Attention: Please take a moment to consider our terms and conditions before posting.
Summer Window 2026 - Rumours and Discussion
Comments
-
Be interesting to see how Tolaj gets on, personally have a feeling he may struggle a little with the step up, certainly in the first season as per Kelman and Kone.Braziliance said:
It's already happened, it was Tolaj. Shame as well as I have been mentioning him ever since I watched a random Port Vale game on TV. He would have been perfect for us.WoolwichAddick said:Who is the next Makama? 1.5m for what is now a £15-20m striker a season later0 -
Dykes is useless25
-
I think by the end of the window we might learn that being 'ruthless' may have meant seeing TC, Leaburn and Docherty leaving. I believe at least 1 of those will be gone and I am pretty certain they are all available for sale because Jones knows deep down they are not the required level to kick on enough.
We are still chasing Kamara, look to be getting Dykes in and there still remains up to £5m of budget which I think will be spent on that marquee CM signing that will transform the team
The process is taking a long time but whilst people are so willing to hang on to the 'we will be ruthless' quote, they happily the ignore the 'be patient, this will take time' part
Kamara in = TC out. 1yr left and Apter harder to get rid of/investment made
Dykes in = Kanu out on loan, Leaburn can also go and maybe a loan signing striker in late doors with pace
Quality CM in = Docherty earned the right to leave if he doesnt want to be squad player
I believe this can come together but the time delay on getting that crucial CM is sending everyone into frenzy4 -
Feel like I’m banging my head against the wall with this. Kanu will not go out on loan with one year left of his deal. If he goes, he’ll be sold34
-
Depends how close to him the wingers play. Grant is very much a striker/winger and played in a front 2 for us previously so I imagine we'd be looking for the opposite side winger to come very narrow if the play is developing down one sideMarcusH26 said:I guess my only quibble with Dykes is playing him up top on his own in a 4231 , feels like he's better in a 2 with Kelman/Godden2 -
If TC leaves he will be moving upwards.MummysLittleSoldier said:I think by the end of the window we might learn that being 'ruthless' may have meant seeing TC, Leaburn and Docherty leaving. I believe at least 1 of those will be gone and I am pretty certain they are all available for sale because Jones knows deep down they are not the required level to kick on enough.
We are still chasing Kamara, look to be getting Dykes in and there still remains up to £5m of budget which I think will be spent on that marquee CM signing that will transform the team
The process is taking a long time but whilst people are so willing to hang on to the 'we will be ruthless' quote, they happily the ignore the 'be patient, this will take time' part
Kamara in = TC out. 1yr left and Apter harder to get rid of/investment made
Dykes in = Kanu out on loan, Leaburn can also go and maybe a loan signing striker in late doors with pace
Quality CM in = Docherty earned the right to leave if he doesnt want to be squad player
I believe this can come together but the time delay on getting that crucial CM is sending everyone into frenzy
We will be desperate to get him on a new contract, and the only reason he will leave is because we’d rather get a decent fee for him. It won’t be because we are being ruthless10 -
If dykes is coming in we should just sell Leaburn. He’s had multiple injuries and hasn’t really seemed to kick on even in the league below.Problem is I don’t think there would be any interest from league one clubs to take him permanently.I don’t want Dykes, it’s not an improvement on last year in any sense, it’s just a continuation. That being said if he is coming in there’s no point keeping them both around9
-
I’d have Dykes over Leaburn. At least he isn’t regularly out injured.AberystwythAddick said:If dykes is coming in we should just sell Leaburn. He’s had multiple injuries and hasn’t really seemed to kick on even in the league below.Problem is I don’t think there would be any interest from league one clubs to take him permanently.I don’t want Dykes, it’s not an improvement on last year in any sense, it’s just a continuation. That being said if he is coming in there’s no point keeping them both around2 -
I’d sell him. I don’t really want him to leave but it would probably be better for all parties if he was moved on to a fresh start now. In a better squad I think he will put up decent numbers.NabySarr said:
If TC leaves he will be moving upwards.MummysLittleSoldier said:I think by the end of the window we might learn that being 'ruthless' may have meant seeing TC, Leaburn and Docherty leaving. I believe at least 1 of those will be gone and I am pretty certain they are all available for sale because Jones knows deep down they are not the required level to kick on enough.
