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POST-MATCH THREAD: West Bromwich Albion v Charlton Athletic: Tuesday 24th February 2026: KO 19:45
Comments
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I think we bought well in the summer but it is hard for a striker in a side which creates little. We need to focus on why that is and proritise fixing that. I think a couple of new players could make a big difference and players like Kelman, Apter, Leaburn and indeed Campbell still have a big part to play. The priority this season has to be survival and an understanding where we are short. You can't put a figure on fixing that, it could cost a little or it could cost a lot! Carey didn't break the bank!3
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Online the fee is reported as £2.75m plus add on's not £5m from what I can see. So they actually made a profit on the Kelman / Kone deal.LargeAddick said:
Is that the Kone who has scored just three more goals than Charlie in seven more appearances and cost 2m more? Or we could have spent 6m plus on Adam Idah like Swansea did for even less of a return.ThomasOliver3 said:I don't think you need to spend £20m in the summer and I certainly won't expect it. What we have to do it improve the percentage of signings that are additive to the squad.
Our top scorer this season and only creative spark was a free from L1 as was our best defensive signing. Our biggest fee spent was Kelman who's been a flop, we could have been safe by now if we'd signed Kone instead of Charlie. So the onus will be on getting the recruitment more right, more often not just chucking more cash at it... unfortunately Millwall are a decent example of this.
There will need to be 2-3 great free signings a couple of loans then two or three big fees spent that raise the floor and ceiling of this squad. if we can get more Bell's & Carey's and less Tanto's & JRC's then we'll be able to progress... even more so if NJ can coach some actual attacking football to go alongside it.
Like Collins I think we may have to shop abroad to get value and ability as the talent factory in L1 & L2 seems to have dried up a little this season.
Those 3 goals could also have won points, but it's not just goals is it, I'm sure you can't argue that having more pace and movement up top wouldn't improve the output of this team that is currently playing two 6ft + battering rams.
It's just my opinion, I'm not saying its fact. But like your point on Adam Idah I was just trying to say it's not how much money we spend it's how well we spend it. Hopefully we are allowed to express our own opinions on here.0 -
Agreed - spend £10m on 4 players, you get what we got last year. Spend £20m on 3/4 players, you start adding the quality that's needed.blackpool72 said:
Not sure i agree with that.NabySarr said:
We really don’t need to spend £20m to improve next season. Maybe if we want to make the play offs that’s the kind of money needed, but that’s a long term goal over the next years, not next seasons targetmascot88 said:
It has to be 20Mill or we'll be in the same boat as this season.golfaddick said:
£20million.....😂😂😂😂.mascot88 said:Considering that most of the marquee summer recruits have flattered to deceive - Kelman, Apter, Tanto, Jones has done very well to free up some money on the wage bill and essentially buils half a new team that has gelled quickly and ground out a decent haul of points.
If we didnt have injuries that hampered a rigid system with no viable plan b I think we would be safely mid table.
So I think NJ deserves credit to have build a patched up champ team that hoepfully will stay up so we can all celebrate again just like last year.
We stay up we spend 20 million in the summer and we will attract a higher level of player.
The championship is a fantastic league imho and to even be here after the horrors of the last decade or so is terrific.
I think a lot of our past managers would have had deep in the bottom 3 by now.
About half that I would imagine. Tops.
Next season will be about building on this one, a success would be not being involved in the relegation battle like we have been this season. Comfortable mid table is the next step and we don’t need to spend £20m to achieve that, better luck with injuries would have probably seen us there this season
I think if we spend similar to what we did this season we will probably be in a similar position next season.
Maybe not 20 million, but 15 million will be needed to move us up to mid table imo.0 -
Don't worry, we didn't pay anywhere near 3.5m for Kelman either.ThomasOliver3 said:
Online the fee is reported as £2.75m plus add on's not £5m from what I can see. So they actually made a profit on the Kelman / Kone deal.LargeAddick said:
Is that the Kone who has scored just three more goals than Charlie in seven more appearances and cost 2m more? Or we could have spent 6m plus on Adam Idah like Swansea did for even less of a return.ThomasOliver3 said:I don't think you need to spend £20m in the summer and I certainly won't expect it. What we have to do it improve the percentage of signings that are additive to the squad.
Our top scorer this season and only creative spark was a free from L1 as was our best defensive signing. Our biggest fee spent was Kelman who's been a flop, we could have been safe by now if we'd signed Kone instead of Charlie. So the onus will be on getting the recruitment more right, more often not just chucking more cash at it... unfortunately Millwall are a decent example of this.
There will need to be 2-3 great free signings a couple of loans then two or three big fees spent that raise the floor and ceiling of this squad. if we can get more Bell's & Carey's and less Tanto's & JRC's then we'll be able to progress... even more so if NJ can coach some actual attacking football to go alongside it.
Like Collins I think we may have to shop abroad to get value and ability as the talent factory in L1 & L2 seems to have dried up a little this season.
Those 3 goals could also have won points, but it's not just goals is it, I'm sure you can't argue that having more pace and movement up top wouldn't improve the output of this team that is currently playing two 6ft + battering rams.
It's just my opinion, I'm not saying its fact. But like your point on Adam Idah I was just trying to say it's not how much money we spend it's how well we spend it. Hopefully we are allowed to express our own opinions on here.2 -
I agree Kone would have been a far better fit and the extra £2m to get a player that fits would make a lot of sense rather than paying less and ending up with players that don't fit. I think the wage structure was a big consideration as well last summer but think we have to rip that up this summer and use whatever pot we have to pay the going rate. We will know now who in our current squad can cut it at this level and they can be brought up to match that.ThomasOliver3 said:
Online the fee is reported as £2.75m plus add on's not £5m from what I can see. So they actually made a profit on the Kelman / Kone deal.LargeAddick said:
Is that the Kone who has scored just three more goals than Charlie in seven more appearances and cost 2m more? Or we could have spent 6m plus on Adam Idah like Swansea did for even less of a return.ThomasOliver3 said:I don't think you need to spend £20m in the summer and I certainly won't expect it. What we have to do it improve the percentage of signings that are additive to the squad.
Our top scorer this season and only creative spark was a free from L1 as was our best defensive signing. Our biggest fee spent was Kelman who's been a flop, we could have been safe by now if we'd signed Kone instead of Charlie. So the onus will be on getting the recruitment more right, more often not just chucking more cash at it... unfortunately Millwall are a decent example of this.
There will need to be 2-3 great free signings a couple of loans then two or three big fees spent that raise the floor and ceiling of this squad. if we can get more Bell's & Carey's and less Tanto's & JRC's then we'll be able to progress... even more so if NJ can coach some actual attacking football to go alongside it.
Like Collins I think we may have to shop abroad to get value and ability as the talent factory in L1 & L2 seems to have dried up a little this season.
Those 3 goals could also have won points, but it's not just goals is it, I'm sure you can't argue that having more pace and movement up top wouldn't improve the output of this team that is currently playing two 6ft + battering rams.
It's just my opinion, I'm not saying its fact. But like your point on Adam Idah I was just trying to say it's not how much money we spend it's how well we spend it. Hopefully we are allowed to express our own opinions on here.0 -
How about spend £10m on two players and hope they both work out and then pick up 6 on frees and hope half of them work0
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I'd like to see Dykes and Kelman for 60 mins then Leaburn and Campbell for the remainder of the game. When we play Leaburn and Dykes together it is the easy was out just to get it forward aimlessly. Also whilst they are playing well they don't seem to play off each other that well.1
