Are we proactive enough?

[Houston_Blade]

One player has already taken advantage of the Russian element of the window to at least release himself from a Russian team.

Sylvester Igboun:

Sylvester Igboun: Nigerian is first African footballer to depart Russia

Nigeria international Sylvester Igboun becomes the first African footballer to leave the Russian Premier League following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

www.bbc.com

His recent scoring record isn't the best though did well at Brentford's sister club.

I still think this situation is worth keeping an eye on (the ruling). He was on the bench early March for his club and last played end Feb so the players who look at this ruling are going to be match fit.

The third oldest player on our bench is 20. I really do think this is an olive branch worth exploring.

I think in a situation where Hecky was obviously told to reduce the wage bill in January then it's just a non-starter. I'm not saying the idea and the premise is wrong but the board will be happy with the (reported) £60k a week net saving and probably won't want to add £10k-£20k (absolute bare minimum these kind of players would want) back onto that.

 

[Badger Blade]

If it wasn't for the length and size of the contracts we've got on players who we're stuck with, then we could have gone and got some of these guys.

Problem is we've got the likes of Burke, Mousset and Freeman on the books who we're still paying for, McBurnie who will end up leaving on a free at the end of his deal if he doesn't force his way into the team, Brewster is injured long term and only just started to come good, nobody took Berge in the summer so any money we previously had or could have had has long gone. If Ramsdale hadn't dug his heels in and forced his move, he'd still be here and we'd likely be paying for him to not play too.

It's one in, one out, with the in being cheaper than the out. There are others who we'd have to pay someone to take away, like a piss soaked mattress.

 

[Champagneblade]

The players that you mention, particularly Isaac Mbenza and Ratziski (a champions league regular) will be holding out for a lot more money in terms of wages than what we can offer them. That’s unfortunately where we as a club have fallen short. Instead of getting players on a free but paying big wages, we have paid large transfer fees but relatively low wages on players like McBurnie and Brewster.

True, but the window is limited too. You could be talking about allowing them to reboot in the summer.

In the grand scheme of things, what is anywhere between two hundred and half a million to potentially make a difference when we've come so far?

 

[sufc323]

Champagneblade claiming an assist on this signing

 

[Kozzy_is_my_Dad]

We're a bit more now, than we were.

 

[Champagneblade]

One good point that YorkBlade mentioned was that we kept this quiet.

Had we done this a while back it is possible there would have been a possible trend of other clubs following suit. I.e. look at what Sheffield United have done, we should do that. Most may we'll have scoffed, filed under 'unlikely' and moved on.

What intrigues me when you scratch below the surface is whose ruling takes precedence.

On one hand we can gleefully thumb our noses, show off our 6m defender that Boro, Forest, Luton etc didn't get and point to 'the last Thursday of March' as the cut off for EFL signings. There has to be a cut off even for freebies otherwise imagine you parachute in a ringer who's just come back to fitness straight into your play off final team.

On the other hand, FIFA states:

"foreign players whose previous registration was with the UAF or the FUR will be allowed to be registered even if the registration period is closed at the association of the club with which they conclude a new contract.

In order for this exception to be applicable and to protect the integrity of competitions, the registration with the new club needs to occur before or on 7 April 2022.

To further protect the integrity of competitions, clubs are entitled to register a maximum of two players who have benefited from the exception."

So, does this override the last Thursday of the month? Does FIFA's ruling take precedence over the EFL rules?

If so, then when are we bringing in Czech Jan Kuchta of Loko Moscow, Norwegian Erik Botheim or even Loko Moscow's Frenchman Wilson Isidor (giving rise to the possible Tolkienesque headline after he's gone - seeking Isidor's heir! ).

UTB

 

[Berlin Blade]

Times must be bad, when we are looking at war and mass death of innocents as a potential opportunity to strengthen our weak , I jury riddled squad.

The situation at the lane is nothing compared to what they are suffering over there.

I’d never thought of it like this to be honest. You’re so right. Thank you for reminding us of this. I was under the assumption this conversation was about the fact that we are now able to sign players from Russia, because of political circumstances. I had no idea we needed reminding that there are some people in the world experiencing extreme hardship. Can you let me know next time we sign someone from QPR that can’t get in the team and is ‘having a bad time there’ that there are people in Palestine having an even worse time?

Is there any way we can both close this thread out of respect and also nominate Bladedownsouth for a noble peace prize please?

Have a day off mate fuck me