Grant Holts Moustache

Unfortunately we are already too far down that path. Think it is 9 or 10 premier league clubs with the new Chelsea owners. Plus others lower down the pyramid.

Ferguson quit and he went from a starter to a sub. Was in the middle of February after the Preston game. Edit: was after Derby.

In 15 minutes you have gone from 5m fact to well I can't guarantee it!!!

Michael Bailey must have been reading here.

Last week he also created the most chances of any player from the other 14 teams (5) and currently sits third for most chances created this season for the other 14 teams. Agbonlahor doesn't know what he's talking about and clearly never checked on any of the data otherwise he wouldn't have opened his mouth.

I had a giant African land snail called Hoolahan. Named because it only had one foot and went round in circles a lot!

I thought he said Cantwell was ill so hadn't trained. He hoped he would train yesterday.

The head of recruitment for the last couple of years was Kieran Scott. He left at the start of the season and is now at Middlesbrough. Webber isn't and never has been our head of recruitment.

Was only two weeks ago you were saying it was a good transfer window "the best I can remember". Doesn't take long to return to type!

Some good uns there. Will add if in the are of the Fat Cat Brewery Tap, which is one of the best pubs in the city, you also have The Artichoke, The Leopard, The Plasterers and The Kings Head all within about a 10 minute walk of each other. All excellent pubs with so many good beers.

Can't remember where I read it now (was a story about how amateurish their recruitment has been for a few seasons) but the story was Arsenal did bid but they didn't go higher. Said they called the club and wanted to offer X, we told them Villa had already bid more than that so it wouldn't even be considered. They then told us their recruitment analysts only thought he was worth what they were bidding and their offer still stands.

@BroadstairsR Johnsson is involved at at other clubs already so has some experience (USA and Denmark) to draw on, this model isn't new to him or the fund albeit Ipswich are the highest profile investment. He did remark that as long as fans see a part of the money made invested back in the squad (particularly if it is younger players is what I think he said) they are quite forgiving. For it to work, the championship is probably the right place because a sale of a top asset can easily generate £20-25m and is enough to create a profit if your wage bill is kept in sensible order. In that situation I think you are right, keeping fans onside would be a struggle as every fan wants to see some level of ambition beyond generating a profit.

One of the owners Brett Johnson was on an Athletic pod recently. Whilst reaching the Premier league is the obvious way to increase the value of the club and sell it on I didn't get the impression that's what they are looking to do and that they are likely happy enough getting into the championship. When questioned about how you make money for the pension fund he spoke a lot about how the potential is in taking money from transfer fees received. So, rather than our model or Brentfords whereby the money all gets reinvested into infrastructure and new signings in the aim of pushing the club on further they intend to take out part of any transfer fees received to pay back their initial investments. Then any money left over will be to buy replacements in the hope of selling them on again in the future and take more money out/invest again. He spoke about how this involves putting in a strong recruitment structure to spot the gems. So it seems strange that they let Cook pick and choose this season and perform a massive overhaul of the squad rather than go down our route of employing a Webber type to oversee it first and setting out a clear idea of what's going to happen. Webber was insistent from the start 3 transfer windows were needed before we would see progress but they seem to have thrown everything at this first one (possibly hoping to pay lower fees whilst other teams struggle financially). Johnson also spoke about football being behind the times and not yet embracing modern ways of working which are more widespread in US sports. Then handed over to Ashton who is an old school football CEO! All rather strange and felt a little like them saying the right things but offering up a slightly better funded version of what they did already under Evans and hoping they sign a couple of players they can sell on in a few years time. No idea how it will go for them but am sure it will be interesting to watch from afar.

Arrived at 5 myself and didn't get in until 10 minutes after kick off. A whole load of fans behind me in the queue ran round to the other end of the Barclay so that they could come through the bar and get to their seats that way. It was a shambles and one of the stewards told us that the fault was down to the new way of scanning season tickets not working correctly.

I have been following from afar and by all accounts Martin is doing a good job there. Playing a high possession patient style which they deserve some credit for. Feels like our first season under Farke. Dominate possession but not yet quite got the goals in them to kick on to the next level despite creating plenty of chances. Cameron Jerome was involved last season but has moved onto the Championship. Surman was there too but not sure if he is signed up for this coming season. Matt Gill has also joined the coaching staff.

Saw they sold Dozzell for a rumoured £1m to QPR. Wasn't so long ago that they were quoting us almost £5m. Downes looks to be off too. Believe they rejected a couple of offers from Palace last season around the £2-2.5m area.

Webber doesn't do sentimental.

The initial fee is about what we paid for Farhmann on loan. Sounds like the £5-10m add ons will be based on big achievements so that's not a big issue. He's a known quantity, it feels like a fairly safe way to spend some of the budget. With the ability to challenge and one day take over from Krul the transfer is quite appealing to me. That and we do need a decent second choice keeper in case Krul does get injured.

I personally stopped buying them when we added the first betting company. Have never considered these tie ins to match up to what the club is meant to represent. Each new one seems to lower the bar further too. Dafabets paltry contribution to support gambling problems was £200 last year. The club said that gambling partnerships would include community support and that number was frankly a **** take. Companies like BK8 are also a lot worse than just their awful social content. They are buying premier league sponsorship to advertise to countries where betting is illegal. Their UK website has literally only gone live this week because this isn't their market. There is an Athletic article that covers what's been happening and why some clubs are no longer actively pursuing these deals (should be free to read). The club has messed up here on so many levels and you have to seriously question how those making the decision ever thought this was the right way to go. https://theathletic.com/2361984/2021/02/03/gambling-premier-league-shirt-sponsors-investigation/

That's not even the worst one.

Had to look to see if it was bad as people are saying. Found this on their YouTube. Fishing for marbles using a tiny rod in their cleavage. Don't think BK8 really matches the club ethos.

Maybe not the norm in England but does work elsewhere. Hansi Flick did alright after being Bayern Assistant first.

Video for anyone who's interested. We didn't even get a chance to say goodbye.

On the pitch?

I would like 100 points now!