January Reinforcements

[Ghost of Clough]

13 minutes ago, Barney1991 said:

Not concerning but alarming that we could miss out on targets who are into the last 6 months of their contracts not going to cost a fortune and could get us out of the league while we are non a great position. What’s he going to do if we go up to the championship and we can’t compete with tinpot league 1 clubs? 

But players with 6 months on the contract will still cost a fee. They'll also have wages and agent fees to consider. That one player could cost 10% of our total playing budget for the season - and we'll want to sign 3 or 4 players.

[TINMANTED]

38 minutes ago, Ghost of Clough said:

Would it be concerning? We may earn more than others clubs, but Clowes may have made the decision to run us more sustainably. For example, Charlton have averaged losses of £7.5m since they were relegated from the Championship. Clubs such as Oxford have also taken this season to push the boat out in an attempt to get promoted too.

surely the fact that oxford are pushing the boat out and gambling on promotion highlights the financial importance they put on getting out of this league 

[JuanFloEvraTheCocu'sNesta]

41 minutes ago, Kernow said:

If players like CBT end up being out of reach because of finances then I would find it concerning. Obviously he could easily end up being announced in the next few ways, but it’s not great to hear a manager being downbeat about additions that might make the difference between getting out of this league or not.

I don’t want it look like I’m calling for money to be thrown at getting out of this division recklessly. I’m not, we’ve been there & got the t-shirt. But if we aren’t financially in a position to pip other teams to signings in this league, then it comes down quality of recruitment, which I wouldn’t be overly confident about yet.

If we aren't financially in a position to pip other teams to signings in this league what hope do we have in the Championship against teams like Leicester who are lobbing cash around like they never got relegated?

[Topram]

“Nothing imminent” so the potential 2 players can’t be that close 

[Wolfie20]

4 minutes ago, TINMANTED said:

surely the fact that oxford are pushing the boat out and gambling on promotion highlights the financial importance they put on getting out of this league 

Are you suggesting we 'gamble' along with the likes of Oxford? If they fail to go up having spent more than was originally budgeted for then they are going to be in even more of a straight jacket next season.

I'd be really disappointed if Clowes went down this path just to satisfy the aspirations of a few fans and don't for one minute think he will.

[Kernow]

Just now, JuanFloEvraTheCocu'sNesta said:

If we aren't financially in a position to pip other teams to signings in this league what hope do we have in the Championship against teams like Leicester who are lobbing cash around like they never got relegated?

I would hope the additional income from being in the Championship would allow us to compete at a level where we aren’t coming straight back down again. We found it tough to properly compete with parachute payments before and ended up in a mess, I don’t think we’re in any danger of competing with them any time soon whether we go up or not.

[Ian Buxton's Bat]

25 minutes ago, Barney1991 said:

And judging by Leigh Curtis last piece we are starting to go back to the bare bones again through injuries 

Wilson ward and Forsyth all out 

Not great news is it?

Of course any player can get injured but I think this should rule out any speculative punts on players who are known to be injury prone or who are just coming back from injury.

[Tamworthram]

15 minutes ago, TINMANTED said:

surely the fact that oxford are pushing the boat out and gambling on promotion highlights the financial importance they put on getting out of this league 

Gambling on getting promoted? Haven’t we been there, done that? And that was a gamble where the prize (moving from the Championship into the Premier League) was surely significantly bigger than moving from League 1 up to the Championship.

[ram59]

38 minutes ago, Barney1991 said:

What’s he going to do if we go up to the championship and we can’t compete with tinpot league 1 clubs? 

Under the current tv deal lg 1 clubs receive about £6m less than championship clubs, I think that a new deal is in place for next season and the gap will be even bigger. That extra £6m+ should ensure that will easily compete with tinpot lg1 clubs, if we're in the championship next season.

[Caerphilly Ram]

12 minutes ago, Wolfie20 said:

Are you suggesting we 'gamble' along with the likes of Oxford? If they fail to go up having spent more than was originally budgeted for then they are going to be in even more of a straight jacket next season.

I'd be really disappointed if Clowes went down this path just to satisfy the aspirations of a few fans and don't for one minute think he will.

Agreed.
And we can also add in the fact we do still have to comply with the club’s proposed budget to the EFL. I take that to mean we could gamble….but only within whatever means Clowes and co have presented to the EFL for approval….whereas Oxford and others aren’t subject to the same agreement. 
It feels like some have lost sight of that, not debating whether it’s classed as a restriction or not as others were the other day, just highlighting that we are subject to whatever was agreed, that must only flex so far.

[Returning ram]

According to the inside source, a player that would demand a six figure fee was shown around the training ground Monday. Two days later, they have since revealed, players like Sibley and Smith would need to leave due to finances to fund deals.

It sounds to me, if correct, money is available to fund transfers, but we need to stay inside a salary budget.
 

No need to panic, I still expect a player to be through the doors very shortly 😏

[Nuwtfly]

59 minutes ago, Ghost of Clough said:

Clubs at this level are all in the same boat. It's a couple players on frees or loans unless they can sell/release players to give themselves more wiggle room.

