The overhaul: this summer and beyond

[dylanisabaddog 4,955]

15 hours ago, sgncfc said:

Would it be because Chelsea will pay them £30k a week to stay in a hotel in Huddersfield (or similar)?

I suppose you're right although I've no idea what Chelsea are paying Matos. £30k seems an awful lot! 

I might be wrong but I think footballers earn the most between the ages of 23 and 30. You would think they'd make decisions based on that but I suppose if you wave huge amounts at a young man he'll probably take it. I wonder how many of the youngsters at Chelsea have actually ended up playing at a high level? 

[Newtopia 518]

That is a good summary.  I agree with most of your points, although the expected drop of income due to losing the parachute payments needs factoring in.

I suspect we would like to retain a few more of the players, as that is a lot of first team squad players out at once.

Personally I am surprised that we have not got McCallum on a new contract, and would like to see it happen, but I assume Sam thinks he can secure something better elsewhere.  From his point of view he hasn’t really improved whilst he has been with us, so he probably wants to move on.

We don’t know which players (outside of our squad) the club have already spoken to from elsewhere, and this will affect how they feel about the others leaving.

Personally I am hoping Idah bags another 10 goals at Celtic, he will not want to return but it will Jack up his value, and his confidence.  Also Norwich will only want him to leave if we can get enough transfer fee from selling him to cover buying the right player.

With respect to SvH, it isn’t looking great for him, but Sarge looked like a fish out of water in his first season, so we can’t be sure he doesn’t come good yet.  Perhaps Kamara is seen as being ready.

[BobLoz3 494]

10 hours ago, Corbs1 said:

EFL player of the week to watch Walsall's Emmanuel Adegboyega, on loan 

This reads like you think he's Walsall's player and want us to get him on loan 🤣

He's one I'm excited about, as is Myles who I hope gets a loan or gets into the first team soon. 

If we don't go up we're going to struggle to keep hold of a number of players. Sara, Sargent, Gunn and Rowe. There will be interest. Hopefully we can keep hold of two or three of them but it's going to be tough.

Luckily, we have some interesting talent coming through the academy, who I do feel we'll see more of if we stay in the Champs. 

[NewNestCarrow 202]

10 hours ago, Mr.Carrow said:

Of all our  CB talent, he's the one (like Omo before him) who ticks every box. Tomkinson's form is encouraging, but he's got a lot to prove being older and not really having the physical attributes of Adegboyega. Similar with Warner. 

Adegboyega's lack of English League experience is what puts him below Hills, Tomkinson & Warner on my list. Going from Lge of Ire to Champs with just 20 fourth-tier appearances under his belt is a big ol' jump.

And, if we are seriously thinking that McLean can be a CB in the Champs, then being a unit is clearly less important than the old days!

[chicken 2,640]

I think the obvious things are wages age and viable replacements.

I think there is more going on than is being said publicly. Gibson and Sorensen in local interviews have said no discussions have taken place.

With Gibson I suspect his age and wages will be seen as a chance to refresh the position if they have founder a younger, lower waged viable option. I think it's been pointed out that Tomkinson and Warner are right footed... though this isn't necessarily a factor.

Batth is also left footed isn't he? So if both are allowed to leave, I can see a left footed CB brought in to cover.

McCallum is 23 so can't leave for free, or talk to other clubs yet as compensation would be due. Have we heard he isn't in talks about a new contract? I suspect in his instance it could come down to Dimi. A recent pinkun article suggests the club want to keep Dimi but it's felt he'd only stay if we get promoted. Again, that could be wages or draw of European football in another top flight on the continent(France/Germany/Holland). If Dimi goes I'd not be surprised if McCallum stays.

We clearly want to keep Aboh, and are still trying to persuade him to stay. Sadly I think agents are at play here. He feels he should be in the first team squad and in contention to start/be closer to starting.

Not sure on the others for 24.

[Dean Coneys boots 1,400]

I suspect SvH could be Sargent’s replacement because he is off in the summer; which is why he is currently being bedded in and content to wait. We shall see…

[Indy 3,307]

30 minutes ago, chicken said:

I think the obvious things are wages age and viable replacements.

I think there is more going on than is being said publicly. Gibson and Sorensen in local interviews have said no discussions have taken place.

With Gibson I suspect his age and wages will be seen as a chance to refresh the position if they have founder a younger, lower waged viable option. I think it's been pointed out that Tomkinson and Warner are right footed... though this isn't necessarily a factor.

Batth is also left footed isn't he? So if both are allowed to leave, I can see a left footed CB brought in to cover.

