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Reply | Ronnie Edwards
at 18:11 8 Jan 2026
It doesn’t matter who, to an extent.
These numbers are all fag packet maths and I’m sure are a little out, but not materially.
It can be 6m of income from players sales from anyone. But fans need to remember when those sales happen, the money doesn’t allow 6m of spend on new players; it is just covering the historic amortised spend. If you want new players, you need to sell more.
However, there is one caveat, if we sell someone who bought for £Xm and amortised the transfer fee for, and we sell them for less than we paid, we will have to book as a cost the outstanding amount amortised. So, hypothetically, if Kone fails, and we sell him after 2 years for £2m (a £2m loss on the £4m paid) we’d have to bring forward the outstanding £2m amortised to that financial year. This means, in effect, we’d have sold him for nothing as far as that year’s P&L is concerned.
This brings into light another key point of the amortised approach. You absolutely must sell the players you pay transfer fees (and amortise said fees) for more than you paid. If you can’t, you basically end up holding onto them until the last few months of their contract when selling them
or paying them off won’t incur much outstanding amortisation brought forward. I’m pretty confident this is why Taylor Richards hung around for so long. We paid £2-3m for him, I believe, and I reckon we amortised that. And in those years we were tight to FFP, we simply couldn’t f*ck him off because on top of the salary owed, we’d have had to write off at that point whatever amount was left amortised over his contract term. It’s another downside of the approach.
But, look, the upside is nice things. It means for a couple of years you can spend beyond your means (to use family life parlance). But just like credit cards, at some point you need more money coming in to pay off what you owe. Here we don’t “owe” anything, but without sales we’ll have a big PSR problem and end up needing a firesale.
The whole thing relies on regular income from player sales, either not the ones amortised, or those ones for bigger amounts than you paid for them.
I think there is potential for big money sales in Kone, Edwards, Saito, perhaps Poku if he stays fit all of next season and tears it up. I’m just a little worried about this summer. And there is no guarantees the summer after who that big ticket sale is.
Again, I come back to it, it’s why having a tip top fitness/physio/medical/Performance teams is so critical. No one’s value goes up when they are injured… |
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Reply | Ronnie Edwards
at 17:02 8 Jan 2026
It’s a hugely exciting signing because he looked class when he was with us last year.
I think at £4.5m there is definitely scope to sell him on for 3x that in 2-3 seasons.
All that said, with all the transfer fees were amortising over the coming 3-4 seasons now, we need a good player sale this year and every year.
Across the likes of Madsen, Celar, Dembele, Kone, Poku, Burrell, Saito, now Edwards, plus some of the smaller signings, I reckon we’ll have spent 23-25m. It was at least 18m before this signing. Let’s say 24m for ease of maths and we’re amortising all of those fees over 4 years, we have a 6m hit every season in the P&L against PSR for the next 3 seasons.
Without a sale to the tune of £6m we’ll be making a net loss on transfer fees in the coming years without signing anyone. If we want to reinvest, it needs to be more than £6m. This model doesn’t work if you wait several years in the hope of selling someone for £30m because by then you might have breached PSR, and everyone will know you need to sell so your leverage is gone.
So…Who are we selling in the summer for c. £6m?
This is where my issue with our Head of Performance comes in. We have to keep these assets fit and on the field so their value rises. If I was Nourry, I’d be bringing in a better person here to enable it because it’s critical to his model.
Burrell could have been that summer sale, but if he’s out for 2-3 months, he’s probably not fetching that money after one, injury hit season.
JCS? Can’t get him on the pitch and no one is paying money for him.
Chair? Age and injuries.
Madsen? Perhaps. Age might be a slight issue, and we spent 3-4m on him originally. Possible. But we then need to replace.
Poku? Looking like he could be a busted flush with 2 hamstring injuries already
Dembele? Looking like a busted flush currently. Might change.
Varane? Obviously the one we should sell, but I don’t see us getting £6m up front for him given his form.
Field? Age and salary an issue, and he’s not playing enough.
Kone? Needs more goals. Hasn’t scored enough to justify someone spending more than what we paid.
Saito? Is his form good enough to command more yet?
Kolli? Nourry has been presented with that gift by the previous regime, but we don’t seem to be treating him like a potentially big sale.
This is where my concern is. In isolation I think the Edwards deal makes sense and I’m happy about it. But I am worried about where the sales are coming from this summer and possible next season to cover the amortised costs of the all the transfer fees we’re making.
