What’s going on in the boardroom?

thegazzyb said:
Totally agree.
I am expecting us to struggle this season but we might still end up being better over the course of a season than three other teams. If it works out that way, brilliant ! If it doesn't, I just want to see maximum effort from the players, who will of course all have received hefty pay rises following promotion.
If we go down, fighting and unified, then so be it.
I just don't want to see players giving up, losing hope and looking for their next club before the last ball of the season has been kicked.
:utc:
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sometimes a siege mentality of players with great team spirit does better than when lots of signings come in on big wages.

cough notts cough forest cough ..or is that clough?
 
Allen said:
West Ham signed a world class player today and are in for Breraton Diaz, blackburn holding out for 15 million (means he will probably go for 10).
Meanwhile Forest are surely in breach of FFP, how can they get away with it, when other teams get points deductions and fines.....
https://www.skysports.com/football/...es-kounde-latest?postid=4209929#liveblog-body
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FFP is a rearward looking measure. So we won't know they have failed until they post their accounts to Companies House and send a copy to the EPL/EFL.

To be fair to them they could spend a shedload of money now then sell all the players when they get relegated and with a bit of accountancy magic they could easily limbo under the bar.
 
Allen said:
West Ham signed a world class player today and are in for Breraton Diaz, blackburn holding out for 15 million (means he will probably go for 10).
Meanwhile Forest are surely in breach of FFP, how can they get away with it, when other teams get points deductions and fines.....
https://www.skysports.com/football/...es-kounde-latest?postid=4209929#liveblog-body
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Forest won't even be close to breaching FFP. That simply isn't how it works, especially not in the PL where the rules are different. Aside from anything else, the cost of a player is amortised over the length of their contract. If they spend £100 million on players this summer and give each of those players 4 year contracts, the impact on their accounts for this seasons is £25 million + the players wages.

In addition to that, a club is allowed to lose something like £100 million over a few years before the PL will even look at them. Even then, there are a whole bunch of exceptions.

I'd hazard a guess that Forest could still spend another £100 million and wouldn't even be close to a cap.
 
As for the original post, pretty sure there has been a change in approach in our transfer dealings.

Under Howe it was 'be prepared to pay over the odds to strike early, blow others out of the water and get in our number one target as soon as possible to help them bond with the team'.

Mings, for example, cost £9 million (?) which was well over what anyone else wanted to risk on him at that point. With the added point that because we did it early nobody else want to enter that bidding war since they would still have plenty of other targets and time to try and get them. So Ipswich would have put him under plenty of pressure to come here as it was a guaranteed serious fee.

If we'd have waited until later in the window, if they had bills to pay and a panicking chairman, it may be we could have got him for £7 million. The risk being he could have gone somewhere else.

The same with Ibe. Bid big and bid early to get your target and scare away anyone else.

In the last few windows we've seen a lot of activity very close to the deadline. Pearson, Christie, Moore etc all arriving right at the last minute in different windows. It may be this has allowed us to get keener pricing but then we've missed out on having those players available for the earlier games and (in the summer) take part in the preseason.

It's a financial saving but a footballing cost. Both approaches have their merits in different ways.

Right now Liverpool are sitting on a CB they won't be playing and are paying him a reported £60k/week (who knows if that is true). They want him off the books but are currently trying to get top dollar for him. If they can't find a loan for him willing to cover his wages, then having him sit in their reserves until January will cost them over £1 million. Given that, come deadline day, they may be amenable to a lower transfer fee than (again, the reported so who knows if it's true) £15 million.

I'll be honest, I thought Phillips was alright. No more than that. Not sure I'd want him on £60k/week if that wage is accurately reported. That's as much an issue for me as the fee. He could turn into a huge white elephant if it turns out he doesn't have what it takes in the PL. But not caving to a high fee and high wages package seems sensible to me.

I couldn't be happier that we've prioritised the training ground. Since the path to a new/larger stadium seems set that the training ground needs to happen first and that was in place to move forward I think it's the best thing for the long term future of the club.

It does mean our transfer window powers are reduced and we need to play the market in a different way. I'm sure we'll bring in some CBs before the window closes. Whether it's before the season starts or at the end of August I don't know but our fixture list helps us a little bit. 3 of the first 4 games are shots to nothing so we aren't missing out on having the players available for high priority points target matches if we leave it late.
 
