Eddie

I really don’t want to be drawn into it as I’ve no intention of looking into the specifics of the ruling - frankly, I don’t care as I’ve every faith in this management team to be all over whatever we need to do / can do. A couple of things I’d point out though: The ‘latest’ accounts that you’re referring to relate to a period that is now between 24 and 12 months out of date. Not even last season but the one before. Our cost base is likely to be very different and as @jmjhb points out, our revenue next season will be hugely different from last season, never mind compared to the accounts you’re looking at. You’re essentially 2 seasons out of date. Stat accounts never tell the full story. Management accounts will likely be different and more likely to be used to be the basis of the covenants set by this new FFP. Trying to unpick them to align with the ruling is fraught with inconsistency. There is no split in the stats of football / non-football related wages. It’s impossible to decipher. Plus we’ve just got rid of loads of them. Technicalities like treatment of management and coaching staff and where that line is drawn and how loan wages (both out and in) count will never be known to enough detail by anyone outside of those dealing with it in the club. You keep using a term ‘unspent equity’. I’ve no idea what you mean by that but can only come to the conclusion that you mean cash. I appreciate that you’re clearly interested in this side of it and there’s nothing wrong with that, you’ve obviously spent a lot of time looking into it and trying to make sense of it - fair enough, not my idea of time well spent but each to their own. If you’d have set out your understanding of it (with the relevant caveats) and what implications it could have, and have done that once, then I don’t think people would have an issue with it. It’s the fact that it’s said with such conviction, despite the multiple assumptions involved, and then concluded as though you’ve found something that the management of the the club won’t be aware of that is the first annoyance. To then just say it over and over again (I’ve read this same theory at least 10 times over multiple threads), which I can only see is done to try and get the approval and appreciation of others becomes really really tedious. I’ve tried to ignore and just scroll past it but it seems to be everywhere and anywhere. Maybe it’s because there’s sod all else happening but its not the most enjoyable experience having my usual scroll through WW at the moment.

This is in my wheelhouse and it’s still excruciating. Same shit being guessed at using out of date numbers and incomplete understanding of methodologies. Subsequently knocked back in an understated but obvious way by someone who clearly knows more than most, only to be taken as the cue to double down, add more words but ultimately say the same thing again. And any opportunity on any thread to roll it out is duly pounced upon for regurgitation. I can’t even ‘ignore’ as my account doesn’t seem to have that functionality. I can’t wait to be discussing whether we could actually win the league after doing PNE 3-0 on the opening day.

I’m starting to see why

I don’t know @jmjhb from Adam but if you can’t read between the lines with his posts and figure out that he’s very knowledgeable on the inner dealings / financial aspects of the club then you’re really not very switched on. It would be unfair to ask any more details but I get the sense that he’s doing a very good job of biting his tongue when he’s being challenged on things that he very likely knows the exact answer to.

Seeing as you’ve got a 100% season to your name, I can see why it would likely excite you more than it would me, but I have hardly given it a look for the past 3 or so years. There were only 3 or 4 games a season worth caring about so it never really felt like a big thing to me. This season however, I can’t wait to see the fixtures! It just feels so much different.

I get that he’s got time to fill, but it’s a pointless debate. We’ll likely bring 8-10 more in and probably lose 2-3 that we currently have. All it does is point out what we all know, we’ve cleared the decks and are at the start of a transfer window having moved up a league.

I think the point is that you don’t know it’s an awful signing. You think it might turn out to be an awful signing. There’s a big difference and how you say it changes how people will read it. You’re unbelievably definitive in most things you say - sometimes you’ve actually got a really good point but you state everything as fact, not opinion. If you said “based on his recent record with Birmingham and Oxford and his injury problems, I think it will be an awful signing” then it’s far easier to understand and read, gain the context and then either agree or disagree with what is a very fair opinion. When you state it so factually, you’re basically saying this is right and anyone that thinks differently is wrong.

