Presume & hope….in all honesty, we don’t know. That’s my point. When Mowbray et Al were in position is was probably the most stability there had been under Venkys. I could see a plan then, just like I can see one now. It’s not based on emotion, it’s based on what I know to be true, evidence…which is why I’m clear that we are going through a strategic managed decline. I can guess, though I don’t know the reason for it but the fact that budget has been cut year on year, added to selling the training ground and now cashing in on players with little or no reinvestment is proof of this process. Contrary to opinion, I’m not basking in it or ‘dancing whilst Ewood burns’. I just refuse to melt down over stuff that I cannot impact. General question, based on what Glen Mullan and some others went through….how many of those who supposedly care so much more than us ‘happy clappers’ are prepared to ACTUALLY do something about it? As in, protest? Stick your necks on the block?

The truth is, none of us know. We don’t know if this is a huge plan to decimate us as a club or not…there’s a million and one scenarios that could be playing out. Are Venkys about to sell? Are we now self funding forever, or until we fold? Will the taps turn back on after the court case? Has JE been told he can have any money raised from a sale of SS? SG? I could go on and on…the point is we don’t know. Which makes yours and others strong assertions that there’s “no chance…” lack any credibility. We can’t even lean on precedence because we haven’t actually been in THIS Scenario before, even with these clowns.

I agree with you on the character of those people. However, I don’t think they give a shiny shit about the masses and therefore wouldn’t care nearly enough to start fabricating rumours in this way.

Honestly, I don’t buy the conspiracy theories. Why would we hire 3/4 people as heads of recruitment etc if we had no intention of signing anyone. Whats clear is that we’re skint and self funding until Venkys agree to start funding us again. I have a bit of insight into football transfers through friends who have played and now manage / coach in EFL. The picture changes hourly…eg - Rovers get an enquiry for SS at £8m and they want £10m. Thinking it might happen, they start putting enquiries out for a couple of fee costing signings and speak with the agents of (for example) Brannigan and Baker. Those agents then get excited and start contacting other clubs to get a bidding war going and it gets ‘leaked’….then the SS trail goes cold and we, looking from the outside label the media and ‘ITK’ers’ as liars…rinse, repeat!

Trade for Buckley? Hasn’t kicked on and probably suits Schumacher more than JE?

Liam Cooper and now Lewis Baker being linked after we signed McFadzean and Fleck in January. Seems the base of the team is being populated with experienced, ‘proper’ character types…which tells me they are preparing for a war. Gonna be a tough watch this season I think. I’m ready for it! 💪🏽

Yep, it’s the same. Of course it is 👍🏼

It’s an observation Matthew. An objective opinion based on a review of the last few years. There’s a huge difference between the two…

We’re in managed decline, 100%. The club is being stripped. It’s not great but the number of fully grown men melting down about it is laughable. I’ve supported the club over 30yrs and had season tickets for at least 25 of those. I care. But no one died…in truth we’ve probably been shit longer than we were any good in my lifetime. I spend more time cursing Mr Seed, the manager of my local u10’s team who made me fall in love with David Speedie and Co!!

Great, I liked Ayari…there’s a player in there, definitely. How’s about forward / striker wise? Who we speaking to?

I’m not suggesting we’re going to go crazy and spend millions and millions but genuinely, we don’t / can’t know right now. The club have stated their position on ‘talking or negotiating’ with McFadz and Fleck because both were at the club last season. That doesn’t mean we will sign them, I’d imagine there’s 100’s players in talks with clubs. The Ruddy link is 1+1=3 at the moment too… I appreciate that this is the transfer thread and a place to discuss but why embarrass yourself by having a meltdown about something that hasn’t even happened. Fwiw 1 I genuinely think we’re in ‘managed decline’ mode and I’ve felt like this since last summer. So, let’s wait and see!

Matt Ryan be a good signing 👍🏼

Ok let’s get some clarity - Nicko is a bellend. He banned me on Twitter years ago when I proved he was chatting shit about Jordan Rhodes, but whatever…. His ‘information’ has been up and down for years but truth be told, in our current (rather ugly) guise, where very little actually does get out, he is the most accurate ‘old hack’ out there. His record in the last 12-18 months is better than anyone’s for breaking stories and he 100% knows / reports more breaking stories than the local outlets.

