There wasn’t a queue trying to sign Wilf after Man U and Cardiff though was there? In fact I don’t recall anyone else in for him.

Pulis is a cvnt but we had trust and belief he’d keep us up that next season, even if he went and signed the usual overpriced basic skill level that we’d be lumbered with for the rest of their contract and eventually hamstringing us, which I was opposed to at the time. As it turns out we’ve done that ever since if you stop and look. And who wanted them? Parish, the yanks, Pardew with CB and not Frank with Sakho? Any combination of those 3? Ok Benteke & Sakho were better or higher profile but still came at a huge price we could’ve saved if we had the right infrastructure in place, something Pulis was talking about a bit that summer and his walks on Sandbanks with Parish before they both knew working together would forever be a problem.

Edited by Rudi Hedman (27 Nov 2018 11.19pm)

COYP

If Wilf and AWB were to push for moves then I guess we should cash in or risk an unhappy dressing room, but I don't agree that it should be the club's decision to sell. Nowadays real quality costs money and unless you have an amazing scouting network then you end up either paying big sums for known quantities or you get average players. Watching the likes of Burnley and Huddersfield it made me shudder at the thought of life after Wilf. Yes they might get results, but where is the entertainment? Also, this argument about a rightback not being so important is blind to the way we play. We rely on our fullbacks for both defending and attacking. It is fundamental to our setup, especially with Roy playing a narrow midfield. When Ward was playing teams began targeting him because of his woeful lack of pace, while conversely AWB has saved us countless times already with his pace and extendable spider legs.

If the worst happened and we were relegated then no doubt they'd both go but otherwise I hope we build around them. We really aren't that far away from a very good team anyway.

Sell AWB for megabucks, get a low-risk, decent replacement, spend £20 million on building a scouting network, organizational structure and an enhanced player development system. Stop buying until that structure is up and running and if we fail in the meantime, too bad.

If you want to live in a world full of kindness, respect and love, try to show these qualities.

If we keep wasting money, it will bankrupt the club because eventually our approach will implode and we'll hit the Championship with one of the highest wage bills for any sports club on Earth.

Do I honestly mean no transfers? Probably not, if push came to shove. But our current approach is not the way to continue...£10+m thrown about here and there, plus wages, for signings who just aren't that fantastic or likely to improve in value. Schlupp is the stand-out example. Where are our bargain purchases (and I wouldn't count Max Meyer)? Who could we sell today for vastly more than we paid?

I guess we have to hope the Americans are willing to double down if our finances were to get really bent out of shape. I have my doubts on that, given Brexit and its impact on Sterling/ and the economy in the short-term.

If you want to live in a world full of kindness, respect and love, try to show these qualities.

I always find that argument a bit of a red herring as for every youngster like Zaha that moved to a big club and couldn't hack it there are dozens more that have made the transition successfully

Nah, we'll continue to waste money each january and bring in new managers every other year... that works.

This was once a quality forum....