How's the squad shaping up?

[Mike - True Blue Tinter]

Yeah, for what we expected to be a very busy day... **** all has happened.

Often the way on deadline day though that it all happens late! Especially when you're trying to sell duffers that clubs only really want if other targets fall through.

It's baffling every year that clubs 2-3 months to do deals, yet so many leave it to the final couple of hours...

Still, I'm sure Mr Rudkin will be working overtime tonight... Knowing our Rudkin, he'll even be working on deals past the 11pm deadline, bless his hard-working soul!

Let us hope the fax machine is turned on, dusted off, with a new ink ribbon in and some paper scooped off the floor loaded in!

 

[Jeff]

Let us hope the fax machine is turned on, dusted off, with a new ink ribbon in and some paper scooped off the floor loaded in!

They stopped using fax machine for transfers years ago. They do them on tiktok now.

 

[camberwell fox]

They stopped using fax machine for transfers years ago. They do them on tiktok now.

That explains it then.

We are so far behind that we are still transmitting via fax when everyone else has tic-tac-toe.

 

[Blue Maniac]

They stopped using fax machine for transfers years ago. They do them on tiktok now.

I think that’s just Wrexham

 

[Blaarev]

I think that’s just Wrexham

Can we tiktok them Ward?

 

[Brown Nose]

Update on the squad of O21 year old players that (I think) would need to be registered in our 25 man squad:

- 15-17* sold/released
- 5 loaned out
- 4 bought
- 4 loaned in

Sold/Released: Amartey, Tielemans, Soyuncu, Suengchitthawon, Bertrand, Maddison, Tete, Perez, Barnes, Hirst, Leshabala, Eppiah, Mendy, Evans, Castagne. *Spencer-Adams and Flynn are both O21 and may or may not still be at the club.

Loaned Out: Opoku, Kristiansen, Brunt, Thomas, Soumare

Bought: Coady, Winks, Hermansen, Mavididi

Loaned In: Doyle, Akgun, Casadei, Fatawu

Current squad of players that need to be registered:

GK - Hermansen, Iversen, Ward, Stolarczyk, Smithies

DEF - Justin, Faes, Coady, Souttar, Doyle, Vestergaard, (Spencer-Adams & Flynn?)

MID - Ricardo, Dewsbury-Hall, Winks, Choudhury, Albrighton, Ndidi, Praet, McAteer, Casadei, Akgun, Mavididi, Fatawu

FOR - Daka, Iheanacho, Vardy

If Cannon signs permanently, he won't need to be registered as he's U21. If it's a loan, he will have to.

If Daka goes, we can register all five keepers!

 

[Graz]

Iheanacho still being here is the highlight of the window for me.

Along with Vardy still being here, but for different reasons.

 

[H T B]

It’ll be interesting to see how those that appeared outcast, and still here, are now integrated into the squad.

 

[Mike - True Blue Tinter]

Anyone any idea how many millions in annual wages we have just shifted off the books? I appreciate that it is a bit of a guess if we are part paying some of the loans.

 

[Micky]

Will be very interesting to see the squad for today.

For me we currently have a number of players who are guaranteed starters...

Hermansen
Ricardo
Faes
Vestergaard
Doyle
Winks
Dewsbury-Hall
Mavadidi
Iheanacho

We then have a number of players who are currently competing for places...

Coady (when fit)
Justin
Ndidi
Casadei
McAteer
Praet (when fit)
Marcal-Madivadua
Vardy

We then have a number of players that are on the periphery, yet to prove themselves or being excluded by the management...

Akgun
Fatawu
Cannon
Daka
Souttar
Choudhury
Nelson
Albrighton
Stolarczyk
Iversen
Ward

 

[SilverFox]

Will be very interesting to see the squad for today.

For me we currently have a number of players who are guaranteed starters...

Hermansen
Ricardo
Faes
Vestergaard
Doyle
Winks
Dewsbury-Hall
Mavadidi
Iheanacho

We then have a number of players who are currently competing for places...

Coady (when fit)
Justin
Ndidi
Casadei
McAteer
Praet (when fit)
Marcal-Madivadua
Vardy

We then have a number of players that are on the periphery, yet to prove themselves or being excluded by the management...

Akgun
Fatawu
Cannon
Daka
Souttar
Choudhury
Nelson
Albrighton
Stolarczyk
Iversen
Ward

I think when he is fit Coady replaces Vestergaard. He will be captain. Only a ****ing hapless twerp who would be better suited to stinking things up at Celtic picks a captain who never plays.

 

[Brown Nose]

Anyone any idea how many millions in annual wages we have just shifted off the books? I appreciate that it is a bit of a guess if we are part paying some of the loans.

I know I say it often but our finances really don't add up. We have a net profit in transfers over the summer of something like £55m. That doesn't touch the sides in terms of the losses we will experience through relegation.

Our last accounts in the year ending May 2022 showed an income of just under £215m. £130m of that was TV revenue. This season this figure is reported to be about £45m so there is an immediate loss of £85m. On top of this we don't have a lot of income we reported then, such as no UEFA money (-£22m) and substantially less commercial/sponsorship income (approx. -£15m). There are other income reductions of course but if we assume an overall drop in income of around £125m I think that would be reasonable. Our revenue drops from around £215m (21/22) to £90m (23/24).