I think IF they agree/ sign before the window even opens, it’s safe to say that Ruddy was the no.1 choice goalkeeper, or at least VERY high on the list. I think he’d be a good signing for a season to get Leo up to speed. Maybe a loan?

Veno!!! 🤦🏽‍♂️🤣🤣

Docherty probably a solid signing instead of Fleck. Sonny, JRC, Trav +1 (Docherty) and Garrett coming through seems reasonable. I’m not sure JE fancies Buckley and at his age, he can’t sit in the bench so I reckon he’ll go. Only a rumour of course but I’d prefer to save our £10m war chest for all these forwards we’re after! 😅

Makes me laugh how many people bang on as they know what they’re talking about with Nixon. Coming from a guy he blocked years ago, so I’m certainly NOT a Nickoteen (whatever those are) - but Nixon has probably been right on us more than anyone else in the last 12-18 months.

Absolutely gutted for Sam Barnes. He was the best defender we had in the preseason that JDT joined. Not sure what’s happened for him to end up leaving… I see Mcfadz AND Fleck are in contractual discussions too…😬

Sound, let’s see 👍🏼

They don’t give a fuck mate. They tried the DOF thing…it looks like JDT and GB have been made the scapegoats. I don’t reckon anyone forgot to press the submit button on McGuire either. Swag et al, decided mid Jan that JDT and GB were not the answer. Swag tapped up JE, negotiated JDT out and brought in JE, Mcfadz and Fleck behind GB’s back. Q - If you were going to fire your manager and DOF, would you press the button on a £3m purchase at Christmas on a player the new gaffer might not like or pull the plug and offer the cash to the incoming manager to spend the following summer? 👀 #askingforafriend

Here’s what I think they will do…no DOF replacement, Swag, JE and Kimberley at the helm. British signings only. 3x purchases (total £6-7m in fees) 2x Freebies 3x Loans Keeper // Back up LB // Mcfadz // CB // CM // 2x wide forwards // Striker *Duru will cover Brittain and JRC at rb and Batty or Gent May cover Pickering dependant on how good a preseason they have. I would prime Gilsenen to play too. Plus a replacement for SS if he goes and I’m not sure anyone will stump up the £15m for him. Hope they don’t.

Who cares? It makes a change from listening to grown men arguing over whether some American has disrespected the club or not… It’s the transfer thread ffs 🤣🤣🤣 More likely to be Bobby Gould than Ryan Gauld but bring it on!

Josh - I think it’s fair to say that ‘they’ have lost faith in the project. JDT and GB we’re leading the charge and have gone… I said at the time that Eustace was appointed, they stalled on McGuire and then signed McFadz and Fleck that it absolutely stunk of Waggott / Venkys having lost patience with it. My gut tells me we won’t get another DOF, or if we do, it will be low profile with a smaller remit and Swag will work with Eustace and Kimberley to bring the players in. Q - do you really think JE is going to be sanctioning signing 2nd division Icelandic prodigies now?

I’m gonna stick my neck out and say we can all but forget about spurious Norwegian 2nd division signings. I’d be VERY surprised if they want McGuire too…Swagg is at the wheel and my feeling is that we will focus on Championship experience and leveraging previous relationships.

Great point. Probably best to judge JE’s current intentions when the transfer window is shut. From a leadership point of view, the best would publicly back the squad they have and then plot to replace them all with better over time. I done know much about JE other than the lads (current and former players) are “havin” him. The Big Sam Interview with SS was very good. Well worth an hour of anyone’s time, the bit where they dissect JDT and JE, and then contrast the ‘head coach’ vs ‘Man manager’ methodology is interesting.. JDT is the former. JE, the latter and Big Sam is vocal on which type he thinks is the best. Without spoiling, JE - ‘Man manager’, focuses less on a specific style of play and more on moulding the group psychologically and tactically to ‘get the job done’. Interested to know which of the current crop of youngsters you think will come through next. Gilsenan is the only one I’ve seen up close and think is special…expect Leonard and Garrett to progress. Really rate Sam Barnes too but he’s had a terrible time with injuries. Who else is worth keeping an eye on?