We are still chasing Kamara, look to be getting Dykes in and there still remains up to £5m of budget which I think will be spent on that marquee CM signing that will transform the team
The process is taking a long time but whilst people are so willing to hang on to the 'we will be ruthless' quote, they happily the ignore the 'be patient, this will take time' part
Kamara in = TC out. 1yr left and Apter harder to get rid of/investment made
Dykes in = Kanu out on loan, Leaburn can also go and maybe a loan signing striker in late doors with pace
Quality CM in = Docherty earned the right to leave if he doesnt want to be squad player
I believe this can come together but the time delay on getting that crucial CM is sending everyone into frenzy
We will be desperate to get him on a new contract, and the only reason he will leave is because we’d rather get a decent fee for him. It won’t be because we are being ruthlessIf he was to sign a new contract I’d hope that Jones actually plays to his strengths rather than shoe horning him into the squad.Make no mistake TC is the most talented youth player that we’ve been able to keep at the club for a long time.5 -
They're essential in The Netherlands...Redhenry said:Dykes is useless14 -
Sponsored links:
-
I don't believe the owners are here for the long run, they're here to just try and flip a profit at some stage, and it appears their strategy is to do the bare minimum in doing so, which to be fair so far has worked.mcgrandall said:
Sorry, but no they aren't. They were demerged from Bet365 in 24/25, transferred to Stoke City Holdings, and their debts wiped. Which is why their have been able to spend as they have.TheHerminator said:
They are owned by Bet365 essentially who keep investing in equity stakes in the football club. It isn’t a sustainable model but it means short term they can spend big on playersmcgrandall said:
I'm not advocating our owners spend more, but how come Stoke have spent so much this year? Not sold any players for large transfer fees in years and have a similar turnover to ours. Could be their owner selling the club to themselves and wiping £80m of debt, so they ended the year in "profit". There is always a way around the rules.SouthLincsAddick said:
Well said!elbiglad said:I am getting a bit bored of some of the negative and short sighted comments being posted on here. I don’t know what people were expecting.
I hate that we have so much squad turnover every year but we desperately needed reinforcements. The transition the club has gone through necessitates this overhaul. The depth wasn’t there and the loans ending meant we lost four or five starters. So it was clear a massive influx of players was needed.
Let’s say we needed to bring in a minimum of seven players. When you need this many and only have a budget of around £10m, then you have to be clever in how you spend your money. Really basic stuff. So, it makes sense to spend no money on a back up right back who has good champ experience. It makes sense to bring in a decent striking option for no money when you have decent depth there already and have assessed that other options are likely too expensive. It makes sense to concentrate your spending on positions of most serious need to to bring in extra quality where t matters when decent, cheaper options are available in other positions. This is just common-sense squad building.
It seems to me that some people didn’t understand what slow, sustainable and sensible growth meant. It never meant that if we stay in the Championship for one year we will then blow the league out the water. It won’t happen next summer either, by the way. As a side note, it’s also not how football finances work so it’s no good talking about how rich our owners are. At this moment in time, unless we sell someone for big money or agree a huge sponsorship deal with an American airline or streaming service, this is the only feasible way for us to improve.
Jones has made a rod for his own back (for some) with the ‘ruthless’ comments. When, in reality, he was most likely just talking about some of the business that needed to be done, not all. Letting a midfield prospect who is a hard worker and, by all accounts, amazing character that has been with the club since the age of 8 leave is quite ruthless. Letting a reliable squad option who scored the goal to promote the club leave is quite ruthless. The likely exit of a young academy striker who won League 2 player of the year is quite ruthless. Any additions in centre mid that move Coventry or Docherty down the pecking order should be considered ruthless. Why does signing a back up right back have to be judged by this metric? Who can name all of the Luke Young backups from the Curbishley years? It’s not an overly important position.I am not an ITK. But the signing of Alli for £1m shows, to me, that there is money to be spent. This was not necessarily a position of need and there are plenty of free agent wingers available. So to spend money on this player shows that firstly, they rate him, and secondly, it suggests there is money available for the right targets. It signals there is more to come.Jones is an outspoken man who finds it borderline impossible to bite his tongue. If there was no money or the board had let him down I think we’d have heard something, or picked up on a sly comment. It’s been quite the opposite. He has told fans to be patient. The season starts in just under three weeks and the window shuts in five. He has repeatedly said there is more to come and quality takes time.
We all want more in. We all want improved quality. I definitely don’t enjoy watching us hoof it up to Dykes. But the window isn’t done. They are implementing a formation change. Let’s just give things some time.
I think the negative posters don’t want to understand the financial situation we’re in. A small but vocal minority have always created a lot of noise mostly through wilful ignorance. Professional football people would wet themselves at some of the comments on here, it’s so far from reality. Remember, this is only a fans forum, none of us have any pro experience at coaching a football team or even understand the basics of football finance.
