why do we always make things seem so hard and its a pity we dont spend as much time trying to sign ppl as we are almost ready for another season and facing mre heart ache

Thanks Pazelle, just couldn't remeber his name at the time. We had to go through quite a lot for him, not as much as Cheik, all turned out worthwhile didn't it?

Ah, cheers MonkeyBlue and BuryBlue77, wasnt sure if it was paperwork for any future stuff or if we owed them something. Couldnt figure out why a previous club would agree to not get paid if we owed them, although I still cant see whats in it for them by signing a waiver for the future. Anyone know what sort of leverage you'd use in this scenario?

Garv & buryblue:
I think we do have €1.5m+ to spend, but only on the right players & for fees that offer great value. Yes I accept that I may well be wrong on this.
In January a bid of €2m was made (& rejected) for Nick Powell - young, undoubtedly talented and huge potential to a top performer at Championship and even Premiership level. PJ, SC & ME recognised that even one season with us in this league would have added to his reputation (barring injury) and to his transfer value, while impoving us as a team.
I think Baldock is a really decent player, who has done nothing wrong at West Ham other than get injured. He scored goals when he went there & has been banging them in again in pre-season. At €1.5m he is a low risk (one injury only) and even offers an opportunity for the business side of the club as, like Aaron Cressewell, he could be worth multiples of that if/when he is sold.
Davies is a risk due to a catelogue of injuries and with players like that you just don't know if they'll ever put a run of games together, but when they do they can make your season (e.g. Robin Van Persie - no I don't think Davies is as good as RVP, just using the example), for that reason PJ is absolutely right to stick to his guns on his valuation.
That angry little man who used to manage our club spent money recklessly on fees & wages, ME won't allow that to happen again - and rightly so. However, I do believe there is up to €3m available for transfer fees IF the right players can be brought in for the right price.

Hope we can sort Kourouma out, wether or not he will impact things this season i dont know but he's clearly a good prospect. As for Baldock, i completely agree with some of the comments posted, as much as Jewell's transfer policy has been quite refreshing we need to add more genuine quality and sometimes you have to be willing to pay a bit more than you would like to land someone who will add alot to the team.

Clegg too busy with the Olymics to be bothered sorting this out

As per some posts above, it's about making sure the clubs don't come chasing us for cash in the future.

Re Kourouma's performances, he was one of the better players at Braintree but was quieter on Saturday, didn't look comfortable on the right of the diamond. However, really think it's daft to judge a 20-year-old on three halves of pre-season football.

PhilTWTD - interesting to read your thoughts on Kourouma's performances.

Of course you are absolutely right about it being daft, judging a young player on his pre-season appearances, especially those who are judging before they have even seen him play, but I think it's only the 'odd' one or two that are doing that.

Extremely poor player

Its crazy judging the boy after some pre season games! However I do find it absolutely ridiculous it takes the club over a month to work out if we owe anyone anything, surely the lad has an agent??!! A club the size of ITFC shouldnt take this long to work out a simple question. I work in the public sector were paperwork is the evil of getting things done and hey, yeah we arent perfect, but not this bad!!!

But lets not criticise pj/the boy for the hold up.

save it jas, show me these reports youre talking about, moan moan moan

Dont rate him at all, dont bother Jewell! concentrate on sorting out that weak defence