McCallum is 23 so can't leave for free, or talk to other clubs yet as compensation would be due. Have we heard he isn't in talks about a new contract? I suspect in his instance it could come down to Dimi. A recent pinkun article suggests the club want to keep Dimi but it's felt he'd only stay if we get promoted. Again, that could be wages or draw of European football in another top flight on the continent(France/Germany/Holland). If Dimi goes I'd not be surprised if McCallum stays.

We clearly want to keep Aboh, and are still trying to persuade him to stay. Sadly I think agents are at play here. He feels he should be in the first team squad and in contention to start/be closer to starting.

Not sure on the others for 24.

Agree on all that, Aboh must be persuaded by Knapper to stay, he’s a Knapper type player, hopefully he will be given assurances to get him to stay!

McCallum is a strange one, I actually think he makes us a better team as he’s got a great delivery and scores, his attacking style pushed the opposition back! I’d be looking to sign him to a longer term contract, we're short of options there if Giannoulis goes.

[Captain Holt 522]

Great thread with literally every post adding value.

[Michael Starr 519]

I think we're still recovering from an issue with our recruitment policy under Webber. We went through a period of signing players who had "gone off the rails but could still come good". With those types of players, I suspect mentality was a huge issue. I feel that we ended up with a team full of negative mindsets. Rupp, Normann, Williams, Leitner, Martin, Kabak, Gilmour, Lees-Malou, Rashica, Dowell, Mumba and Nyland all dropped tools. Then you look at the players who's body language was always poor on the pitch... Idah, Aarons, Cantwell. Now throw in a broken youth pathway and we're losing our top talent at the same time. We need to fix our recruitment and youth development areas.

Edited March 13 by Michael Starr

[Indy 3,307]

2 minutes ago, Captain Holt said:

Great thread with literally every post adding value.

Don’t worry City 1st will be along soon to start trying to pick a fight!

A very good thread and lots of open thoughts, looks like Knapper might have a busy summer!

[BroadstairsR 2,186]

If, and it's a biggun, we do go up no doubt we will attempt to sign a two or three PL level players, perhaps a loanees included. 

Of course this would depend upon funding, but I am hoping that such a promotion would invigorate Annatasio in some investment into the squad. In saying this, I recall his mention of investment from down under.

Add such additions to whoever we retain from our star players and some of the youth coming through, and we could make a good fist of it at least. We do have a decent grounding, imo.

Well! You have to have a glass half full, as I currently do, after all.

Should we remain Chumps, then we are clearly more reliant upon youth coming through, upon a few decent signings/loanees by Ben Knapper, a new youthful manager and, of course the retention of some of those stars.

It is an unusual time of uncertainty for the club, in many ways. Without "chutes" it might take time to rise up again, or it may not. A lot will be on Knapper's shoulders, along with American intent.

Edited March 13 by BroadstairsR

[Feedthewolf 4,861]

1 hour ago, BroadstairsR said:

If, and it's a biggun, we do go up no doubt we will attempt to sign a two or three PL level players, perhaps a loanees included. 

Of course this would depend upon funding, but I am hoping that such a promotion would invigorate Annatasio in some investment into the squad. In saying this, I recall his mention of investment from down under.

Add such additions to whoever we retain from our star players and some of the youth coming through, and we could make a good fist of it at least. We do have a decent grounding, imo.

Well! You have to have a glass half full, as I currently do, after all.

Should we remain Chumps, then we are clearly more reliant upon youth coming through, upon a few decent signings/loanees by Ben Knapper, a new youthful manager and, of course the retention of some of those stars.

It is an unusual time of uncertainty for the club, in many ways. Without "chutes" it might take time to rise up again, or it may not. A lot will be on Knapper's shoulders, along with American intent.

I had no recollection of this, but a quick search reveals this rather short thread with little in the way of detail:

If we do go up, I wouldn't be surprised to see us accept a 'managed relegation', as we did before – budget for 20th, anything else is a bonus. I can't imagine that Attanasio would want to throw big bucks at it so early in the project; that wasn't his way at Milwaukee. Plus, if Wagner takes us up we're unlikely to give him the boot – but neither would we want to entrust him with a generous transfer budget.

As and when it happens, Knapper's first head coach appointment will be the clearest indicator yet of the direction he wants to take us in – and I can't imagine that direction is anywhere near a manager like David Wagner (or, worse, Dean Smith). And, as with Farke, the new man will invariably require a good amount of patience from the fans while he embeds his style of play.

