Mr Popodopolous

Nico Gonzalez, Wolves reportedly not in for him now if indeed they ever were.

? https://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/sport/23667406.blackburn-rovers-announce-new-venkys-sponsorship-deal/ Fair Value rules, related and associated parties. If it's multi million over several years that's one thing, if it's multi million per year that's quite another. E.g. £4m/4 years..fairly normal. £4m per year on a 4 year deal? Hmm..

Not sure West Brom will be making many signings all told. Some loans perhaps but beyond that.. Maybe if they need to get wage bill down they'd be open to a deal- they are reportedly covering 30 percent of Grant's wages at Cardiff (70-30 split).

In some ways Norwich, Watford and West Brom could take a step forward. All have managers with a proper pre season and for a while West Brom were really flying under Corberan. Otoh Norwich and Watford are in 2nd year of Parachute Payments although that £30m for Watford will come in very handy! (Joao Pedro). Not sure either have especially strengthened this summer. A balancing act for these two as a £30-35m fall in income next year awaits if they stay down and a £22m fall in FFP headroom. West Brom are now out of Parachute Payments and their squad, their depth has been thinning out a bit this summer. That said for Corberan to get Huddersfield to the play-off final on a reported wage bill of £24m was it, should give them some real hope.

Leicester set to sell Barnes for £35m, as expected. Unsure final fee but whatever it is will be pure profit. Still wonder if one or two may need to be sold, but the allowables will be quite high given the PL infrastructure certainly.

True and a fully fit Stewart would be a major boost..think they are still a striker light from perspective of depth, rotation etc. Mowbray a top manager at this levels as you say. Good footballing side, well coached etc but I wonder if goals might be a bit of an issue as it stands- Diallo is a big hole to be filled. In respect of Middlesbrough, interesting business for sure but I wonder if again goals might not flow as easily given Giles, Ramsey, Archer. Well coached, strong footballing side but I'm wondering about the goals. Clearly both have a reasonable financial position, neither have yet particularly utilised the loan market this summer yet it can definitely change.

Worth up to £25m...does that sound like it ticks the box? If accurate obviously.

Just in case anyone panics or gets fooled... This one is a little more convincing fake account wise than some of the false Fabs but false it remains! Literally one letter different in the @ name.

I'd hope so but it depends who exactly comes in for him IMO. I totally agree on him being a model pro and he doesn't seem the type to become disruptive..but what do we know of his agent and his influence, mindset.

State of play that we know of seems to be us holding out for our price and clubs- most notably Wolves given their frequency of bidding- seeking to low-ball us. No sign of Scott discontent although who knows if there is behind the scenes.

Intrigued that you have Sunderland and Boro to go up if I'm reading right. Not convinced they're stronger. Simms (half-season), Diallo and Geldhart (replacing Simms basically) is a decent hole for Sunderland to fill... ...Middlesbrough, well if they re-sign Giles this may change significantly. Ramsey and Archer also returned to Aston Villa- these are the big 3 loanees, Steffen, Mowatt and Muniz the others. Might their squad be a bit weaker as it stands.

The thing is it's not just about us. How much have other sides materially improved their squads or depth, balance since last season. Jury out on many of our competitors IMO. Sides who might be contending for the playoffs. Perhaps some have stagnated or gone backwards.

Ah yes thanks, so there was. Okay maybe a small one there then given Eliasson, Morrell and Szmodics sales will have brought a profit of some kind. Either way they come in very handy when they arise.

Agreed. When we get 3-4 terrible calls that don't include penalties in our favour then it may begin to even out. Some will have fallen in 2020-21 IMO. Would help to square the circle of a £10m profit on disposal on players that year. Despite that though I'm still thinking midtable to top 10, chance of the playoffs sure but need some luck too. Selling Scott for the magic number could bring some strengthening forward of course.

Possibly there was something at QPR on the last day, but on the flip side disallowed goals too, maybe all were Forrest but I remember 1 v Swansea, 2 v Reading and 1 v Stoke in a 3 game period. The Stoke one was notable as nobody could see it due to the sun so we've no real idea if it was or wasn't. I recall scant evidence of big, or decent sized errors falling in our favour again with the possibility of QPR away aside.

Not just penalties either. Was Sharp offside at our place in November? Jury out. Had Bennett been red carded early on as should have been the case at Wigan we were a goal up in searing heat, confident and could have played on the break as the gsme wore on. Had the foul on Sykes been correctly called then the phases of play leading up to the red card v Luton wouldn't have occurred and we wouldn't have been deprived for 3 games was it. Likewise if retrospective officiating hadn't woken up he wouldn't have been banned for 3 or was it 4 games post Swansea. Those two bans could be considered unlucky at best, but were without doubt to our detriment. Both collectively and for Sykes bedding in especially post Luton.

The 2023-24 accounts will give a strong clue, for us anyway- Profit on Disposal etc. The bulk of it will almost certainly be Scott, we don't have a sell on clause to Guernsey although do Solidarity fees factor in here.

Decent piece on Scott and his greater attempts on goal Tuesday. https://www.bristolpost.co.uk/sport/football/alex-scott-bristol-city-8613427

Perhaps Brighton won't move bigger until Caicedo sold. I could also see him doing alright at Brentford, especially if they're moving back towards their 4-3-3 but that's all hypothetical as they haven't been credited with a bid or anything.

I had a little think about Sheffield Wednesday and could they be working at the lower £15m adjusted limit owing to a possible lack of equity put in lately? Not that they would be docked points etc, that's only if you go over £39m but it could restrict them and my explain a few things. Or it could be something above £15m but below £39m. Their huge caution if we take the losses on face value albeit before accounts materialise doesn't make much sense in the context of up to £39m adjusted losses. Or he could be set to try and build, who really can say with Chansiri.

Thanks. They belatedly paid up at last. I assume that to be referring to the case against Nantes and or agent, agency, Insurer maybe I dunno. Their FFP position remains of interest but they could he looking to utilise some sort of write-back or compensation or similar relating go the Sala (RIP) transfer to square the FFP circle, as part of their strategy anyway.

Hmm.. I'll be honest I know little about him but he is a midfielder. As well as or instead of Scott? Like their links with Doyle the other day.

I suppose it can depend on when the add-ons are triggered too. A straight up fee feels best to me but if say he stayed at his new club if he goes this summer for 4 or 5 years or longer, may really flourish there, that headroom and fee would stay on the FFP books until 2025-26. That 3 year cycle. Come 2026-27 it would no longer be a factor. Whereas if add-ons were triggered in 2024-25, the benefit would stay on the books until 2026-27, if in 3 years time an add-on was triggered it would stay relevant until 2028-29 etc. Can depend on size of add-ons, ease of achievement etc but in theory it could give us a nice little top up every now and then. Certainly not a major one but a certain amount that can help. Forgot to add, cash flow isn't a factor really for us so long as SL is able and willing to keep topping up as and when. Must not take it for granted but doesn't feel like a major factor for this deal.

Would have thought so but maybe it's also a case of "If we bid £x for this player then we can spend a certain amount on other bits of the side but if we raise this £x to £x+ on this player, how does this impact upon our budget for a new striker". That's football considerations but financially it may depend how far clear of FFP they now are or I dunno cash flow, other areas of expenditure in the club, a few moving parts. I'm speculating too somewhat, granted! ?

Provided that the pay rise doesn't tip us over FFP of course. If we were to offer him a rise to £40-50k per week, would that be a factor...how far both could we go and would we go in terms of a pay increase. I don't think we would pay this at this level btw but I wonder what the maximum we would or could offer him might be.