One other thing. I often hear the mantra repeated that we've got £110 million to spend so why aren't the board spending it. Let's not forget our wages last season were likely around £50 million (probably more given all the Jan incomings). Add in promotion bonuses and pay rises and we'll be north of £60 million before we even sign anyone. Then add in the training ground cost first tranche (no idea... £15 million?). All of a sudden you're down to under £30 million to spend. Take off the signing on fee for Rothwell and Fredericks plus their wages and suddenly we're looking at £25 million. If we want to break even that has to cover transfer fees and wages for at least two CBs, a reserve keeper and a LB.

All wildly rough figures that exlude all sorts of other incomings and outgoings but you get the idea. If we want to do this PL trip a little more sustainably then the transfer outlay will be much more restrained.
 
Spending big money on players could also just upset the team's performance. We have signed many players over the last few years and went back to relying on our original squad players. It was good to see just one new signing starting Saturday. He fitted in really well.

The key to next season will be how the players play as a team. I think the team spirit is good and they all work hard for one another. This became apparent towards the end of last season. We have been at our best when the team is more than the sum of its parts. For most of last season that wasn't the case. We won many games without being convincing.

My view is that this squad grew immeasurably towards the end of last season. They grew up in the face of adversity, when it looked like we would lose out to Forest.

Whoever we buy we're going to struggle, along with maybe 8 or 9 other teams. We won 56 games in our 5 years. A quarter of those against teams that were relegated. The first 4 years we beat every team that went down. The final season we didn't beat either of them.

It's team spirit, organisation and tactics that will beat the three relegated teams. Solanke and Moore will both get goals. The team is relatively settled. I think we'll beat the 3 teams that will go down.

It will be interesting to see how forest do, given their team will have changed a lot.

All last season I felt we wouldn't stay up if we went up. I think differently now.
 
fritter said:
Spending big money on players could also just upset the team's performance. We have signed many players over the last few years and went back to relying on our original squad players. It was good to see just one new signing starting Saturday. He fitted in really well.

The key to next season will be how the players play as a team. I think the team spirit is good and they all work hard for one another. This became apparent towards the end of last season. We have been at our best when the team is more than the sum of its parts. For most of last season that wasn't the case. We won many games without being convincing.

My view is that this squad grew immeasurably towards the end of last season. They grew up in the face of adversity, when it looked like we would lose out to Forest.

Whoever we buy we're going to struggle, along with maybe 8 or 9 other teams. We won 56 games in our 5 years. A quarter of those against teams that were relegated. The first 4 years we beat every team that went down. The final season we didn't beat either of them.

It's team spirit, organisation and tactics that will beat the three relegated teams. Solanke and Moore will both get goals. The team is relatively settled. I think we'll beat the 3 teams that will go down.

It will be interesting to see how forest do, given their team will have changed a lot.

All last season I felt we wouldn't stay up if we went up. I think differently now.
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Well...you can stop being so bloody positive for a start....lol That sort of thing doesnt go down too well with the elite you know
 
I might be in the minority but I'm reasonably comfortable with our transfer policy currently. Im not disputing the fact we are a few players short at the moment but I'd rather that than just splash the cash because it's expected. Forest have spent upwards of £70m so far , yet possibly their best two signings in Henderson and Lingard were freebies. Either way it's a gamble that doesn't guarantee success or survival. Possibly it adds extra pressure on both the team and manger as immediate results are expected. For example Fulham spent in excess of £100m last time they got promoted and virtually rebuilt their team. The result? Relegation. Forests success last season was built on loan signings so they are literally rebuilding their team . We , with a couple of exceptions, have the same team as last season. They know each other, they've worked with each other and they understand each others game. I'd rather play with what we've got than buy players out of desperation.
 
LewSwimmin said:
We have a ready made team that only needs a few additions, whereas Forest have to try and make one out of all the disparate and expensive bits they have just put together, and having to do so in a league full of teams already better and more integrated than they are.
It seems to me that Cooper has a much harder task on his hands than Scotty on the playing side, whilst also having to keep happy a board that will expect a return on their massive investment.
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clear that the team is weaker than last season in some positions; lost woodman; 2 centre backs Philips and Cahill plus left side utility left back Brady. So 4 signings we need to stay level in those positions. Rothwell replaces cantwell
 
Red_till_im_ded said:
I might be in the minority but I'm reasonably comfortable with our transfer policy currently. Im not disputing the fact we are a few players short at the moment but I'd rather that than just splash the cash because it's expected. Forest have spent upwards of £70m so far , yet possibly their best two signings in Henderson and Lingard were freebies. Either way it's a gamble that doesn't guarantee success or survival. Possibly it adds extra pressure on both the team and manger as immediate results are expected. For example Fulham spent in excess of £100m last time they got promoted and virtually rebuilt their team. The result? Relegation. Forests success last season was built on loan signings so they are literally rebuilding their team . We , with a couple of exceptions, have the same team as last season. They know each other, they've worked with each other and they understand each others game. I'd rather play with what we've got than buy players out of desperation.
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dont disagree but Henderson (loan fee) and lingard (big free agent fee) are not free signings.
 
