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Topics - overseas baggie

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1
West Bromwich Albion FC / Sales value of our players
« on: December 30, 2022, 08:02:24 AM »

Okay is only 28.  Close to his peak career over the next 2 years. Has 2.5 years left on his contract.  Signed for free, but high wages for the Championship (rumoured to be £30k/week).

Must be worth £5m now to the half a dozen Championship sides with good financial resources and even more to 3 or 4 lower Premier League teams if we end up being forced to sell to raise cash.   Superb Bosman signing.

Jed Wallace is 2 weeks younger.  Has 3.5 years left on his contract so possibly even more valuable in the transfer market to the same batch of clubs.

Don’t care what anyone says - those two are worth £10m between them for the next 12-18 months (I suspect we have a year’s extra option on Yokuslu).

John Swift is only 27 - not yet in the same bracket but also has decent transfer value.

Palmer, TGH, BTA, Mulumby and Taylor are also rapidly becoming valuable if we ever have to sell them to raise cash. O’Shea too has decent value, and clearly Grant, Dike and Diangana would fetch decent fees (what we paid for them is irrelevant if we end up needing to sell).

For those panicking about the risks of administration - don’t.  It’s been a while since we’ve owned so many players with decent sales value rather than being over-dependent on loan players.

We need to continue to be astute in the recruitment market.  Sell a player for decent cash and cherry-pick two Bosmans.  Our record when signing players for sub-£1m transfer fees over the past decade has been excellent. By contrast our record when signing players for big fees (over £5m) has been very poor (Chadli, Grant, Diangana, Zohore) although I think we will do fine out of Dike for £7m.   

Knowing when to cash in and sell players for decent sums is going to be key.  That’s likely to be the case with several of the above players.  They are all replaceable - if we sell well, scout/recruit well, and capitalise on the excellent academy.  That’s where real squad value gets created.  Not one of Yokuslu, Wallace, Swift, Palmer, TGH, BTA, Mulumby, Taylor or Dike were here AND ours AND in the core first team squad 18 months ago. We’re in a far better place than many of us realise!




2
West Bromwich Albion FC / Tom Fellows
« on: December 27, 2021, 05:58:50 PM »

What a breath of fresh air.   He and TGH simply have to start games very soon and become regulars.  They offer so much more than several of those keeping them out of the side

3
West Bromwich Albion FC / Ferguson and Barry
« on: May 17, 2021, 09:24:36 AM »
Does anyone know what the position is re the fees due to us in respect of Ferguson and Barry ?

Re Ferguson it may well be more complicated due to insurance/legal aspects, but what can Barcelona's excuse be re Barry?   It's outrageous that they can delay payment to another club in another UEFA member country without getting a transfer ban.

4
West Bromwich Albion FC / Next annual accounts
« on: March 28, 2019, 09:32:37 AM »
The audited accounts to 30th June 2018 have to be filed at Companies House by 31st Match (Sunday), which effectively means by close of business tomorrow (Friday).

Should make very interesting reading as we find out why the overdraft was required.

5
Darren’s sacking highlights this clash of needs.

After the Pulis/Pardew shitshows, this club needed stabilizing and bringing back together. DM did that better than anybody else could have done.

What the club then needed was a rebuild. Dismantle an ageing and unbalanced squad, and pull together a younger, vibrant, hungry squad with a constant flow of talent from our Academy.  Such a large-scale rebuild was always going to take several transfer windows. DM was the man to do that.  But the transition needed more financial backing
than Lai was able/willing to give.

DM also needed the correct Number Two.  He wanted Jones and he got Jones, but it seems clear now that Jones was not the right man. Maybe his own personal ambitions and determination to play his way (with a squad not yet suited to playing that way) got in the way.