[shefcanary 2,435]

FTW, Attanasio mentioned the Australian interest at the AGM and that is why I always say "Attanasio et al" when discussing future plans and investments. But yes, details about this Australian interest were non-existent and could again be the source of the EFL decision taking longer than we expected (on top of them trying to bottom the other 17% of interest in Attanasio's acquisition vehicle Norfolk - the so called rich individuals and corporates).

So if Attanasio does get the nod, one would hope the Pink'Un boys get to the bottom of who exactly is financing Attanasio and what they see their role as? Is the Australian interest purely a short to medium term financial interest, or are they also keen to get involved long-term with the management of the club?

Attanasio seems a man with a fairly conservative financial head, so it is not that disconcerting that he aims to spread the risk, but one would assume this is only for the short to medium term and once he has had a few years experience of running things, he will slowly buy out the "et al" part of the investment arm. But, who knows ...?

[repman 635]

7 minutes ago, shefcanary said:

FTW, Attanasio mentioned the Australian interest at the AGM and that is why I always say "Attanasio et al" when discussing future plans and investments. But yes, details about this Australian interest were non-existent and could again be the source of the EFL decision taking longer than we expected (on top of them trying to bottom the other 17% of interest in Attanasio's acquisition vehicle Norfolk - the so called rich individuals and corporates).

So if Attanasio does get the nod, one would hope the Pink'Un boys get to the bottom of who exactly is financing Attanasio and what they see their role as? Is the Australian interest purely a short to medium term financial interest, or are they also keen to get involved long-term with the management of the club?

Attanasio seems a man with a fairly conservative financial head, so it is not that disconcerting that he aims to spread the risk, but one would assume this is only for the short to medium term and once he has had a few years experience of running things, he will slowly buy out the "et al" part of the investment arm. But, who knows ...?

Just an addition to this, as you're probably one of the people best placed to answer it. Attanasio did an interview with local Milwaukee media about the baseball team but was asked about his stake in Norwich. He mentions that the Brewers have an interest in the team, is this commonplace with American owners and if not could this be a reason for a possible holdup? Also says that his interest with the Brewers is by far and away his largest investment, which I guess ties in with the Australian stuff.

Link to the interview here, the Norwich question comes towards the end: https://eu.jsonline.com/story/sports/mlb/brewers/2024/02/16/2024-qa-with-milwaukee-brewers-principal-owner-mark-attanasio/72595285007/

[NewNestCarrow 202]

10 minutes ago, shefcanary said:

FTW, Attanasio mentioned the Australian interest at the AGM and that is why I always say "Attanasio et al" when discussing future plans and investments. But yes, details about this Australian interest were non-existent and could again be the source of the EFL decision taking longer than we expected (on top of them trying to bottom the other 17% of interest in Attanasio's acquisition vehicle Norfolk - the so called rich individuals and corporates).

So if Attanasio does get the nod, one would hope the Pink'Un boys get to the bottom of who exactly is financing Attanasio and what they see their role as? Is the Australian interest purely a short to medium term financial interest, or are they also keen to get involved long-term with the management of the club?

Attanasio seems a man with a fairly conservative financial head, so it is not that disconcerting that he aims to spread the risk, but one would assume this is only for the short to medium term and once he has had a few years experience of running things, he will slowly buy out the "et al" part of the investment arm. But, who knows ...?

The evidence from the US is that having a group of investors is just a way of spreading the financial risk / allowing friends & associates to board the gravy train. And twenty years after taking over the Brewers Attanasio is not known to have increased his share at all, indeed, three years ago a 17th investor was added.

MA doesn't 'run' the Brewers, or the Admirals, and so I doubt his hands-on involvement with NCFC will ever be much greater than it currently is.

 

[shefcanary 2,435]

Wow, @repman, thanks for that link, that really is a very illuminating interview.

I've wondered who made up the 17% of US individuals and corporates, so it probably points to the Brewers company being one of those corporates (and who is this Giannis Antetokounmpo bloke the interviewer mentions as being a part of the Brewers "ownership group"). As I've mentioned before getting to the bottom of who owns the 17% in Norfolk (the US doesn't have a UK Companies House which provides transparency to corporate ownership) and verifying that they are in it for the right reasons is definitely going to take up a lot of the EFL's time, especially seeing what agreements are in place between Attanasio and them. But then he goes on to mention the Caroline Mudcats, the Maryvale and Dominican Republic academies. Boy, that's a tangled web, before you start to add in the prospect of some Australians!! So, yes, absolutely it will take time for the EFL to get to the bottom of it.

