Impeccable source.

[Pavilionaire]

If we are starting from scratch, can i suggest that if we can get Bruno, Greer, Dunk, Stephens, Crofts, Ankergren, CMS, Calderon, Chicksen, JFC, LuaLua, March, Buckley, Toko and Ince for no fees, just wages, that would be a good start ?

Which players have contributed the most over the last two seasons?

1. Ulloa
2. Upson
3. Kuszczak
4. Bridcutt
5. Barnes.

All gone. The only player that comes close to getting in that list is Greer, while very few of the remainder still left can be sure of their place in the starting XI. You can add Toko, Hughes and O'Grady to that list. In my book that's starting over.

It's generally accepted that Sir Alex built 4 or 5 separate teams whilst at Man Utd. Of course he didn't lose all of his players at the same time, but each rebuild coincided with the departure of 3 or 4 big players.

Right now it feels like the end of Falmer Stage 1. In a year's time I expect 4 or 5 of our key players will be those who haven't even kicked a ball for us yet.

 

[Dirk Lehmann's Python]

Which players have contributed the most over the last two seasons?

1. Ulloa
2. Upson
3. Kuszczak
4. Bridcutt
5. Barnes.

All gone. The only player that comes close to getting in that list is Greer, while very few of the remainder still left can be sure of their place in the starting XI. You can add Toko, Hughes and O'Grady to that list. In my book that's starting over.

It's generally accepted that Sir Alex built 4 or 5 separate teams whilst at Man Utd. Of course he didn't lose all of his players at the same time, but each rebuild coincided with the departure of 3 or 4 big players.

Right now it feels like the end of Falmer Stage 1. In a year's time I expect 4 or 5 of our key players will be those who haven't even kicked a ball for us yet.

You've quite clearly shoehorned Barnes into that to suit your argument.

His main contribution the season before last was kicking a referee, and he only played half of last season. He definitely didn't contribute more than, say Gordon Greer, who has captained one of the best defences in the league for the last two seasons, or even Bridge or Ward or Bruno or Calderon.

 

[desprateseagull]

 

[BrianWade4]

If we are starting from scratch, can i suggest that if we can get Bruno, Greer, Dunk, Stephens, Crofts, Ankergren, CMS, Calderon, Chicksen, JFC, LuaLua, March, Buckley, Toko and Ince for no fees, just wages, that would be a good start ?

All good players at this level

Kemy could come good as well....

 

[Pavilionaire]

You've quite clearly shoehorned Barnes into that to suit your argument.

His main contribution the season before last was kicking a referee, and he only played half of last season. He definitely didn't contribute more than, say Gordon Greer, who has captained one of the best defences in the league for the last two seasons, or even Bridge or Ward or Bruno or Calderon.

Shoehorned? Don't let the facts get in the way of your prejudice, eh? From opening day at Falmer to the close of last season our Championship leading goalscorer was Ashley Barnes with 24 goals (Ulloa 23, CMS 20, Buckley 19). Like him or hate him, Barnes was picked regularly by both managers and top scored while he was here. That puts him in the Top 5.

As for the others you've named Bridge and Ward look like being useful one-season wonders, while it is evident from the recent comments on the Aaron Hughes threads that many think Greer should be on the bench and that Hughes and Dunk should start, so arguably it is time for Greer to be replaced anyway. When both fit it is a toss-up as to who starts at right-back between Calde and Bruno.

 

[Diego Napier]

I said back in May that Leicester were wasting our time and unsettling the player. This is not a playground and it's not about bullying - I submit that Leicester were naive in biding £3.5million and Albion were naïve in saying he was a £10million player. If we are prepared to accept £7.5mill now then we were willing to accept £7.5mill two months ago. Both teams could have made it easier by cutting a deal rather than posturing. If this had have happened the Sami would have had the matter sorted and a chunk of cash in the bank before he joined. Now he's got squad of players "apparently in tears" over Ulloa's departure and rightly so because of the shit timing.

I think it has nothing to do with bullying or naivety and everything to do with real life; players, managers and selling clubs wanting to maximise their income and buying clubs looking to spend as little as possible. How do you know what Leicester were willing to offer 2 months ago? How do you know what other players Leicester and Brighton were after who became unavailable?

If only life were as simple as Football Manager eh?

 

[Pavilionaire]

I think it has nothing to do with bullying or naivety and everything to do with real life; players, managers and selling clubs wanting to maximise their income and buying clubs looking to spend as little as possible. How do you know what Leicester were willing to offer 2 months ago? How do you know what other players Leicester and Brighton were after who became unavailable?

If only life were as simple as Football Manager eh?

I've never played Football Manager in my life, but I do know if you don't get your business done in a timely fashion you can be playing catch-up for the rest of the season.

In 'real life' there are rich clubs with big parachute payments who already have a huge advantage over us. This is why, in 'real life', we make it doubly hard for ourselves by leaving so much of our transfer business so late in the day. Last season the excuse for our poor start was the manager situation, this time it's having to sell all of our big players and it taking so long to replace them. If we are to compete them we have to be in a better place by late July than we are now.

I don't pretend to be in the know about transfers, but the majority of Albion fans knew Ulloa's basic transfer worth was around that £7 mill mark. It would appear that Bloom has struck a financially lucrative deal for the club, but it's taken 2 months and probably taken up a lot of time preventing other business from being done. Maybe I'm being unrealistic and the facts are that for a club like us we'll always be dealing late in the day as we are down the food chain? If a club were able to identify and then bring in 4 or 5 key transfer targets before mid-July they'd certainly have a major jump on everyone else.

 

[Justice]

Shoehorned? Don't let the facts get in the way of your prejudice, eh? From opening day at Falmer to the close of last season our Championship leading goalscorer was Ashley Barnes with 24 goals (Ulloa 23, CMS 20, Buckley 19). Like him or hate him, Barnes was picked regularly by both managers and top scored while he was here. That puts him in the Top 5.

As for the others you've named Bridge and Ward look like being useful one-season wonders, while it is evident from the recent comments on the Aaron Hughes threads that many think Greer should be on the bench and that Hughes and Dunk should start, so arguably it is time for Greer to be replaced anyway. When both fit it is a toss-up as to who starts at right-back between Calde and Bruno.

Anyone who thinks Greer should be benched is a tool IMO. Our last outing at Derby proved this point we collapsed when GG left the field.

 

[Prince Monolulu]

Great deal by BHA, wasn't too mobile, first touch well iffy and didn't score enough IMHO. Excellent money in, let's see how we continue to use it.

 

[Thunder Bolt]

I don't pretend to be in the know about transfers, but the majority of Albion fans knew Ulloa's basic transfer worth was around that £7 mill mark. It would appear that Bloom has struck a financially lucrative deal for the club, but it's taken 2 months and probably taken up a lot of time preventing other business from being done. Maybe I'm being unrealistic and the facts are that for a club like us we'll always be dealing late in the day as we are down the food chain? If a club were able to identify and then bring in 4 or 5 key transfer targets before mid-July they'd certainly have a major jump on everyone else.

It hasn't prevented us from signing Hughes or O'Grady. Late in the day would be the last two or three days of the transfer window in August, not three weeks before the season starts.