If the owners wanted to put more money in, they could find a way. I've seen it suggested that the recent change in the rules is a way to drive down players wages in the Championship. Which, considering the state of finances in the Championship, seems quite sensible.
As I said, if the owners wanted to spend big they could find a way. I think @Doucher is bang on the money and, unless we have some incredible recruitment, consigned to circle the drain.
It was heavily hinted at one of those Addicks meetings that Roland still owning the club held us back from improving the matchday experience and our plan is essentially waiting for an old man to die and hope his son offers a better deal for the stadium. You then look at Birmingham City and Wrexham's owners (who combined have a lower networth than one of ours) yet they're willing to pump millions into the infrastructure of the club. (A billion in Birminghams case)
The plan will be to keep using the TV money and whatever else to keep us afloat until someone comes along to buy us.
I don't mind by the way, as the alternative for us was a lot worse, but no one can convince themselves they're doing everything in their power to make us a competitive championship side, it is the bare minimum to avoid relegation.1 -
It looks like we are going to play to his strengths more this season. I’d only sell him if he’s not going to sign a new contract, our first choice option should be to secure him here longer term. If he develops a bit more, and is on a longer contract, then I think we get a good fee for him in 2-3 years timeAberystwythAddick said:
I’d sell him. I don’t really want him to leave but it would probably be better for all parties if he was moved on to a fresh start now. In a better squad I think he will put up decent numbers.NabySarr said:
If TC leaves he will be moving upwards.MummysLittleSoldier said:I think by the end of the window we might learn that being 'ruthless' may have meant seeing TC, Leaburn and Docherty leaving. I believe at least 1 of those will be gone and I am pretty certain they are all available for sale because Jones knows deep down they are not the required level to kick on enough.
We are still chasing Kamara, look to be getting Dykes in and there still remains up to £5m of budget which I think will be spent on that marquee CM signing that will transform the team
The process is taking a long time but whilst people are so willing to hang on to the 'we will be ruthless' quote, they happily the ignore the 'be patient, this will take time' part
Kamara in = TC out. 1yr left and Apter harder to get rid of/investment made
Dykes in = Kanu out on loan, Leaburn can also go and maybe a loan signing striker in late doors with pace
Quality CM in = Docherty earned the right to leave if he doesnt want to be squad player
I believe this can come together but the time delay on getting that crucial CM is sending everyone into frenzy
We will be desperate to get him on a new contract, and the only reason he will leave is because we’d rather get a decent fee for him. It won’t be because we are being ruthlessIf he was to sign a new contract I’d hope that Jones actually plays to his strengths rather than shoe horning him into the squad.Make no mistake TC is the most talented youth player that we’ve been able to keep at the club for a long time.If he doesn’t look like signing a new deal then I’d sell him and reinvest the money on Kamara/another right winger0 -
Surely a handful is 5Redrobo said:
I will take that bet.golfaddick said:
I'll eat my hat if Dykes (or Leaburn for that matter) score more than a handful of goals with their head.Garrymanilow said:We've signed two wingers, look like we're trying to integrate another back into the squad and are apparently trying to sign another one from Hull. Half the people moaning are also the ones who complain that we don't get the ball wide or put in enough crosses. Bringing Dykes in to make the most of the wingers both in terms of bringing them into the game more and giving them a target to aim for makes a lot of sense. It's funny how quickly the positive contributions he made are forgotten by the kinds of fans who weirdly think a recently promoted Championship side are too good for a player like that. I think you might be looking for a different club.
Edit.
A handful = less than 6.
Less than 6 could be 1
Have you a particular hat in mind?