Two things were needed - time and money.  It seems clear that Lai has been caught up in Chinese government exchange control restrictions preventing him from investing more money, although he said on day one that the club would be run to be self-sufficient.  But this has been the crux of the issue.  Lai needed an instant promotion to recoup his investment but couldn’t give DM (or anyone else) the tools to do the job properly. As a result, we have had a sticking plaster solution of loans and cheap free signings of ageing players, and we are even further away from starting the required rebuild.  DM had no time to learn on the job, and his number two was really not helping.   A run of bad results and bad performances at the wrong time, and Lai’s short-termism comes to the fore, taking over from any longer term plan.

I said back in the autumn that it would take us 2 seasons to get up under DM. Anything quicker was a bonus.  With only one year of substantial parachute payments left, DM’s replacement is going to be hampered even more by Lai’s short-termism.   

We are sleepwalking into exactly the same mistakes that many other relegated clubs have made.  We need a sustainable rebuild plan, we need to stick with it, and we need to back it. It needs the right manager to head it up, and above all it needs backing and patience by the owner.   I just cannot see that happening under Lai.



6
West Bromwich Albion FC / Is relegation so bad?
« on: April 10, 2018, 12:57:08 AM »
In recent weeks with our prospects looking so bleak, I began to question whether getting relegated was so bad after all.

Let's think it through.

Relegation means a big drop in revenue, despite the parachute payments.  But as fans does that directly affect us?  Unless anyone is part of the 12% minority stake shareholders (and even then it's a moot point), no it doesn't.  The extra revenue only goes in four directions.  1) to the players in the form of wages. 2) to the players' agents.  3) to the clubs from which we buy players. 4) if there's a profit after all of that, to the shareholders.  It really doesn't affect the rest of us whether we get £130m, £100m or £50m of TV money.

We miss out on the opportunity to compete and test ourselves against the big clubs.  Well, even after 8 years in the Premier League we haven't been interested in testing ourselves and competing against them most of the time.  We, and about 14 other clubs, prefer to mitigate the damage, stuff 9 men behind the ball and aim for either a 0-0 or to just keep it respectable.  Sure, we like to go and watch the superstars from the top clubs but we can do that on TV.  Let's not kid ourselves - we've regularly gone into games against them with no ambition whatsoever to try and win.  So will we miss it?

For 14 clubs in the Premier League it's all about survival - nothing else.  Even getting into the Europa League would be a poisoned chalice as it over-stretches the squad and increases the risk of relegation the following season.  Once survival is achieved that's it - ceiling reached.  Staleness sets in and we have to motivate everybody to start again and repeat the following season with the same glass ceiling in place.  Not much of an incentive.  (Please don't throw the Leicester example back at me - all that did was cause the big clubs to go out and spend so much more that a Leicester will not happen again).

So we've got stale, Stoke, Southampton, Palace, Swansea, West Ham have got stale.  The promoted clubs, Newcastle, Brighton and probably Huddersfield will all probably stay up this year.  They came up and have given it a go, less afraid of the threat of relegation. With less fear they've picked up more points, as have Burnley and Watford over the past 2/3 seasons.  Their own staleness has not yet arrived.  They are enjoying the novelty but be under no illusions - how can Burnley progress?  They've hit their ceiling.  Dyche will get poached sooner or later, as will 3 or 4 of their top players. How do they keep themselves motivated?  Give it another 2-3 years and they'll be following us. 

Going down and trying to bounce back is actually more exciting. Our objective and ambition next season has to be to go out and try to win every game. Unlike what we've witnessed in the Premier League.  We can rebuild the club, with younger hungrier players, and hopefully with a more ambitious manager. And if we succeed in getting back up, the expectation levels will be lower and we'll maybe take more risks, but mere survival will be the glass ceiling again. Give it time and the Premier League staleness syndrome will return.  Rinse and repeat.

