Why would you assume that?

On whatever grounds the EFl decides.

Yeah that's what they told Lambert. He sold and couldn't re-invest. Football league should be doing to Venkys what they did to Cellino and tell them to get out of English football.

That's the answer I was hoping I'd get.

Agree with you, if he's available on a free. That's one simple phone call or email to find out. Could we afford to pay him 20k a week? Does he represent an upgrade on JRC playing there as temporary cover?

We'd have to pay a fee for Lindsay. There's better available on a free - gut feeling. League 1 is Lindsay's level.

What of it? West Brom and Fulham will be straight back down and Sheffield United doesn't use fullbacks.

Stoke fans don't rate Lindsay. Our fans, in the main, rate Nyambe, King and Raya. Stoke want to sell, not loan.Loans cost money, too. Cunningham would need to be available on a free,which I don't see as likely.

Robinson has a release clause set at £1.5m. Offer that and the fee is automatically agreed with the right to talk with the player.

Stoke want £8-10m for Butland. That doesn't look like they've been to the Mowbray school of pricing.

Lindsay would cost too much, if Stoke want back what they paid for him. I'd go for Phillips as our No 1, raid Wigan for Marshall, Robinson and Kipre. I'd go for Joe Williams, too, but I doubt the budget would be there for that. Heck, even thinking we'd have a budget is a bit of a stretch, right now. Nabi Sarr, too, is available on a free, if we wanted to bring 2 CBs in.

I read Liam Lindsay is the worst defender Stoke have. I hope this has no more legs than he does.

Oh the assumptions in that statement. I think I'll content myself with 'they're all on holiday, there's nobody home. I think Mowbray et al have put a draft budget together and may even have Suhail Pasha's seal of approval. However, if Mowbray goes out to India, he'll have 14 quarantine on his return in addition to any quarantine requirement as in India. Going to India seems impractical. The current offer to Downing seems to have uncanny similarities to Rodwell last year.

For a keeper who went to Forest and got sent straight back? Not a chance.

Had Mowbray had any sort of budget, he'd have used it.

If the salary site I look at is any where near accurate, the players we've released, including Downing would save about £5m a year. If rumours are correct and a saving in the wage bill of £5m are correct that money would not be available to be used in transfer fees or to pay wages of those brought in on a free.

It's the beverage. it makes @chaddyrovers hyperactive. He must be, for he tells us he isn't a scout in capitals in one post, only then in the next one tell us he's suggested hundreds of players.That's a lot of work to qualify them all. In fact, I think that's what the club does. Instead of setting out criteria must be a ball playing cb,left footed who wins his aerial duels and is a fine defender, we get any CB who is available. Yeah, we've a head scout like we have a director of communications. @phili tells us Venkys won't put any money in for two weeks. That just means we'll lose targets we could have had in here.It also means that people who are owed money have two weeks to sue the Club for payments and push us into administration. We all know Mowbray is stubborn. Trying to switch to his preferred style despite not having the players to play it or persisting in playing Gallagher wide right for no return. If I signed a forward for £5m, I'd be looking for goals, not work rate in return. If Venkys don't put enough money in to force Mowbray to sell players, it is not going to work.He won't sell and Venkys don't have the cash to pay him the balance of his contract. In terms of 'that team' I'd go with Lewis Thompson at LB and JRC in place of Rothwell.

That's the question, isn't it? Mowbray would have selected the destination. When I say that Wharton says he's ready - and he has said it - I'm saying that he has confidence in his own ability. This discussion over Wharton reminds me of people downplaying Gareth Ainsworth's credentials to succeed Coyle by saying that he'd never managed at this level.That's no longer the case this year.

Wharton''s not a youth player. Not sure why there'd be uproar. You'd have to ask your mate Mowbray why he kept sending him back to League 2. Three promotions won say he's a lot better than that. Wharton's paid his dues, put in the hard graft and he says he's ready.

A salary site I look at had Ayala on 25kpw and Hoorn on 15kpw. Kipre might be secured for a million, but that's just speculation. He's the same age as Wharton, whom I really want to start this year at CB for Blackburn Rovers.

Agree with you on the text I've highlighted. I'm curious why you don't expect Wharton to come in and start. He knows the club. he knows Lenihan. He knows the standard he has to reach and he thinks he has.

I was treating Carter, Magloire and Grayson as prospects and equating Souttar as being a prospect as well. He suddenly developed at Fleetwood. I don't see him as someone ready to go into our team straight away.I do see that with Wharton. He ought to be ready to step straight in. I would have had talks with van Der Hoorn and Ayala, though Ayala's wage demands could put him outside our limit. Kipre had a break out season at Wigan. His fee might be outside our limit.

There's the same argument you use against Wharton. He has no Championship experience (Wharton has a couple of games). Wharton's been on loan for the past three years and been promoted with each club. Wharton's played a lot more league games. Why do you want us to sign him? Carter is a better prospect. Magloire's a lot faster and Grayson is a deadball specialist, too boot - something we've not had since the Mulgrew bust up and legs going.

You're a very naughty man! (NB:assumptions)

This is Watford. Their managers have tenures denoted by months.