Or are you from Norwich?1 -
Bizarre post, par for the course thoughAberystwythAddick said:
Do you get angry when you have to buy a newspaper?charltonbob said:
Actually I do, I want to know as much as possible about our players, about our club. Whether the club wants to hand me that info is up to them but if Richard Cawley is releasing that info, all & sundry could subscribe & they would know all of our inside info. So why doesn't the club release info on Edwards one year almost, injury ?sam3110 said:
You don't need an update though, why should the club be telling all and sundry about our squad? Some clubs don't even tell you the length of contract a player signs when they join them (Luton i think in particular are famous for this)charltonbob said:
We shouldn't need to get a subscription to get fitness updates on our injured playersCrispywood said:
Get urself a Cawley Substack subscriptionAndyG said:I wish we could have an update on Edwards & Collins if they are anywhere near fitness then we start to look a better team already it seems very weird that nobody at the club seems to be mentioning them0 -
This doesn’t make sense. The money they’ve lost already means they won’t make a profit by selling us unless we make it into the premier league.Braziliance said:
I don't believe the owners are here for the long run, they're here to just try and flip a profit at some stage, and it appears their strategy is to do the bare minimum in doing so, which to be fair so far has worked.mcgrandall said:
Sorry, but no they aren't. They were demerged from Bet365 in 24/25, transferred to Stoke City Holdings, and their debts wiped. Which is why their have been able to spend as they have.TheHerminator said:
They are owned by Bet365 essentially who keep investing in equity stakes in the football club. It isn’t a sustainable model but it means short term they can spend big on playersmcgrandall said:
I'm not advocating our owners spend more, but how come Stoke have spent so much this year? Not sold any players for large transfer fees in years and have a similar turnover to ours. Could be their owner selling the club to themselves and wiping £80m of debt, so they ended the year in "profit". There is always a way around the rules.SouthLincsAddick said:
Well said!elbiglad said:I am getting a bit bored of some of the negative and short sighted comments being posted on here. I don’t know what people were expecting.
I hate that we have so much squad turnover every year but we desperately needed reinforcements. The transition the club has gone through necessitates this overhaul. The depth wasn’t there and the loans ending meant we lost four or five starters. So it was clear a massive influx of players was needed.
Let’s say we needed to bring in a minimum of seven players. When you need this many and only have a budget of around £10m, then you have to be clever in how you spend your money. Really basic stuff. So, it makes sense to spend no money on a back up right back who has good champ experience. It makes sense to bring in a decent striking option for no money when you have decent depth there already and have assessed that other options are likely too expensive. It makes sense to concentrate your spending on positions of most serious need to to bring in extra quality where t matters when decent, cheaper options are available in other positions. This is just common-sense squad building.
It seems to me that some people didn’t understand what slow, sustainable and sensible growth meant. It never meant that if we stay in the Championship for one year we will then blow the league out the water. It won’t happen next summer either, by the way. As a side note, it’s also not how football finances work so it’s no good talking about how rich our owners are. At this moment in time, unless we sell someone for big money or agree a huge sponsorship deal with an American airline or streaming service, this is the only feasible way for us to improve.
Jones has made a rod for his own back (for some) with the ‘ruthless’ comments. When, in reality, he was most likely just talking about some of the business that needed to be done, not all. Letting a midfield prospect who is a hard worker and, by all accounts, amazing character that has been with the club since the age of 8 leave is quite ruthless. Letting a reliable squad option who scored the goal to promote the club leave is quite ruthless. The likely exit of a young academy striker who won League 2 player of the year is quite ruthless. Any additions in centre mid that move Coventry or Docherty down the pecking order should be considered ruthless. Why does signing a back up right back have to be judged by this metric? Who can name all of the Luke Young backups from the Curbishley years? It’s not an overly important position.I am not an ITK. But the signing of Alli for £1m shows, to me, that there is money to be spent. This was not necessarily a position of need and there are plenty of free agent wingers available. So to spend money on this player shows that firstly, they rate him, and secondly, it suggests there is money available for the right targets. It signals there is more to come.Jones is an outspoken man who finds it borderline impossible to bite his tongue. If there was no money or the board had let him down I think we’d have heard something, or picked up on a sly comment. It’s been quite the opposite. He has told fans to be patient. The season starts in just under three weeks and the window shuts in five. He has repeatedly said there is more to come and quality takes time.
We all want more in. We all want improved quality. I definitely don’t enjoy watching us hoof it up to Dykes. But the window isn’t done. They are implementing a formation change. Let’s just give things some time.
I think the negative posters don’t want to understand the financial situation we’re in. A small but vocal minority have always created a lot of noise mostly through wilful ignorance. Professional football people would wet themselves at some of the comments on here, it’s so far from reality. Remember, this is only a fans forum, none of us have any pro experience at coaching a football team or even understand the basics of football finance.
If the owners wanted to put more money in, they could find a way. I've seen it suggested that the recent change in the rules is a way to drive down players wages in the Championship. Which, considering the state of finances in the Championship, seems quite sensible.
As I said, if the owners wanted to spend big they could find a way. I think @Doucher is bang on the money and, unless we have some incredible recruitment, consigned to circle the drain.
It was heavily hinted at one of those Addicks meetings that Roland still owning the club held us back from improving the matchday experience and our plan is essentially waiting for an old man to die and hope his son offers a better deal for the stadium. You then look at Birmingham City and Wrexham's owners (who combined have a lower networth than one of ours) yet they're willing to pump millions into the infrastructure of the club. (A billion in Birminghams case)
The plan will be to keep using the TV money and whatever else to keep us afloat until someone comes along to buy us.
