Klaus wrote:
Big Willie wrote:
Exactly my point mate. The money is there yet they keep claiming we don't have any which leads to the question of what are they using or earmarking the funds for.
I didn't say we don't have money though (and neither did Ornstein's tweet; it just said no more funds were available). I said that Champions League is a massive factor when it comes to making new signings. We spend whatever the club is willing to spend, and without Champions League they budget for less transfer expenses. It's just how we operate. I think it's bullshit too, but if you want a bunch of new players you better hope we make it into Champions League next season. Otherwise this summer is going to be just as frustrating as the ones preceding it.
Not arguing with any of that. I agree. Think the confusion is based on my use of the word money. I used the word money interchangeably with funds or transfer budget. That said I did also used money in terms of club revenue. Reason for this is to compare the effects of a lack of CL money has on the club's revenue when compared with the new PL TV revenues that both became effective in 2017. I was originally using this difference to see whether this would really have an effect on the funds we could have towards transfer. I'm just questioning the club's claims that there are no funds available based on the following scenarios I could envisage:
Whether there really is money and the aim is to not show their hand to other clubs.
Whether there is money but they are putting self imposed restrictions on the budget meaning we have have less to spend than some bottom half of the table teams.
Whether there really isn't any money at all that can be diverted towards transfer funds due to it being needed elsewhere.
If it's question 1 then it's a bit counterproductive given that the way we behave has led opposition teams hating to negotiate a sale of a player to us.
If it's question 2 then like you said, it's all a bit bullshit and shows a complete lack of ambition.
If it's point 3 then you have to question the way the club is run financially and where the inefficiencies lie.
Whichever scenario is true, it is hard to accept the club's claims that there is no money left for transfers. Especially when they have seen how the transfer game is changing. They only need to look at what players end up costing each successive window. It's like we don't learn that hoarding money without reinvesting is a futile effort that results in a lower purchasing power in subsequent years.
