Steven Caulker wouldn’t be a bad signing. Wages will be relatively low, no fee and has turned his career around since he was open about his depression and gambling addiction. He’s been a top performer in Turkey over the last few years (so much so he got a move to Fenerbahce which didn’t work out for whatever reason). Experienced, played at a higher level than this previously and has something to prove when over here. I’d prefer someone like JPvH on a permanent but that’s obviously unlikely so can see the merits in this.

They’ve sold at least 10k more season tickets than us - not to mention the fact they were over £600 so nearly £200 more than ours. That’s only £2m but a big difference is that’s guaranteed income rather than our “potential” income (we can’t gamble on potential ticket sales for games as they can fluctuate depending on a number of variables). With getting more fans to games, that’s more revenue they’ll be able to bring in through things like shirt sales, other matchday income etc. Also, playing in front of more fans means they can bring in more sponsorship than us. They’re sponsored by a betting company who will pay more than Totally Wicked do (although I actually like our stance on not accepting betting companies as a sponsor any more). What Boro do have with paying the wages they do is a wages to turnover percentage of between 160-186% (lower end before behind closed doors, 186% with no fans). At the end of the day, their financial losses are at the top end of the league and similar to what ours were 6/7 years ago. We are now losing a lot less per year (mid table for losses in the Championship). Gibson is always remarked as one of the best owners in the country but they can only carry on paying high wages and transfer fees for so long before something drastic happens (presuming they don’t go up).

This just shows the lack of ambition at the club. Should have gone for Michael van Gerwen but it looks like we are going down the old Murphy/Etuhu road. Broughton out!

I’ve said it before but I’ll repeat myself as, with all the BBD news today, it seems the right time. If he does go, I’d like to think we’d all wish him well and maybe keep an eye on his career going forward. How he’s blossomed from the lack of confidence, shy striker who looked a nervous wreck whenever he was in front of goal to how he’s developed over the last 24 months is nothing short of remarkable. It’s a testament to his attitude and hard work and he has earned a PL move. The important thing now is that some of that money is invested (or we use our “healthy budget” this year and put this in next years budget) in improving the whole team. We won’t be able to get a like-for-like replacement who can get 20 goals and win games almost individually like BBD did last season. But what we can do (hopefully) is improve multiple positions in the squad with some of this money so that we aren’t so reliant on one player. If Gregg can improve the team by getting a good striker (doesn’t have to be a 20 goal man as much as that would be nice 😂), someone like JPVH and that Malmo player (Birmancevic?) then the team as a whole should look stronger. So if BBD does go, I’ll wish him nothing but the best and wait (rather impatiently) to see how the squad looks come the deadline next week.

In my opinion (and that’s all it is), JPvH showed last season that if he continues his development then he has a good chance of being a £20m player in the future. If the decision makers at the club think the same, then that surely includes him in the ‘special case’ category, although I’m unsure how much it would cost to be classed as such. If Gordon goes to Chelsea from Everton, I wouldn’t be surprised to see them spend some of that on BBD. I would be gutted to see him go but wish him all the best and hopefully see a bit of that fee invested. He might be able to win games for us almost single handedly but it’s a squad game and if selling BBD means we can improve 3/4 areas of the team then it’ll need to be done with no sign of him extending his deal.

Don’t think that says much, tbh. Poveda looked brilliant in one game (Sheff Utd at home) but offered little to nothing else. Khadra looked good in spells but not consistent enough. Tries one thing too many regularly and doesn’t get his head up to look at other options. A name I’ve just mentioned in my hypothetical scenario previously (Andreas Schjelderup) could be an interesting option. 18 Years old so would fit the “buying players with potential value” option, can play in a few positions (striker, attacking midfield, coming in off the wing) and was at Bodo/Glimt when Broughton was there. Wonder if he would be on GB’s list? Wouldn’t be anywhere near the required points for a work permit but would assume he’d get one through the exceptions panel, as similar profile to Asprilla who Watford managed to get.

