Rayvin

I think we'll spend because the club actually has the money to do so, not because I expect Ashley is going to dig deep for £40m.

^ This.

@Christmas Tree Thoughts?

On BoJo: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/apr/04/boris-johnson-liability-porton-down-russia With the standout paragraph for me being: A functional British press would have investigated whether our foreign secretary may have lied to the world about the activities of another country, but alas the media’s leading lights were too busy implying Jeremy Corbyn’s attempts at urging caution were evidence of some kind of fervent lack of patriotism. Here we have two responses to foreign policy: one is based on the careful examination of the evidence and employing diplomacy, the other involves rushing headlong into a conflict with a heavily armed superpower.

I hope you're right tbh, but they have to stop falling at some point.

Depends how long Short is prepared to keep them afloat. They could turn it around if they can offload the chancers and essentially become a 'small club'.

Based on the fact that two of the teams who fell out of the Championship last year are both incompetent (Blackburn, Wigan) and are currently 1st and 3rd respectively.

I think they'll go back up first time of asking tbh but the fact they went down at all, and that a key factor in this is shite home attendances and a toxic atmosphere, will be a stick to beat them with for years to come.

I remember when they were on here when we went down tbf - All we had to do was set essembee on them poor fools didn't know which way was up by the end of that. No sympathy with the piss taking at all - they're fucking raging at it though

It's almost as if we should have waited for the evidence to be analysed before jumping to conclusions.

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/apr/03/porton-down-experts-unable-to-verify-precise-source-of-novichok Shock horror, they don't know where the nerve agent came from.

Daily updates from trooper on how the sky is falling in for xyz reason mixed with people initially saying he is totally overreacting, and then gradually being turned over to his side as the end of the window draws ever closer and we haven't signed anyone etc etc. Mass suicide proposed on September 1st. Then we win our next two games and top ten is nailed on.

Aye there is that. On the balance of things I agree tbh.

Torn on Southampton. Of those mentioned, they're the most likely to recover and be a headache to us next season, so on that basis I would want them to go down. But having said that, I don't really feel that they deserve it as a club...

Palace looked certain to go down at the start of the season, 8 losses in a row and no goals or something like that? Would be kinda funny if they failed now after hauling themselves back from the abyss.

If we get sold I'll put the £10 in either way, but technically you win if we spend under the £40m so that's up to you. The bet is about Ashley really though so it's no skin off my nose if you don't.

I guess tbh if the club gets sold we could end up spending a lot more and the bet kinda becomes irrelevant. If that happens I'll pay in £10 anyway out of general happiness at the situation

Oh. Well fair enough - I seem to recall there being some manner of previous scandals on here with people not paying (Deano?) so I just figured a precedent had been set. But yeah, more than happy to operate on trust.

Sure thing. I may need to be advised what is considered proof of payment to them at the time mind you? I assume a screenshot of a receipt or something? Not that I'll lose of course

Sure, a tenner it is. Hm... I don't actually think we'll get Kennedy in the end so I'm going to go for the >£40m. And besides agreeing on a tenner to the SBR, what other terms would we need? Falls due when the window closes I guess? Although Dubravka and Kennedy, if bought, are included in the £40m.

I'm bored. Although the summer window spending bit is actually something I believe.

This is all going to be fairly easy to determine. If we have a net spend of £30m+ in the summer, I'm going to assume I was right EDIT - £40m I guess with Dubravka and Kennedy, minus any squad players going out.

Agreed, but the first one wasn't caused by his cost-cutting bollocks, and the second one could have been a learning experience. It's not like Ashley is gonna sit there and think that saving £20m at the risk of losing £100m is a workable idea unless he is presumably something like 80% sure it will pay off. Businesses manage risk and sure, football is riskier than many other industries, but you still need to draw a line in the sand somewhere. If the club is spending what it generates, and he sticks to this, then I'm happy. So far so good if we stay up. Also, Ashley spend £80m the season we went down didn't he? So he gambled that an £80m outlay would be enough to secure £100m. What he didn't appreciate was that McClaren was turboshit.

But we will strengthen too. Look, the proof is going to be the summer window. I think we will spend, I think much of the expenditure will come from non-player sales based funds. I have no idea how much but given the figures being thrown around last summer by the other clubs, I think we could reasonably expect about £30-40m net. If I'm wrong then Ashley is clearly trying to do something other than run a sustainable football club. Or we've woefully overestimated how much additional revenue this TV deal should free up. All I'm saying is that his decision making over the past couple of years has, demonstrably, been successful. It doesn't mean I trust him, or like him, but it does mean that actually, something is working.

I wouldn't trust him as far as I could throw him, I'm just saying that looking at his behaviour over the past couple of years, he's actually backed the right outcome each time so far. And you have to assume that his only interest is financial - and there's a decent case for keeping Rafa, and keeping him fairly happy, being a good financial decision.