DJ Barry Hammond

Not seeing @moore_94 lurking on the forum ready to create the ‘officially joined’ thread so can’t imagine an announcement is close.

Did you actually read the article (typical local news site that makes it hard to do). I did and it was a complete nothing burger! There was no social media tease of him joining Rangers (at least with what the article indicated) - and the rest was all public domain information.

You can’t just leave that bit hanging there - not as if that’s sacred information now!

Ah, so they’ll just need to nip down to Boots to get the film developed! So we’re talking about around an hour plus travel to and from Highcross for the announcement!

Hmmmm 🤨 See, I think Skipp’s a more likely candidate for the mutual termination free transfer in year 3 of his contract after failing to make more than 50 appearances for the club during that time situation. And for reference - he’s apparently made 28 appearances for us so far!

Haven’t there been other jobs, like in Germany and The Boro job that he also didn’t get?

Dare I say that we might have dodged a bullet here? To position yourself as leaving for months, only to then return a week into pre-season… what’s that about?

It’s probably also worth saying that QPR outplayed us for long periods in that game and that the score line somewhat flattered us.

Technically we’ve always been skint - an average yearly loss of £30 million a year doesn’t shout rude financial health does it! The key difference is that before King Power were willing to underwrite that debt. However, if they’re looking to sell the club, they can’t be reasonably expected to do that - for one, underwriting more debt means more club equity and in theory makes it harder for a third party to buy them out. So that would suggest in terms of finances, the club will need to move towards a break even model, which will be a lot different to what many fans have become accustomed to.

We haven’t run anywhere near to break even for a long time. What’s happening now is a sign that King Power is either no longer willing or able to bankroll the club. So perhaps fans are getting their wish - King Power are gearing for an exit.

Caught up in your wishing well, your hopes inside it…

Ha! Complaints of a lack of noise from the club around managerial appointment followed by “no, not that noise!” However - there is a couple of things to consider here… The information about interviews and who led them suggest this info has been passed on via the club - that it’s come via Percy strengthens that idea. In which case, it then becomes quite odd that you would allow the name drops of two out of work candidates that are on your shortlist if you’re actually planning on hiring one of them. I would therefore conclude that the preferred candidate is a name not mentioned in the tweet… and given the club is hopeful to conclude a deal “later this week” that would suggest the appointment is perhaps not as simple as just agreeing financial terms with a sole party.

I don’t agree - there was signs towards the back end of United’s season he was losing the plot. Plus, it instantly feels a ‘short term’ decision - Wilder wouldn’t last 2-3 seasons with us. I have no issue with the club sounding him out as an option - that would be sensible due diligence - but he’s not the best candidate by far. I’m also not totally against a delay in hiring anyone for the time being… it gives us time to look at Kingy more and for him to properly stake a claim - and my hunch is that he’s actually the best long term solution for us.

Cooper’s pre-season was shambolic - in theory it was so bad the club would have had justification to sack him before the season kicked-off!

I’d hire Kingy as manager.

Is that Kingy being caught on the mic instructing the press?

We’re not getting KDH back anytime soon. If Chelsea were to let him leave, I am sure the likes of Villa / Newcastle would be in for him. Personally I think he’d really fit in at United.

Is that even possible?

I don’t agree with your assertions. We have key positions within the squad that have huge question marks over them - with perhaps the key one being striker. It’s also not clear what our primary central defence and midfield partnerships will be and whether they will actually work well together (Are you that confident that Winks and Skipp can be a dominating midfield force between them?). So that is essentially the first 11’s spine that in reality, we know very little about. I would also suggest that more than “2 or 3” from the current squad will leave us - I think we’ll hit 5 departures easily, but that in reality we could see as many as 8-10 players leave us - in which case, we are essentially looking to build a completely new squad.

For all of those wondering why not July 1st / PSR stuff… I suspect there’s an accountancy trick in here. I’d imagine this week / months wages have already been settled, meaning any compensation package agreed today will fall into next week / months payroll - and therefore the new accounting period.

I get the feeling with the Cooper appointment we possibly didn’t have many concrete options. And we were clearly in a different situation; we couldn’t expect to play champagne football last season, so going for the ‘hard working, hard to beat’ style manager makes some sense. This time round - although we might be expected to challenge at the top end of the league… if we start on minus 6 or 8, that makes things a little trickier. And you know - we have no idea what the squad will look like when the season kicks off. So maybe mid-table safety… plays offs at a push, is the boards more realistic hopes/expectations for this coming season - and there might be a feeling that once again a pragmatic decision in terms of results first over desired ‘team style’ has to be made.

Yes, but that’s life and indeed football ‘business’ in a nutshell. The person you ideally want - be it player or manager - may not be available for the fee/wages you want and so compromises have to be made. I have this same dilemma when shopping in Tesco’s. Do I get home brand chocolate - which does the job, but feels a bit meh? Do I go for a solid, dependable Cadbury’s bar - even if they do leave a glass half full? Or do I go balls to the walls and splash out on the outrageously lavish Lindt chocolate balls, the European top tier confectionery - knowing full well it will be delightful in the immediacy, but that it could contribute to a horrible PSR style hangover in my account further down the line. Anyway… if you actually read all this garbage, apologies… but I’ve typed it out so I’m hitting submit!

Of course there is also option 4 too… 4.) Both 1 and 2 are true to a degree, with the club having spoken to multiple candidates and agreed outline terms / plans with those that made a shortlist before making a final decision.

Really? Doesn’t Dyche prefer a 442, with direct, counter attacking play that utilises quick wide players / crosses into the box. If you’re a winger - you’re not going to be unhappy at that sort of tactical setup.

He’s not - for a start, no manager would be confident they could get 40/50 games out of him in a season. He’s only broken 30 appearances across a season twice to date in his career.