Our approach is a gamble. It relies on making decent sales every season. To be fair to Nourry, Kelman covered half, maybe more, of what was required in the summer, and the previous regime gave him another massive gift with the Eze money this season. So this season, I think we can more than afford Edwards. And to be fair again, Nourry got money for Armstrong and Dykes the summer before. So we’re probably okay to date. But if we want to be able to keep reinvesting in the squad and not be stuck with the same squad for 2-3seasons before a fire sale is required, we need to bring in +£6m this summer and next, and next, and so on.
Perhaps Frey and Morrison might bring in something this Jan to tide this season over? Here’s hoping.
As a fanbase we have to be aware, we can have nice things like this, but we must sell to enable it and prevent an eventual fire sale or PSR breach, both of which could bring about relegation.
So, Great signing. Concerned with who we’re selling this summer to enable the amortisation model. |
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Reply | Burrel out until March
at 15:41 8 Jan 2026
Thanks, Oslo. A kick on the angle shouldn’t be 6 weeks out, should it? Something else going on, surely.
And why aren’t they saying what Chair’s injury is. He was due back over a week ago based on the last injury update. |
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Reply | Burrel out until March
at 12:42 8 Jan 2026
It’s been obvious for a while. From late October be played every minute of every game through to Christmas, I believe. That is mad. It was coming. |
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Reply | Burrel out until March
at 12:41 8 Jan 2026
Phased ramp up.
Fewer injuries in the second half of the season with this approach.
Calling Burrell’s injury a “contact injury” is a bit much, isn’t it? He stretched for a diving header. I contact at all. Was down holding his hammy, walked off holding his hammy, and the commentators called it as a hammy. But no, a contact injury. Some contact injury to be out for 2-3 months (without it being a fracture) too. Can’t recall many of those. And remarkable how a hamstring tear is c. 2-3 months. Coincidence, I’m sure.
Another hamstring injury for Poku. 2 this season already. 3 (or maybe even 4) in the last 12-18 months, I believe. Bit concerning.
Does anyone know what JCS and Chair are rehabilitating from? |
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Reply | Our Pitch
at 19:07 6 Jan 2026
Haha! One of the driest periods of a winter I can remember. All the race tracks in the UK are racing on ground classified as “good”. You never see that at this time of year.
Why can’t they just be honest with fans? Bad contractor? Infestation? Whatever it is, explain it and say “We’re trying to rectify things as best we can as we acknowledge the pitch has fallen below an acceptable standard.” Wouldn’t that bring more trust and respect?? |
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Reply | Sam field
at 10:45 6 Jan 2026
Madsen has played very well this season, but does appear to be tiring/tapering off performance wise. That is very understandable. He’s been flogged.
There is a case to say you rest him in one of the next couple of games so as not to cause an injury that keeps him on the sidelines for a while.
I’d like to see Field alongside him. Field was a distinct improvement on Varane on Sunday. I’d like to see this partnership. If you then need to rest Madsen, given Morgan some minutes. We’re not going up or down.
Field is under contract for years because of that extension. And he’s on big money now supposedly so unlikely anyone else will be able to match it. He’s still a leader in this squad. He’s always available. Alienating him seems short sighted and petty, imo. After his service to the club, he deserves better. Without Varane out, he should start week in, week out. Hayden is not sellable and on a short term deal. |
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Reply | Opposition players you always rated
at 01:48 6 Jan 2026
Graham Kavanagh at Stoke and Cardiff (I think?) a few decades back. At the level, the way he strolled around running the midfield and spraying it about. It was everything we lacked in a central midfielder at the time.
Ryan Woods, at Brentford, about a decade ago, was another who whenever we played Brentford used to just stand in the middle of the pitch spraying diags out to his wingers hugging the touchline, pulling us this way and that. We could never stop him . Career seems to have died a death since, mind.
Lewis Dunk and Aidan Flint were made for this league too.
