Ric Flair

Our club used to justify the sales of our players for vast sums as the way in which we can progress as a club and for a period that is what enabled us to, along with other practices. We decided to stop that for a season whilst finances were all over the place due to covid and it helped aggravate our predicament that we now landed ourselves in. Relegation didn't cause this alleged breach, there was simply no likely scenario that would have enabled us to swerve the 3 year PSR up to the end of 2022/23 if we consider the income generated from selling Fofana and Maddison has likely left us considerably short of it. The club knew what they were doing in 2021/22 and the impact that would have in future 3 year cycles that 2021/22 would be included in. It was a risk they took, you could argue why change what had worked previously but by then we were already paying players more and more and signings were costing more and more and were no more proven successes than the types of players we'd brought in in earlier years. Where's the accountability? Where's any statement admitting to mistakes etc? I get its too early for that this time around but I doubt we'll get anything. The victim of success and chasing ambition card will be used despite the irony there.

Of course but despite 4 points from 5 being only 1 loss a win compared to the earlier dip in form, its materially much bigger. Implosion is likely swatted away until its too late or over a much larger period to judge but it'll be just that if we don't return to top 3 form at the very least in the next run of games.

What would implosion look like to you over the last 5 league games? Would we have had to lose all 5 by a cricket score?

I wonder what the fan reaction to this is going to be at games when the financial results are announced and the supposed breaches? Focus seems to be more on the rules and the bodies than our board and club which should surprise me but really doesn't with our fan base. Lemmings.

There must have been some serious concessions from Inter to agree to a loan deal with an option, given his contract was up. Essentially relying on us to achieve promotion and sign him permanently in June or something weird. No wonder it was a farce.

But you book it in the year of sale, so it all depends if you have the flexibility to take that hit or prefer to just keep spreading the amortisation over the length of the contract and keep the player. Its nonsensical but very few clubs of our ilk are booking regular losses because of this, they're just loaning them out.

Only if he rejected offers for players that were above what was left on the book value of such players, otherwise it would have been a loss and increased our defecit.

I get that and share the same fears and feelings in general but we won't finish 3rd if we get 19 points from our remaining 9 games. There's a good chance we finish 3rd but it'll be because we've carried on this dog shit form for the remainder of the season.

Pretty sure we only had a £10m headline loss to not breach the £105m three year PSR limit. So the £92.5m less deductibles must still have been monumental.

In any such new league what would be the rules to ensure what's currently happening doesn't happen again? No limitation of investment?

Haven't Chelsea still got ongoing investigations for historical potential breaches dating back to Abramovich era too?

I'm joining and I'm not embarrassed to go by the name of a washed up wrestler despite approaching 41 myself.

Adrian Benedyczak

Yes it really would, precisely for the reasons you have tried to give. You don't waste opportunities like this. 19 points from 14 games after the best ever start would be extremely poor. Its as simple as that, the context to which it came about makes it so. This is about failing to succeed from a position of near certainty and power, this isn't things being equal. 1.35 points ppg for the final third of the season would be an absolute disgrace.

That's absolute rubbish. If we ended up on 97 points and missed out it'll be because we'd have amassed just 19 points from our final 14 games which would be atrocious. That's a 1/3 of the season - the home straight and we'd have ballsed it up once again. I'm sick of fans trying to excuse when our club throw away glorious opportunities.

If so, I think he really risks the future of this football club. Failure to get promoted and we could be in dire trouble.

I think the key is, he's got the next two weeks to work with a good chunk of the squad who aren't on International duty and its a good spine of the team if he involves Coady with Ricardo, Justin, Winks, KDH, Fatawu, Mavididi and Vardy.

We wouldn't have the money to do so, certainly if we didn't go up but he has been impressive. Sorba Thomas is a similar type of player, similar age and would cost much less.

I don't see how they can do anything but a huge points deduction at the very least and by huge I mean tens and tens of points.

100%

I think you're right and yet both manager and club will probably be held back as a result. Maybe I'm being harsh but his ideology requires the finest ingredients and with the negativity around the place I think his early sparkle where he thrived in similar surroundings (but with a poorer squad) will be long gone.

There's no magic formula to put rules in place but give teams carte blanched to do what they want. Unfortunately those that generate more revenue in prize money, transfer money and commercial income are always going to be able to dominate as long as they utilise it correctly and I don't object to that really. I've no interest in a draft like system each season where every team is equal, would bore the shit out of me as illogical as that sounds. I also accept you can't have owners able to just pump billions in to their club if they want to as although in principle it's absolutely fine if the funds are there to do so, but there's so much risk in general if this is in play. The PL generate obscene income over the rest of the football World bar a few mega clubs and yet PL clubs are not necessarily much better off for doing so due to the nature of the beast of having to pay more in wages and more in transfers fees as the PL tax. Hopefully new rules that are fairer and align with the economical changes will see the insanity of fees and wages tail off and progressive PL sides can still benefit from being fortunate to generate the revenue they do and with the right execution challenge the elite and it not quickly run them ashore. I still think the marginal gains for sides like us is in the academy investment and there should be even more rewards for developing in house and with our facilities and more pumped in to recruit and develop (with the very best coaches) then we can prosper.

This this and this. There's absolutely no excusing it, especially not since we've been averaging 2 goals a game and the two excellent defensive displays that we kept clean sheets in he played them both and did brilliantly (Bournemouth and Sunderland). Enzo has had a howler this last month, proper head loss stuff which is understandable as an inexperienced manager but he's really not helped himself. Doubled down on his philosophy and trusted players despite both failing him in recent games. Where he's been excellent is regrouping during the international breaks and tweaking things and hopefully he does that after this one.

Sinclair Armstrong's contracts up this summer, I'd be looking at him if we blow promotion.

12 wins and a draw from 13 games vs our 13 wins and 1 loss from 14 games at the start of the season. So they need to win after the international break to better it points wise.