 | News
Comment | Brentford 'Remain Keen' on Hutchinson
at 13:18:18
The consequence of relegation, the better, younger players all leave.
We need to sell, Brett couldn’t have been any clearer on that, Delap through 24/25 says everything we need to know on our financial position relative to compliance.
We’ve messed up if Brentford is the only interest, because they’ll rightly wait until later in the window.
Let’s get our business done…. This is a tight league, a few points at the start of the season can be pivotal.
Sad to see him go…. But let’s get it done, get KM.s top targets in and not be trying to build a team dynamic in November.
Lots of reasons to be optimistic if we get the top targets. |
| News
Comment | Town and Boro Agree Hackney Fee
at 10:43:52
Poet. I wouldn’t assume it’s a media issue.., they publish what they’re told, yes for clickbait, but there will be a club/agent source behind those numbers, and if they are are exaggerated it’s to meet an agenda.
An agent trying to set aspirations perhaps, or even US trying to ward off potential premier league interest.
With our sales, we will have up to £80-100 million coming in .., although we need to be careful, it could actually put us in a better financial position than some lower premier league clubs. In a one off deal at least.
Some are struggling with PSR and aren’t selling players like we have to. We got Delap through last years accounts, Hutchinson will go through this years, and Broadhead, so we might actually be able to put a better package together.
At least having Everton etc thinking - well we can’t get to £20 million and £35k a week when we need lots of other signings too.
PSR might be our friend for this deal .., shame Delap, Hutchinson, Broadhead have to go, but that’s the consequence of relegation. At least it has provided some dry powder.
It’s obvious the package will need to be significant, but suspect we can get there.., might mean more signings are loans, but he does look a great prospect. |
| News
Comment | Wrexham Make £7m Approach For Broadhead
at 20:38:07
He’s got great quality, very good technically, but his fitness record isn’t great, he struggles with stamina to compete games, and he’s poor off the ball, and that’s a really good fee we could use in areas where we aren’t so strong.
We have Clarke, and Sammie for that role.., and I suspect when McKenna says he sees Philogene on the left, that means it’s likely going to happen.
Will be a loss quality wise, he can change a game.., but if we bring in another top striker, and two midfielders of quality.., that’s a much better balanced squad.
A step back .., for two forward perhaps. |
| News
Comment | Town 'Willing to Pay Hackney £35,000-a-Week'
at 12:23:28
Would be a fantastic statement signing, mobile, physical and technically very good, makes so much sense for the double pivot, at a great age.
Mcburnie on a free too will be v expensive, but he’s a handful and creates space…, we’ve missed that since Murphy and Moore, loves a scrap.
Would be a million times more confident with these two on board. |
| News
Comment | McKenna: New Coach Stanislas Comes Highly Recommended
at 09:44:46
We’ve only been ok at set pieces when Kieffer was here, I can only remember Greaves scoring once in what feels like forever, so the only way is up.
Our coaching group have maybe 5 years first team coaching experience between them…, we seemed desperate for experience off the pitch last season, I guess time will tell, but if we can only bring in coaches younger than our very young manager, that’s a red flag.
Hopefully he’s brilliant, but not so brilliant he’s off in 12 months.
An experienced head, that knows he’ll always be a coach, and wants a long term position to build strategically would make sense.., it’s probably instructive of where we are with the ownership.
We need some strategy, it’s like the Evans years, but getting lucky with a talented young coach. |
| News
Comment | Stanislas Appointed First-Team Coach as Town Add Set-Piece Analyst
at 19:43:25
Blues1 people are allowed opinions that aren’t the same as yours. Our talent ID in the EFl has been pretty good, Cook obviously helped with a couple of gems.., but last year it was awful. Really poor, and we have those financial liabilities that will drag down the PSR for a few years.
I don’t think suggesting the criticism isn’t justified, because the person giving it, isn’t Pep doesn’t help.
You don’t need to be a Michelin star chef to know hat looks and tastes good.
Let people have opinions, and discuss and debate things.., you might learn something.., maybe a lot.
