[Standaman]

One signing or indeed sale isn't going to make of break this summer. We have returned to a squad count of 20, therefore 4 to sign which is quite a bit to do assuming no further departures and  at this point I don't think we can assume that.

[Baggies]

3 players out of the door this week then, leaves the squad with some gaps.

You can make a rational argument for what we have done, 3 players in their final years of their contracts, 2 of which would have needed replacing at the end of next summer anyway and all of them bringing in fees to cover our deficit. Just cant shake the feeling we have maybe let them go a bit cheaply. Combined fees of around £4m for your best centre forward, best central midfielder and only out and out left back.

Diakite always looked like Yokuslu's replacement, so provided he stays fit you could argue he is a slight upgrade due to his age. What happens next is what matters though. I'm hoping the club have a couple of clever loans, plus one or two younger players coming in on perm deals to refresh the squad.

My worry is that mid way through October, we arent sat here with a gaping hole at left back, an injured Diakite and Karlan Grant toiling up front.

[Albionfan1983]

So we are going to lose Okay Yoku?lu.

State of the squad (30th July)

GK) Alex Palmer, Joe Wildsmith

DF) Semi Ajayi, Darnell Furlong, Kyle Bartley, Paddy McNair, Torbjørn Heggem, Caleb Taylor

MD) Jayson Molumby, John Swift, Ousmane Diakité, Alex Mowatt, Tom Fellows, Grady Diagana, Jed Wallace

FW) Karlan Grant, Daryl Dike, Josh Maja, Devante Cole


Dike is still injured

Under 21's

Modou Faal
Ollie Bostock
Ted Cann
Harry Whitwell
Reyes Clary
Fenton Heard
Josh Shaw
Reece Hall

Updated

[DevonInStripes]

Made me laugh ‘ a replacement for Marshall ‘ ! That signing turned out well didn’t it .

[KN22]

I welcome this squad revamp. Having argued strongly last season that the squad was not nearly as good as some believed, I am certainly not going to complain now that it’s being dismantled. Of course we need some incoming deals but I have confidence that those will happen.

[Baggies]

Definitely get the argument KN22. This is just the foundations of a smart transfer policy, atleast from a selling point of view. Much has been written about our failure to sell players at the right time in the last decade and a half. Patel arrives and already we are seeing a different approach.

The equally important bit is how we replace them. We dont have much of a track record to go on so far, so it is going to be a nervy wait while we find out.

[beechyboy90]

Spine of last season has gone. Don Carlos remit is keep us in the division again this season. Big rebuild might not be pretty at times but exciting to see some younger hungrier blood.

[baggiebof]

Interesting strategy so far in that we have recruited a couple of younger players we hope will develop and blossom whilst also bringing in some seemingly cheap squad filler on shirt term deals.

I think the latter cohort have been brought in with next summer in mind as we have lots of players out of contract who will be too expensive to resign: Diangana, Ajayi, Furlong, Molumby, Swift. Bringing those players in means we can loan some of our young prospects so that they are ready to step up next season or the one after.

[tylerm]

I didn’t fully understand FFP so I did some investigation and now I believe we will have 12 more months of keeping our heads above water and even the actions we have taken still may be not enough
A club can lose £41 million pounds over a rolling 3 year period.
Our figures are
2022 £5 million profit
2023 £11 million loss
2024 figures not out yet but will be much worse so anticipated
2024 £30 million loss.
Total loss over 3 years £36 million
As its a rolling loss over 3 years this current year the £5 million profit drops out of the calculation so we must do no worse than a loss of nil
In short we have to find £30 million from somewhere to avoid a points deduction.
This is the worst season as big losses will drop out of the calculation.
This is a simplistic view of our situation but we are still in a financial mess.

[BaggiePhil]

I didn’t fully understand FFP so I did some investigation and now I believe we will have 12 more months of keeping our heads above water and even the actions we have taken still may be not enough
A club can lose £41 million pounds over a rolling 3 year period.
Our figures are
2022 £5 million profit
2023 £11 million loss
2024 figures not out yet but will be much worse so anticipated
2024 £30 million loss.
Total loss over 3 years £36 million
As its a rolling loss over 3 years this current year the £5 million profit drops out of the calculation so we must do no worse than a loss of nil
In short we have to find £30 million from somewhere to avoid a points deduction.
This is the worst season as big losses will drop out of the calculation.
This is a simplistic view of our situation but we are still in a financial mess.

If this analysis is close to the reality of our situation then I think the moves we have made both in terms of ins and outs have been very shrewd. It helps me understand bringing in Devante Cole and shows that the board and CC are doing the best job they can under difficult circumstances.

