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May be doing him a big mis service here, but can't help wondering if Mr McCabe was still in charge,, how many of the present day squad would have been sold by now ?
Best Chief Exec in football, can see why Wilder wanted him back so much. And the prince is letting him do his job, which would never have happened under McCabe.Got to say, while HRH is holding the purse strings, I personally feel it's Stephen Bettis who is steering our ship and getting these decisions right.
Agree with that, and maybe the Prince has got the common sense not to stop his wagesGot to say, while HRH is holding the purse strings, I personally feel it's Stephen Bettis who is steering our ship and getting these decisions right.
What are you thinking is driving that JD? General running costs plus the costs to extend the contracts without the crowd income being there to cover it?I’m still worried that we’re racking up debt, especially given the pandemic. But on the assumption that’s being done prudently, I can’t fault the club’s decision making at the moment.
What are you thinking is driving that JD? General running costs plus the costs to extend the contracts without the crowd income being there to cover it?
I'd guess this is likely to be funded by reducing our transfer budget, and we're used to covering running costs for a couple of months normally during the close season, which is going to be significantly reduced this year. My personal view is that we should look to loan given the record low interest rates at the moment, coupled with the fact there is going to be more value in the market this summer than normal, so we could take advantage of that if our transfer budgets were unaffected.
It's also a good time to borrow to upgrade the ground but that's another topic, but given the announcement on prices keeping us cheaper than those others across the city there are strong opportunities to increase fan base and improve facilities further increasing matchday revenues once we reopen.
If we were to just keep all the players we want this summer (including Retsos), potentially have 1 academy graduate make the squad and spend no more than £10m total (outside the Retsos fee) on new players I'd be more than happyWe know the Prince isn’t a sugar daddy. We know we invested fairly heavily in the last 2 windows. Then Covid arrived.
I’m not opposed to borrowing against future income at all (as you say, rates are low). Nor am I an accountant or businessman. But I know relegations end badly for heavily indebted clubs, and we were certainly stretching ourselves just before Covid.
So it’s just an awareness of how reliant we are on Wilder to keep the club thriving. And I’m heavily predisposed to anxiety.![]()
Agree with all that. What you need is a steady hand on the tiller, and I would dearly hope we would look to retain Bettis for the long term, and if we are relegated at some point we plan sensibly rather than looking to blow a 3 year budget on an instantly return. Using his management of the club so far, I'm hopeful that this wouldn't be the case.We know the Prince isn’t a sugar daddy. We know we invested fairly heavily in the last 2 windows. Then Covid arrived.
I’m not opposed to borrowing against future income at all (as you say, rates are low). Nor am I an accountant or businessman. But I know relegations end badly for heavily indebted clubs, and we were certainly stretching ourselves just before Covid.
So it’s just an awareness of how reliant we are on Wilder to keep the club thriving. And I’m heavily predisposed to anxiety.![]()
I just think the squad needs filling out, especially if we're competing on more fronts, coupled with the fact that I think we've been rather fortunate on injuries this year.If we were to just keep all the players we want this summer (including Retsos), potentially have 1 academy graduate make the squad and spend no more than £10m total (outside the Retsos fee) on new players I'd be more than happy
Was McCabe here when Clough was building an American Football sized squad mainly consisting of midgets?Absolutely agree with all the plaudits for the Prince as he has the final say on all things financial. Nobody can ever say he hasn't backed the manager. Did any of us honestly think we'd spend £20+ in multiple players. I certainly didn't. McCabe always seemed to favour tighter budget controls and short termism.
I get the impression that Wilder and Bettis will never over pay and would nail a good deal or just walk. Nice feeling to know the club is in such safe hands.
I just think the squad needs filling out, especially if we're competing on more fronts, coupled with the fact that I think we've been rather fortunate on injuries this year.
When you look at the financial state of the Championship and some of the other European leagues, I genuinely believe there will be a one off opportunity to recruit from these areas in a significantly suppressed market which is what we've done under Wilder, so it should keep the squad harmony and balance.
I am fully aware "genuine, one off opportunities" are normally what mot people say before losing their shirt on a gamble.
Is that dependent on Henderson Staying or not??If we were to just keep all the players we want this summer (including Retsos), potentially have 1 academy graduate make the squad and spend no more than £10m total (outside the Retsos fee) on new players I'd be more than happy
Don’t forget Champions League moneyWe will pick up another 110 million from sky next season, it may mean to cover these current losses a reduced transfer budget will have to be in place for next season, but still a substantial amount of money to keep the club in a fantastic position
Completely forgot about that! Yes it isIs that dependent on Henderson Staying or not??
If we keep the loanees, we need a RWB to actually compete with Baldock (K.Freeman is just an understudy nowadays, plays in the cup but hasn't been close to the Prem), a CB to cover/compete with Egan, a young striker to develop (if we get a good offer from WBA for Robinson), and we need to invest in the GK department, if we can't loan or buy Henderson, a mid 20s first choice, and if Verrips isn't up to much, an older back up in the realms of Ben Foster (not Joe Hart please for God's sake)
May be doing him a big mis service here, but can't help wondering if Mr McCabe was still in charge,, how many of the present day squad would have been sold by now ?
Keeper (preference Henderson)If we keep the loanees, we need a RWB to actually compete with Baldock (K.Freeman is just an understudy nowadays, plays in the cup but hasn't been close to the Prem), a CB to cover/compete with Egan, a young striker to develop (if we get a good offer from WBA for Robinson), and we need to invest in the GK department, if we can't loan or buy Henderson, a mid 20s first choice, and if Verrips isn't up to much, an older back up in the realms of Ben Foster (not Joe Hart please for God's sake)
Keeper (preference Henderson)
RWB to replace Freeman
Panos Retsos
Jagielka another year
Midfielder to replace Besic
Striker to replace Leon Clarke and maybe another to replace Zivkovic (if we don’t keep Robinson)
Possibly an attacking midfielder
The championship (and european leagues) will be full of value this window this window so we could probably do all that for under £30m.
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