Mr Popodopolous

We also need to be in a position whereby selling can go back into the side with up to 100 pct of proceeds. E.g. £30m turnover, allowable FFP loss £13m...the highest it needs to be to avoid and this is moving forward is £13m in 1 year or £39m in 3. I make our FFP allowances £6-7m per season therefore the final pre tax loss with zero player sales must not exceed £19-20m- Total full operating costs must not exceed £49-50m. Last season was £59-60m and a £29-30m pre tax loss (£28.5m after player sales) so- yet fortunately I believe we are approaching a point whereby any sale would be net of FFP and therefore all the proceeds could go back in to strengthen the team.

Plus a little further reading. https://thepinch.substack.com/p/sheffield-united-kop-seating-safe-standing?r=d4uj9&utm_medium=web

Observation. Or bit of a cautionary tale. It is great and it helps the atmosphere but it MUST be done well and correctly. I see that Sheffield United have had to restrict ticket sales on their Kop owing to overcrowding and or safety issues, possibly the SAG or SGSA. This is from 3 months ago but any similarities? Still doesn't seem to have fully resolved itself afaik. https://www.sufc.co.uk/news/2022/october/26/kop-issues/ In short any migration across sans tickets creates a problem, save perhaps for standing on the back rows. I'm possibly stating some obvious points here but it is a cautionary tale from elsewhere. I'm not against it but all factors need to be taken into account.

Good point OP. Plus players develop at different times, oj different trajectories too- people writing off Bajic or Low so early in their career here, their development at this level Is a bit mad for example. Agree that there is a cut off but a bit of patience and encouragement can go a long way.

Possibly linked to the Sheffield United embargo, possibly unrelated but talk of Berge to Fulham for £20m. He has tbh been linked with varied PL clubs and European top flight clubs for a while but whether it's linked to their embargo or not it would I am sure resolve all outstanding issues there.

Although public broadcasters and viewers...surely the idea of a license fee funded broadcaster means that pushing for viewers isn't the be all and end all, there's a balance I get that. By a bit more I mean maybe a few more clips, a little but of chat about the game at the end- hardly anything in the grand scheme.

This is fair but at the same time we have an exceptional young talent who lit up the game yesterday and another young prospect getting his first goal indeed there were 2 at AG. Vs a yoyo side ie higher Championship and lower to middle PL, a side who many regular MOTD viewers would be familiar with. Said exceptional talent is being watched by many PL clubs and is an England U19 tournament winner. I'd say that's worthy of a bit more of a mention/coverage.

Front page apparently. Look forward to reading it this week, hopefully the Sunday Times will also have a decent write-up.

He also when reading the teams referred to the bench, maybe once but maybe more as "the substitions"?? It's a bit pedantic of me but come on.

Tbh there were some shockers in those 3 months but Norwich away decent, Sheffield United at home decent, Watford at home decent- deserved 5-7 pts from these IMO, we got 1 but the performance level in all 3 was positive. Preston home, WBA away and Swanswa at home all had their positive aspects. I know what you're saying though, liveliest all round in a while and a clean sheet- was Saturday our biggest win of the season? At home definitely! Funny thing stats, didn't feel all that worried by West Brom as a threat a lot of the time but Leary did make a couple of excellent saves at the right time.

They do, think pragmatism can be important however- depends on the importance of the player to the team, their attitude a range of factors really.

I am sure he won't go by the end of the window. That Semenyo deal has netted off any theoretical Next sesson totally different matter, if the bid is right he surely goes- question is would a move in summer 2024 be best for his development or is summer 2023 the time? Either way enjoy him while he lasts as a City fan- he's fantastic yet only 19!

Excellent work @Olé This highlights it beautifully, the first graph is staggering in particular. What was that stat where we were rhe worst in Europe's top however many Leagues over a given period. Possibly per expected goals and this was a year ago! Send it to Dean Eldredge maybe if you haven't already, NP's agent seemed interested online in the last week or 2 (Twitter).

They didn't play it today in fact the pre match music in the build-up was altogether better I thought.

