January 2022 Transfer Thread

[AndyWolves]

If nothing else it shows that Neves trusts Bruno, well at least I hope so and Neves doesn't mind his comments being used in such a way!

 

[Banjo]

I liked Bruno's quote. Shows he recognises that for as much as Neves loves the club and city, the club has got to be able to match his ambition.

 

[Johnny75]

I like him needling Jeff.

Every time he doesn't get what he wants it makes Jeff look more inept. Pushing Fosun to get somebody in who knows what they're doing with the football side of things.

 

[YoungWolf]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1477625420396875777

doesn’t seem to be making any difference

honestly, the most infuriating bit is why change the manager, ask him to overhaul the way we play and offer him no help st all to do that?

 

[darlowolf64]

because we're being run by a cretin?

 

[YoungWolf]

Can see him leaving end of season and I wouldn’t blame him. If we finish top half he’d get a decent job somewhere else too I reckon

 

[Tony Towner]

Comes back to the yes man theory then doesn't it. To be clear he's not acting like that, but equally I can't see him telling them to stick it. He sucked it up in August and will again.

Also I only think Jeff is following orders re the financial side, so I don't see a coup from below. As I've said before this is the perfect Fosun season, spend very little, but not trouble relegation. What they need to see and I'm not convinced they will is that it's not sustainable in the long run

 

[Lupo]

because we're being run by a cretin?

Jez Shi?

 

[MARKakaJIM]

Comes back to the yes man theory then doesn't it. To be clear he's not acting like that, but equally I can't see him telling them to stick it. He sucked it up in August and will again.

Also I only think Jeff is following orders re the financial side, so I don't see a coup from below. As I've said before this is the perfect Fosun season, spend very little, but not trouble relegation. What they need to see and I'm not convinced they will is that it's not sustainable in the long run

No point Lage leaving now though is there? Even without getting his way on signings he's managing the team with what he's got to a level of relative success. It might not be much fun for him at the moment perhaps but the money keeps coming into his account each month and as long as he can pick up points it won't be doing his reputation any harm at all.

He may as well wait it out as long as he keeps winning enough points and if nothing else it might bring interest from another club that would give him more backing. No point jacking it in and going jobless unless it's really going tits up and harming your reputation long term.

 

[Derby Wolf]

I like him needling Jeff.

Every time he doesn't get what he wants it makes Jeff look more inept. Pushing Fosun to get somebody in who knows what they're doing with the football side of things.

Yeah, doesn't appear to be anybodies patsy, a suggestion which I agreed with entirely in July.

The crunch is whether he walks the walk if they fail to back him appropriately a second, or indeed third time. Even if he dropped us right in it in the final days of the summer window id respect him more than if he makes a few noises but ultimately swallows Hubris Jeff's bullshit.

 

[Del Woppio]

I think he'll stick around until about October/November, three transfer windows of shit backing and continuing to keep us in the top ten and he's then successfully built on his Benfica work and will be able to go to a club with some actual ambition

 

[Sniffer]

So we were in for Botman and Sanches in August but don’t have cash to spend in January.
Either the August proposed deals were bullshit or the information leaked to Percy is.

 

[Tony Towner]

So we were in for Botman and Sanches in August

Were we?
We bid below what we knew they wanted for the one and found a reason to pull out of the other, which to put it delicately time hasn't judged well. I'd suggest we didn't plan on signing either, just tried to look like we were

 

[jd1981]

This policy will end one way eventually and that’s in relegation. Biggest problem is trying to keep your best players happy whilst showing the clubs only ambition is to exist in the PL.
If the transfer policy continues in the same pattern I’d be surprised if we’re aren’t relegated in the next 5 seasons.

 

[Derby Wolf]

So we were in for Botman and Sanches in August but don’t have cash to spend in January.
Either the August proposed deals were bullshit or the information leaked to Percy is.

I've long since thought they had no ambition of spending and the noises coming out of the club at the time were to mask their real intentions.

"we'll invest but will do it late in the window" or words to that effect, with hindsight was a keep calm and carry on for supporters to swallow their bullshit tickrt price increases because signings would "surely" come and then we Conor Washington'ed our way through one link and pulled the plug on the other for spurious reasons.

 

[PuntsWolf]

Make this month end please.

 

[Deutsch Wolf]

So those ticket price hikes were for what, in the end?

It wasn't funding transfer activity or renewing contracts (we knew this was hokum anyway as the extra income was chickenfeed in the grand scheme of things).

The stadium still needs work on at least two sides, in fact we have a lower capacity currently than we had in 2019/20.

It wasn't so we could hire someone who plays better football, because we don't (2 goals in 8 games speaks for itself).

And the accounts are going to come out later this year which will show one or both of the following:

a) Overall the club has generated significant profit since we got promoted in 2018, but we haven't spent that money - we're not asking the owners to bankroll us, we're asking for the club to spend money that it makes itself

b) Fosun have clawed back some of their investment that they made through soft loans, which is their prerogative but is never a particularly good look

You then ask the question why we've decided to take out a loan facility to cover money that Liverpool owe us for Jota. Why if we aren't buying anyone this month? We don't need it to pay the wage bill.

Bad messaging. I don't particularly feel for Lage though as he knows what the deal was, Fosun aren't investing any more, he wouldn't have got an interview anywhere else at the time so you take what you're given.

 

[jd1981]

If the article is true then big problems are no to far away. Especially midfield Neves will rightly want away and Moutinho is rapidly coming to the end of his career.
Other players in the squad with any longevity still left will want away to.
it’s a completely unsustainable model that ends in one way.
lack of football knowledge in the club at board room level is shocking.
It’s not hard look after the state of the first then other stuff comes second and will take care of itself.

 

[Johnny75]

So those ticket price hikes were for what, in the end?

It wasn't funding transfer activity or renewing contracts (we knew this was hokum anyway as the extra income was chickenfeed in the grand scheme of things).

The stadium still needs work on at least two sides, in fact we have a lower capacity currently than we had in 2019/20.

It wasn't so we could hire someone who plays better football, because we don't (2 goals in 8 games speaks for itself).

And the accounts are going to come out later this year which will show one or both of the following:

a) Overall the club has generated significant profit since we got promoted in 2018, but we haven't spent that money - we're not asking the owners to bankroll us, we're asking for the club to spend money that it makes itself

b) Fosun have clawed back some of their investment that they made through soft loans, which is their prerogative but is never a particularly good look

You then ask the question why we've decided to take out a loan facility to cover money that Liverpool owe us for Jota. Why if we aren't buying anyone this month? We don't need it to pay the wage bill.

Bad messaging. I don't particularly feel for Lage though as he knows what the deal was, Fosun aren't investing any more, he wouldn't have got an interview anywhere else at the time so you take what you're given.

We don't know what Lage was promised when he took the job, it wasn't as if he was waiting for Nuno to get the boot.

 

[Deutsch Wolf]

We've had a net spend that's hovered around £0 for about three years now, if he was expecting a windfall then I'd be alarmed by his naivety. And it's not as if he could wait around for a better job to come along, because he'd still be waiting in 2032 if that was his plan.