I’m not surprised with that name

This is the one for me. Players always seem quicker and the pace of play seems much faster

Modric on the way!

Exactly that. Forced to. The bollocks of PSR - they got forest’s 3rd keeper for £15m+ to offset so it worked financially for both sides. He’s a proper player though, regardless.

FFS

Agreed, there would be ways to soften the blow. But then let’s say we go straight back down, you’re locked into another £3.75m of future payments with £12m less revenue. Whichever way you look at it, to make big (enough) you’ve got to be spending big (relatively) in the first place, unless you can rely on an academy system to produce them instead - which is why Conway will be given a good shot at it next season because if he can prove himself to some degree at the Championship level then we’ve potentially developed our own c.£5m asset. Anyway, straying into the finance side but it was just to highlight that the gambles on player signings have (possibly obviously) just stepped up a notch!

I agree with the view that loan, we have a chance, buy we don’t. Just using it as an example though, it’s where the world of second tier football becomes a massive gamble. We won’t break even without profit on players and frankly, £1m here and there won’t do it either. Say Brighton would sell for £5-6m with a nice sell on clause - I don’t think we have the capital backing to stump it up at this point, but if we did and the shareholders saw the opportunity, do you find the £5m on the gamble that he has a wonder season either this year or next in the championship and suddenly you can sell for £10-15m? He’s the kind of player that could have that season, he’s the kind of player that would catch the attention, but then again he could have another season like he did at Rovers and there goes your £5m. Glad it’s not me making those decisions (again, I don’t think we’re in a place at the mo to be making such big ones but maybe at the £2-3m mark we are).

I presumed he’d be about 36, turns out he’s only 33.

Simons smashing that goal in in the 2nd leg. I haven’t celebrated like that for a long long time.

I noticed every bugger in Bradford had one on when we went up there. Boiling hot and the majority of their fans had scarves round them.

You were dying to get that out, weren’t you? 😂 About a 1% relevance to TMGJ’s post and you were on it in a flash.

He got a mention from us over the play off final weekend (because Baines and some of the coaching staff jogged past). Apparently very keen to keep playing - doubt he’ll look to move from the North West and he isn’t moving to another prem club. Pretty well known to be the best of the best in terms of squad presence / behind the scenes stuff. If his legs are still there then I’d have him in, although you wouldn’t be doing it if Christie is genuinely sticking around as our second right back, it’d be like Dad’s army down that side.

I’d need to buy a white coat. It needs to be about 40 degrees outside for me to just wear a t-shirt in the west upper - it’s at least 25 degrees lower than outside up there!

Any transfer news?

If that’s right (no reason to doubt you) then fair enough. Clearly wants to be closer to home and who knows it might have been a better offer. He will have known it right through the play offs and still was up there for 3 motm awards - he ended up playing left back in the final and still looked decent. Well done to him and he’ll get a warm reception from me when we play them this season.

Some made up assumption that Zog. I think a less sensationalist way of saying your point would be - does Sheehan have the overall midfield attributes to compete in higher quality league, where he’s less likely to stand out for his passing ability? It’s a fair point, but you could ask it of any of our players - can they make the step up? Based on the fact he’s played quite a lot of international football, Sheehan would probably be the one you’d say has the best chance, but it’s far from guaranteed. If you can prove that the majority of midfielders in the Championship can pass to 80% (what does that even mean) of his ability without compromising other midfield attributes - then fair play because I wouldn’t know where to start.

Said this before - he’s also someone they trust to fire the ball into (and ACD) as an easy out ball. Before these two came into the team it was Sheehan or other centre back / full back, putting a lot of pressure on him, once they came in you had multiple options to have confidence in getting us up the pitch.

Very rarely listen to stuff like this (other people’s opinions are often terrible) but you’re spot on, that’s really good. The Oxford lad’s first 10 minutes of talking about the game could have been coming out of my own mouth - so he must know his stuff 😂. He might want to change his passcode to his phone though the idiot.