Last season's highest paid player

[Mr Popodopolous]

1 hour ago, BobBobSuperBob said:

Not if we had less squad fillers / wasting wages elsewhere 

True- then again if injuries kick in and there's a thin squad then you could be in trouble- can be hard to cover all bases.

Still if the wage bill is roughly in line with @JoeAman08 's post albeit I think that was merely basic wages, there must be some big earners now off the books. Will be surprised if wage bill quite as high again.

Think LJ could have made better use of some of the squad fillers personally but yeah your point I broadly agree with. Maybe if it's a loan and loan only we could have loaned Tammy this year if we paid his wages- especially if we proved to have broke even this season say, or near enough that anyway- depending on loan fee size of course.

[BobBobSuperBob]

48 minutes ago, Mr Popodopolous said:

True- then again if injuries kick in and there's a thin squad then you could be in trouble- can be hard to cover all bases.

Still if the wage bill is roughly in line with @JoeAman08 's post albeit I think that was merely basic wages, there must be some big earners now off the books. Will be surprised if wage bill quite as high again.

Think LJ could have made better use of some of the squad fillers personally but yeah your point I broadly agree with. Maybe if it's a loan and loan only we could have loaned Tammy this year if we paid his wages- especially if we proved to have broke even this season say, or near enough that anyway- depending on loan fee size of course.

Put it this way Mr P

Just for example personally ( And I’m not necessarily shouting we should have , or would have got , TA , )

Id rather lose one or two members of ‘the first team squad’ to leave open the option of a quality loan 

The same as in January we could have had someone on loan , of TAs quality , wage wise , rather than Kent and Diony

Our recruitment and squad balance and planning and thought, is possibly my biggest frustrations 

Not the money we spend , but how we spend it

[Mr Popodopolous]

1 hour ago, BobBobSuperBob said:

Put it this way Mr P

Just for example personally ( And I’m not necessarily shouting we should have , or would have got , TA , )

Id rather lose one or two members of ‘the first team squad’ to leave open the option of a quality loan 

The same as in January we could have had someone on loan , of TAs quality , wage wise , rather than Kent and Diony

Our recruitment and squad balance and planning and thought, is possibly my biggest frustrations 

Not the money we spend , but how we spend it

That's something I do tend to agree with Bob. Quality over quantity can make the difference- I do wonder what if we didn't sign Kent and Diony in Jan- not sure we'd have got top 2 but playoffs perhaps, as you say too had the expenditure on those 2 gone on a quality player maybe the momentum would have been maintained.

Recruitment generally, I give about somewhere between 5-6/10. Not disastrous but not amazing either- some good, some awful and quite a lot who fitted into neither category.

[JoeAman08]

2 hours ago, Mr Popodopolous said:

True- then again if injuries kick in and there's a thin squad then you could be in trouble- can be hard to cover all bases.

Still if the wage bill is roughly in line with @JoeAman08 's post albeit I think that was merely basic wages, there must be some big earners now off the books. Will be surprised if wage bill quite as high again.

Think LJ could have made better use of some of the squad fillers personally but yeah your point I broadly agree with. Maybe if it's a loan and loan only we could have loaned Tammy this year if we paid his wages- especially if we proved to have broke even this season say, or near enough that anyway- depending on loan fee size of course.

If anything I think we have gained wages this season. Hunt and Weimann combined probably more than Flint, Bryan and Reid. The loss of GON will have helped though but even a lot of that gone with Eisa and Adelakun. 

I am with @BobBobSuperBob. There are 3-4 players bought recently that seem unneccesary. Kalas you could argue for his wage and fee is not that much better than what is already here. Almost like adding Bakers wage to it because he has pushed him down the pecking order. 

Hunt is a solid player but probably one of our highest earners. We had Vyner, Pisano and Moore as options beginning of the season to cover RB plus Bailey Wright when fit. Send one of Vyner or Moore on loan and keep one around. Save you 12-15k a week. 

