Ric Flair

Yeah, it is a bit strange although there's a few not with them that I'd expect to be. They were linked with him but again he's one that on a scholar deal would have had to inform the club he was leaving back in June. So if he doesn't sign a pro deal he still has to see out his scholar deal. We may agree to sell him of course, hope nit though.

Shame Lorenz Hutchinson isn't deemed ready to mix it with the seniors, we really have a lack of strikers at this club currently.

Ticks all the boxes for the type of forward we need as well. Tall, strong presser, goal machine and comes from a region our manager in waiting has extensive experience in. If Karlsbakk also goes to a rival soon i'll be livid.

Love this, should do a few more games like this. We've missed a trick over the years in using academy players with senior players where they may just take their chance and then get more friendlies and build momentum.

On the champagne son

Martin Kiffwendy's

Karpaty Cifuentes

No, not worried at all. The cost difference between him and Hogh would be about quarter the price.

Karlsbakk, throw every pitiful amount of money we have at him.

I think there's little choice if we want to get serious about the mess we are in. We have heavily restricted finances so managers such as Dyche or even Wilder with promotion experience we have been told were too expensive. This squad has the best emerging talent (collectively) of academy players it has ever had and in this unique situation, a manager who is brave enough to use them is important. Cifuentes has done that with young players before, so in theory that makes sense and has surprised me in some ways the club have made that criteria more critical. His experience and knowledge of Scandinavia is another asset, it's the one region that time and time again produces players that settle and prosper in England for very modest fees. Finally, when was the last time we were a team that pressed non stop? Saw it in glimpses under Rodgers and Maresca but it was special occasions or for shorter periods in games than a philosophy that was set. I am now looking forward to that style of play at least in the short term, I think it will engage the crowd again. Sadly the way this club has been ran, we are having to take calculated risks whilst tightening the purse strings.

Is Rohl's stint at Sheff Wed much different to Cifuentes at QPR? Possibly a bit less streaky and had more shit to deal with but not massively.

Marti and bull shit

Managers of relegated PL clubs would be comfortably £1-2m IMO.

Rodgers was reported to be on £10m a year. £1m a year for a Championship manager, albeit for a team with a parachute payments would be considered low I'd imagine. Release clauses for managers tend to be around 1-1.5 years wages so for example Corberan at £2m would have been on more than that, likewise Rohl.

£20k a week or less for a manager is extremely low mind you, but hopefully a sign of our intentions with the playing squad too.

Cifuentes comes in and we get a shit hot Scandinavian bargain this summer IMO. Karlsbakk would be my choice.

Nice comfy opening day win for Rohl next month

He'd be down the list of managers I'd have gone for but 1) he has a clear track record with developing young players, something certain recent managers have failed in the duty to do so 2) his experience in Scandinavia should open us further to a market that holds arguably the best value for money in the world and 3) he's cheap. If what I've been told is correct, our budget for a new manager is staggeringly low, upwards of ten times less than what Brendan earned here.

I'm more OK with this because of his track record at bringing through young players and his teams tend to deploy direct wingers in a high press. That's what I tend to prefer and something we've not had for a while. There does seem to be some question marks as well though, but I don't think we're in a position to get a manager that doesn't have any. Success here ranges from building squad value significantly in the hope that off the field we are better ran and can put the foundations in to a progressive operation. He hasn't ever won anything but getting promotion in the next couple of years if he gets the nucleus of the squad right is something that should be within his ability.

I find that very hard to believe.

Sold. Thank you

Not a lot between Rohl and Cifuentes from their time in England. Took over utterly mingbeast teams in 23rd and 24th and comfortably kept them up. Last season, QPR at one point were on a seriously impressive run but something happened at the club which might not just be him wanting to go to West Brom and him being stuck on gardening leave. He reminds me a bit in his past of Marco Silva. High energy football, emphasis on wingers and pressing. Plenty to like about that. Will now see what his record is with young players.

An excellent DoF would be a start but I still think the setup would leave them restricted in what they do as everything has to go through Top by all accounts and at the mercy of him deliberating over what to do all the while. Any DoF worth their salt would quickly get fed up with that and leave. We need a whole new ownership and structure. It's ran it's course. Thanks for the memories Top.

I have tried to prepare you lot for this over the last few days....

My understanding is Page isn't a lost cause on signing a deal here and hopefully gets done? I was concerned Monga and Evans were getting all the exposure back end of last season but the one player who gets England U17 recognition in a very talented crop even got demoted back to the U18s. Hope that doesn't come back to bite us.