Wages permitting leaning towards yes, always quite liked DaSilva- technically good, height I'm not so fussed about within reason for players, technical skill can trump physique.

SISU have now sold their 15 pct stake to King- doubt they'll be remembered fondly by Coventry fans or anyone in the game tbh.

Last thought on Stoke and the exhaustive analysis there. IF Covid losses accepted in full (big if as they're huge for the level), and if as expected or SwissRamble suggests they are their allowances for FFP and they stay at £9m a year, it's late so let's assume yes for both. Their challenge to remain compliant is to post losses not exceeding an aggregate of £47.5m this is pre tax, pre adjustments not exceeding this in the period. Sold Collins so I think that this is a goer. Hence I guess the Souttar FFP remark. The other unknown is what happens to the depreciation post disposal of the Fixed Assets, this is removed as a cost but would also remove the allowances for said Depreciation FFP wise, or alternatively type of lease means that it stays on.

In theory if it drags Sheffield United could get an extended ban, this article says 30 days to pay up or the next two windows! Punishment could even carry into the PL or see points deductions. https://www.thestar.co.uk/sport/football/sheffield-united/the-range-of-punishments-sheffield-united-might-face-after-being-hit-with-transfer-embargo-4002575 This all seems quite new when you consider Cardiff and Derby and their embargoes for a myriad of reasons. Or indeed, would Villa"s reported soft embargo for FFP in May 2019 which was reported then (think the order was for clubs possibly in breach in March 2019) put it right by summer, say July 2019 or in their case perhaps June, or face punishment! Article or two at the time alluded to this. Had the stadium sale been problematic say, could they have faced an embargo and investigation, maybe more carrying over into the PL.

Okay from a profit and loss perspective and on the pitch perspective, Sheffield United are significantly better placed than us but have a bit of a cloud with an embargo currently. Rights and wrongs of the regulatory system aside, reportedly they have accepted a bid of £20m for Ndiaye from Everton but the player himself has rejected it, Alan Biggs has backed this up. Both expired in summer 2024, Ndiaye is a bit younger and possibly further along as a player but?? Is there a great deal of difference between the two players to warrant £20m v £9m plus £1.5m add-on (reportedly anyway). Still a bit on the fence about whether we could have got a few million more, but otoh promotion is worth much more to Sheffield United than selling now and collapsing plus will enable a swift repayment of any transfer debt overdue if still going on.

Yes there is the sell-on aspect, but I'm not wholly comfortable with the reported up front fee- although if we were in a bit of an interesting position financially and the post Covid Championship transfer market then this is a powerful counter argument.

Reportedly although only a few reports says £9m fee with an additional up to £1.5m add-ons, we'll only find out or be able to make an educated guess when our accounts are out in late 2023 probably.

PL loanee plus Cornick might help by way of example. I totally agree about mid-season though the principle of it- could a continued in form Semenyo have pushed up towards Or closer towards £15m by the summer. Feels a couple of to a few million too light IMO but the market post Covid at this level seems to have problems.

Not FFP related but fancy a football club for £1? Well Huddersfield Town appear to be up for sale for this! (Granted debt etc would be included).. One to watch?

This is a balanced asessment. I am hoping that as we go through the financial rebuild, we will move into a position where we can more easily resist these types of offers. Yes I know the PL is very difficult to resist or certain European clubs for that matter but even if this is the case, the value must be maximised-- moving forward I believe that we'll be in a paoiton to do this, or keep our best players for longer if this not met. Unsure about Leeds, think they are and have been a bigger club than us throughout the bulk of their history. Scott is contracted until 2025 and we are seeking to tie him down for longer- but hopefully if he goes in the summer he will be the last for some time and we will maximise his value. Cornick I see as a useful replacement tactically albeit not one with such a high ceiling as Semenyo.

You have a certain level of validity in your argument on one level but it doesn't fully reflect the reality of the situation. Cornick would be a useful replacement should we get him, maybe we can sign a PL loanee or 2 as well cost permitting. Plus we aren't going down. We'll get someone in and injuries seem to be on our side finally. Kalas and Weimann not far away, shame about Wilson, Benarous and Conway of course.