But the rest of the article reveals a bit more in his thinking as well. As I thought, the sporting investments he has made do seem to be something he hands on to his two sons - it seems Mike is more interested in Norwich than Dan for instance (probably because Soccer data is much more difficult than baseball data to impact the game). 

Then is the fact they spent $60m on the Maryvale stadium! Good news for the Carra'. The article also mentions the BCF (I would guess at this acronym standing for Brewers Charitable Foundation) which has shared out $55m to the local community. Think what that level of support could give to Norfolk's community.

I liked this quote when he discussed what the Brewers could learn from Norwich; "the guys on the soccer pitch run four miles a game. Our guys will get tired jogging down to first base (laughs)."

But a great read, albeit non-critical in the way it covered the difficulties of the roster at the Brewers but allowed Attanasio to answer the criticism. 

I keep flip-flopping with his involvement, but that read has got me excited again. Come on EFL, make your bloody mind up so we can move this shebang on.

 

Edited March 13 by shefcanary

[repman 635]

3 minutes ago, shefcanary said:

Wow, @repman, thanks for that link, that really is a very illuminating interview.

I've wondered who made up the 17% of US individuals and corporates, so it probably points to the Brewers company being one of those corporates (and who is this Giannis Antetokounmpo bloke the interviewer mentions as being a part of the Brewers "ownership group"). As I've mentioned before getting to the bottom of who owns the 17% in Norfolk (the US doesn't have a UK Companies House which provides transparency to corporate ownership) and verifying that they are in it for the right reasons is definitely going to take up a lot of the EFL's time, especially seeing what agreements are in place between Attanasio and them. But then he goes on to mention the Caroline Mudcats, the Maryvale and Dominican Republic academies. Boy, that's a tangled web, before you start to add in the prospect of some Australians!! So, yes, absolutely it will take time for the EFL to get to the bottom of it.

But the rest of the article reveals a bit more in his thinking as well. As I thought, the sporting investments he has made do seem to be something he hands on to his two sons - it seems Mike is more interested in Norwich than Dan for instance (probably because Soccer data is much more difficult than baseball data to impact the game). 

Then is the fact they spent $60m on the Maryvale stadium! Good news for the Carra'. The article also mentions the BCF (I would guess at this acronym standing for Brewers Charitable Foundation) which has shared out $55m to the local community. Think what that level of support could give to Norfolk's community.

I liked this quote when he discussed what the Brewers could learn from Norwich; "the guys on the soccer pitch run four miles a game. Our guys will get tired jogging down to first base (laughs)."

But a great read, albeit non-critical in the way it covered the difficulties of the roster at the Brewers but allowed Attanasio to answer the criticism. 

I keep flip-flopping with his involvement, but that read has got me excited again. Come on EFL, make your bloody mind up so we can move this shebang on.

 

Giannis is a basketball player who led the Milwaukee Bucks to the title a few years ago. I think his involvement is probably more a PR exercise than anything substantial, in a similar vein to a lot of celebs being part of ownership groups.

[wr4sb 33]

6 minutes ago, shefcanary said:

Wow, @repman, thanks for that link, that really is a very illuminating interview.

I've wondered who made up the 17% of US individuals and corporates, so it probably points to the Brewers company being one of those corporates (and who is this Giannis Antetokounmpo bloke the interviewer mentions as being a part of the Brewers "ownership group"). As I've mentioned before getting to the bottom of who owns the 17% in Norfolk (the US doesn't have a UK Companies House which provides transparency to corporate ownership) and verifying that they are in it for the right reasons is definitely going to take up a lot of the EFL's time, especially seeing what agreements are in place between Attanasio and them. But then he goes on to mention the Caroline Mudcats, the Maryvale and Dominican Republic academies. Boy, that's a tangled web, before you start to add in the prospect of some Australians!! So, yes, absolutely it will take time for the EFL to get to the bottom of it.

But the rest of the article reveals a bit more in his thinking as well. As I thought, the sporting investments he has made do seem to be something he hands on to his two sons - it seems Mike is more interested in Norwich than Dan for instance (probably because Soccer data is much more difficult than baseball data to impact the game). 

Then is the fact they spent $60m on the Maryvale stadium! Good news for the Carra'. The article also mentions the BCF (I would guess at this acronym standing for Brewers Charitable Foundation) which has shared out $55m to the local community. Think what that level of support could give to Norfolk's community.

I liked this quote when he discussed what the Brewers could learn from Norwich; "the guys on the soccer pitch run four miles a game. Our guys will get tired jogging down to first base (laughs)."

But a great read, albeit non-critical in the way it covered the difficulties of the roster at the Brewers but allowed Attanasio to answer the criticism. 