No, the promised land of the Premier League is not all milk and honey.  The riches of being in the Premier League mean very little to any of us.  They are a mirage.  Clubs and players but a gut to get there. It's their time in the sun. But when the novelty has worn off it can only go one way, firstly to staleness, and secondly, ultimately to relegation and its then somebody else's turn on the merry go round. Wolves, Cardiff, Villa, Fulham, Derby, Middlesbrough are all big clubs - as big as us and and in some cases arguably bigger.  What do they have in common?  They've come up, gone back down again, regrouped and done it again.  They are enjoying the ride and the promotion chase as much as they will the first 2 or 3 years back in the Premier League if they survive.  Can they break into the big 6?  Who knows, but my money would be on most of them being back in the Championship in 2/3 years time and their fans asking themselves whether it was all REALLY worth it once the novelty wore off?

I won't say that I relish relegation as the Championship is a very tough division to get out of, but in my view it just isn't the disaster that some think.  I'd go as far as to say that the Premier League really is losing a lot of its appeal with the top 6 so far ahead financially.  I'd love to see them sod off to a European Super League and be replaced by 6 Championship sides. Then we'd have a far better product than the Premier League as it stands right now.





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West Bromwich Albion FC / Something smells.....
« on: June 25, 2017, 09:00:41 AM »
There is something distinctly odd going on. 

Pulis has been silent since his trip to China to find out his transfer budget and it's obvious that he can't afford to resign.  He's seen his trusted lieutenant Fletcher leave, and it seems clear the the club is not discouraging approaches for Evans to raise significant funds.

It sure looks like the club has no significant money to spend just to get the squad up to a minimum size, let alone to strengthen.

Has Lai spent all of his available funds in order to fund the purchase from Peace, with nothing left to buy players?  Has Peace cleaned out the club?   Has Lai been caught up in exchange control restrictions in China preventing him from transferring funds abroad?

Something really smells and it's extremely worrying.

8
West Bromwich Albion FC / Matt Phillips' absence
« on: May 13, 2017, 08:08:33 PM »
The absence of Brunt and Morrison hit us very hard last season, but this season I think it was the absence of Matt Phillips which has really damaged us.  Our attacking options without Phillips have been drastically reduced, and we really have missed him.

Much as I think Livermore is a decent player, I don't think that trying to accommodate him in our formation has helped us either.

9
West Bromwich Albion FC / The next window
« on: January 31, 2017, 11:29:41 PM »
The next transfer window is going to be a big crossroads.  We are going to need to buy 5 or 6 players and, based on their recent track record, it is hard to have any confidence of is buying more than 2 or 3 players.

We will have to shop in the European shops, and we will have to start buying a lot earlier in the window than we are used to.  Are the recruitment team up to it?  Doesn't seem like it to me.

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West Bromwich Albion FC / What a squad rebuild might look like
« on: April 09, 2016, 10:31:47 AM »
If we assume that Tony Pulis is staying, and that the £30m of extra TV money is available to invest in the squad, the potential scale of the rebuild is massive.

The loan wages of Sandro and Pritchard will obviously go (unless we keep Sandro).  Anichebe will be gone, I suspect Olssen will be gone, Lambert is likely to be paid off to go, and either Myhill or Lindegaard are likely to go.  Gamboa and Pocognoli will surely be offloaded as well.  That's 8 off the wage bill, with probably no transfer monies received.

Nothing is signed yet re Morrison or Sessignon in terms of new contracts.  I wouldn't be surprised to see one or both sold for around £2m each.   So that's 9 or 10 gone, and a lot of older players put out to pasture. 

Sales wise, Berahino will be gone for £20m-plus, Chester could well go for £5m, and I suspect McManaman will go for around £4m. That means 12 or 13 gone.  A massive overhaul.

With the assumed extra £30m of new money, plus around £30m of transfer receipts, plus the removal of a lot of wages from the payroll, we are likely to be one of the most active clubs in the summer transfer window.

Those 12 or 13 obviously need to be replaced to maintain the squad size.  But what about our exciting Academy players?  Do we send the likes of Leko and Roberts out on loan to get experience or do we potentially let them sit on the bench all season?   Or do we actively blood them in the team and not just the squad? 