Muric, Clarke, Phillips, Greaves, all poor signings relative to what we needed. Greaves might work out well, but he’s staying because he was so poor, not because he was nay good.
Relative what what Sunderland, Leeds and Burnley are doing, which is by top flight experience for LESS money.., we made one hell of a mess of recruitment, and we’ve done nothing to remedy that.
That’s a legitimate concern…, even if the fantasy you built up in your head, about Ashton being world class, does make it feel bad!
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| News
Comment | Luongo Close to Joining Millwall
at 15:45:51
Such good positional awareness, if he’s got legs around him he’ll do a great job.
His game intelligence is such an under valued quality .., guess Young has some of the qualities we’ve lost in Sam and Mass .., but wish them both the very best, they carried us at times .., winners, both of them. |
| News
Comment | Halajko New Director of Football Operations, Chenery Appointed Academy Manager
at 00:40:50
Bazza8564 - can I sell you one of my businesses.., they have aspirations of market caps circa £100 billion, with detailed roadmaps of how to get there too.
Have you ever bought anything, from anyone?
Seriously. When someone sells something.., sometimes they exaggerate its potential.., because they’re selling it.
If that thing costs £180-200 million those exaggerations can be a little tippy toppy.
I question. If we’d ever be worth £1 billion .., why would any stakeholder sell any stake in that investment?
Newcastle cost £305 million, and they were profitable, have match day revenue more than double ours, play in Europe and get £150 million a year in TV revenue.
We blew our TV money on EFL players.., and now look potentially like our TV revenue will be £5 (if we get games on TV).
Our wages alone will be MORE than our entire revenue streams combined.
You want to know what we are actually worth if we don’t go up this year?
You couldn’t give us away.., ask Marcus Evans.
Selling a championship club, if they don’t have parachute money.., is very difficult for anything like the numbers Gamechanger are quoting.
£1 billion.
We’d need a ground twice our size, to own that ground, and champions league football for a number of years.
Then we’d be worth less than that.., there is no realistic pathway to those valuations.
And THAT is 100% why stakeholders ARE selling.
£180-220 million now, might be possible.
Next year, in the EFL, knock up to £75 million off.
Thats a lot to wage on a CEO and Manager that just spent £100 million plus, and made you a lot of promises, they didn’t keep.
THAT is what risk management looks like in real time.
They’re OUT.
Unless nobody wants us.., then they were just out feelers out, but yeah, we can’t recruit external staff, and players will be sold.
Consequences. It’s the real world you’re in.
Not your fantasy bubble where you make up the fantasy, and confirm your own bias, dismissing facts like they’re an inconvenience!
FOR SALE.
See it as your new fantasy that you can build and emotionally invest in.., I am.
New owner is a real football person, this is the beginning.
Watch this space.
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| News
Comment | Halajko New Director of Football Operations, Chenery Appointed Academy Manager
at 00:20:21
Blues1
Can you use my full name in future please, I’m darkhorse28
28 is in reference to my IQ, and I was up days thinking it up, so in future I’ll ignore all your compliments if you don’t use it. Thank you.
Right, one last video of Steve Whittons greatest penalties, then bed, sweet dreams. |
| News
Comment | Halajko New Director of Football Operations, Chenery Appointed Academy Manager
at 00:12:58
Blues1, thanks for the shout out. Love you too.
It bit his opinion we are for sale. WE ARE. A MAJORITY STAKE of ordinary shares, is available, and if that wasn’t the case. Both gamechanger and the club would have clarified that.., I’m only guided by what Brett said in his statement, because unlike me and you, he knows. He literally speaks for the owners.
So everything he said, including player sales, is true.., that it makes you feel bad, and that’s all you see, your blind emotion, is perhaps why YOU are not very good in business? .., that did sound a bit like it’s psychological projection.
You don’t seem capable of stepping back, looking at the facts. The evidence: and the probable situation.
Owner clarified we are for sale.., Ashton tests to put out the fire, but with no official statement.