I don't mind by the way, as the alternative for us was a lot worse, but no one can convince themselves they're doing everything in their power to make us a competitive championship side, it is the bare minimum to avoid relegation.If the quick flip theory was correct they’d have sold us once we were promoted to the championship22 -
I agree you crying about paying for someone’s hard work is bizarrecharltonbob said:
Bizarre post, par for the course thoughAberystwythAddick said:
Do you get angry when you have to buy a newspaper?charltonbob said:
Actually I do, I want to know as much as possible about our players, about our club. Whether the club wants to hand me that info is up to them but if Richard Cawley is releasing that info, all & sundry could subscribe & they would know all of our inside info. So why doesn't the club release info on Edwards one year almost, injury ?sam3110 said:
You don't need an update though, why should the club be telling all and sundry about our squad? Some clubs don't even tell you the length of contract a player signs when they join them (Luton i think in particular are famous for this)charltonbob said:
We shouldn't need to get a subscription to get fitness updates on our injured playersCrispywood said:
Get urself a Cawley Substack subscriptionAndyG said:I wish we could have an update on Edwards & Collins if they are anywhere near fitness then we start to look a better team already it seems very weird that nobody at the club seems to be mentioning them4 -
Whilst I fully understand the sustainable building argument, at the end of the day professional football is in the entertainment business. That strategy may play well to a proportion of our long- term supporter base who have experienced the ownership shenanigans over recent years. As one of those, I have long-since tempered my expectations.king addick said:
Blimey with an attitude like that, we may as well not have been promoted.DOUCHER said:So, my take is that unless we hit the jackpot by either obtaining a huge sponsorship deal or selling an academy product for a huge fee, we are stuck in a championship relegation battle for years - depressing really considering we had owners with zero interest in the early / mid eighties but seemed comfortable in the 2nd division. As others have said, there are ways round this if our rich owners want to take them.
It's about sustainable building as others have mentioned so things will take time.
However, to grow the club sustainably that means more revenue - more bums on seats, more commercial revenue, more corporate sponsorship, more tv revenue, selling academy prospects that fulfill their potential at a high price etc etc. Very difficult to achieve several of those significantly if you aren’t playing attractive football and entertaining people. Not everyone gets off on watching a team and club fighting against the odds and maybe achieving an end of season position one or two places above last season.
If we have owners with the means to invest more heavily but not the appetite and, if they see no material success, I suspect there is a risk that they grow impatient and “sustainable” 5 year plans etc are never actually fulfilled. Then, we are back to square one with another set of owners. To a general extent that’s been the story for the majority of the 60+ years I have supported the club. When I started in 1962/63 we were most often fighting against relegation from the old Second Division (now the Championship).
Obviously, it doesn’t always work and we can all point to clubs whom have got burnt, but I am afraid money talks when it comes to football, and it always has. Objectively, I am afraid I don’t see this club growing much over the next 5 years, but I truly hope I am proved wrong. So, I have low expectations but fully appreciate others want and expect more.4 -
Can't get behind the ownership flip idea at all. They wouldn't be openly looking for additional investors if they were going to flip the club, it's probably more about spreading the investment out a bit more between the biggest 3 shareholders and any new investor.9
-
Why would we sell Leaburn? We're definitely going to be playing 352 at times this season but also Jones will want different profiles of striker for different games. I think we can assume that Olaofe isn't going to figure so we've got Godden and Kelman for the poacher/finisher role and Leaburn and Dykes for the target man role. Having backups for that type of role is important to deal with injury or loss of form, otherwise all it takes is one injury for us not to be able to play the way we want2
-
Sponsored links:
-
Few ways we start looking up the division ‘quickly’ imo:DOUCHER said:So, my take is that unless we hit the jackpot by either obtaining a huge sponsorship deal or selling an academy product for a huge fee, we are stuck in a championship relegation battle for years - depressing really considering we had owners with zero interest in the early / mid eighties but seemed comfortable in the 2nd division. As others have said, there are ways round this if our rich owners want to take them.