We'd have a residual core of

Foster
Myhill or Lindegaard
Dawson
Evans
McAuley
Brunt
McClean
Fletcher
Yacob (who could also be sold)
Morrison or Sessignon
Rondon

The key questions then are:

1. Do we trust Tony Pulis to bring in 12/13 new players?   Is it better to rely on him to do this rebuild than a new manager?   It really is a massive project to oversee.

2. Is he going to be buying players for the team or just for the squad?   How many of the above core is he going to see as mere squad players going forward?  I'm not comfortable with us spending huge money just to fill the bench. 

3. Where is the much needed pace and width going to come from?

I just hope that we have a clear strategy, and that we bring in players primarily under 27.  I could live with a couple of experienced 30-32 year olds for the bench, but not at a high cost.

If will be an interesting summer for sure.



11
Interested to see what we look to do with our remaining domestic loan. I suspect we will use it for a left back, although someone like Enrique at Liverpool could probably be picked up for a nominal fee with only 6 months left.

I wonder if Spurs will offer us a player as part of a bid for Saido? Perhaps Alex Pritchard who did very well at Brentford last year.

Only of any value to us if it's a player who we could actually use

Pritchard is off to Burnley on loan

12
West Bromwich Albion FC / Transfer fees v wages
« on: January 27, 2016, 01:11:09 PM »
Saw a very interesting statistic recently comparing the links between transfer fees, wages and league finishing positions.

Over a 20-year period (necessary to smooth out oddities like Leicester this year),  in the Premier League and Championship there only around a 16% correlation between transfer fees paid by a club and its average league finishing position.   By contrast, there is around an 89% correlation between wages paid and the average league finishing position over the same period. 

Quite startling statistics which show that just because a player is a "big signing" (record transfer fee etc) it is no guide to likely success.  However, if new signings were already on a high wage elsewhere and this is enhanced to attract them, they are more likely to be a success.

Look at our club.  We've done incredibly well with several players who cost (in relative terms) next to nothing in transfer fees (Mulumbu, Odemwingie, Foster, McAuley, Fletcher), but our biggest "question marks" were when we paid out big money for Rondon, Brown Ideye, Anichebe and (yet to be proved) Chester.   Sessignon has only recently started to show that he's worth what we paid for him.

JP has always hated paying big transfer fees, and with very good reason (he's an accountant after all, and a transfer fee is "dead money" once paid to the selling club. Far better for clubs of our size to pick up players who are 2/3 or 3/4 into their existing contracts (like Evans and, hopefully, Phillips) than to risk paying out big transfer fees.







 

13
West Bromwich Albion FC / Our playing style
« on: December 20, 2015, 04:57:11 PM »
After watching Watford demolish Liverpool this afternoon with high pressing counter attacking football, with pace and width, just as Leicester and Palace and to a lesser extent Bournemouth are also doing, it is impossible not to look back to what seemed a "left field" appointment of Pepe Mel a couple of years ago.  Peace may well have been spot on with the thinking behind that appointment.

Out of curiosity I looked at how Real Betis are doing in La Liga under Pepe Mel this season. The similarities with us are remarkable.  20 points from 16 games, at the top of the bottom third of the league table, and only 13 goals scored (just 19 conceded).   Does anybody else follow Real Betis?  Are they playing the style of football which Pepe tried to bring here?

Whether or not he was the right man for us was not the point of raising this, but it does clearly seem to be a style which the "big clubs" really struggle to deal with and which is enabling smaller clubs than us to punch well above their weight.  It looks like we are rapidly becoming part of a group of dinosaur teams being left behind by a playing revolution which could see three of them/us relegated as the promoted teams keep piling on the points.