All staff, that would leave (potentially under new ownership) leave.., staff that won’t easily find jobs once the season starts.
NO new staff are appinted are either out on player contacts, with that security, or are already under contract at the club.
The player sales the owners said could be £100 million (which you baulked at) is already at almost £70 million when Omari leaves (and he will).
You’re not exactly good at critical evaluation are you.
You wouldn’t need to be Colombo, you’d just need to be able to step back.
And thanks for your concern about my business acumen, it’s genuinely touching.
I’m like David Brent and Simon Jordan’s love child.., dollars for donuts, I doubt my achievements are a mere bagatelle, relative to yours.
Genuinely, I’m 51, can’t see my iPhone mini and I have fat thumbs.
Have you ever considered I just can’t see to type Mark Ashton is a strategic genius, this is what planning, strategy. Contingency, and process look like after spending up to £150 million, and making our manager one of the best paid in Europe.
We are for sakle.
I don’t feel great about the situation either.., but there’s no point being in denial and not accepting it.
Oh. And why are they selling now?
After £140 million revenue, plus a years parachute money.
Well, if we go up, you’re right, financially, they shouldn’t.
If we don’t.
We still have 4 years of 15-20 million £ worth of liabilities to service, from the spending spree you think never happened.
SO I guess they don’t agree with you that Ashton is world class, and they think this is the best value exit…, they can sack Ashton and possibly McKenna..probably just Ashton
OR sell at what is likely now the peak financially.., with continuity of key management who have had huge EFL success.
Makes a lot of sense.
Probably the right risk management for them.., servicing debt in the EFL is a tough gig, you’d think with your business background, you’d know what 100% wages to turnover can do to a club.., we had 16 years of it!
So they are OUT.
You need to learn to adult, stop attacking people who want to talk about what’s actually happening at the club.., you can’t see the wood for the trees.
We all want what’s best.
Burying your head in the sand…, that’s not a solution.
I’m VERY optimistic.
We are NEVER staying in the Prem with Ashton and Gamechanger - that’s the reality.
So this is a fantastic opportunity.., to be an established premier league sides
I know you prefer measuring us to Cheltenham and Forest Green, as does Mark when he’s made another blooper - but that’s not who we are mate.
We aspire to be in the top division and established.
That means you need to adult, and the club need to make tough decisions, which might not always be popular.
It’s time for your big boy pants now.
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| News
Comment | Town Yet to Open Young Talks
at 22:58:24
Blueboy1981.., totally. We are up for sale. Coaching staff that won’t readily find roles mid season have left, and it’s 100% obvious we can’t replace them until there’s more certainty.
So that only leaves coaches with playing contracts, like Young and Button.
The problem for me is Ashton is treating the clubs loyal supporters like village idiots at this point, and so are the media (although they have little choice).
I get Ashton would want to play it down for commercial reasons.., the timing was awful.
But as soon as the statement was released, everyone in football knows…, EVERYONE .., there isn’t a single club or decision maker we are dealing with that doesn’t know.
At this point…, he’s making it look like what the reality actually is.
That he has ZERO respect for dupporters, none, and is happy to keep everyone in the dark, for no benefit at all.
It’s not a secret. Everyone knows. He’s lying to supporters to save himself having to deal with a difficult situation.., and he likely won’t be here if a sale completes.., so doesn’t care.
That’s so poor.., woeful lack of respect to supporters.
Although we don’t help ourselves.
We just believe literally anything he says (a toxic pathetic rump at least).
We deserve better.., and we need to be much better as a club.., this isn’t a culture that breeds success and warrants respect.
What happened to us running towards adversity.
Just words and rhetoric from Mark. |
| News
Comment | Blues Among Clubs Linked With Liverpool Youngster
at 12:54:00
Bobble - Cook signed us Morsy and Chaplin …, probably still better than any signing since, certainly in terms of success.
We’ve spent over £150 million since, and none of them have that drive, motivation, and winning mentality.
I don’t care where players come from, if they’re good enough. |
| News
Comment | Veteran Ex-England International Young 'Likely' to Join Town
at 12:47:40
I’m sure he’ll be very good off the pitch.