Just those two is probably a saving of close to 40k a week. Rumoured Tammy at Villa is 35k a week. 

I know it is hard to trim players like Hegeler, Wright, Baker and Taylor for instance but we are still bringing in players that will probably end up fringe players by the middle of next season with another year and half to go! We fill our squad far too much imo because we don’t want to hinder a young players development but if hindering 2-3(out of a big group now) means saving 50k a week then I think we should be doing that. 

[Mr Popodopolous]

31 minutes ago, JoeAman08 said:

If anything I think we have gained wages this season. Hunt and Weimann combined probably more than Flint, Bryan and Reid. The loss of GON will have helped though but even a lot of that gone with Eisa and Adelakun. 

I am with @BobBobSuperBob. There are 3-4 players bought recently that seem unneccesary. Kalas you could argue for his wage and fee is not that much better than what is already here. Almost like adding Bakers wage to it because he has pushed him down the pecking order. 

Hunt is a solid player but probably one of our highest earners. We had Vyner, Pisano and Moore as options beginning of the season to cover RB plus Bailey Wright when fit. Send one of Vyner or Moore on loan and keep one around. Save you 12-15k a week. 

Just those two is probably a saving of close to 40k a week. Rumoured Tammy at Villa is 35k a week. 

I know it is hard to trim players like Hegeler, Wright, Baker and Taylor for instance but we are still bringing in players that will probably end up fringe players by the middle of next season with another year and half to go! We fill our squad far too much imo because we don’t want to hinder a young players development but if hindering 2-3(out of a big group now) means saving 50k a week then I think we should be doing that. 

Kalas I dunno if I agree- he's gained 2 promotions and a playoff in his last 3 Championship seasons- suggests he's a top level Championship defender. Fact clubs higher in the pecking order than us were in for him makes me think he was a good signing.

Or maybe playing at Middlesbrough and Fulham made him look better- started brilliantly pre injury though. Players with a past track record at our level, above or equivalent seem to regress under LJ though, noticed that worrying trend in recent times.

Hunt, I sort of agree but again Moore I think throwing him in and to an extent same for Vyner, are they ready? If as squad players sure but the number of injuries that predominantly LJ's signings have got mid-long term last 2 seasons means that we maybe throwing them into a level they aren't capable of. Good for Vyner's development to have a year at Rotherham at this level I think, will Moore make it though? Unsure- when's his contract up here?

Hegeler could have played alright in a 4-3-3 or a 4-1-4-1 I think. Wright did well at Preston and helped the structure of the side last season during our great run, our most compact football last season- probably ran its course but a good squad player. Baker was great for a time and then...no longer. Taylor first half season his assists important for us staying up.

Perhaps all 4 have run their course here but I can see aspects that were or could have been positive in all 4.

As an aside, and I'm not blaming LJ for this necessarily, but it is notable how many of his signings have obtained medium-long term injuries last 2 seasons. Sort of can necessitate a bigger squad.

Pisano

Wright

Baker- Did he have a medium term injury? Seems like he could have.

O'Dowda

O'Neil

Hegeler

Diedhiou

Djuric

Taylor

Could be some more I've forgot- Walsh too actually- but that's fairly interesting- are they too weak physically, doesn't he train them right? Could all be a lack of due diligence on his part maybe.

[JoeAman08]

28 minutes ago, Mr Popodopolous said:

Kalas I dunno if I agree- he's gained 2 promotions and a playoff in his last 3 Championship seasons- suggests he's a top level Championship defender. Fact clubs higher in the pecking order than us were in for him makes me think he was a good signing.

Or maybe playing at Middlesbrough and Fulham made him look better- started brilliantly pre injury though. Players with a past track record at our level, above or equivalent seem to regress under LJ though, noticed that worrying trend in recent times.

Hunt, I sort of agree but again Moore I think throwing him in and to an extent same for Vyner, are they ready? If as squad players sure but the number of injuries that predominantly LJ's signings have got mid-long term last 2 seasons means that we maybe throwing them into a level they aren't capable of. Good for Vyner's development to have a year at Rotherham at this level I think, will Moore make it though? Unsure- when's his contract up here?

