May as well get going with this since with Sullivan at the helm, season ticket renewals slow, and the football vacuum to commence, this will soon be all the "news" there is.
Can Potter and MacCauley pull multiple rabbits out of the hat, or will Sullivan 'try really hard' with all of them before grabbing a few aging bargains from Big Willie Salthouse?
Window this close season comes in two parts:
Part 1: 1st June to 10th June
Part 2: 16th June to 1st September
Reckon both the Brownhill and Wilson moves are not happening as surely, one at least would have happened given how long the rumours have been about for Brownhill? We may well have been offered both or sounded out for interest at least and so the rumour gets crested and some legs but i honestly don't see what Wilson in particular brings to the team and then we have his injury record and age..........
Wouldn't be dead set against Brownhill, he's bit of a warrior who gets some goals, so like him for that, but reckon he's been a great championship player but may not stack up back in the PL?
Re: Summer Transfer Window 2025 | Official Thread
Posted: 31 Jul 2025, 02:29
by Jasnik
What I don't get is even if we are getting brownhill & Wilson why haven't we announced them or is it a load of bollocks and we see them both sign for Everton not that I would be bother but rumours are a pain.
Re: Summer Transfer Window 2025 | Official Thread
Posted: 30 Jul 2025, 21:01
by Barty888
SIGN EITHER ONE OF THEM ASAP!
Re: Summer Transfer Window 2025 | Official Thread
Posted: 30 Jul 2025, 20:26
by Barty888
Re: Summer Transfer Window 2025 | Official Thread
Posted: 30 Jul 2025, 19:36
by Sir Alf
No Ferret. Its terminal. It has become more natural the older I get though
If I had confidence we would bring in younger, athletic players we need in midfield, a keeper and striker all of a decent quality I might crack a smile but I just have less faith than ever now Sullivan is back in full control of recruitment
Re: Summer Transfer Window 2025 | Official Thread
Posted: 30 Jul 2025, 19:27
by Mad Ferret
Sir Alf,
Do you ever stop moaning dude?
Re: Summer Transfer Window 2025 | Official Thread
Posted: 30 Jul 2025, 19:18
by Sir Alf
Im assming we wont see any signings until more players are sold and also until the manager and team come back next week? Another week of wages saved by Sullivan “the man who knows the cost of everything but the value of nothing”
mallard wrote: ↑30 Jul 2025, 16:54
Not wishing to discredit the 3 B’s recruitment policy, but would you really want to support a club that consistently sells their best players year after year?
Depends. With Brighton, they are just replacing them and barely skipping a beat. If you're selling a player or two for big money that's where your succession planning comes in. So as long as the team keeps winning or improving and the money keeps coming in to replenish the players then that's fine. They haven't even taken a hit on losing their last couple of managers either. So if the success is sustainable year after year under that business model I don't see why not. It's not terrible to lose a player if one that's seemingly going to be just as effective is coming in to take their place. Sure, sooner or later it might all dry up for them but they've done exceptionally well to be competitive for many more years than they rightly should.
In general (of course there are a few exceptions) it's quite hard for most clubs except a handful to keep their exceptional players for a long time anyway. You have to be in a position where you sell on your terms though to maximise the value, unlike Sullivan acting like Bonnie Blue in a rugby team changing room, desperately whoring Kudus (and probably anyone else he thinks has any value) around to anyone and everyone. Would it have been bad losing Kudus if the team were performing well and we had a younger player ready to take his place with no discernible drop in quality while netting 20 million quid profit? It's largely because we are shit with no succession planning that selling good players hurts us.
Totally agree with what you’re saying, but these are models used by smaller clubs that would otherwise struggle in the top division.
Personally, I like to have decent players that can stay with us for at least 5 years and maintain a rapport with the fans.
…And just to clarify, I’m not defending Sullivans shit-cսnt business model in any shape or form.
Yeah absolutely no argument from me either. I'd love to have some very good players who stick around for a long time, and with any luck and hopefully a new owner we might get to that position, We are definitely a big enough club that we should be able to be managing this or at least getting close to it. We need to be trying to match the ambitions of our best players so they don't feel the need to go elsewhere. Sullivan is letting us and them down. He couldn't get Rice out the door quick enough either. Just a really crap message to send to us and the rest of the squad.
Agree it's a bit of a small club mentality the way the B's do it, but I guess it's got them punching way above their station so at least aspects of that would be similarly helpful for us, at least to start rebuilding from. You'd hope that some really good scouting recruitment and succession planning at a club with our size and potential could go hand in hand with success on the pitch, attracting some quality players and holding on to the ones we really want to while still making a profit or at least breaking even on player trading.
Any of that feels so fucking far away at the moment with the shambolic way we are run. Living hand to mouth season to season with no discernible long term vision. Just platitudes about where we want to be but with no plan as to how to start getting there.
mallard wrote: ↑30 Jul 2025, 16:54
Not wishing to discredit the 3 B’s recruitment policy, but would you really want to support a club that consistently sells their best players year after year?
