered over a lot of cracks above him - there needs to be proper, decisive decision-making at the highest levels

Yes, the manager’s salary (and payout if sacked) is included in PSR / SCR

It seems odd if people think that - look at Carrick at Man Utd or David Brent at Chelsea.

Neither were relevant either - Klopp was 8th his first season, not his fourth (this is Howe’s fourth season) - he won the European Cup in his fourth season, he wasn’t going backwards at a rate of knots. Pochettino should’ve been sacked for being 14th with that Spurs side, and was. They finished 6th, which was an improvement. And Howe absolutely got praise for his transfer successes on here - including by me; I used to find his ‘hit-rate’ remarkable, and wrote that a number of times. That went down the pan, but for the first two years it was incredible. And less of chucking words like ‘hypocritical’ about - especially when in this instance it wouldn’t have been the case even if I agreed with the examples you cited.