Hegeler could have played alright in a 4-3-3 or a 4-1-4-1 I think. Wright did well at Preston and helped the structure of the side last season during our great run, our most compact football last season- probably ran its course but a good squad player. Baker was great for a time and then...no longer. Taylor first half season his assists important for us staying up.

Perhaps all 4 have run their course here but I can see aspects that were or could have been positive in all 4.

As an aside, and I'm not blaming LJ for this necessarily, but it is notable how many of his signings have obtained medium-long term injuries last 2 seasons. Sort of can necessitate a bigger squad.

Pisano

Wright

Baker- Did he have a medium term injury? Seems like he could have.

O'Dowda

O'Neil

Hegeler

Diedhiou

Djuric

Taylor

Could be some more I've forgot- Walsh too actually- but that's fairly interesting- are they too weak physically, doesn't he train them right? Could all be a lack of due diligence on his part maybe.

There are questions about every player I mentioned.

Hunt isn’t starting now so surely Moore or Vyner could have filled that role with the ability to play CB too! 

As for Kalas, I don’t doubt his quality or CV. He is a top CB for this level. My point is we are probably paying in the 4-5m range on fee and wages for one season. Is he a 4-5m investment better than Baker(who is probably in the 20k range himself and not playing)? I am not sure he is good enough to warrant that money. Meaning we could have Harry Maguire right now and we still would not be higher than midtable. Not sure he is 4-5m difference to us this season. Hard to quantify it but my opinion. 

I’d rather have the questions on the bench like Vyner, Bakinson, Smith, Moore and Semenyo filling our squad than Baker, Wright, Watkins and Hegeler. Those players do not play but are on 5-10 times what the kids are. If we need a few kids on the bench to bring in a better midfielder and striker for our first XI why aren’t we doing this? 

[cidered abroad]

Academy boys not out on loan are getting some chances on the bench but absolutely minimum on the pitch.

And that is due, IMO, to the haphazard, boom and bust, performances and a miserable home record. We could give them game time in away matches, less pressure from our fans, but we cannot because we are desperate for the away wins that we don't get at home.

So their development is elsewhere on loan or not at all. And we are paying for it with more loans in and signings than we should have.

[Mr Popodopolous]

9 minutes ago, JoeAman08 said:

There are questions about every player I mentioned.

Hunt isn’t starting now so surely Moore or Vyner could have filled that role with the ability to play CB too! 

As for Kalas, I don’t doubt his quality or CV. He is a top CB for this level. My point is we are probably paying in the 4-5m range on fee and wages for one season. Is he a 4-5m investment better than Baker(who is probably in the 20k range himself and not playing)? I am not sure he is good enough to warrant that money. Meaning we could have Harry Maguire right now and we still would not be higher than midtable. Not sure he is 4-5m difference to us this season. Hard to quantify it but my opinion. 

I’d rather have the questions on the bench like Vyner, Bakinson, Smith, Moore and Semenyo filling our squad than Baker, Wright, Watkins and Hegeler. Those players do not play but are on 5-10 times what the kids are. If we need a few kids on the bench to bring in a better midfielder and striker for our first XI why aren’t we doing this? 

I see your point a bit more now, I wasn't even taking into account the loan fee with Kalas which perhaps I should.

I think LJ should have got more out of certain players and utilised them better- I'm not saying they're stellar but in quite a few cases they strike me as alright squad players- certainly in some cases think a different system would've brought more out of them.

I'm a bit naturally risk averse football wise so I see it as a gamble to fill the squad with youth having sold who we have over the summer.

Next year Vyner will have had the experience on loan at various levels so I hope he will be in the main squad. Is Moore ready or doing enough? I dunno. Bakinson will be honest haven't tracked his progress this season. Semenyo, is he at Newport? Mate told me our player on loan there came on and looked so sharp, changed game in recent FA Cup game, can't remember if it was him or not- augurs well if so.

