Is our budget any bigger than last year?

[duncanjwitham]

17 minutes ago, RoyMac5 said:

Yes but we have a very limited budget and if as I said that one player ends up a Thorne or Bielik we're in trouble.

So the worst case is, we basically end up in exact the same position you're advocating for (with no genuine difference-maker), except a few of rest of the squad are slightly better.  I think if you've got a limited budget, you have to really try and make a difference with it.  And you can't run your entire transfer policy on the assumption that every player you sign is going to get injured, or you'd never sign anybody.

[RoyMac5]

3 minutes ago, duncanjwitham said:

So the worst case is, we basically end up in exact the same position you're advocating for (with no genuine difference-maker), except a few of rest of the squad are slightly better.  I think if you've got a limited budget, you have to really try and make a difference with it.  And you can't run your entire transfer policy on the assumption that every player you sign is going to get injured, or you'd never sign anybody.

Not whilst we're under a business plan and not necessary in League 1 I don't think. IMHO obvs.

[oldtimeram]

I'm curious to know.  How do folk feel about the business we have done so far, the players we are linked with and the ones that got away?

Are we stronger than last season and based upon the players we have now do you think we are good enough to get promoted?

[TomTom92]

26 minutes ago, oldtimeram said:

I'm curious to know.  How do folk feel about the business we have done so far, the players we are linked with and the ones that got away?

Are we stronger than last season and based upon the players we have now do you think we are good enough to get promoted?

Think the signings in defence have been quality with Warne/recruitment deserving praise. Best defence in the league IMO.
 
Think some of the names linked with improving us offensively are shoddy. Really disappointing to see us not go in for some of the freebies such as Smith and Knibbs. 
 
Think we’re 3 quality signings away from autos. As things stand we’re 6/7/8th in the league standard.

[oldtimeram]

7 minutes ago, TomTom92 said:

Think the signings in defence have been quality with Warne/recruitment deserving praise. Best defence in the league IMO.
 
Think some of the names linked with improving us offensively are shoddy. Really disappointing to see us not go in for some of the freebies such as Smith and Knibbs. 
 
Think we’re 3 quality signings away from autos. As things stand we’re 6/7/8th in the league standard.

I think you are probably spot on.  I am disappointed with the forward line links so far.  Defensive wise, I agree with you that we should be a lot more solid at the back

[MadAmster]

6 hours ago, sage said:

These are artificial constraints and are a punishment still. I agree we need to be sustainable and not splash silly wages and fees, but spending £1.5m on a 24 yr old on 8k a week is more sustainable than buying three 31 year olds for £500k each on 10k a week. Especially if we have raised money through sales and sold 21k season tickets. 

Imagine if we had unearthed another Bellingham and sold him for £30m and could only spend £500k.  

You can thank Mel for that. All clubs exiting Admin are put under restrictions for the first 2 years, having to keep to an agreed business plan. This is our 2nd year. It's not that often that clubs get the type of reduction we have had this season. Those were the rules when Mel put us into Admin. Those are still the rules today. You're right when you say it's a punishment. One we were aware of the second Mel put us into Admin. 

Just be glad we are allowed to pay "moderate fees" and the wage cap has been increased.

[FlyBritishMidland]

Yes, our budget is bigger than last year.  We’re probably paying higher salaries and can also pay agents and loan fees.  In terms of transfer fees, I think if we spend anything it’ll be in region of £250k-ish for a player.

PW will have an overall budget and it’s up to him, Mark Thomas and Stephen Pearce how it’s spent.  It’ll be balanced across wages, agents fees, transfers, etc. and used wisely to get the most we can for it.

[sage]

2 minutes ago, FlyBritishMidland said:

Yes, our budget is bigger than last year.  We’re probably paying higher salaries and can also pay agents and loan fees.  In terms of transfer fees, I think if we spend anything it’ll be in region of £250k-ish for a player.

PW will have an overall budget and it’s up to him, Mark Thomas and Stephen Pearce how it’s spent.  It’ll be balanced across wages, agents fees, transfers, etc. and used wisely to get the most we can for it.

Knight and Bielik were in the top 3 earners. I think the jury is out on the budget, there is no clear evidence yet. 