I’d classify the above as all “underrated players I rated”, if that makes sense. Steered clear of the greats! |
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Reply | Kolli rescues Rangers, but injuries mount – Report
at 22:20 5 Jan 2026
Be nice to see them both get a run. Field in the middle of the pitch and Kolli at 10. Let’s see. Makes us a bigger side too. Wednesday were a terribly small side, but Field came on and looked like a giant. Kolli also competed better for headers than he has in the past. |
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Reply | How many injuries?!
at 19:46 4 Jan 2026
There is a certain irony in all these injuries meaning the club need to finally turn to Kolli, especially if he delivers, like today. |
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Reply | Kolli
at 16:46 4 Jan 2026
You are right. But what’s more odd is how some of the club’s leadership seem to want him to fail and don’t think he has a future here…he’s arguably one of our most sellable assets! |
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Reply | Kolli
at 16:01 4 Jan 2026
Whilst he hadn’t been great up until his goal, no one had been! It was his clinical finishing that killed the game and was the only bit of class on display today. Prior to his first goals which he hit perfectly, we were actually holding on for a 1-0 against a woeful Wednesday side.
Well done, lad.
He deserves game time in place of Burrell now, and it will allow Kone to play as a true 9. |
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Reply | The Barry Bannan Master Class Match Thread
at 10:35 3 Jan 2026
The only thing I’d definitely do tomorrow, and I think it’s more important than any formation or other selection, is have Sam Field man mark Barry Bannan all game. Literally stand on his toes for 90 mins.
If Bannan is stopped, Wednesday will lose. Everything else tactically is of secondary importance. Field gets about the pitch, can tackle and is bigger than Bannan. Have him do that job, and make it a 10v10 game. We’ll win then.
I suggested this to someone at the club before the away game and was laughed at, as Bannan was some kind of geriatric footballer who holds no influence. Odd. |
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Reply | January transfer rumours
at 21:07 2 Jan 2026
We also had to pay his contract off. And, if I recall, he was able to put his severance forward to cover the comp, so net net we didn’t get any money for him. |
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Reply | Our Pitch
at 14:04 2 Jan 2026
Ha! Fair play to him.
They are a basket case of a club though. Shouldn’t be comparing ourselves to them as any standard. |
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Reply | Our Pitch
at 13:57 2 Jan 2026
How on earth can the club oversee such a state of the pitch like this? Presumably the contractor that refurbished it all is being taken to task and the contract with them includes warranties or financial penalties which we’re recovering some money through? It’s been a very dry winter so far. There really isn’t much excuse. When watching highlights I don’t see any other pitches in this state.
The obvious thing right away is to move all non-first team games away from LR to allow it to recover somewhat… |
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Reply | Kone
at 13:51 2 Jan 2026
Great post.
This is a real bugbear of mine with Stephan. I don’t like inverted wingers at the best of times but when you play 442, it is madness. It makes the middle of the pitch so congested if your wide players are cutting inside. It’s so easy to defend against. Whereas, if your wide players stay wide and try to beat their man on the outside it stretches the opposition defence widthways and creates more space for Kone and Burrell in the middle. Equally, delivered from wide areas and the byline play to their strengths too.
If you ask the width to come from the full backs in a 442, you are going to leave yourself open as you only have a 2 man central midfield with which to cover if a ball is cleared and a counter attack on. Whilst Madsen has done a decent job at covering this season, Varane has been poor at it and is often slow to get back.
Saito can go both ways so can provide width on the left. Smyth can on the right. I’d like to see the rest of them play on their stronger foot side too. I’d like at least one of the wingers to be on their natural side offering width and a threat on the outside and getting to the byline. It’s the Championship. It isn’t rocket science. |
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Reply | Sam Field
at 18:55 31 Dec 2025
He played in his conventional midfield role in the Leeds 4-0 and West Brom 2-2. The only time I recall him playing at 10 was away at Oxford in the 3-1 win. It was basically the old “Amos 10” high press role. Think Clive gave him MotM too.
Sounds like yesterday he was asked to play further forward in a ball playing role there, not a high press. That is a bit mad.
What I struggle to understand is that his best position is Varane’s. He spent 3 seasons there playing very well and either winning player of the year or runner up. Varane has been coasting all through this season barely playing well at all. Why not play Field instead of occasionally to light a fire under his arse? |
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Reply | Smyth
at 18:45 31 Dec 2025
Excellent news!! |
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Reply | January transfer rumours
at 09:38 31 Dec 2025
At least 18 months, might be 30. Sounds like they did it to spread the cost of his first contract extension (for 1 season only) that was astronomical, so as to provide more headroom on P&S this season (for other signings). He gets a bit more money overall because he’s here for longer, and we get a lower salary booked in this season, but it means he’s under contract for longer and taking up salary space next season (and maybe the season after). It was all done before they signed Burrell and Kone, when Kelman was refusing to sign, and the club were presumably worried we’d be left with no one… |
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