Kind of makes sense to me. Waggot avtually looks like a bit of a bell end. I’ll have that

Great point re Armstrong last season. I don’t think there’s any evidence that the budget has been lowered. In fact the CEO stated when he returned that the budget was the same / similar. Therefore, the natural assumption on this is that this not about money but more about how much both clubs showed they wanted him. This only becomes bad business if / when we fail to buy any better.

Just caught up....and basically, I don’t care what Rich Sharpe has been saying, Mowbray poured cold water on a deal for Bauer in his fans forum interview before the end of the season. It was obvious that he’d gone off him by that time. The key here is that we improve that area. The manager will be judged at the end of this window re his transfer dealings!

I’m not bothered either way on Bauer tbh. Obv rated in league 1 but didn’t massively impress me in any game I saw him play. The main thing for me is that we deal with the cb issue this window

He was finalising his budget. They scouted targets A to D or whatever and then sit down with the owners after the season to agree on their final budget and the level of expectation. It’s absolutely standard that it is done at this time, face to face and will have happened in clubs up and down the country. Especially when you’re asking for 8 figure cash injections!!!? The only difference here is that our owners live in India. But the constant whining of some on here about ‘missing the boat’ is a bit weird when you consider there’s been like four signings (total) in the championship so far this summer. Another baffling part of this discussion is when people on here forget that players, managers, agents, scouts, chief execs etc all have mobile phones and will have been chatting for weeks about transfers (during the season, afterwards, on holiday, before meeting owners, afterwards) ? Moreover, we don’t even fully know who the targets are yet so how do we know who / if anyone we’ve missed? ??

Nope. Need two defenders imo

Downing and Morrison and Bauer would be a solid start for me.

I said nothing of the sort. I said most managers meet with their bosses after the season has finished to finalise their budget...so the fact that TM has to do this is of little significance tbh.

Most managers meet with the owners to sign off the budget after the season has finished.

You do know they’re able to take their mobile phones on holiday right?

If we do buy two CB’s then I expect us to play three. This would allow us to play three midfielders in front of them and two strikers or Dack in a free role off the main striker. Lenihan Mulgrew Bauer/? Nyambe / ? Bell Travis ? Rothwell Dack Graham / ?

To me, you were implying that Downing was being pursued purely as a role model. My point was that managers don’t pay footballers to do that. Granted, the ability to be a role model is attractive but it’s always about what they can add on the pitch first, surely?

No manager pays a player ‘simply to act as a role model’. Downing is a player first and foremost. He’ll be signed to play and then to guide young players. Q - How do you know Chapman isn’t the one championing this signing because Downing has been an amazing role model to him?

This would be dreamy!

I reckon it’s Bauer and Ajayi he wants.

I don’t think many have gone up on ‘tight’ budgets Kamy. Most in the last decade have had top 10 budgets allied with parachute payments following relegation. But I do accept that promotion is as much about clear playing philosophy’. This is one area that is very much up in the air. Mowbray publicly stating that he wanted to change ours last year leaves a question mark on how this will develop this season. Rightly or wrongly, Mowbray likes a healthy budget. I suppose it increases the chance of promotion whichever way you cut it. But I think this stance by the club has increased the chances of Mowbray going in the next 12 months (his choice or the clubs) exponentially.

https://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/sport/football/rovers/news/17705450.ambition-against-finance-the-balancing-act-for-rovers/ This is the biggest hint yet as to how the meetings in Pune went. It seems that TM went over believing he might get backed to buy some better, established players ready for a promotion push and was informed that he would need to continue buying young and developing them to increase their potential re-sale value. Utilising a mid table budget he is now hoping to emulate the likes of Sheff United and Norwich. But he knows they are the exception to the rule. I certainly read this article as a dampening down of expectation. It explains why he came back from there and didn’t do any media stuff until after his holiday. Based on his previous comments and ambition to manage in the Premier League, he won’t be happy with this stance. For those who want TM out, it wouldn’t surprise me if he jumps at the first chance of a club showing more immediate ambition. So you may just get your wish...

19.....he was 19!!! ????

Exactly.

I remember a lot being outraged at the time. Once they knew it was happening it turned to apathy. Im not saying B.B. has been a great signing. I think he’s been poor in most of the games I’ve watched and didn’t begin to look like a player until the end of the season when we played a more possession based game.

I can’t comment on if it’s justifiable or not because I haven’t read umpteen scout reports on him, watched him play youth games, spoken to several top coaches about his potential, or had to make the decision to sign a player for now or as a prospect. If I had all of that information I could do that. What I do know is that when we initially tried to get him the Forest fans were outraged and insistent on social media and their forums that they didn’t want to lose him. I also recall Mowbray stating fairly early on that B.B. was one for the future. Premier league teams spend that type of money on prospects all the time. They don’t do that because they have more money to lose. No one sets out to buy a bad player or lose money. They do it because they see the potential for that player to become amazing. To be worth 10 times the fee... And I haven’t predicted a single thing. The point about his value, goals and future achievements was made as a rationale as to why these players are signed. It would be baseless if I or you made any assumption on his potential. The people who have made that judgement and risk assessment on the potential rewards are in informed positions. It is absolutely ok to question the clubs decision if you feel we would have been better served by an Assombalonga right now. But they chose another route to take... My primary point here is that to judge a 19yr Old on his ability to be a top level player based purely on a cost you have not even had to pay is basically, brainless.

Kenny, come on! Our transfer record was set in 2001 when we signed Andy Cole mate. That’s 18yrs ago! The fact that his (B.B.) total fee is going to cost or equal what we paid for someone 18yrs ago in a market where Championship players are regularly bought and sold for 8 figure sums is barely worth a mention. He does need to come good. But realistically at 19yrs old he wasn’t bought to make an impact right now. He was bought because they REALLY rated him and the opportunity arose because Karanka didn’t like playing young lads. Whether you agree with the decision the club agreed to make on him or not, judging a 19yr old (or writing him off) is wrong. Regardless of what we’ve paid for him. This is like any other risk / reward investment. With B.B. they believe the potential is HUGE and are willing to invest X to get it. But they knew that the timeframe to receiving that reward (Goals / promotion / £30m) needed to be longer term. Of course it’s a risk but they decided that wanted this over paying for example £10m plus £70k per week wages on Assimbalonga. Either way, there’d be no expectation that B.B. would replace DG ‘sooner rather than later’

This isn’t difficult. BB was 19 when he signed for Rovers. He is an England u17 and 19 international and has won some youth honours. He is very highly rated as a future top level prospect. He has no real first team pedigree and so was obviously bought for the future. He’s two years younger than Joe Nuttall and Armstrong. People are SO fixated on the money but when you buy a 19yr old what do you expect? He will be expected to kick on this season and be the main man the season after. If there’s no progression then absolutely begin to worry. But I feel the people who are determined to judge him now will end up feeling pretty stupid at some point. If this guy becomes the player they expect in the next two years he will be the one who fires us to promotion, worth anything in the region of £25m+

Just trying to keep things balanced in here pal. No point just picking all the negatives out of everything. Ying and yang! (? vs ?)

There’s a fine balance, but I’m positive we will recruit well. “We will sign some young ones that will bubble under and burst through and become first-team players. “We have to sign some experienced players to get the job done” - Mowbray. TM has just told Myers that Dack isn’t going either.... WOW! This sounds amazing! He’s come back from Pune absolutely buzzing and ready to deliver on his plan. Fans have to be made up with this...right?