16 Mar 2026 20:30:24
Seeing as we're all in a great mood and looking forward to our full on 100% effort on Thursday night, I thought I would put this forward. There are many small reasons why we are where we are but in my opinion, the biggest shambles has been recruitment. So I've tried to match £ for £ players we've let go or didn't sign against those we have signed. 1. Is Morato better than Worral and McKenna? Imo.

No 2. Is Dominguez better than Gardner? Imo. No 3. Is Jesus better than Surridge or Davis? Imo. A big fat No. 4. Is Ndoye better than Zinckernagel? Imo. No 5. Is Hutchinson better than Johnson? Imo. No. There are of course mitigating circumstances, but I think you get my drift. Apart from a few obvious shining lights, it highlights how bad our recruitment has been.

1.) 17 Mar 2026
16 Mar 2026 23:36:37
Our recruitment has been limited because of how much money we've got. City etc can spend twice the amount we can and pay 60Mill for a striker etc. We're still in the 30-35 mill bracket.
Most of the players you mention were good for us in the Championship, but up against the best teams in the Premier League, they would have fallen short in terms of talent and ability.
I agree that the recruitment is very poor. We seem to have brought in average players, but then there are only so many players who would bother to come to us, even less now because of our instability.
The Club lacks confidence all round.

There is no team building among the upper echelons themselves, and Mr. M just wants to dominate everything for his own kudos.
All the Coaches we have had have struggled to make the Club work properly, and the players play well, and really we only have 9 or 10 good players in all who simply cannot play a major game every three days, plus we get key injuries all the time.
Recruitment must be a key to a Club's success, but I fear for us we need a wise and cool head to handle it properly - where is such a person? And will they be able to deal with Mr. M effectively to improve the Club?

2.) 17 Mar 2026
17 Mar 2026 02:49:41
You both make good points, but I think the situation is even worse than that, and the repercussions worse:
1) We have apparently signed 72 players, permanent or on loan, in 3.5 years in Prem. Most have been a failure. It is too high a number, and it indicates just how chaotic everything probably is. Ange, SD and VP basically have been unable to sign anyone.
2) We spent so much on our woeful recruitment in the summer that we had nothing left in Jan, so we bought Luca and Netz. West Ham, for example, spent properly and got 2 or 3 quality additions.
3) When we first got promoted, Mr M’s 21 (?) year old son appeared to take a lead on some deals.
4) I would disagree on our prior ability to buy one or two v good players/strikers. Maybe not £80m, but it could have been £50m for sure, but we wasted it (look what Hutchison cost alone, McAtee).
4) I read somewhere, and this is my big fear, that our salary is over 90% of our Premier League revenue. Wages as a % of turnover are much more important than PSR going forward, so selling our good players if relegated won't save us.

This should be a proper wake up call as a stat, and has me very worried.
5) If we do get relegated, and I have thought we would once Nuno left, the situation financially could be very, very tough. People underestimate this, I think, and who do we have in the club beyond Mr M to sort that out? Sticking us back in the cycle of finger-crossing.
6) We are on our multiple CEOs since being promoted too (I forget the number), but could be 4th.
7) Assuming we do get relegated (I realise that hasn’t happened, may not happen), the change required in personnel will be huge, and the wages of our second tier players probably atrocious. Wolves are already building for the Championship, and look way ahead of us in that regard.

Mr M controls and wants to control almost everything. Without a plan or proper structure, you cannot succeed. What is our plan? Will he/we ever really change? Doubt it. This is the season our luck may run out and then what happens?

3.) 17 Mar 2026
17 Mar 2026 08:30:34
Some clubs in the Premier make a point of bringing in players around £20-30 million, improving them, then moving them on for 80 plus, and top clubs have purchased players at 80 plus and they've failed, but their recruitment means they can absorb that.

We cannot; our structure and wages mean they have to succeed or we're toast this season!!!! So, if we go down, tough, we deserve it, and if we stay up, great, we also deserve it. You're only as good as your last result. ??