What do you all expect,

[adam barratt is the best]

ab has got football ability and he reads the game better than most players in the champianship i wish we had 3 adam barratts one up front one in center midfield and if he plays this season as well as the last 2 i reakon big clubs will look at him

 

[Pubey]

ab was poor last season

 

[shrimperman]

Quote[/b] (* ORM * @ Sep. 01 2006,17:24)]

Quote[/b] (fredheim_holm @ Sep. 01 2006,15:45)]I think Harrold could become a cult hero round these parts.

Why not ? AB has already proved that you don't need footballing ability to become one

 

Quite. Only playing centre back doesn't necessarily require you to have natural ability whilst being a striker is quite the contrary

 

[canveyshrimper]

Quote[/b] (wiggy @ Sep. 01 2006,15:12)]

Quote[/b] (Flashing Blade @ Sep. 01 2006,14:54)]You're forgetting that League rules now state we can only spend 60% of our gate money on wages.

That means, for example, that Crystal Palace, who have double our gate and where it also costs more to get in will have considerably more leverage than us. We can't hope to compete with teams in this division on wages while our gates are 9,000. So we have to buy from lower divisions.

That's just the way it is unfortunately..

Your post also completely disregards the mess we got into the last time we tried to compete with teams from this division on wages.

Apart from that, it was an excellent argument..

I know all this, it's been covered before, i'm just saying that everyone seems to have got the ump about Paynter and Harold, yet have been living in dreamland banding about all sorts of ridiculous names. Basically you get what you pay for and Tilson is going to struggle to get in the type of player that we all want!

Also the actual type of players that Tilly himself may want to bring. However it is a simple rule of economics that we can't spend what we don't have. Otherwise we go back to the days of financial penury we "enjoyed" in the 80's & 90's. It appears that RM has bought financial stability to the club, but we have to face reality that if and until we get the new stadium or find a Russian Oligarch lurking under the pier, we will not be able to compete with the clubs in our division who are able to attract higher crowds and therefore the necessary revenue.

 

[fredheim_holm]

Quote[/b] (shrimperman @ Sep. 01 2006,18:53)]

Quote[/b] (* ORM * @ Sep. 01 2006,17:24)]

Quote[/b] (fredheim_holm @ Sep. 01 2006,15:45)]I think Harrold could become a cult hero round these parts.

Why not ? AB has already proved that you don't need footballing ability to become one

Quite. Only playing centre back doesn't necessarily require you to have natural ability whilst being a striker is quite the contrary

He looks like a decent poacher for his age

 

[MilkeySUFC]

Isn't the 60% wage cap rule across all football club employees against all turnover, not players wages vs gate receipts?

 

[* ORM *]

I'm in agreement with the points Wiggy's making, though I'd prefer to put a more positive spin on it. We will survive and prosper this year DESPITE the limitations of the wage structure.

 

[Xàbia Shrimper]

Quote[/b] (MilkeySUFC @ Sep. 01 2006,21:24)]Isn't the 60% wage cap rule across all football club employees against all turnover, not players wages vs gate receipts?

No. The salary cap prevents clubs from spending more than 75 per cent of their income on all club wages, or more than 60 per cent on playing salaries. It is not legally binding but has been in place for two years, during which time no club has exceeded the cap.

However remember that it has only been applicable to League One and League Two; the salary capping has not yet been introduced to the Championship (mainly because the 24 clubs didn't want it at the time). But plans to introduce such a scheme after all were revealed at the Football League's AGM back in June and are likely to be in place by the 2008-09 season. There are signs, however, that some clubs are already putting in place a voluntary code of practice; maybe Southend United are one of those?

 

[silentshrimper]

Im totally happy with the players we have. We are probably paying a player like paynter the same as we was with broughton. I think thats a bargain dont you?

We have to be sensible, if we can establish ourselves here on a weak wage budget then we will all be praising Ron. The new stadium arrives, gates rise and the budget can rise with it.

Things are being managed well at the moment I think.

 

[gbshrimper]

Quote[/b] (ramblers shrimp @ Sep. 01 2006,14:50)]Better that than paying wages above our means due to our fan base and capacity and entering into a Leeds situation surely.

Surely entering a Leeds situation would be ideal.....run up eighty million pounds of debt on transfer fees and ridiculous wages to improve the team, have a few seasons of glory, then go into administration / receivership, write off said eighty million pounds of debt, screw all your creditors with a rusty gatepost and suddenly find ourselves able to be one of the "big payers" in the division again.........easy innit?

 

[sufcintheprem]

This whole argument of underpaying players is ridiculous. We can't afford to compete with other clubs at this level so every signing we make has to be a gamble of sorts because it will be someone that other clubs chose not to pursue.

There is no way we won't be one of the lowest bidders at the table unless we suddenly start bringing in crowds bigger than our stadium can hold.

 

[Beefy]

Quote[/b] (jontosh2001 @ Sep. 01 2006,18:45)]ab was poor last season

No he wasn't.

 

[fredheim_holm]

Quote[/b] (Beefy @ Sep. 03 2006,16:46)]

Quote[/b] (jontosh2001 @ Sep. 01 2006,18:45)]ab was poor last season

No he wasn't.

agreed. AB was by no means poor.

 

[Matt the Shrimp]

Quote[/b] (Xàbia Shrimper @ Sep. 01 2006,15:38)]

Quote[/b] (wiggy @ Sep. 01 2006,16:12)]... i'm just saying that everyone seems to have got the ump about Paynter and Harold, yet have been living in dreamland banding about all sorts of ridiculous names. Basically you get what you pay for and Tilson is going to struggle to get in the type of player that we all want!

The slating of Paynter and now Harrold is quite amazing, almost on the verge of obscene. I blame the Football Manager / FIFA Soccer culture on creating a breed of football fans who believe they can do better (which they can, of course, with ridiculous budgets) but actually know sweet FA about the intricacies of running a football club. Tilson and his team have to work with what they are given in terms of budget (whatever that may be at the moment; NONE of us will know) and try to attract the highest quality of player with that budget.

So far he's done quite well, don't you think?!

Bravo, Mike. Very well said indeed.

Incidentally, don't know why people are comparing us to Leeds; if you want a comparator, look no further than Rotherham - their story has been covered in detail in the Sept edition of FourFourTwo.

The Millers paid ridiculous wages when they got promoted, relied on a sugar daddy to bank-roll their £3m overdraft, he got tired of the game, Rotherham got relegated after three seasons, their gates halved, he pulled his money out... and now the Millers sit bottom of league one, with a ten point deduction, and trying to convince their creditors to take a penny in the pound on their debts.

Are people seriously suggesting that that is a model we should follow?

We're not paying top dollar to buy players and pay wages because we're a small club punching some distance above our weight. Maybe, with a new stadium and sustained presence in the Championship, we might move up a level in 5 years' time... but until then, we are going to need to rely on the extraordinary abilities of Steve Tilson and Paul Brush to work wonders with lower/non-league youngsters and/or seasoned pros, and for Tilly & Brush to keep us as near as possible to half-way in the Championship. It is their sternest test yet - let's get behind them, and every player they sign, so that they can try to pull off that feat.

And if you think we should be signing this or that ex-Prem fancy dan without a club on mind-boggling wages, then I suggest you're supporting the wrong club. Perhaps Chelsea or Leeds might be more your style.

Matt