The wage bill is obviously guesswork. The only thing we know for sure is that our wage bill was £182m in the year end May 2022. Lots of players have left but quite a lot of high earners have not left and, of course, some have also joined. There were reports that 'some' members of the squad had clauses reducing their salaries in the Championship and other reports saying that this was largely untrue.

In terms of non-playing staff, it has been reported that the owners have decided to retain all staff this season and take the hit so there are no savings to be found there.

As a rough guess, maybe we've halved the wage bill. I can't see it being better than that. We still retain a lot of high earners and the likes of Coady and Winks will be on good money. We also will be paying substantial proportions of the salaries of loaned out players. So maybe best case scenario is that we're now paying £90m.

If you look at the £90m in saved wages, it all sounds quite healthy doesn't it?

Except of course, we were not living within our means back then either. So we lost £92.5m in the year ending May 2022. In the year ending June 2023 (the club have changed reporting period from May to June for 2023) we can expect another massive loss. The high earners were almost all there, we had no European revenue and obviously finished much lower in the table so earned a lot less. On the plus side, we sold Fofana and Schmeichel and didn't spend all of it on Faes, Souttar, Tete and Kristiansen. I suspect that the reason we moved the reporting date from May to June is so that we can include the sale of Maddison in the 22/23 accounts. This will probably mean we report a figure around -£60m instead of a figure of -£100m.

I'd anticipate that we're heading for another colossal loss this season too. The numbers just don't add up at all. Reducing the wage bill helps but our total wage bill is likely to be about the same as our entire revenue for this season (approx. £90m). We're easily the most expensive squad ever in the Championship and also the most indebted. I haven't a clue how we don't breach every FFP rule going.

Still, let's all celebrate a great transfer window.

 

[Mike - True Blue Tinter]

Thanks for the analysis. So the way to not get clobbered for a Championship FFP overspend this year is to get back in the PL at the first attempt!

 

[SilverFox]

Thanks for the analysis. So the way to not get clobbered for a Championship FFP overspend this year is to get back in the PL at the first attempt!

It’s a must.

 

[Miles Away]

Yes. Crucial we go up this year. No excuses. The squad is more than good enough and the club have supported the manager.

 

[Micky]

I think when he is fit Coady replaces Vestergaard. He will be captain. Only a ****ing hapless twerp who would be better suited to stinking things up at Celtic picks a captain who never plays.

I don't think he will. I think Enzo loves Vestergaard.

 

[Graz]

Thanks for the analysis. So the way to not get clobbered for a Championship FFP overspend this year is to get back in the PL at the first attempt!

And I think that's exactly what the board are gambling on.

So all aboard the Enzo train, because the destination looks rosy so far. But if we miss our stop we're going to end in Shitsville (twinned with Stoke).

 

[Brown Nose]

Update on the squad of O21 year old players that (I think) would need to be registered in our 25 man squad:

- 15-17* sold/released
- 5 loaned out
- 4 bought
- 4 loaned in

Sold/Released: Amartey, Tielemans, Soyuncu, Suengchitthawon, Bertrand, Maddison, Tete, Perez, Barnes, Hirst, Leshabala, Eppiah, Mendy, Evans, Castagne. *Spencer-Adams and Flynn are both O21 and may or may not still be at the club.

Loaned Out: Opoku, Kristiansen, Brunt, Thomas, Soumare

Bought: Coady, Winks, Hermansen, Mavididi

Loaned In: Doyle, Akgun, Casadei, Fatawu

Current squad of players that need to be registered:

GK - Hermansen, Iversen, Ward, Stolarczyk, Smithies

DEF - Justin, Faes, Coady, Souttar, Doyle, Vestergaard, (Spencer-Adams & Flynn?)

MID - Ricardo, Dewsbury-Hall, Winks, Choudhury, Albrighton, Ndidi, Praet, McAteer, Casadei, Akgun, Mavididi, Fatawu

FOR - Daka, Iheanacho, Vardy

If Cannon signs permanently, he won't need to be registered as he's U21. If it's a loan, he will have to.

If Daka goes, we can register all five keepers!

It's not looking good for moving on anyone else.

Using the above list, I'm going to assume that Spencer-Adams and Flynn have disappeared. That leaves us with 26 players for 25 places.

You'd assume that one of the five keepers will be left out. Personally I'd prefer us to leave an empty space to enable us to recruit a free agent if the need/opportunity arises.

You'd go with Smithies really and then I'd also leave another keeper out, preferably Ward. We have Young as our sixth keeper who we don't need to register in case of emergency.

The injury to Praet may be a factor but the last report expected him to return in November so it makes sense to register him.

 

[Brown Nose]

Squad has been announced.

Key points are:

- Smithies left out of 25
- Spencer-Adams and Flynn have gone
- All 25 spaces taken up including 4 keepers.

 

[Brown Nose]