14
West Bromwich Albion FC / I think we are safe
« on: March 14, 2015, 05:38:08 PM »

If Burnley don't beat Man City tonight then I think we are safe even with 33 points.  I just cannot see the bottom 3 teams making up 12 points on us (11 points plus a big goal difference which is worth an extra point) with just 9 games each left. 

Leicester, QPR plus one of Burnley, Hull and Sunderland likely to go down.  Villa and Everton should have too much in them to not get to at least 33 points.

15
West Bromwich Albion FC / So exactly what lessons have been learned ?
« on: February 03, 2015, 12:02:04 AM »
We were told by JP that "lessons had been learned"

Perhaps he can explain to us all what those lessons are.

Once again a transfer window at this club has been a complete and utter shambles. Garlick and Burton and Day screw it up once again.  Their heads must roll.

If I was Pulis I would be considering overnight whether to quit based on this shambolic and inept handling of the transfer window.  We knew what we needed, and failed spectacularly to deliver.

Now we are stuck with a left back who knows the boss doesn't rate him, a midfielder who thought he was on his way to a fresh start at Norwich, and a non-scoring striker who thought his personal hell was over with a move to Qatar, all having to play a key role. Oh, and the best centre-back we've had in years who is rightly disgusted at having to play at left back.

How on earth has this been allowed to happen?  Our key support staff are way out of their depth. They proved that previously and they keep proving it but they are still here.

Jeremy - what f*****g lessons learned were you referring to?

       

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West Bromwich Albion FC / A "letter" from "Alan Irvine" to JP
« on: December 28, 2014, 07:40:53 PM »
Dear Jeremy

As I am no fool, I fully realise that you under immense pressure to sack me.  This is a results business, and our results have not been good enough. The club and the fans deserve better.

However, before you and the board formally debate my future, I would like to offer a proposal to you which I believe would be in the club's best interests.

It is clear that I am struggling with the "manager" element of the "head coach" role here.  My credentials as a "manager" at this level are understandably being questioned.  But I believe that my credentials as a senior coach are widely accepted, even by my critics.

Instead of firing me, I would like to propose that my role is restructured.  I would remain as Coach, but with more of an Assistant Manager role.  I would be very happily work as Assistant Manager/Coach to an experienced Premier League manager, which is what I feel this club needs right now.  I appreciate that it would mean having to release my existing assistant coaches, but unfortunately that seems unavoidable. You may of course already be considering that.

I believe I would be as good a number 2 as it is possible to get in the Premiership, and my experience here will stand me in good stead.  At my age, I have no ambition to hold the top job again.  I know my strengths and I am realistic about my future prospects after this job. The next best thing to holding the top job is to be a number 2 in the Premier League.  That is really where I am best suited.

I would also like to play a role in developing the club's fantastic academy. My reputation at Everton in that role was, as you know, very widely recognised.

I have been backed well by you, and I will forever be grateful for the opportunity, but in the best interests of the club I would like to submit this proposal for consideration by the board.  I do realise, naturally, that a manager coming in is quite likely to wish to bring his own assistant, which hopefully will be his prerogative.

Please give consideration to this proposal and let's all work together to move this club forward.

Yours sincerely

"Alan Irvine"




17
West Bromwich Albion FC / Dear Jeremy
« on: December 02, 2014, 11:11:43 PM »
Dear Jeremy

In the summer you apologised to the fans for errors made.  You assured us that lessons had been learned. 

Well it is now clear that no they bloody haven't been learned.  Yet again, you have cut corners and chosen a Head Coach with no credentials for a job at this level.  Yet again, you have forced a Head Coach to work with two assistants who clearly are not up to the task in hand.   Yet again, the recruitment team has wasted a lot of YOUR money.

Surely enough is enough.  We are hurtling towards the Championship.  There is not a glimmer of hope with Irvine, Downing and Kiely running the side.

Your fortune from your shareholding is 5 months away from being halved in value if you don't act NOW, and get in a proven Premiership manager, whether British or foreign,  who can salvage from this position.