[JoeAman08]

4 hours ago, Mr Popodopolous said:

I see your point a bit more now, I wasn't even taking into account the loan fee with Kalas which perhaps I should.

I think LJ should have got more out of certain players and utilised them better- I'm not saying they're stellar but in quite a few cases they strike me as alright squad players- certainly in some cases think a different system would've brought more out of them.

I'm a bit naturally risk averse football wise so I see it as a gamble to fill the squad with youth having sold who we have over the summer.

Next year Vyner will have had the experience on loan at various levels so I hope he will be in the main squad. Is Moore ready or doing enough? I dunno. Bakinson will be honest haven't tracked his progress this season. Semenyo, is he at Newport? Mate told me our player on loan there came on and looked so sharp, changed game in recent FA Cup game, can't remember if it was him or not- augurs well if so.

Is a balancing act imo but don’t think we are even close. When fully fit we will have 10k a week players not even making the bench. I’d rather have a strong 14-15 and rely a bit more on youth. It is not as if players mentioned are in the conference. Pring, Semenyo, Bakinson, Vyner, Moore, McCoulskey and Smith are all in the football league. Most of them are impressing too. A few of those should be sticking around next season imo. We seem ok buying lower league talent and bringing them on slowly(Adelakun and Eisa not loaned back out) so why can’t a few of those be on our bench? 

Bakinson, Semenyo and Pring are all at Newport. By the sounds of it Bakinson is within a shout of their player of the season so far. Semenyo playing quite a bit. Pring used sparingly. 

Smith is at Tranmere and doing quite well. Second straight good loan for him. 

Moore and McCoulskey at Southend. Moore impressing but maybe not spectacular. McCoulskey finding the step up to L1 a bit much. That doesn’t surprise me as he could not get a start in L2. 

Vyner doing quite well and helping Rotherham grind out points. 

I don’t think it is so much is a player doing enough or are they ready. They would not be looked at as starters but someone to cover for an injury or suspension. On top of that they develop with our first team squad. They integrate with the players and build bonds. They gain an understanding of our playstyle and how we do things. There are a few ready for that and they are on a lot less money than other players not getting off our bench. 

[Mr Popodopolous]

13 minutes ago, ziderheadarmy said:

O’Dowda?

Taylor? 

Smith? 

All on big money I would imagine

Hegeler missing from that list too.

[JoeAman08]

33 minutes ago, ziderheadarmy said:

O’Dowda?

Taylor? 

Smith? 

All on big money I would imagine

 

20 minutes ago, Mr Popodopolous said:

Hegeler missing from that list too.

O’Dowda 7k

Taylor 8k

Smith 12k

Hegeler 12k

Mind you it is just what I estimate with prior clubs and leagues they come from. O’Dowda for instance came from L2 and had just started being looked at by Ireland when we bought him. So don’t reckon is on loads but that does add another 2m per annum combined!

[BCFC11]

44 minutes ago, ziderheadarmy said:

Taylor will be on much more I wouldn’t imagine as I was told we over trebled his wages when he joined and he must have been the highest paid gas player by some margin! 

O’Dowda starts most games for the ROI I would imagine he is on 12k plus easy.

Never believe what a jealous Sag tells you. They tell everyone he’s on £15kp/w just to make themselves feel better, after we stole him for £300k

[The Constant Rabbit]

I reckon to everyones horror it was Hegeler.

Bundesliga to Championship - need to be a decent wage.

 

Even more horrific is that when fit, he still can't get a run!

[Carey 6]

8 hours ago, ziderheadarmy said:

Taylor will be on much more I wouldn’t imagine as I was told we over trebled his wages when he joined and he must have been the highest paid gas player by some margin!

He is on more. 

But he was only on 2k at Gas. Not sure about bonus though. 

Wouldnt surprise me if the reason we’re paying him so much is because of the dodgy nature behind the deal & how cheap he was.