This is difficult to swallow when you see Charlton managing to sign Alfie May (one of the top scorers in the division this summer) and Johnson Clarke-Harris for what looks to be under £1m combined.

As other posters have said, I'm not calling for money to be thrown at the wall. We've all learnt our lessons there. But I am concerned about the financial power that our current ownership has if I'm honest and this is only going to become more prevalent if we get promoted. 

Edited January 11 by Nuwtfly

[Comrade 86]

18 hours ago, sage said:

Maybe it is the wage bill that is the sticking point.

This has been my hunch since the last window. I;ve been wondering whether this is where the enforced business plan might not be helping us. It's no use having the wherewithal to buy the players we need if we have an effective salary cap that prevents us paying the £10K +++ they are demanding. I suspect we can offer some hefty promotion bonuses though, so trying to look on the bright side, perhaps the players we CAN land will be more up for the fight than mercenaries who choose instant profit over longer-term prosperity and the chance to play in front of 30K not 15.

I understand folks' frustrations, but the way they direct and express them a little less. Clowes will take an absolute clattering if expectations are not met, as will Warne, but are we in possession of the facts? I don't feel like I am to be honest. General comment btw mate, not in any way directed at you, just you raised an interesting point which I think rings true.

[Barney1991]

Even worse to the fact that if we were to go up on current squad without serious investment we could get trounced in the championship without serious investment. I’d say this squad is a lot weaker than Ipswich and I’d say Plymouth and Sheffield weds went up with better squads and Sheffield Wednesday have struggled albeit getting a bit of momentum under a very good and highly rated manager. 

[Barney1991]

25 minutes ago, Returning ram said:

According to the inside source, a player that would demand a six figure fee was shown around the training ground Monday. Two days later, they have since revealed, players like Sibley and Smith would need to leave due to finances to fund deals.

It sounds to me, if correct, money is available to fund transfers, but we need to stay inside a salary budget.
 

No need to panic, I still expect a player to be through the doors very shortly 😏

This sounds to me then like the wage bill is right at the top of our agreed plan or what we can pay for league 1. Albeit smith and Hourihane are likely to be 2 of them. Maybe Rosenior had to pay more wages to get the experience in as to not paying a salary 

Edited January 11 by Barney1991

[Comrade 86]

5 hours ago, MackworthRamIsGod said:

He popped round for a coffee and a chinwag.

It was the lure of the sausages on offer.

Ooh err, matron.

 

 

 

 

 

[Ghost of Clough]

1 minute ago, Barney1991 said:

Even worse to the fact that if we were to go up on current squad without serious investment we could get trounced in the championship without serious investment. I’d say this squad is a lot weaker than Ipswich and I’d say Plymouth and Sheffield weds went up with better squads and Sheffield Wednesday have struggled albeit getting a bit of momentum under a very good and highly rated manager. 

Ipswich - 8 summer signings
Plymouth - 10 summer signings
Sheff Weds - 12 summer signings

In summary, it doesn't matter how good your squad is in League 1, you'll end up signing half a new squad anyway. We have 11+ players I would be comfortable having in a Championship squad (even if not regular starters).A couple of quality signings this month eases the summer burden, so I don't share your current concerns

[Barney1991]

So if we don’t get anyone over the line and go with what we have and warne publicly states we couldn’t do anything due to money yet the club put out that money would be made available for January and the squad gets burnt out by the end and misses out on promotion who does everyone blame let me guess warne will be to blame? 
 

 

Edited January 11 by Barney1991

[BramcoteRam84]

We’re still operating under a business plan which is as much destined to stifle our competitiveness as a penalty for going into administration as to protect us from further mismanagement. Yes we can pay transfer fees but it all has to come from the same pot. Next season we will really see our financial power with being technically left to our own devices, it could be Clowes is happy with the budget we’re operating and doesn’t want to move from that which would be a concern.

Also concerning, Leigh Curtis also mentions in his article about Warne alluding to a number of players who are about to trigger contract extensions based on appearances!! We got into trouble with under Mel with the likes of Benty Bradley Johnson and others, if Smith and Hourihane for example are on similar deals then that means we’ll be saddled with their high wages next season which will mean we’re still restricted in what we can do. Both of these players are ones we should be thanking for their contribution and moving on in the summer IMO. 

[Wolfie20]

25 minutes ago, Nuwtfly said:

This is difficult to swallow when you see Charlton managing to sign Alfie May (one of the top scorers in the division this summer) and Johnson Clarke-Harris for what looks to be under £1m combined.

As other posters have said, I'm not calling for money to be thrown at the wall. We've all learnt our lessons there. But I am concerned about the financial power that our current ownership has if I'm honest and this is only going to become more prevalent if we get promoted. 

But IF we get promoted isn't that in itself likely to be more attractive to potential investors and I say investors rather than new owners since I'd be more than happy for Clowes to remain in control for the foreseeable future. Leicester has been mentioned in a recent post but financially we haven't a cat in hells chance of competing with any club receiving parachute payments or/and receiving £40m+ for just one player. Our level is more likely to be competing with the likes of Hull, Blackburn, WBA etc and stabilising our position back in the Championship.