[CBRammette]

Presumably some budget will go to offering existing players that we want to keep improved longer contracts? Cant see this mentioned anywhere

[Caerphilly Ram]

5 minutes ago, CBRammette said:

Presumably some budget will go to offering existing players that we want to keep improved longer contracts? Cant see this mentioned anywhere

That’s a great shout, reinvesting the wages saved on Bielik/Knight in new contracts for Cashin, Bird, Sibley etc wouldn’t be the worst idea. 

[Rev]

The budget has to be whatever DC sets. 

If he can't stretch to releasing more money from his own pocket, so be it, it needs no explanation.

I think some people are under the impression we can spend whatever we bring in through transfers, and add it to a pot that already exists.

Probably not the case, no matter how constrained our business was last season, and how much extra income we've achieved through season tickets, the great attendance figures last season, and the like, I'll bet we still lost money in League One. 

This is the reality that MM left us with.

[uttoxram75]

I think we are still under an EFL punishment limiting what we can spend. If all the random and unique restrictions made up just to relegate us have been lifted I'll be very surprised.

Maybe someone like @Ghost of Clough can explain exactly what Parry/Gibson rules of destroying Derby still exist?

 

 

[I have nothing to say]

4 hours ago, oldtimeram said:

I'm curious to know.  How do folk feel about the business we have done so far, the players we are linked with and the ones that got away?

Are we stronger than last season and based upon the players we have now do you think we are good enough to get promoted?

Coming along nicely, much more balance to the side. Count me as happy so far.

[Ram1988]

4 hours ago, oldtimeram said:

I'm curious to know.  How do folk feel about the business we have done so far, the players we are linked with and the ones that got away?

Are we stronger than last season and based upon the players we have now do you think we are good enough to get promoted?

I feel we have done well. Getting in seasoned professionals who have experience of getting promoted and fit the PW style of the play.

The one massive weakness we have is a lack of goal scorers. Hopefully that could be addressed with one or two signings though.

[MaltRam]

We have no evidence on the size of the budget except the statements that we were under budget last term and have reduced the squad size. 

There is a lot of window left.

Chill your beans people.

[Raich Carter]

2 hours ago, Needlesh said:

We have no evidence on the size of the budget except the statements that we were under budget last term and have reduced the squad size. 

There is a lot of window left.

Chill your beans people.

Agreed. Transfer windows often have a lot of moving parts. Club X has to get rid of 4 players to free up money to sign Player Y but another club is waiting in the wings with a slightly reduced offer so it's a waiting game to see who blinks first - does Player Y take his 2nd choice offer now or hold out for his move with Club X, etc.

Flip side is Club X want £200k for a player, we offer £150k and they're sat on the offer hoping because time is running out, we'll panic and pay the extra. Imagine that across the Champ, L1 and L2 - there's a hell of a lot going on, I'm sure.

And I guess the more interest there is for a player, the more irons in fires he has so it goes on.

[MadAmster]

14 hours ago, Rev said:

The budget has to be whatever DC sets. 

If he can't stretch to releasing more money from his own pocket, so be it, it needs no explanation.

I think some people are under the impression we can spend whatever we bring in through transfers, and add it to a pot that already exists.

Probably not the case, no matter how constrained our business was last season, and how much extra income we've achieved through season tickets, the great attendance figures last season, and the like, I'll bet we still lost money in League One. 

This is the reality that MM left us with.

We probably have a healthy bank balance. We underspent last season's budget that was based on average gates of 17K. Whatever the underspend was, we have that. We also got income from the 10,259 extra folk through the gate each game, over and above the budget. At 20 notes a pop (average) that's around £6M which we also should still have. We're not spending it on £3M for a Clarke-Harris or similar as that probably wouldn't be viewed as a "moderate" fee. It's not rocket science.

[Ambitious]

The budget will be revealed at the end of the window when the dust has settled. We no doubt have to be careful with what we spend, regardless. I don't see us spending £2-3m on a Jonson Clarke Harris (for example) like a few on here do, but do think there will be money in the budget for the right player. We're almost exclusively focusing on the three positions at the top of the pitch now and probably need 3 or 4 incomings. 

[Dambuster]

Nobody’s mentioned in the discussion about spending incoming fees from Knight and Bielik that we still owe Arsenal some dosh, how much and how it is structured we probably won’t get to know.

[Raich Carter]

29 minutes ago, Dambuster said:

Nobody’s mentioned in the discussion about spending incoming fees from Knight and Bielik that we still owe Arsenal some dosh, how much and how it is structured we probably won’t get to know.

Yeah, we have 🙂