I keep flip-flopping with his involvement, but that read has got me excited again. Come on EFL, make your bloody mind up so we can move this shebang on.

 

Star player for the Milwaukee Bucks in the NBA

[NewNestCarrow 202]

28 minutes ago, shefcanary said:

Wow, @repman, thanks for that link, that really is a very illuminating interview.

I've wondered who made up the 17% of US individuals and corporates, so it probably points to the Brewers company being one of those corporates (and who is this Giannis Antetokounmpo bloke the interviewer mentions as being a part of the Brewers "ownership group"). As I've mentioned before getting to the bottom of who owns the 17% in Norfolk (the US doesn't have a UK Companies House which provides transparency to corporate ownership) and verifying that they are in it for the right reasons is definitely going to take up a lot of the EFL's time, especially seeing what agreements are in place between Attanasio and them. But then he goes on to mention the Caroline Mudcats, the Maryvale and Dominican Republic academies. Boy, that's a tangled web, before you start to add in the prospect of some Australians!! So, yes, absolutely it will take time for the EFL to get to the bottom of it.

But the rest of the article reveals a bit more in his thinking as well. As I thought, the sporting investments he has made do seem to be something he hands on to his two sons - it seems Mike is more interested in Norwich than Dan for instance (probably because Soccer data is much more difficult than baseball data to impact the game). 

Then is the fact they spent $60m on the Maryvale stadium! Good news for the Carra'. The article also mentions the BCF (I would guess at this acronym standing for Brewers Charitable Foundation) which has shared out $55m to the local community. Think what that level of support could give to Norfolk's community.

I liked this quote when he discussed what the Brewers could learn from Norwich; "the guys on the soccer pitch run four miles a game. Our guys will get tired jogging down to first base (laughs)."

But a great read, albeit non-critical in the way it covered the difficulties of the roster at the Brewers but allowed Attanasio to answer the criticism. 

I keep flip-flopping with his involvement, but that read has got me excited again. Come on EFL, make your bloody mind up so we can move this shebang on.

 

As Attanasio is Principal Owner of the Brewers how would this change anything?  (all the share documentation listed the US postal address of Norfolk as the Brewers' stadium!)

The Brewers spent $60m on the training complex but that is not the whole story. They will recoup some $35m via operating payments from the city of Phoenix ($1.4m pa x 25) and the stadium also got $15.7m in other renovation contributions from the city & state of Arizona.

Add this to the recent renovation deal for Brewers' home ballpark [public spend 75% / Brewers spend 25%] and it clearly shows that rich men would prefer to spend our cash rather than their own.

[Soldier on 160]

1 hour ago, shefcanary said:

Wow, @repman, thanks for that link, that really is a very illuminating interview.

I've wondered who made up the 17% of US individuals and corporates, so it probably points to the Brewers company being one of those corporates (and who is this Giannis Antetokounmpo bloke the interviewer mentions as being a part of the Brewers "ownership group"). As I've mentioned before getting to the bottom of who owns the 17% in Norfolk (the US doesn't have a UK Companies House which provides transparency to corporate ownership) and verifying that they are in it for the right reasons is definitely going to take up a lot of the EFL's time, especially seeing what agreements are in place between Attanasio and them. But then he goes on to mention the Caroline Mudcats, the Maryvale and Dominican Republic academies. Boy, that's a tangled web, before you start to add in the prospect of some Australians!! So, yes, absolutely it will take time for the EFL to get to the bottom of it.

But the rest of the article reveals a bit more in his thinking as well. As I thought, the sporting investments he has made do seem to be something he hands on to his two sons - it seems Mike is more interested in Norwich than Dan for instance (probably because Soccer data is much more difficult than baseball data to impact the game). 

Then is the fact they spent $60m on the Maryvale stadium! Good news for the Carra'. The article also mentions the BCF (I would guess at this acronym standing for Brewers Charitable Foundation) which has shared out $55m to the local community. Think what that level of support could give to Norfolk's community.

I liked this quote when he discussed what the Brewers could learn from Norwich; "the guys on the soccer pitch run four miles a game. Our guys will get tired jogging down to first base (laughs)."

But a great read, albeit non-critical in the way it covered the difficulties of the roster at the Brewers but allowed Attanasio to answer the criticism. 

I keep flip-flopping with his involvement, but that read has got me excited again. Come on EFL, make your bloody mind up so we can move this shebang on.

 

One hopes this is all resolved ahead of what will be a big summer for us. Surely some news soon eh ?!!!