We do seem to really struggle to get proven quality, with experience off the pitch.
There’s definitely some ego’s getting in the way here…, we need better than Ashton, and we need support for McKenna that has the qualities, and skills where he lacks…, that’s what building a performance elite team is. The right bums on seats.
I’m not sure McKenna and Ashton still know where the gaps are…, and don’t think they can process where they fall well short.
Even if young is brilliant in the training pitch, and I’m sure he is, that’s not where we are weakest.
Strategy, contingency, talent ID, tactical analysis, all are areas where we are miles off the pace.
After signing young…, they still will be.
We need proven experience…, not another coach who if he does great will leave in 12 months to be a manger.
Our long term planning and contingency, is genuinely really really poor.
This is why Gamechanger are out. We need owners that see where the problems actually are.
McKenna isn’t a strategist. That’s now obvious.
And that’s not to say he’s not a fantastic coach …, they’re very different skill sets. |
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Comment | McKenna: Muric Close to Return, Slicker Set For Loan
at 15:55:03
LancsBlue. The narrative that someone’s ability only correlates to their cost is bizarre, it’s not as if he’s the only mistake we made.., we paid a lot for Phillips, Clarke, Greaves, and they didn’t meet expectations either, far from it. Ogbenne was injured but we over paid there too. And Philogene still had it all to prove.
Peoples eyes don’t deceive them, he can’t command even his six yard box, can’t kick a ball, and panics the entire defence…, Many other players expressed with their body language a complete lack of faith.
He isn’t you or inexperienced either…, that he’s Kosovos best GK, and that he had one good season in the EFL behind a VERY good Burnley defence isn’t in dispute, and his shot stopping is actually pretty good.
As a GK at the elite level though, he’s 2/10
That’s not his fault …, WE paid up to £15 million for that.
And if you think he is good enough…, why has everyone even vaguely connected to the signing…, left the club?
Everyone knows how poor he is (at that level)
And KM should say less…, because he’s making himself look like he can’t see the wood for the trees.
He’s got a player to sell .., so talks him up …, but there were times last year when he talked him up .., and I can only think the rest of the squad lost some respect for KM.., because Muric is one of the worst GK’s I’ve seen at that level. For ANY team.
And for every big error punished there were another 2 or 3 a game that didn’t get punished.., he was literally a goal start for the opposition,
Nobody pays £15 million for a GK who is decent in the EFL.
Sheff Itd have young Coopet…, he’s twice the level of Muric …, he cost £2 million.
We can’t keep defending the costly mistakes we made last summer.
Under PSR you don’t waste this much time and money and not have consequences
We don’t get to wash out hands and move forward!
We’ve lost most of our staff, our FIVE best players, and our owners want to sell their majority stake.
These are the consequences of signing players like Muric that are SO expensive relative to their quality.
There is no shrigging the shoulders and saying ‘ah well let’s be patient’
In football finance now, there are immediate consequences.
Your patience with our failures.., is why Hutchinson, one of our most talented players in decades, won’t be here next season, and Delap, a huge prospect won’t be either.
Sadly. The mistakes were so many, and so big, they dwarf the successes - Muric is a part of that.
Not his fault…, it’s on Ashton and Mckrnna - so let’s get that straight.
Poor strategy, poor decisions, and we have the same people saying they suddenly have all the answers.
Some of these liabilities will hurt us long after both have left the building IF we don’t go straight back up. |
| News
Comment | McKenna: We Need to Expand Our Scouting Networks and Recruit From Different Markets
at 11:36:17
Bazza8564
That’s simply not true. If the club believed what you say, they wouldn’t have spent up to £150 million, on players to RY clearly believed were good enough…, and there was no long term plan to go down, keep the players and develop, because they’ve all left, and they always DO.
No. Ashton and McKenna persuaded the owners that level of investment would likely keep us up…., the players and manager would be good enough, otherwise you don’t also give a manager too of the premier league level wages either.