Irvine is a decent chap.  Not his fault that he has been hired to do a job which was always way beyond him.

Swallow your pride, protect your fortune, and sort this mess out.  Learn the lessons that you told us you had already learned.  You cannot keep gambling at the roulette table and expect to keep winning.


Yours faithfully

A very large number of Baggies fans who care about this great club


18
West Bromwich Albion FC / Sess v Cesc
« on: November 10, 2014, 09:46:00 PM »
I had to laugh yesterday.  I was in a pub for lunch and the TV was on Sky Sports while AI was being interviewed.  As the TV sound was off, what AI was saying was being displayed word for word on the screen.

With his accent I thought this could get interesting.

Sure enough, when he said that Sess was left out, the screen autotext referred to Cesc Fabregas!  Priceless !

19
West Bromwich Albion FC / First 10 games
« on: November 01, 2014, 05:18:15 PM »
3 wins, 2 draws and just one defeat in our last 6 games, that's 11 points, and 4 clean sheets in 10 league games so far this season.

13 points in 10 games would be 51 points over the season.

Still early days but its a very encouraging first 10 games and I think most of us would have very happily settled for this position at the start of the season.




20
West Bromwich Albion FC / A sudden wave of optimism
« on: August 24, 2014, 07:46:24 PM »
Not sure about anybody else but I'm suddenly on a wave of optimism after the horrifics of last season.

Fantastic new signings, what looks like a well-organised set-up since Terry Burton arrived, JP showing some ambition at last, and a head coach who might just prove the doubters wrong.

Suddenly the Hawthorns looks to be a buzzing place.  Its going to be fun again!


21
West Bromwich Albion FC / Why are we leaving it so late?
« on: August 10, 2014, 11:32:48 AM »
The season is a week away and yet we still have 3 key gaps to fill  and seemingly Dawson and Yacob may be gone (so even more gaps).  Any new signings will have missed all the pre-season games and will take a while to settle in and blend when, looking at the fixtures, we have to hit the ground running.

Why oh why are we leaving it so bloody late?

22
West Bromwich Albion FC / Make Ashworth an offer he can't refuse
« on: February 26, 2014, 08:20:06 PM »
The solution to this shambles is very simple.  Peace needs to offer Dan Ashwortb an offer he can't refuse in terms of salary and shares to come back and take over the club as CEO, also fulfilling the Director of Football role.  The club went downhill the day he left.

I dont care if it costs £1m or even £1.5m a year to attract him back.  It would still be a bargain.

23
West Bromwich Albion FC / Dear Mr Peace
« on: February 01, 2014, 01:04:15 AM »
Dear Mr Peace

Its time for a re-think.  The club's recruitment strategy and processes have been an absolute shambles under Richard Garlick and the last two transfer windows have demonstrated extremely "muddled thinking".

We have a totally unbalanced squad and we have a disturbingly ageing squad.  We have too many players who are simply no longer good enough for the Premiership. Far too much dead wood. 

I fully accept that injuries to Sessignon, Anichebe and Sinclair have not helped at all.  I accept that nobody could have forseen Anelka's moment of madness.  Nobody is to blame for that.

It is obvious to everyone that we needed a goalscoring striker.  But hang on - we have one called Berahino who is getting splinters in his backside from sitting on the bench. 

We clearly need some defenders with pace.  None signed, and it doesn't appear that we were looking for anybody.

What on earth would Craig Gardner have done to strengthen what we've got?  We have plenty of midfielders.  Wes Hoolahan? Decent player but would he strengthen us?

We are left with unwanted players, Dorrens, Popov and Rosenberg, who needed to be shipped out, not only to get them away, but also to free up wages for new signings.

What have you done with the Long transfer money?  We aren't in debt.  We need to spend money to shore our weak areas.  You cannot say that we couldn't have afforded it. 