1. Academy wonder kid is sold for big money and that is reinvested into some quality players
2. We have a great transfer window and make profit on a number of our players.3. We have a great transfer window and it just somehow all
comes together (seems unlikely)
4. We are brought by Elon Musk
If not, the best we can do is follow the Millwall model 🤢
Buy smart, sell, reinvest.0 -
Dykes is a decent option to have and fits the profile that will work well and benefit from style. Not sure why we need 4 forwards that can lead the line. Why also have Campbell,Grant and Alli that can also play as second forward. We also got the shift Olaofe and Kanu. Not sure what we are going to do with Mbick. Seems overkill squad building wise.1
-
Never gonna be able to make profit on assets if we let all of the best ones enter the last year of their contract, forcing the clubs hand to both bring players in and let good players go at a cut price. I think arguably that lack of security with our best players is making me as twitchy as the difficulties we appear to be having in this window. None of it will matter if we stay up but not many of these signings aren't giving me confidence on the face of it that we will be a position to be comfortable this season. Not quite bedwetting yet, but concern is definitely growing as we move closer and closer to the season starting & window closing. I don't doubt that well bring people in, perhaps I was naive earlier in the summer about the quality we would be able to get, but I did expect more 'game changers' as it were.3
-
Or less than 7 in the case of Norwich.golfaddick said:
I'll eat my hat if Dykes (or Leaburn for that matter) score more than a handful of goals with their head.Garrymanilow said:We've signed two wingers, look like we're trying to integrate another back into the squad and are apparently trying to sign another one from Hull. Half the people moaning are also the ones who complain that we don't get the ball wide or put in enough crosses. Bringing Dykes in to make the most of the wingers both in terms of bringing them into the game more and giving them a target to aim for makes a lot of sense. It's funny how quickly the positive contributions he made are forgotten by the kinds of fans who weirdly think a recently promoted Championship side are too good for a player like that. I think you might be looking for a different club.
Edit.
A handful = less than 6.0 -
They are not mutually exclusive. (Ergo Donald J Trump)blackheathcanuck said:Is loaning Leaburn insane? Or ruthless.0 -
Joshua Friedman alone has triple the networth of Birmingham and Wrexhams owners combined almost. It isn't going to swallow his cash like it did Sandgaard or any other multi-millionaire. He is a multi-billionaire.NabySarr said:
This doesn’t make sense. The money they’ve lost already means they won’t make a profit by selling us unless we make it into the premier league.Braziliance said:
I don't believe the owners are here for the long run, they're here to just try and flip a profit at some stage, and it appears their strategy is to do the bare minimum in doing so, which to be fair so far has worked.mcgrandall said:
Sorry, but no they aren't. They were demerged from Bet365 in 24/25, transferred to Stoke City Holdings, and their debts wiped. Which is why their have been able to spend as they have.TheHerminator said:
They are owned by Bet365 essentially who keep investing in equity stakes in the football club. It isn’t a sustainable model but it means short term they can spend big on playersmcgrandall said:
I'm not advocating our owners spend more, but how come Stoke have spent so much this year? Not sold any players for large transfer fees in years and have a similar turnover to ours. Could be their owner selling the club to themselves and wiping £80m of debt, so they ended the year in "profit". There is always a way around the rules.SouthLincsAddick said:
Well said!elbiglad said:I am getting a bit bored of some of the negative and short sighted comments being posted on here. I don’t know what people were expecting.
I hate that we have so much squad turnover every year but we desperately needed reinforcements. The transition the club has gone through necessitates this overhaul. The depth wasn’t there and the loans ending meant we lost four or five starters. So it was clear a massive influx of players was needed.
Let’s say we needed to bring in a minimum of seven players. When you need this many and only have a budget of around £10m, then you have to be clever in how you spend your money. Really basic stuff. So, it makes sense to spend no money on a back up right back who has good champ experience. It makes sense to bring in a decent striking option for no money when you have decent depth there already and have assessed that other options are likely too expensive. It makes sense to concentrate your spending on positions of most serious need to to bring in extra quality where t matters when decent, cheaper options are available in other positions. This is just common-sense squad building.
It seems to me that some people didn’t understand what slow, sustainable and sensible growth meant. It never meant that if we stay in the Championship for one year we will then blow the league out the water. It won’t happen next summer either, by the way. As a side note, it’s also not how football finances work so it’s no good talking about how rich our owners are. At this moment in time, unless we sell someone for big money or agree a huge sponsorship deal with an American airline or streaming service, this is the only feasible way for us to improve.
