Bostock comes to mind, though at least we'll get some dosh. A poor day for the club when we can't keep hold of our best talent. My prediction is we wont get any decent players in return (though we may spend the money) - championship beckons, especially if Wilf goes too. We'll have no one that can change a game and keep us us!

Reality is you don’t know what’s happening but you’re making your mind up anyway.

COYP

A very fine margin at times over the last few seasons, fortunately we had a game changer in Wilf and a good first season from Benteke that resulted in us ending up mid table. But once the confidence goes and no one is there with the magic, we've had it. Are there players that we can realistically hope to bring in that would replace Wilf and Aaron? We were three quality players short prior to their departure/ anticipated departure.

One of them is still a full back who we managed without for 5 seasons.

COYP

We will see who has selective memory when we get relegated.

All this pragmatism is making me wonder why some of us bother to follow football at all.

We’re a smaller club swimming in a big pond. we all know this. You’ve temporarily forgotten this and gotten used to almost 11 very high calibre players, which alone has its dangers with very week backups, before you consider the 9th highest wage bill and highest wage/revenue ratio. We’re hamstrung because of mistakes made. That is where the errors have been. Bad choice or no added value of investors and knock on effects of poor scouting. Signing and paying players we should never be doing. Benteke and Sakho ffs. Get real. We’re the only club down there doing that and it doesn’t last, hence this sale.

COYP

Have to say Rudi I think this post is nail on head. There comes a point when you have to cut your cloth accordingly

So we are compounding bad decisions with more bad decisions.

I get it.

There needs to be a way out of it, and again, how do you think we’ll address troubles on the pitch with a net budget of £10 mil or under?

COYP

It's obvious that we are not made of money, the american investors are not coughing up and i guess why should they when they don't have final say.... they want to do things their way, it isn't happening and they want out. It's an embaressing situation really.

We need to forget AWB ever happened, he was an anomaly - we need to be looking at upgrading Ward - so what kind of right back would we be looking at and how much, most of us would look at 15 mil would be seen as great, considering what Tomkins cost us and the way he adapted. So we spend that and Ward is replaced - we then have 30 mil in the bank left over. Ok, we can look at left back.... using Schlupp as the back up and again spend 15 for a decent/promising left back - that's 15 mil left. Not to take into account what the sell of PVA would get us.

Ok, so we tighten up our defense which has been above average in my opinion on a consistent level. We then have some money left over to negotiate with. We have Benteke, Wickham and Ayew i believe as the options. Now, selling Benteke at a loss, let's say we 12 for him, that allows us to spend around 20 on attack.

Not bad hey? all from selling a player that came out of no where and wasn't part of the plan, never was...

Don't even get me started on Wilf.

This was once a quality forum....