I think you need to come out and state your ambitions for this club.  Your comment a few months back that we were really a Championship club reeked then of lack of ambition.  Some said that it was a comment made out of context, but maybe not.

This club is hurtling towards relegation.  All the clubs around us have strengthened.  Age has caught up with the squad and it is devoid of confidence. It needed an injection of fresh blood.  It hasn't happened.

4 massive mistakes have been made in recent months:

1. Sacking Clarke without a replacement lined up.   Would never have happened in Ashworth's time.

2. Appointing a head coach from abroad for his first job in England but refusing him to bring a trusted right hand man with him.  A ridiculous decision.

3. An appalling August transfer window, which reeked of last minute panic.  Wouldn't have happened in Ashworth's time.

4. An even worse January transfer window.  Again, wouldn't have happened in Ashworth's time.

The club has become an unattractive one to manage because of its rigid coaching structure.  It has become an unattractive one to players because the club lacks any ambition.  We have become over-reliant on free transfers, loans and very cheap transfers with options to buy.   

Richard Garlick has been an absolute disaster.

The transfer policy is an absolute shambles.

And to really cap it, you seem to be accepting that we are merely visiting the Premiership, despite finishing 10th, 9th and 8th in the past 3 seasons.

Well - you might be accepting the last point, but we fans are not.  Patience is running out.  Things have to change.  You've done a great job but your lack of ambition is draining the life out of this club.

So - where do you see us in 3 years time?  What is your exit plan?  I think you are soon going to need one.


24
West Bromwich Albion FC / Wages
« on: January 16, 2014, 10:06:33 PM »
If rumours are correct and Shane Long has been offered £50k a week by Hull, then this club has a very serious problem indeed, as wage inflation is going to have a massive impact. 

The Financial Fair Play rules already cap our wage bill at £52m, and its been said in recent months that we are close to that limit.  If the rest of our squad see Long picking up £50k a week at another little club like Hull, then we are either going to see an exodus of our better players (and who can blame them?), or JP is going to be left having to negotiate big wage increases.  However, the FFP play rules won't allow us to do that.

So, how can Hull manage it?   Yes, they will still have several players on Championship contracts, but they have signed some sizeable earners like Huddlestone, McGregor and Jelavic.  My interpretation of the FFP rules is that you can go up to £4m over the £52m wage limit, BUT the owners need to cover that £4m with equity, not debt.  Hull's chairman might do that, but certainly won't.

I see also that Ricky Lambert is allegedly demanding £70k a week to go to West Ham. He's apparently on a very sizeable wage at Saints already.

It really frightens me that instead of just trying to stop our players from being attracted by the wages paid at the likes of Everton or Newcastle, it is clubs like Hull and Southampton, very much in our peer group, who will be offering the extra £10k or £20k aware.

However, whilst it frightens me, I dread to think what our Jeremy makes of it. He will either be crapping himself, or he will be reiterating that we are really a Championship club.

This offer and package from Hull for Long potentially has huge repercussions for our club.




25
West Bromwich Albion FC / The club's structure and policy
« on: January 08, 2014, 11:14:01 PM »
Is the club's structure sustainable?

I have a feeling that the shambles of the past month have highlighted, even to JP, that the structure of the club has to change. 

We simply cannot recruit head coaches of any calibre with this structure.  Anybody with a proven track record needs to bring the team with them who have worked together to achieve that tack record.  The head coach's job depends on results.  It is only reasonable to give him what he needs, within reason.

I'm actually a fan of the club's transfer policy. I don't have a problem with it, and we were 10 years ahead of our time in that regard.  However, the head coach is a key role and simply has to have more flexibility.

We can still have a Director of Football/Head Coach structure, but we are going to have to make provision for a broader support team for the Head Coach if we are going to avoid such a repeat shambles every 18-24 months.

Its also very clear that we need more football expertise on the board.  Somebody with the experience of Dave Jones can have a big role to play in advising the board.


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