Soggy mattresses everywhere (and apologies for a wall of text)

Wow. Some massive benny-fits on here (and elsewhere as far as I can see). People need to get a grip.

I know its something of a come down after being linked with some Big Name Players(tm). But in most cases, I would guess people had never heard of them before they were linked via the ultra-reliable medium of Twitter. As others have said, like it or not, we have a stigma. We are one of the newly promoted clubs (the play off winners too, which is the worst) and must understand that we are less attractive than almost every other club in the division to Big Name Players(tm).

We could try and overcome this by throwing massive amounts of hard cash at people to make them sign, but that sounds like a rubbish idea to me. We'll get people with one eye on the exit from the beginning.

We need to survive a season. Then we lose that stigma, and a different 3 clubs will have it.

In the meantime, we need to cut our cloth, sign people that want to be here, and avoid signing gnarled old pros on the look out for one final pay day. We need to accept that there is a material probability we may get regulated. Although for what it's worth, I really don't think we will.

We have strengthened a lot in this transfer window, albeit not so much as everyone might have wished for in the last couple of days. Mulumbu, Brady, Dorrans and Jarvis are all pedigree players with premier league experience. That's a big injection of talent to midfield. The players who have gone are nowhere near the first team, except for early round cup games.

Mbop is an unknown quantity, but he looks like he could cut it. He's big, physical, experienced and has scored 1 in 2 wherever he has been. Without spunking away billions, I would say that's a pretty good bit of business, but time will obviously tell. He looks like a nice upgrade on The Wolf to me.

Its a bit disappointing we haven't added a centre half as more cover, or even as a starter, but maybe, just maybe, there wasn't anyone who would both 1) improve the options we have in the eyes of AN and 2) want to come to us right now (see above). We obviously reached out to a few such players, but couldn't get them over the line. That's not a sign of s**t negotiation skills, or McNasty caring only about his bonus. Its reality.

And remember, we don't have a sugar daddy willing to spunk away ?50m on a whim.

Anyway, I think we've got a squad that is much much better than last time we were up (I know, the standard goes up every year, but still), and based on 3 of the 4 games I've watched (yes, on streams, sorry) I think we're competitive. I think we will finish middle of the bottom half. And I think next year, we will be in rude financial health and a much more attractive prospect.

Keep the faith people. These are potential the best of times. Excellent young manager, best squad for decades, strong financial foundation. Now is NOT the time to toss your toys.

And a final word for Bradley. Love, respect, thanks. Having slept on it, ?6m is a lot of money for him, and we move on, with much gratitude for the memories.

Posted By: Under soil heating, Sep 2, 09:55:31