Beat me to it 👍🏻

The news of Brereton bids is disappointing but inevitable. He’s arguably the best player in the league (some will say Sarr but that’s another debate) so there’s always going to be interest. I’d love to keep him as he’s turned into somebody who can get you out of your seat and there’s not many of them about. Compare that to when he first came and the difference from that lost boy is remarkable. Football is a business however and can understand if we do cash in, although I’d hope they hold out for close to £20m. Will we be able to get a like-for-like replacement with a player just as good whilst also fitting into our wage structure? I highly doubt it. But we’ve seen with teams in this division before that they sell there best player, reinvest in the whole team rather than just one replacement and it helps them make the step up. Just off the top of my head, Watkins/Benrahma at Brentford and Maddison at Norwich spring to mind. The question for me then would be, would the whole team be improved with some of the Brereton money being invested? Hypothetical but would JPvH (we need a defender), Bowler (not going to have the same output as Brereton Diaz but could fit the fluid forward line we play) and a young, hungry striker like Andreas Schjelderup on permanent deals make us a better side than one we have now with Diaz in? That’s what Gregg and the like would need to consider, not whether we could get just a replacement for BBD.

No, you are unable to sign a contract until your 17th birthday so both Ampadu and Elliott had not signed pro deals with Exeter or Fulham.

Agreed. Although the lure of “playing” for a side with ambitions at the top end of the Premier League might be too much, he’s definitely going to get more first team football here. He might get some senior game time for Spurs, but it will be limited to the odd Carabao Cup appearance and representing the U23’s in the Checkatrade/Auto Windscreen/Johnstone’s Paint or whatever it is now. The one thing for sure is the more he plays for us now (before Wharton comes back at least), the more we can expect from a tribunal if he does decide to leave. The tribunal fees tend to be a lot higher than they used to be - certainly better than when Bostock went from Palace to Spurs (eerily similar if Phillips goes to them) and Simon Jordan was livid. Harvey Elliott went for around £7m/£8m after 3 first team games, aged just over 16. Ampadu went for around £2.5m after 13 senior games at League 2 level, aged just shy of 17. Hopefully if he stays in the side and churns out the sort of performances he did yesterday, if the worst comes to the worst it will at least improve the fee we get.

We might be after him, we might not be. I don’t think the lack of whisperings necessarily means we aren’t after him. The two permanent signings were kept on the quiet from our end, it only seemed to be leaked by Barnsley for Styles and Barry Fry from Posh. Obviously most stuff tends to be leaked from the selling side to drive up the price but Brighton seem to have a lot more class that Barry Fry (although I like him for what it’s worth).

This just shows people see what they want to see. ”League One players” Brittain and Szmodics who played 36 games each in the Championship last season. Yes, both teams were relegated last season so technically they were “League One players” at the start of this season but their ability looks higher than that. In the same way, Liverpool weren’t signing “championship” players when they signed Robertson and Wijnaldum from recently relegated Hull and Newcastle respectively. And one man’s “reserve from Brighton” is another man’s player of the season at this club last year and arguably the best defender in the league…

Troy Parrott has gone to Preston. I'm sure he would have come here had there been interest

If Gallagher does go, I hope we at least recoup the £5m outlay on him (although not sure what the chances of that are). I have a feeling he’s going to have a productive season if played through the middle but if (and it’s a big if) that money goes back into the pot, it’ll be interesting to see who JDT and GB target. Very positive news regarding Brittain - hopefully get the ball rolling once the first one comes through the door.

Personally, this transfer window is an interesting one. It’s not often a club goes 5 years between managers so we are going into a bit of an unknown period. Hopefully, the appointments of JDT and Broughton will prove to be as good in reality as they do on paper. I’m not concerned about the lack of names spouted about in the media, I’d argue there success rate is less than 10% and our deals tend to get done behind the scenes. Looking at our squad, there’s quite a few replacements we need. For me, the CB and CM positions are the ones we are lacking in. JDT has done the right thing with taking the youngsters away with the first team. I hope Phillips gets a few minutes this season but he’d need an experienced head next to him. Ayala is the only one at the club who is that experienced but unfortunately, he’s injured too often so his wage is hard to justify. One of my closest friends is aligned to a football agency and he has said we are in for an experienced CB (CL, international, PL) who is currently in a contract with a “big” club but is deemed as surplus to requirements. Now I don’t want to share the names in case it comes back on him but I’d imagine if we get this player, it would suggest Ayala is off. Every now and then (I’d say 1 in 10) he gets wrong but he’s been right about Nyambe not renewing, Dack getting a new deal as well as other things like Ajayi picking WBA over us. The main one he was wrong about was Wil Trapp coming over but apparently that was very close to being done. So understandable if you take this with a pinch of salt (as I do with internet/social media rumours) but just thought I’d sprinkle something I’ve heard into this chat.