So does our millions thst we received for Jon Stones. What was it in the end? £13m? £14m? You do realise that the players they have now are part of the squad that finished 10th right? It's not a case of they all disappeared into thin air and got replaced. It's the same players. Not selling WAS backing the squad and it is now paying dividends. Something not possible at Barnsley as the assets were sold off whilst knocking on the door of the play offs.
One player. We sold (or failed to renew contracts of) half the first team. Bit of a difference don't you think? If you think selling Brookes is compatible with getting shut of winnall, hourihane, Watkins, Roberts, mawson, bree and scowen then I don't think we will ever be on the same page regarding this.
Got to agree. Wilder has them playing good football and they are deciplined. It was such a one sided man vs boys match. The only thing it was missing was a goal, but then their strikers is the weakest part of their squad and will be their downfall if they don't do anything about it in the new year. A word for Madley too as refs get justified stick regularly on here. He let the game flow and took into account the occasion and weather.
Wind your neck in and read. My point is, would they have sold more if they had more?Their 3 forwards are above 30 years old, I doubt they had the same number of assets as us at any given time. I don’t read much about other clubs coveting their players. Moreover, they do sell there best players as tonight on sky as their cameras panned in on Harry Maguire and Kyle Walker proved.
Every club sells players occasionally. Most don't cash in on half the squad in one go. Big difference
Maybe they would if they had as many saleable assets at the same time. United have proved historically they are a selling club
They didn’t because they couldn’t because they didn’t have the same numbers of saleable assets as us. Or are your might haves more factual than mine?
I'll tell you what, you answer me this... If the club had refused to sell Winnall, Bree and Hourihane, would we have made the playoffs? In fact, what do you think the club could/should have done differently?
I don't have a crystal ball. What I do know is that selling them and the rest over such a short period DID lead to us being relegated. A fact that cannot be argued with. What would I have done differently? It's very hard to answer that when we get quite a lot of conflicting information from the club and players involved and when the club deliberately keeps its supporters in the dark regarding fees received. Fees that media speculation has in the tens of millions over recent years.
It didn't help, losing lots of key players. Although I do believe the squad was good enough to stay up last season. The club acted in its best, long-term interests in January thru August 2017. As it always does.
Played some nice football the blunts, and enjoyed a ridiculous amount of possession, but thought they created very little.
That question can't be answered. The outcome could only be speculated on. But what is undeniable is that the club would have had a much better chance of making the playoffs. And just at that point in the club's history, with cash from Stones and Mawson, did it really need the money that it would have forfeited by keeping those players till the end of the season? The elephant in the room of course is Mr Cryne's health, and the need to ensure that the club was able to provide the best future support for his family, which is perfectly understandable and probably what would have been in the forefront of most of our minds in that situation if we're being honest. Targetting the playoffs would have been a gamble - further shoring up the balance sheet provided security. The problem is that that led to a decline on the field and a relegation that I still believe was totally self-inflicted.
Agree with that. They played like a none league club against keague opposition. Gave 100% effort but zero quality. They were over the moon to pinch a point in a game they should have lost. My opinion but I'm sure Billy Sharp wouldn't have missed the penner. The Blunts were exactly that. Good going forward but no cutting edge. Neither of them can keep that pace up for 46 games and I expect the Blunts just to miss out on the play offs and the Fowls to be in the bottom 6. Could all depend on what they do in the January window
Aye. And one of them can spend but probably won’t, again, and the other can’t spend. Leeds meanwhile look the likely Yorkshire club to get promotion. Which sickens me.