[Albionfan1983]

Good job the season doesn't start this Saturday

Team

Palmer

Furlong
Ajayi
Bartley
Heggam

Wallace
McNair
Mowatt
Fellows
Swift

Grant

Subs

Wildsmith
Taylor
Maja
Molumby
Diakite
Cole
Heard
Clary
Bostock

[Blowee]

I didn’t fully understand FFP so I did some investigation and now I believe we will have 12 more months of keeping our heads above water and even the actions we have taken still may be not enough
A club can lose £41 million pounds over a rolling 3 year period.
Our figures are
2022 £5 million profit
2023 £11 million loss
2024 figures not out yet but will be much worse so anticipated
2024 £30 million loss.
Total loss over 3 years £36 million
As its a rolling loss over 3 years this current year the £5 million profit drops out of the calculation so we must do no worse than a loss of nil
In short we have to find £30 million from somewhere to avoid a points deduction.
This is the worst season as big losses will drop out of the calculation.
This is a simplistic view of our situation but we are still in a financial mess.

If your figures are accurate and we can lose up to £41m over 3 years then why can’t we lose £10m in 2025 and still be ok?

[overseas baggie]

If your figures are accurate and we can lose up to £41m over 3 years then why can’t we lose £10m in 2025 and still be ok?

Because that would be £51m, not £41m!   (£11m + £30m + £10m).

It’s what I remain 100% convinced that we will sell Tom Fellows for a big fee either this summer or next summer.

[Blowee]

Because that would be £51m, not £41m!   (£11m + £30m + £10m).

It’s what I remain 100% convinced that we will sell Tom Fellows for a big fee either this summer or next summer.

My Maths on that one clearly out! I suppose it depends on the 2024 loss. I’ve seen other estimates that it’s heading for £24m which would leave £6m. That assumes no extra revenue and no reduction in costs. If we have made money from player outgoings and significantly reduced our wage bill then perhaps we can spend up to £10m between now and the end of 2025.

[Baltic]

Mr. Patel is doing what we have needed since JP left.  That is; running the club to a plan with a sustainable budget.  I can see that our squad overall could be weaker than last years and expectations need to be set accordingly.  However, it does mark a fresh start with a future where transfers make a positive contribution and revenues are increased through smarter commercial activities.

If (and we should certainly be able to) we acquire at least some players with appreciating values our financial situation will turnaround quite quickly.  But unfortunately 'patience' which is always unpopular will be required.

In summary, I'd be surprised if we don't have 4 or 5 (2 already done) new players aged 21-24 who have genuine potenatial to grow in value when the squad is complete.  If we add some loans and with KC in charge, that should still provide some hope of success this season.

[Pie]

Need a new left back now and still a RB in my opinion (maybe one that can cover both sides).

Another CM to replace Yokuslu and another striker on loan.

[Standaman]

I posted this http://westbrom.com/forum/index.php?topic=28654.msg939046#msg939046 about a week ago on the financial health topic. I don't want to side track this topic to talk about finance but it is really difficult for the club to balance the books here.

There is a huge amount of work happening behind the scenes what has happened this week goes someway to close the gap, but I don't think we are entirely there yet and somehow we have to find another 4 recruits between now and transfer deadline day.

[paulosull]

Think the club have given out ridiculous contracts over the last few years and now the chicken’s have come home to roost. Remember watching Ben Foster on his podcast and showing his weekly wage of £40 k when it was being reported at the time that he was on £17 k. Think fans would be shocked if we new the weekly wage of senior pro’s at club.

[Aussie Baggie]

Having read through all of this and knowing the player movements to this date, I think we have to accept that promotion or even playoffs are very long odds.  Probably best to just survive and not get relegated - this has to be the main goal of the club and one we should all adopt as well.

At least CC and Patel look like they are doing all they can to get the club back to what it was before Lai destroyed it.

[Blowee]

Unless we can recruit a significant number of gems in the next few weeks I’m writing off this season. I’m not blaming the club or its approach. It’s necessary and has to be taken. For me, the best investment would be in our scouting department with an eye to the future. We need to be able to spot younger talent that we can bring into the club to develop and nurture for the future. The players we have let go I understand. The signing of Cole I don’t. We can’t restock our squad with ageing players without the potential to improve us in the short term and enable us to make a profit by selling them in the medium term. Critical to improving our squad is recruitment - currently I don’t believe we have the infrastructure at the club to get that right.

[colinmax]

 At last we seem to have an owner who is an astute business man and it appears he naturally wants us to succeed on the field as well as financially.I think he will adopt Brentford's moneyball policy and get players offering the most promise and value.I hope i am right.

[royhan]

Swansea’s recruiting team seems to operating in a different part of the world to ours. They seem to be signing players from far and wide. Only time will tell how they adapt to Championship football.

[DevonInStripes]

Once again comes down to the recruitment team to improve on previous seasons signings.

[johnny Cash]

Once again comes down to the recruitment team to improve on previous seasons signings.

Doesn’t inspire confidence does it. It’s one thing Patel and the board having a plan, which is great, but our recruitment need to be a big part of actioning it

[robnewbold]

I think it just shows how close we were to disaster and how close we still are unless we get this exactly right.
The current owners seem to know precisely what they are doing, which is to take decisive action to reduce the wage bill whilst trying to maintain the backbone of a team that can maintain our current Championship position.
 To be honest looking at the situation in the cold light of day, we are all going to have to be patient. It looks like it could take at least two seasons before we could mount any serious assault on promotion. if at all.
At least we have the best Manager to deal with this and it increasing looks like the best ownership also. It is going to be a long struggle.