The consequences.
Players sold, all the best ones have left, I don’t think many would argue Sam, Delap, Tuenzabe, Hutchinson are our best players…, and Butgess one of our best legacy players.
The data have left. Our best players have left. And the owners we can see what they were promised, because they’re leaving too!
So you can be an apologist all you like…, and had we spent £50-70 million, and didn’t have £20 million a year of additional lainlilitirs from they spending, you’d be 100% right.
But we did spend so much money that we need to sell players.
As soon as Delap left in last years accounting period, the writing was on the wall for Hutchinson.
So let’s have it straight.
Last year strategically might be the single worst in the clubs history, it’s up there with Sheepshanks lack of contingency, without parachute payments.
And it ALL comes down to Ashton and Mckanna believing with eye watering investment, relegation wasn’t a likely outcome.
We can evidence McKennas blind faith in his own strategy.
He had a double pivot…., played it every game…, on relegation he does have a single player left in the squad that can play that position…., not ONE in a squad of 28, having spent over £100 million.
One player…, we just signed.., who until yesterday, had never kicked a ball for us.
That’s how much contingency we had for relegation!
NONE - as a measure not an opinion.
If we’d stayed up Cajuste would stay…, Phillips is an England international, McKenna will get the best out of him, another option?
Instead we signed 5 inside forwards to add to the 5 we already had.
It all made some sense IF we stayed up.
You can spend your way through the lessons, the mistakes, the learnings, IF you stay up.
Spend too much.., give yourself £20 million to find a year in EFL revenue, and you have a huge financial problem, with how PSR works.
There are consequences.
You don’t just ‘go again’ when the strategy is SO bad.
You don’t get to pretend it didn’t happen…., or pretend we are a third division club so it’s ok.
We are NOT a third division fan base, a third division history, a third division budget, or a third division club!!!
We never were.
And management hiding their failures behind that excuse is a massive red flag.
THIS is why our owners are out.
No bad thing in my view…, new investment.., but far more importantly, new strategic thinking, that makes Ashton specifically have agency for being premier league quality, or leaving.
If you’re making a mess as big as this…, after 35 years in the game.., you won’t be good enough in 6 weeks time.., or 6 years time.
And McKenna need more hubris …, he’s a huge part of the scale of failure.
As brilliant a coach as he is.., he doesn’t have the strategic skills required.
And I think that’s come as a shock to him.
As a club…, we might be counting that cost is 26/27 and 27/28 if we don’t get this season right.
We get one chance at this .., and it’s massive. |
| News
Comment | McKenna: We Need to Expand Our Scouting Networks and Recruit From Different Markets
at 11:18:28
Something that’s been a serious issue for a long time, and still is.
It’s like tying one hand behind your back, paying more, for less quality, if you need world class players then it’s essential to have reach.., they aren’t playing in the EFL.
McKenna needs help. He may be a brilliant coach but the flip flop strategy says it all….., now we recognise the failure, but it was always 101 of wanting to be at that level, and as we’ve stopped mentioning, he was at Man Utd for years.
If we recognise we didn’t have the networks, that’s fine, understandable.
But you don’t then go and spend up to £150 million, and risk the clubs future, on players not at the level, who cost more.
You spend £50 million…, or £70 million and contingency plan …, otherwise you have to sell your best players, your staff leave, and your club ends up for sale!!
That’s not progress.
As good as he is on the training pitch, the strategy was a complete car crash.., really poor.
McKenna wanted to ‘coach’ the gap …, he thought he was that good, and no coach can now do that.
That’s ego. He believed his own media hyperbole.
The owners are out, the staff have to leave, because under new ownership after the season starts. They (unlike Kieran) will struggle to get work. And our five best players are gone.
This is the reality of a 39 year old manager, talented as he is, we never put the strategic support in place around him. Maybe he won’t accept it.
We needed football people, who have been there and done it. We still do.
It’s painful watching Leeds Utd …, buying one of Seria A best defenders. One of germanys best midfielders.