Jones has made a rod for his own back (for some) with the ‘ruthless’ comments. When, in reality, he was most likely just talking about some of the business that needed to be done, not all. Letting a midfield prospect who is a hard worker and, by all accounts, amazing character that has been with the club since the age of 8 leave is quite ruthless. Letting a reliable squad option who scored the goal to promote the club leave is quite ruthless. The likely exit of a young academy striker who won League 2 player of the year is quite ruthless. Any additions in centre mid that move Coventry or Docherty down the pecking order should be considered ruthless. Why does signing a back up right back have to be judged by this metric? Who can name all of the Luke Young backups from the Curbishley years? It’s not an overly important position.I am not an ITK. But the signing of Alli for £1m shows, to me, that there is money to be spent. This was not necessarily a position of need and there are plenty of free agent wingers available. So to spend money on this player shows that firstly, they rate him, and secondly, it suggests there is money available for the right targets. It signals there is more to come.Jones is an outspoken man who finds it borderline impossible to bite his tongue. If there was no money or the board had let him down I think we’d have heard something, or picked up on a sly comment. It’s been quite the opposite. He has told fans to be patient. The season starts in just under three weeks and the window shuts in five. He has repeatedly said there is more to come and quality takes time.
We all want more in. We all want improved quality. I definitely don’t enjoy watching us hoof it up to Dykes. But the window isn’t done. They are implementing a formation change. Let’s just give things some time.
I think the negative posters don’t want to understand the financial situation we’re in. A small but vocal minority have always created a lot of noise mostly through wilful ignorance. Professional football people would wet themselves at some of the comments on here, it’s so far from reality. Remember, this is only a fans forum, none of us have any pro experience at coaching a football team or even understand the basics of football finance.
If the owners wanted to put more money in, they could find a way. I've seen it suggested that the recent change in the rules is a way to drive down players wages in the Championship. Which, considering the state of finances in the Championship, seems quite sensible.
As I said, if the owners wanted to spend big they could find a way. I think @Doucher is bang on the money and, unless we have some incredible recruitment, consigned to circle the drain.
It was heavily hinted at one of those Addicks meetings that Roland still owning the club held us back from improving the matchday experience and our plan is essentially waiting for an old man to die and hope his son offers a better deal for the stadium. You then look at Birmingham City and Wrexham's owners (who combined have a lower networth than one of ours) yet they're willing to pump millions into the infrastructure of the club. (A billion in Birminghams case)
The plan will be to keep using the TV money and whatever else to keep us afloat until someone comes along to buy us.
I don't mind by the way, as the alternative for us was a lot worse, but no one can convince themselves they're doing everything in their power to make us a competitive championship side, it is the bare minimum to avoid relegation.If the quick flip theory was correct they’d have sold us once we were promoted to the championship
There still wasn't much to flip as we still don't own our own ground. It's a hard sell selling a Championship club in debt, but someone eventually will come along and see the vision and that's what I believe they are waiting for. Time will tell.3 -
Exactly. Ramsay and TC are potential big sales of the future and at the moment we aren’t going to be seeing that money. Really hope we have properly pushed the boat out to keep them because paying them more now will be small in comparison to what we could fetch for them in 2-3 years time. If we’ve given them very good offers and they still won’t sign then not much we can do, but I hope we are at least doing thatYannTheMann said:Never gonna be able to make profit on assets if we let all of the best ones enter the last year of their contract, forcing the clubs hand to both bring players in and let good players go at a cut price. I think arguably that lack of security with our best players is making me as twitchy as the difficulties we appear to be having in this window. None of it will matter if we stay up but not many of these signings are giving me confidence on the face of it that we will be a position to be comfortable this season. Not quite bedwetting yet, but concern is definitely growing as we move closer and closer to the season starting & window closing. I don't doubt that well bring people in, perhaps I was naive earlier in the summer about the quality we would be able to get, but I did expect more 'game changers' as it were.2 -
But for them to make a profit they'd need to sell the club for £50m, that number will only increase as time goes onBraziliance said:
Joshua Friedman alone has triple the networth of Birmingham and Wrexhams owners combined almost. It isn't going to swallow his net worth like it did Sandgaard or any other multi millionaire. He is a multi billionaire.NabySarr said:
This doesn’t make sense. The money they’ve lost already means they won’t make a profit by selling us unless we make it into the premier league.Braziliance said:
I don't believe the owners are here for the long run, they're here to just try and flip a profit at some stage, and it appears their strategy is to do the bare minimum in doing so, which to be fair so far has worked.mcgrandall said:
Sorry, but no they aren't. They were demerged from Bet365 in 24/25, transferred to Stoke City Holdings, and their debts wiped. Which is why their have been able to spend as they have.TheHerminator said:
They are owned by Bet365 essentially who keep investing in equity stakes in the football club. It isn’t a sustainable model but it means short term they can spend big on playersmcgrandall said:
I'm not advocating our owners spend more, but how come Stoke have spent so much this year? Not sold any players for large transfer fees in years and have a similar turnover to ours. Could be their owner selling the club to themselves and wiping £80m of debt, so they ended the year in "profit". There is always a way around the rules.SouthLincsAddick said:
Well said!elbiglad said:I am getting a bit bored of some of the negative and short sighted comments being posted on here. I don’t know what people were expecting.
