[Albion] This summer’s squad rebuild

[Deportivo Seagull]

Not after the last two windows Can anyone make sense of the famine to feast strategy. I’m going to be a bit basic and say it’s the club tacitly admitting that not enough was ventured before

Then you'd be wrong. TB is all about value and with FFP etc clubs need to sell but with fewer buyers around prices are low, hence the splurg on players.

 

[tigertim68]

Did anyone honestly see a rebuild of this magnitude, scale and expense happening this summer?

we had lost so many players over the last couple of years , that had not been replaced, so really they had to do something
if we had not invested in new players we would be relegation contenders, as the last quarter of last season was not very good

 

[Han Solo]

I honestly think RDZ’s departure was the catalyst for this. TB felt that this was the time to ‘go big’ and bought in a manager he felt was able to push the club on with the recruitment that HE wanted and believed in.

I don't think so.

In the last 24 months (you could probably add another year to it) or so there's been two things aligning: us getting a lot of money, others spending a lot of money.

Many clubs just ignored FFP (and that other thingie), thinking it was a paper tiger that would be dissolved one way or another. This was partially but not entirely correct. I'd say when the PL point deductions started, we knew this summer would be the time when they were going to have to pay for their sins, and we've been quick to abuse it.

One or two years ago, Minteh would have stayed in Newcastle, Wieffer been gone to Spurs for £45m in June, Cozy-kid gone to Newcastle, Ferdi signed with City, Ajax hade been able to sell enough players to the PL to buy Yalcouye early in the window, Bojan Grulda either to a bigger German club or some PL club etc. etc.

Roberto could have been incompatible with the strategy that eventually took place, but in one fashion or another money was always going to splooshed this summer as this new lovely, previously inaccessible smörgåsbord of players has became available to the recruiters.

 

[sir_gullahad]

I have been feeling the club grow and change under my feet so long it feels normal now. Both in terms how we look at ourselves and are seen by others. My ideas of where our hopes and aspirations lie are continually challenged. Today is another incremental step.

The result is a club transformed from the one I fell in love with, yet also so familiarly my club. Long may it be so.

 

[The Rattler]

Mad times. As it ever was following The Albion.

Next, a new 40,000+ capacity stadium with proper transport access? We are going to need a bigger home to start conquering Europe.

 

[peterward]

Did anyone honestly see a rebuild of this magnitude, scale and expense happening this summer?

No, and even more frightening is we may have another 2 £30m inbounds in O'Reilly and Kadioglu.

The Lizard has come to the table and he ain't f**king about!

 

[essbee1]

But in many ways, I miss going to Leyton orient and Lincoln City away where you get off
the train and you get excited because you see another Albion top.

 

[brighton_tom]

Mad times. As it ever was following The Albion.

Next, a new 40,000+ capacity stadium with proper transport access? We are going to need a bigger home to start conquering Europe.

I do wonder if the growth of the club will ever get to a point where the idea of somehow increasing the Amex capacity (I know it cant really be) goes from being a silly impossible idea to one where Tony thinks we might seriously have to investigate how that might happen.

 

[Beach Hut]

Think it is more the fact that several of the players that we were monitoring all became available at the same time plus the added bonus we had the funds.

 

[Greg Bobkin]

Probably more a case of his ego couldn't take coming to Brighton when he had heard man u and Chelsea were interested.

Biggest mistake he has ever made I suspect.

Or maybe he was interviewed but wasn't the right/best candidate?

I'm sure he'll be fine - his career progression is just fine, plus loyalty in football can go a long way.

 

[HyperTony]

I think it's a combination of things.
The injuries last season and obvious lack of depth
This highlighted a bit of a lack of attacking options
Groß leaving
Fabian style
Combine all this with the club strategy to maintain a top 10 place and challenge for Europe

Despite what we've spent, the players are young, very talented, loads of potential so that all seems similar. They're more experienced (which was sort of RDZ "argument") but we've done it our way, as always

I flippen love it, cannot wait for Saturday

 

[dwayne]

The beauty of buying these young ballers for tony is that you get immense pleasure out of watching them for your team .....but you also know that they are an asset and you are likely to sell them for more than you bought them for.

 

[B-right-on]

Did anyone honestly see a rebuild of this magnitude, scale and expense happening this summer?

Abso-fcuking-lootley not.

 

[Dick Knights Mumm]

Did anyone honestly see a rebuild of this magnitude, scale and expense happening this summer?

Nope. I’ve not a clue what’s going on. I gave up trying to understand football finance a long time ago. We have the good fortune to follow a remarkable club in remarkable times.

 

[Invicta]

Crazy transfer window, can't wait to see how it all comes together! Well up for Saturday !

 

[Clive Walker]

The beauty of buying these young ballers for tony is that you get immense pleasure out of watching them for your team .....but you also know that they are an asset and you are likely to sell them for more than you bought them for.

Precisely this. Every. It of business is an investment. Can’t actually remember the last player we made a loss on.

Locardia or areza?

 

[Kalimantan Gull]

So im basically on board with all the giddy happy-go-lucky sentiment here, but I suppose one should also consider all possibilities.

Could it be that the repeated poaching of our recruitment team, Ashworth, other backroom staff has led to a little loss of control here, with some targets being overvalued, and a surplus of players being signed in forward positions? We've spent a lot of money on Rutter, Minteh, ACD, Osman and Gruda, who all play in similar positions, without moving on any of the other seven good players we already have occupying those positions. Have we gone a bit 'kid in a sweetshop' here?

 

[Papa Lazarou]

So im basically on board with all the giddy happy-go-lucky sentiment here, but I suppose one should also consider all possibilities.

Could it be that the repeated poaching of our recruitment team, Ashworth, other backroom staff has led to a little loss of control here, with some targets being overvalued, and a surplus of players being signed in forward positions? We've spent a lot of money on Rutter, Minteh, ACD, Osman and Gruda, who all play in similar positions, without moving on any of the other seven good players we already have occupying those positions. Have we gone a bit 'kid in a sweetshop' here?

Calling @Dr. No

 

[London Irish]

Then you'd be wrong. TB is all about value and with FFP etc clubs need to sell but with fewer buyers around prices are low, hence the splurg on players.

I can accept that argument for one of them, Minteh, but then again there are always opportunist deals available in any window. Not sure about any of the others, where we look to be paying market rates - hence why people (not me!!!!) have been moaning on here about Rutter's spend.

The real reason for the spending is we had a bloody miserable time for 4 or 5 months at the end of the season and the case was unanswerable that we needed a big overhaul on quality. It should never have got that bad - but all the same I'm delighted the board finally acted rather than doubling down on trying to get the best out of the plenty of players we did have

 

[Super Sub]

The more I watch us build this window, the more that I think that this has been planned out to perfection.
I think we’ve wanted to do this for a while but potentially kept it from RDZ so we could manage him out without him kicking off too much. Let him think it was his choice to go and all that. We did of course get a fee for him too.
I’m probably miles off but it’s how it feels to me. Well played Mr Bloom