As I write this short blog we are hearing reports that Leicester want to sign David McGoldrick for £8 million.

This, coupled with the £3.75m (£7m including add-ons) for Aaron Cresswell, means that we would have gained almost £12 million from two players.

What this blog wants to ask is how you would like to see the club go forward - would you prefer as much of this as possible to go on senior players, or would you all prefer it if we were to spend more of it on gaining and maintaining Category One Academy status, and bringing through the youth.

Some clubs, like Leicester, QPR, and Nottingham Forest, have spent astronomical amounts of money to get to the promised land. While we cannot afford to do that to their level, £12 million at this level is a huge amount to go out and strengthen the squad. I think we are all of the opinion that we need at least three, be that loanees, permanent additions or youth players such as Matt Clarke and Ted Bishop.

As we have also seen, using youth can also be a good way of progressing. Southampton are the obvious example of this, having over the years produced players such as Matthew Le Tissier, Gareth Bale, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, James Ward-Prowse, Adam Lallana, Callum Chambers and Luke Shaw, as well as our (for now) own, David McGoldrick.

Youth is a cost-effective way of going forward, and can and will produce players for us - Luke Hyam, Kieron Dyer, Jordan Rhodes, Darren Ambrose and Owen Garvan being the examples of note, while Teddy Bishop started at Derby.

Upgrading to Category One status academy, while it won't show instantly, will benefit the club no end. This club needs the academy to be producing top notch academy players and who knows we might even be able to produce players á la Southampton (OK, maybe not Bale standard).

Both in terms of success on the pitch and financially this will serve only to boost our great club, and return it to where we, as fans, naturally believe we should be, the promised land of the Premier League and recreating the magic moments we once had.

In my humble opinion, I believe we need to to both - we need to sign a few players to compensate for the loss of McGoldrick and Cresswell going forward.

Personally, I would sign up Jonny Williams, Owen Garvan and Jack Collison, as well as Colchester's Macauley Bonne. As well as this, I would also look to keep a fair chunk of the money to develop that academy that we have so desperately missed, and we so badly need.

Opinions on this blog would be great, and I hope you enjoy it. As I say, I'm not looking to cause conflict, just looking for a feel of the opinions of the fans on this site.

ipswich134 added 01:25 - Aug 31 I would prefer the Southampton way as it is more sustainable. As long as we keep improving keep rolling out more youths I am fine with that.
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textbackup added 06:18 - Aug 31 "Personally, I would sign up Jonny Williams" what planet are you on?
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Les57 added 10:46 - Aug 31 The academy route is the only way we will ever be able to reach the premier league. I.E. We have to produce home grown players. We will never be able to compete with other teams and spend our way out of this league. Long term not achieving category 1 status this year will hurt us more than the inevitable loss of McGoldrick. As and when he does leave, then the money should go straight into development.

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Luka added 12:09 - Aug 31 Textbackup - I'm just stating my view and what I myself would do..... Williams wouldn't coat more than about £2-3m. Bonne would be cheap, and is a very good young talent we ourselves had, I believe. Garvan and Collison would be free. Williams-Murphy partnership worked very well last season. Also, I would assume that some of the Cresswell money has gone to the academy and some of the McGoldrick money will too. The second half performance at Derby proved what we could do without him. And, by all accounts, it was promising. While I'm not saying we wont be weakened initially, I'm saying that we might not be quite as far in the brown stuff as some may think. Especially if we can get that academy producing what it was, and sign up a few players to strengthen the middle

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Luka added 12:12 - Aug 31 Textbackup - what would you do? We all have our own ideas for our club, so what would you do if you were ME or/and MM?
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Luka added 12:13 - Aug 31 Ipswich134 - I never meant to minus your comment, I agree with it mate! Clicked the wrong one
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Superblue95 added 13:04 - Aug 31 I admire your optimism about how some money could be spent on Williams or other replacements and the rest put into the academy but do you honestly believe that would happen? Or that maybe the money will seemingly disappear (perhaps some put into gaining cat 1) and we will be left floundering around picking up loans and frees as we have been anyway
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Luka added 14:29 - Aug 31 SuperBlue - I think part of the reason Mick hasn't seen any of the Cresswell money to spend on fees might be due to the Category 1 As I said, Bonne would be cheap, Williams no more than £2mil, and Garvan and Collison free I'm not saying that is what will happen, just what I would like to see
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theobald1985 added 18:35 - Aug 31 not a bad blog For me personally the current style of play is a huge problem and one I dont think will be improved under MM. I think we should be a team that plays out from the back with a passing attacking style-not totally gung ho but like swansea for example. We should implement that style through all age groups and start intergrating and giving a chance to our more talented yougsters alongside some senior pros so we have a blend of youth and experience. I actually saw Bonne's first senior goal on his 18th birthday and agree he could be a real player but Joe Dunne wont start him at the mo and he does not defend from the front enough for mcarthy.If i were to take a player from the Us it would be sanchez Watt. I went to Col U peterborough yesterday and peterborough were very impressive played good football with 3 CB and wing backs played out from the back-they have just signed an exiting young forward from gateshead who looked good and they have been bold in paying 600,000 of the asombalonga money on him. I would love us to find a few more gems. People are quick to have a go about darren ferguson but his side that won succesive promotions with Boyd Mackail smith and Mclean played great stuff and they were all non league finds. The perfect Example for us to follow has to be swansea to my mind but that is not going to happen as it will be long ball old fasioned stuff all the way while MM is here

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hancockingoal added 21:06 - Aug 31 I cannot understand this obsession with Category One? We still wouldn't get the best schoolboys, we are not a great club anymore, we are the longest serving member of division two (sorry, the Championship) Why can't people get it into their heads that the best schoolboys invariably don't make the grade, this is a statistical fact not my opinion. In my opinion we should invest in good talent spotters and pick up the best young players rejected by the premiership elite who do not allow the youngsters the opportunity to develop into top class players. Let the greedy, selfish big clubs find the talent and let us take advantage when their ignorant owners and fickle fans demand instant success!

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Luka added 21:30 - Aug 31 Category One would mean that we get to be one of the clubs that get to pick this top youth talent that we can spot, hancockingoal. Theobald - While I agree we need a slight change in style, I believe that MM would do this, a little bit, anyway, if he felt he could. His Wolves team would be me example Ward and Foley at Full Back, Jarvis and Kightly wide, with O'Hara in the middle. Alex Gilbey, also of Colchester, is worth a wee look, too. I also heard we are back in four Walters

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bring_back_Wickham added 09:21 - Sep 1 While I agree with all that is said, williams would cost a lot more than 2-3 mil! Swansea have already had a bid of 4 million turned down this summer! 5 mil maybe...
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HarryfromBath added 17:51 - Sep 2 I completely agree about the Category One argument. A pattern has emerged in recent seasons (and probably has gone on for years) of teams recruiting highly talented youngsters into their academies, and Category 1 status will help this no end. Sadly, Williams is out of our league (except as a loan signing) unless we get promoted, but I still dream of him and McGoldrick turning out together on the same ITFC team. I think patient team building under a manager with an excellent track record has to be the way forward, even allowing for how skewed the parachute payments have made the market. Yesterday's news about McGoldrick staying despite lucrative a offer coming in underscores this approach. It blew away much of the funding you were able to play around with in your piece, but I wholeheartedly echo your approach.

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Luka added 22:15 - Sep 3 I never said Williams must be paid for, although I was speculating as to how much he'd be Category 1 is a must and, although we do jave a few decent ones coming through, we need more
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