They’re buying proven top flight experience, very talented players, and spending LESS than we did. And even if it doesn’t work, they have MORE quality, for less risk and investment.
Our talented young English players…, they’ve all left and we didn’t get a premium on the sales either.
Leeds know what’s required, as do 99% of the football world, it wasn’t rocket science, or hindsight.
Spend big on global talent, or if you can’t, don’t spend big.
Ashton was never the support McKenna needed…, and still isn’t.
I’m not sure we have learnt any lessons.
New ownership and ideas, and structure can’t come soon enough…, hopefully Kieran gets a good start and is part of the journey.
We can’t still keep leaving it to the same people and hoping for different outcomes, Ashton has had 35 years in the game, to work out what’s required at that level, and he still isn’t close to knowing.
I can see why Brett and Gamechanger are out …, it must be frustrating, to invest so much, for so little return.
As Brett says ‘don’t piss in my boots and tell me it’s raining’
No manger had had so much support in a single season in the history of the league, ever.
But they don’t have the desire to put it right, or the strength to replace Ashton after back to back promotions…., so they reaped their own inertia.
Hopefully new majority ownership, from people who know the game, understand the game, and have ambition for the club.
People who unlike a minority of our fan base, don’t have recency bias and measure everything through the prism of us as a THIRD division club.
That’s not who we are.
We are bigger than that. We have realistic ambition, and can because established in the premier league, IF we stop wasting eye watering sums on poor players, and performing so badly we have to sell anyone with an ounce of talent.
New ownership. New hope. New strategic support. |
| News
Comment | Hutchinson Exit Looking Closer as Brentford Agree Mbeumo Fee
at 16:10:10
Great prospect, wish him all the best, he has a great future.
It looks like Gamechanger were correct when they said we’d sell £100 million worth of players this summer.
It won’t be far off it Muric, and one or two more move on.
It’s not the ‘progress’ Mark sold to us. Literally Sam, Hutch, Delap, Cajuste, Tuenzabe were our best players.
It’s obvious as Brett clearly said. We are for sale.
If so let’s get it done and start building for the future, because the inertia kills a club. |
| News
Comment | Town Chief Handed Royal Invite
at 21:54:44
Horse Racing, concerts, Boxing…, I can see why he hasn’t had a day off since West Ham.
Maybe hire some staff…, or come clean with fans that we’re up for sale, and that’s therefore difficult. |
| News
Comment | Brentford Make £35m Bid But Fail to Meet Terms Ahead of Release Clause Deadline
at 11:35:18
He’s gone if Mbeumo leaves. And they won’t need to up their bid if we’re honest.
We accepted their offer, just not the terms.
More cash in the initial payment and he’s gone. Suspect they couldn’t do the deal financially, without clarity on their sales, which is why (if we need to sell) extending the deadline might have been in our best interests.
I can’t see lots of clubs wanting to pay much more than that.., great prospect, but might need a year or two at that level to shine.
Obviously as much as I love watching him play (possibly the most naturally gifted player in decades), he will likely want to leave, we DO need to sell him, not least because Brett highlighted exactly that point. And he actually sees the P&L. Nobody on here does.
The danger now is it drags out, stops us doing other business, and happens very late in the window when our own options are significantly reduced.
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| News
Comment | Hutchinson Release Clause Deadline 5pm
at 13:31:22
There’s talented generals and lucky generals. Another one that’s going to go against us.
Would have suited us better in hindsight to have a date at the end of this month.
He won’t be any of those clubs number one target, yet I suspect one or two will end up wanting him, closer to the deadline, when other prospects and sales are concluded.
We won’t turn down anywhere near £30 million. So he could leave close to the window closing…, and not knowing if we can remove his liabilities from the P&L or not until then, will limit our business.
Brett’s statement also adds to a lack of urgency…, if you know a club want to sell, and he’s not other clubs number one target, you run the window down. £25-30 million.
Sigh.
On the plus side, if Clarke, Broadhead leave, maybe there’s a chance to retain him .., assuming he’s up for 50 odd games at this level.
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