Final Position Saturday 27th April 2024

The elephant in the room is an injury to Cook. As things stand that would destroy our season.

 

Can I change my vote from autos to Down by Christmas please?

 

Then it’ll be a disaster and people will have the right to complain to high heaven, not so sure about a friendly result though.

If we’re talking hypothetically, let’s hope we’re top with 6 points and have a fixture at Elland Road to look forward to in the second round.

 

Sorry more and more people are coming round to the fact the squad is not good enough recruitment is not strong enough. I think the recruitment is down finances - the funny thing is though they’ll end paying more in the end when they inevitably have to try and fix mistakes made in this window in Jan. erm like the total lack of goals bar Cook.

Answer me this Park record revenue generated and you think what is in that’s squad represents that? Come on

 

Is Cook who signed a new contract going to be cheap is McDonald who Exeter of the division above couldn’t afford be cheap Smallwood and Chapman last seasons signings. Pattison where there was strong competition Walker who we must have broke the bank for. We know we haven’t got a sugar daddy like some clubs and we won’t have the budget that some clubs have this season but there certainly hasn’t been any cost cutting

 

Exeter could afford McDonald, they offered him a new contract. He wanted to play up north.

 

Il say my point again .. last year we reordered record revenues which is amazing total hats off to the club. Ryan just last week said every penny generated goes into the playing squad. My question is do we honestly believe given the amount we have brought in that this summer the recruitment was adequate? Or reflected that improvement? I don’t it’s still your rough diamonds who are a gamble -journey men and one bit of quality Il give you that in Pattison.

 

If they had offered him enough he would have stayed

 

Digest this from last season
https://footystats.org/england/efl-league-two/salaries

 

Come off it look at the salaries Hartlepool apparently paying it loses all credibility this article. Not disputing who they have identified as our top earners I would agree but the salaries these will be ball park and then some. Also no Stockport data to compare and contrast l.

 

Imagine being a Hartlepool fan, paying salary £2m a year for a Goalie and get relegated from the EFL. The whole club will not be worth that sort of dosh!

 

how much do you think having 6 incomings with 1 out costs?

I keep saying this and it keeps getting ignored

we offered Williams three times his wages at Swindon..

how is that cost cutting?!

this is clearly nonsense maybe an attempt at WUMing if im being honest.

if we were cost cutting we would have done a crawley and sold the team off -

Cook, Walker, Smallwood would have been let go or sold off, we would have taken the first offer from lewis and not replaced him..

16 clubs went in for Cook, why would we compete if we were "cost cutting"?

what you are saying doesn't match up with reality at all.

 

Have said this before but il go again - we let go Songo, Eisa, Threkald and Clayton- all regular league 1/2 players - you telling me their wages combined come to that of what we brought in this summer? Plus adding to that last year the loans of critchlow, banks, piera where I imagine we would have been paying a decent percentage.

Even with cooks increase I just don’t see it been the same wage bill - certainly not more. But my question is why not more given the leagues tougher and our record gains?

 

No I am saying our wages are higher.

I dont think you understand how contract negotiations work.

do you think that Cook, Ridehalgh and Gilliead are on less money?

why did you ignore my point regarding letting Cook, Lewis, Smallwood and Walker go?

Id expect three of those to be on around £3,000pw if not more...

do you not thing that those players that left - that their wages went towards cooks wages?

"Even with cooks increase I just don’t see it been the same wage bill - certainly not more."


I'll tell you what, I'll wager a bet to the BBU that the wage bill now is higher than last season.

I think its worth noting that Foulds wage went up 3x when he moved to Harrogate.

EDIT: I cant imagine Oyegoke being cheap either.

 

Not necessarily. Look at Williams, location is what swung it for him.

 

I predicted 10-13th place this year. I just cannot see a sustained promotion charge from this group of players. Far to flakey in defence and not enough firepower despite midfield being strengthened. The big question .... do I lower expectation below 13th?

 

I’ve gone same. There are a lot better sides up the top than last season I expect and we just won’t have the consistency to maintain a sold play off push.

 

Revert to a back 4, do a lot of work in training on set pieces, both in terms of defending them when they go against us and capitalising on them when we win free kicks and corners, start each game on the front foot and don't sit back when we go 1 up.
If we do all of those things, we won't be far off.