Do you want RM as manager come August '23?

[K23]

Add into the mix that many don’t understand the word ‘budget’ and things get misconstrued quite easily. Budget is very different to revenue.

I also mentioned Luton earlier in the thread. A shining example of what can be achieved for relative peanuts and where a group of coaches is fully tuned in to the strengths of the playing squad.

I think your point in the last paragraph is the one that sticks with me. For nearly 2 whole seasons now, I've been firmly of the opinion that a manager with more nous as well as better man-management would be getting better and more consist performances out of the squad we have which I don't think is a poor squad for this division.

We are currently 5 points off the playoff positions and I don't think it's too fanciful to think that this squad really should have a minimum of 10 points more at this stage - just seeing out the home games against Millwall and Birmingham would have given us half of those in just 2 games. But a better coached defence, fewer square pegs in round holes and a more positive attitude in the final third would surely have seen Piroe past 25 goals at this stage and a comfortably positive goal difference. IMO, most of our deficiencies are down to the manager and his unswerving philosophy rather than trying to get the best tune possible out of a decent squad of players. He has shown no signs of learning from his mistakes for 2 seasons so expecting him to change going into a third is not something I would put money on.

 

[waveydavey]

Aside from the fact that we are one of the biggest net spenders in the league (not considering clubs with parachute payments), then that statement is completely true.

Have you forgotten that we have spent on Darling, Fisher, Obafemi, Downes, Joseph, Piroe, and others?

Am I missing something or is our net spend over the last 2 seasons about minus ten million?

 

[Cooperman]

I think your point in the last paragraph is the one that sticks with me. For nearly 2 whole seasons now, I've been firmly of the opinion that a manager with more nous as well as better man-management would be getting better and more consist performances out of the squad we have which I don't think is a poor squad for this division.

We are currently 5 points off the playoff positions and I don't think it's too fanciful to think that this squad really should have a minimum of 10 points more at this stage - just seeing out the home games against Millwall and Birmingham would have given us half of those in just 2 games. But a better coached defence, fewer square pegs in round holes and a more positive attitude in the final third would surely have seen Piroe past 25 goals at this stage and a comfortably positive goal difference. IMO, most of our deficiencies are down to the manager and his unswerving philosophy rather than trying to get the best tune possible out of a decent squad of players. He has shown no signs of learning from his mistakes for 2 seasons so expecting him to change going into a third is not something I would put money on.

I can give him a bit of a free pass for some of last season; stepping up a division and inheriting a new squad could be mitigating circumstances. However I feel like we have wasted much of this season as the backbone of our squad is much better than mid to low table and four wins in twenty.

There are folk who quote "I can see what he's trying to do", but when questioned what this means nobody ever answers. Is continually placing square pegs in round holes what he is trying to do? Alternatively is it total football from back to front? If so then he's failed to realise that he has not got the players to do this and should adjust his expectations accordingly - which he cannot do as he's too stubborn. Maybe he is learning, maybe he isn't; the last few and next few weeks will provide an indication of this.

 

[Cooperman]

Am I missing something or is our net spend over the last 2 seasons about minus ten million?

This should be of no surprise to anyone. The model of our club right now requires a big sale each season, but this is a different argument to the one which says he has not been backed.

The problem comes this close season as we don't have a Downes or a Rodon on our books.

 

[jasper_T]

Am I missing something or is our net spend over the last 2 seasons about minus ten million?

Going by transfermarkt's imperfect figures, we're 7th for transfer net spend profit this season, and 16th last season when we spent more than we brought in (and those numbers don't usually include loan fees like Christie and Wolf). Given how much Championship clubs overspend on wages a ten million "profit" over two years doesn't cover the bills on its own. Hence the ownership loans. We haven't produced remarkable player trading revenues compared to our competitors since the relegation sell-off that most clubs perform when they come down.

Wages on our last accounts were £27m. Our income before player sales now is maybe £17m. The former number will have come down since then (Ayew leaving if nothing else) but it would have to halve to be actually sustainable without making regular big player trading profits. Getting £10m for Downes doesn't mean that buying Darling and Wood for £3m isn't significant spending, or that wages for Allen, Sorinola and Cundle appear from thin air. We could have not bothered and given Cooper. Cullen, Cooper, Congreve and Cotterill more minutes.

 

[waveydavey]

This should be of no surprise to anyone. The model of our club right now requires a big sale each season, but this is a different argument to the one which says he has not been backed.

The problem comes this close season as we don't have a Downes or a Rodon on our books.

I agree that we probably need a major sale each year , however our net spend is much much lower than say Luton or Millwall.
Both these teams have spent more than they have received from transfers over the past two seasons.

 

[Cooperman]

I agree that we probably need a major sale each year , however our net spend is much much lower than say Luton or Millwall.
Both these teams have spent more than they have received from transfers over the past two seasons.

Aye but they also didn’t have a Premier League hangover to fix. We had Andre Ayew on our payroll until quite recently. Some of our revenue from player sales has gone this way, but a not insignificant amount has gone on lavishing Martin with more than twenty new players.

 

[waveydavey]

The original point that I responded to was that we have made a large net profit on player transfers during Martin's time in charge. Only a handful of clubs in the championship have received more over this period.
Also we have shipped out more players than we have brought in - permanent transfers, that is.
We are already being prepared for Piroe's departure!!

 

[monmouth]

I agree that we probably need a major sale each year , however our net spend is much much lower than say Luton or Millwall.
Both these teams have spent more than they have received from transfers over the past two seasons.

So what? We've spent more pounds and achieved less. Their managers must be world beaters.

I don't believe we are bottom 8 spenders, but lets assume we are. Again, so what? Do Brentford spend more than Leeds? Brighton more than Everton? Last time we went up how much did we spend? Where did we sit in the 'spenders league' then?

We are better than mid table, yet under Martin we are mid table. It's just excuses and dissembling to support a very ordinary managerial performance. Very Ordinary.

We all wish he was a brilliant manager. Evidence so far, he's not. He's underperforming.

 

[Dr. Winston]

It's just excuses and dissembling to support a very ordinary managerial performance. Very Ordinary.

I don't think it's even really intended to support Martin in most cases. It's just that people want to blame club management more. We've got a situation where a January transfer window is being blamed for a run of poor performances that started weeks before the window even opened. Logic has flown right out of the window.

He's tremendously fortunate that a lot of people have much greater issues, rightly or wrongly, with other individuals rather than him.

 

[Darran]

I want Russell to stay when we are winning football matches,I don’t when we aren’t.

 

[Cooperman]

The original point that I responded to was that we have made a large net profit on player transfers during Martin's time in charge. Only a handful of clubs in the championship have received more over this period.
Also we have shipped out more players than we have brought in - permanent transfers, that is.
We are already being prepared for Piroe's departure!!

Even in the post parachute payment era our incoming revenue is less than our overall spend. We’ve been able to plug that gap by selling Downes et al and afford something back to Martin for transfers. Even then there has been cash injection into the club by the owners. Piroe is just the next one in line.

 

[Cooperman]

I want Russell to stay when we are winning football matches,I don’t when we aren’t.

What about when we draw?

 

[Darran]

What about when we draw?

Drawing isn’t winning.

 

[Cooperman]

Drawing isn’t winning.

Thank you.