I hate that we have so much squad turnover every year but we desperately needed reinforcements. The transition the club has gone through necessitates this overhaul. The depth wasn’t there and the loans ending meant we lost four or five starters. So it was clear a massive influx of players was needed.
Let’s say we needed to bring in a minimum of seven players. When you need this many and only have a budget of around £10m, then you have to be clever in how you spend your money. Really basic stuff. So, it makes sense to spend no money on a back up right back who has good champ experience. It makes sense to bring in a decent striking option for no money when you have decent depth there already and have assessed that other options are likely too expensive. It makes sense to concentrate your spending on positions of most serious need to to bring in extra quality where t matters when decent, cheaper options are available in other positions. This is just common-sense squad building.
It seems to me that some people didn’t understand what slow, sustainable and sensible growth meant. It never meant that if we stay in the Championship for one year we will then blow the league out the water. It won’t happen next summer either, by the way. As a side note, it’s also not how football finances work so it’s no good talking about how rich our owners are. At this moment in time, unless we sell someone for big money or agree a huge sponsorship deal with an American airline or streaming service, this is the only feasible way for us to improve.
Jones has made a rod for his own back (for some) with the ‘ruthless’ comments. When, in reality, he was most likely just talking about some of the business that needed to be done, not all. Letting a midfield prospect who is a hard worker and, by all accounts, amazing character that has been with the club since the age of 8 leave is quite ruthless. Letting a reliable squad option who scored the goal to promote the club leave is quite ruthless. The likely exit of a young academy striker who won League 2 player of the year is quite ruthless. Any additions in centre mid that move Coventry or Docherty down the pecking order should be considered ruthless. Why does signing a back up right back have to be judged by this metric? Who can name all of the Luke Young backups from the Curbishley years? It’s not an overly important position.I am not an ITK. But the signing of Alli for £1m shows, to me, that there is money to be spent. This was not necessarily a position of need and there are plenty of free agent wingers available. So to spend money on this player shows that firstly, they rate him, and secondly, it suggests there is money available for the right targets. It signals there is more to come.Jones is an outspoken man who finds it borderline impossible to bite his tongue. If there was no money or the board had let him down I think we’d have heard something, or picked up on a sly comment. It’s been quite the opposite. He has told fans to be patient. The season starts in just under three weeks and the window shuts in five. He has repeatedly said there is more to come and quality takes time.
We all want more in. We all want improved quality. I definitely don’t enjoy watching us hoof it up to Dykes. But the window isn’t done. They are implementing a formation change. Let’s just give things some time.
I think the negative posters don’t want to understand the financial situation we’re in. A small but vocal minority have always created a lot of noise mostly through wilful ignorance. Professional football people would wet themselves at some of the comments on here, it’s so far from reality. Remember, this is only a fans forum, none of us have any pro experience at coaching a football team or even understand the basics of football finance.
If the owners wanted to put more money in, they could find a way. I've seen it suggested that the recent change in the rules is a way to drive down players wages in the Championship. Which, considering the state of finances in the Championship, seems quite sensible.
As I said, if the owners wanted to spend big they could find a way. I think @Doucher is bang on the money and, unless we have some incredible recruitment, consigned to circle the drain.
It was heavily hinted at one of those Addicks meetings that Roland still owning the club held us back from improving the matchday experience and our plan is essentially waiting for an old man to die and hope his son offers a better deal for the stadium. You then look at Birmingham City and Wrexham's owners (who combined have a lower networth than one of ours) yet they're willing to pump millions into the infrastructure of the club. (A billion in Birminghams case)
The plan will be to keep using the TV money and whatever else to keep us afloat until someone comes along to buy us.
I don't mind by the way, as the alternative for us was a lot worse, but no one can convince themselves they're doing everything in their power to make us a competitive championship side, it is the bare minimum to avoid relegation.If the quick flip theory was correct they’d have sold us once we were promoted to the championship
There still wasn't much to flip as we still don't own our own ground. It's a hard sell selling a Championship club in debt, but someone eventually will come along and see the vision and that's what I believe they are waiting for. Time will tell.1 -
It worked very well at LeicesterForester said:Leaburn and Dykes together from the start doesn't work, tried it twice last year, definitely Portsmouth, maybe West Brom? Anyway, disaster both times. If Dykes comes in i can't see that that would be a plan. Hope not for sure0 -
