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[Albion] This summer’s squad rebuild







Super Sub

Well-known member
Aug 13, 2016
227
Thought about doing a new thread for this but it fits in here I think.

The amount of changes we've had in the last few months had me looking at what our transfer activity looked like ten seasons ago and...

My my my, how time bloody well flies.

Our INs for the 2014/15 season were:

David Stockdale
Beram Kayal
Sam Baldock
Paddy McCourt
Danny Holla
Chris O'Grady
Aaron Hughes
Nzuzi Toko
Adrian Colunga
George Cole (who?)
Daniel Pappoe (WHO!?)

And then this season:

Yankuba Minteh
Mats Wieffer
Brajan Gruda
Georginio Rutter
Malick Yalcouye
Amario Cozier-Duberry
Ibrahim Osman

and potentially:

Matt O'Riley
Ferdi Kadioglu
Olivier Boscagli

It really is quite incredible to look at that as a measure of just how far we've come. And that's absolutely no disrespect to Stockers, Kayal or Baldock who all played their part in the promotion push.

I mean, it's obvious, I know. Being a fair-to-middling Championship team back then to being a decent-to-good-to-occasionally-fantastic Premier League team now, of course means we're attracting a higher calibre of player. It's just incredible to look at. Even more incredible looking at players like Buonanotte, who could be the next big Argentinian superstar, not being able to nail down a place here.
I wonder if Gomez is still in the mix to be signed this window too. Its gone very quiet on him
 


warmleyseagull

Well-known member
Apr 17, 2011
4,350
Beaminster, Dorset
Maybe not quite as incredible as seems, at least financially.

Club made record profit £123m to 30/6/2024. £33m was repaid to TB, so £90m left (assume no corporation tax due to accrued losses). Caicedo sale was not in 2024 numbers as completed in August, so add £115m. Simplistically, that makes for a £205m war chest. Some will go on wages (though Lallana going helped with that) but a net spend of £200m is not unrealistic, This equates to £230m outgoing fees due to PG and Undav incoming fees, and possibly more to come (WBG, Adingra?). And there will be more loans for sure to lighten the wage bill.

Add to that the points others made: supporting FH; opportunity to take advantage of PSR problems for other clubs; less competitive market due to PSR; the reality that Europe is a closer dream than maybe thought 3 seasons ago; and it all makes sense.
 


Tom Hark Preston Park

Will Post For Cash
Jul 6, 2003
71,874
Screenshot_20240821_125951_Chrome.jpg
 


deletebeepbeepbeep

Well-known member
May 12, 2009
21,606
Maybe not quite as incredible as seems, at least financially.

Club made record profit £123m to 30/6/2024. £33m was repaid to TB, so £90m left (assume no corporation tax due to accrued losses). Caicedo sale was not in 2024 numbers as completed in August, so add £115m. Simplistically, that makes for a £205m war chest. Some will go on wages (though Lallana going helped with that) but a net spend of £200m is not unrealistic, This equates to £230m outgoing fees due to PG and Undav incoming fees, and possibly more to come (WBG, Adingra?). And there will be more loans for sure to lighten the wage bill.

Add to that the points others made: supporting FH; opportunity to take advantage of PSR problems for other clubs; less competitive market due to PSR; the reality that Europe is a closer dream than maybe thought 3 seasons ago; and it all makes sense.
There will be a lot of costs associated with the Stadium improvements, Fan Zone, etc. also.

That is to say I doubt TB will be able to pay himself back anything else in the next set of accounts.
 




Taybha

Whalewhine
Oct 8, 2008
27,524
Uwantsumorwat
Hurzeler must of took a pocket watch to his interview, hypnotised Barbz and Tony and actually walked out without saying the magic word to return them to a state of normality,if only he'd of added a paint the roof Blue again clause in his contract.
 




Super Sub

Well-known member
Aug 13, 2016
227
There will be a lot of costs associated with the Stadium improvements, Fan Zone, etc. also.

That is to say I doubt TB will be able to pay himself back anything else in the next set of accounts.
Id think that all of this investment would be paid back many times over further down the line due to the clubs value only increasing. I agree with you totally though.
 




















Littlemo

Well-known member
Aug 25, 2022
1,505
I have mixed feelings about the rebuild. On one had it was needed as I think we’d gone a little far in the direction of having promising youngsters and didn’t quite have enough experience once a few players got injured. We clearly needed some experienced players in.

I do feel a bit sad though that we are bringing in players and loaning out some players like Buonanotte, Barco maybe, Sarmiento doesn’t look much like he’ll be very involved, even talk of Ensico being away on loan.

It doesn’t seem like that long ago we were heralding the arrival of these guys and I guess I was hoping we’d be bringing them through ourselves this season, instead we’ve brought in new players who we’ll play ahead of them and are loaning them out. It feels a bit, dare I say it, Chelsea-like.
 






ac gull

Well-known member
Jul 7, 2003
1,964
midlands
we will be planning three transfer windows ahead - some more big sales no doubt next year - and plenty of others lined up to take their place

all by and large funded by some London team with US owners :cool:
 




Pliny the Gull

Active member
Mar 4, 2024
165
All good so far. Great pre season and transfer business.
Luv to keep Barco though.
Sometimes it's the here and now, not the next season.
 


Farehamseagull

Solly March Fan Club
Nov 22, 2007
14,767
Sarisbury Green, Southampton
This is thread is brilliant! I do love the fact that we’re all concerned about how much we’re spending, finding it barely believable and worried that it is viable. Most clubs fans wouldn’t give it a second’s thought, would just be celebrating the outlay and demanding more and more!

Our history has made us think sensibly, cautious and trying to find ways of justifying it! It seems quite appropriate that one of our more prominent fans is a football finance expert and dullard! 😂
 


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