leekeypants said:
And the start of last season we were worried about the strength of the squad and the youngsters ended up doing just great. Lets just wait and see what happens and Dont Panic Mr Mannering. (Just yet) I would rather a team that know each other and what is expected of them rather than what has happened a Forest. We all know teams where they have assembled great individuals at great cost but they do not gel as a team.
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Exactly this.
 
AFCBade said:
clear that the team is weaker than last season in some positions; lost woodman; 2 centre backs Philips and Cahill plus left side utility left back Brady. So 4 signings we need to stay level in those positions. Rothwell replaces cantwell
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Yes agreed, the keeper we have more time in the window to find a decent back up, same with LB.
Clearly 2 CBs is the priority, we don't know what's happening behind the scenes, but the last thing we need is to panic and sign anyone, we need someone better than hill and mepham.
 
Red_till_im_ded said:
I might be in the minority but I'm reasonably comfortable with our transfer policy currently. Im not disputing the fact we are a few players short at the moment but I'd rather that than just splash the cash because it's expected. Forest have spent upwards of £70m so far , yet possibly their best two signings in Henderson and Lingard were freebies. Either way it's a gamble that doesn't guarantee success or survival. Possibly it adds extra pressure on both the team and manger as immediate results are expected. For example Fulham spent in excess of £100m last time they got promoted and virtually rebuilt their team. The result? Relegation. Forests success last season was built on loan signings so they are literally rebuilding their team . We , with a couple of exceptions, have the same team as last season. They know each other, they've worked with each other and they understand each others game. I'd rather play with what we've got than buy players out of desperation.
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I think we are all in agreement that we don’t need wholesale change. I do think if we had top quality people at the top of our club we would have identified and brought in a couple of defenders.
More importantly than what I , or any of us think, our manager is of the same opinion and he is closest to it.
 
Neil Dawson said:
I think we are all in agreement that we don’t need wholesale change. I do think if we had top quality people at the top of our club we would have identified and brought in a couple of defenders.
More importantly than what I , or any of us think, our manager is of the same opinion and he is closest to it.
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Tried to get Tanganga; looking at a Colombian option and asking liverpool for one of two players so don’t think recruitment are struggling to identify players.

As others have said they need to be better than Meps, who is a Welsh international otherwise no point signing them. It’s a key role in the team so need quality but that comes at a price. Palace forked out £20m on Guehi who was relatively untried.

maybe we will go down the loan route
 
Neil Dawson said:
I think we are all in agreement that we don’t need wholesale change. I do think if we had top quality people at the top of our club we would have identified and brought in a couple of defenders.
More importantly than what I , or any of us think, our manager is of the same opinion and he is closest to it.
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Well think you reading more into what SP said to support your argument. There could be many reasons why our targets haven't yet signed, e.g. max won't sanction what the selling club wants, the player doesn't want to come, the selling club doesn't want to sell.
So if we sign 1 or 2 decent defenders, will you concede the recruitment team did a good job?
 
Red_till_im_ded said:
I might be in the minority but I'm reasonably comfortable with our transfer policy currently. Im not disputing the fact we are a few players short at the moment but I'd rather that than just splash the cash because it's expected. Forest have spent upwards of £70m so far , yet possibly their best two signings in Henderson and Lingard were freebies. Either way it's a gamble that doesn't guarantee success or survival. Possibly it adds extra pressure on both the team and manger as immediate results are expected. For example Fulham spent in excess of £100m last time they got promoted and virtually rebuilt their team. The result? Relegation. Forests success last season was built on loan signings so they are literally rebuilding their team . We , with a couple of exceptions, have the same team as last season. They know each other, they've worked with each other and they understand each others game. I'd rather play with what we've got than buy players out of desperation.
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The general tone on here seems to be as one or at least the vast majority anyway.

Perhaps it’s not the same on social media and I’m missing that particular take.
 
Neil Dawson said:
I think we are all in agreement that we don’t need wholesale change. I do think if we had top quality people at the top of our club we would have identified and brought in a couple of defenders.
More importantly than what I , or any of us think, our manager is of the same opinion and he is closest to it.
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Difference between identifying and getting them over the line. Linked with plenty of targets.
 
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