Depends. With Brighton, they are just replacing them and barely skipping a beat. If you're selling a player or two for big money that's where your succession planning comes in. So as long as the team keeps winning or improving and the money keeps coming in to replenish the players then that's fine. They haven't even taken a hit on losing their last couple of managers either. So if the success is sustainable year after year under that business model I don't see why not. It's not terrible to lose a player if one that's seemingly going to be just as effective is coming in to take their place. Sure, sooner or later it might all dry up for them but they've done exceptionally well to be competitive for many more years than they rightly should.
In general (of course there are a few exceptions) it's quite hard for most clubs except a handful to keep their exceptional players for a long time anyway. You have to be in a position where you sell on your terms though to maximise the value, unlike Sullivan acting like Bonnie Blue in a rugby team changing room, desperately whoring Kudus (and probably anyone else he thinks has any value) around to anyone and everyone. Would it have been bad losing Kudus if the team were performing well and we had a younger player ready to take his place with no discernible drop in quality while netting 20 million quid profit? It's largely because we are shit with no succession planning that selling good players hurts us.
Totally agree with what you’re saying, but these are models used by smaller clubs that would otherwise struggle in the top division.
Personally, I like to have decent players that can stay with us for at least 5 years and maintain a rapport with the fans.
…And just to clarify, I’m not defending Sullivans shit-cսnt business model in any shape or form.
goose wrote: ↑30 Jul 2025, 11:42
Apart from Paqueta & the kids I’d sell them all.
what a pile of shit.
Bowen and Wan-Bissaka?
They don’t play centre midfield mate
Ah, got ya.
Re: Summer Transfer Window 2025 | Official Thread
Posted: 30 Jul 2025, 17:56
by El Scorchio
mallard wrote: ↑30 Jul 2025, 16:54
Not wishing to discredit the 3 B’s recruitment policy, but would you really want to support a club that consistently sells their best players year after year?
Depends. With Brighton, they are just replacing them and barely skipping a beat. If you're selling a player or two for big money that's where your succession planning comes in. So as long as the team keeps winning or improving and the money keeps coming in to replenish the players then that's fine. They haven't even taken a hit on losing their last couple of managers either. So if the success is sustainable year after year under that business model I don't see why not. It's not terrible to lose a player if one that's seemingly going to be just as effective is coming in to take their place. Sure, sooner or later it might all dry up for them but they've done exceptionally well to be competitive for many more years than they rightly should.
In general (of course there are a few exceptions) it's quite hard for most clubs except a handful to keep their exceptional players for a long time anyway. You have to be in a position where you sell on your terms though to maximise the value, unlike Sullivan acting like Bonnie Blue in a rugby team changing room, desperately whoring Kudus (and probably anyone else he thinks has any value) around to anyone and everyone. Would it have been bad losing Kudus if the team were performing well and we had a younger player ready to take his place with no discernible drop in quality while netting 20 million quid profit? It's largely because we are shit with no succession planning that selling good players hurts us.
Re: Summer Transfer Window 2025 | Official Thread
Posted: 30 Jul 2025, 17:19
by Fauxstralian
To be honest Bournemouth Brighton & Brentford given their size & resources should be nowhere near the Premier league
If it wasn’t for their great scouting & trading they’d be mid to lower Championship at best so I guess you do what you have to do.
The problem is obviously you need to keep coming up with winners and if you have a bad season or two with average replacements you sink
Like Southampton or Swansea & a whole collection of former Premier league teams in the Championship or lower
goose wrote: ↑30 Jul 2025, 11:42
Apart from Paqueta & the kids I’d sell them all.
what a pile of shit.
Bowen and Wan-Bissaka?
They don’t play centre midfield mate
Re: Summer Transfer Window 2025 | Official Thread
Posted: 30 Jul 2025, 17:04
by stubbo-admin
Steady wrote: ↑30 Jul 2025, 16:22
What does Salthouse have on Sullivan? Or does Sullivan literally get a cut of any transfer we make involving a Salthouse client?
Quite likely is Salthouse pays an 'opportunity finder' fee as part of the deal to the person that brought the deal to him.
We can imagine where that goes.
It's alledgedly why Sullivan tries to insert either Salthouse or Silky into every deal (even one's not for their clients).
Re: Summer Transfer Window 2025 | Official Thread
Posted: 30 Jul 2025, 16:54
by mallard
Not wishing to discredit the 3 B’s recruitment policy, but would you really want to support a club that consistently sells their best players year after year?
Re: Summer Transfer Window 2025 | Official Thread
Posted: 30 Jul 2025, 16:52
by Massive Attack
goose wrote: ↑30 Jul 2025, 11:42
Apart from Paqueta & the kids I’d sell them all.
what a pile of shit.
Bowen and Wan-Bissaka?
Re: Summer Transfer Window 2025 | Official Thread
Posted: 30 Jul 2025, 16:50
by Eerie Decent
I think you need to get some help, Alf.
Re: Summer Transfer Window 2025 | Official Thread
Posted: 30 Jul 2025, 16:46
by Sir Alf
Well I assume the agent fee is a percentage on the fee or loan or whatever and it can vary on every deal. Salthouse could be funnelling a but of that back to the Sullivan coffers is one theory and hence why he is the preferred agent. Reduces the scope of players we can get so hardly the best for the club over the long term but Sullivan is “Mr Short” in every sense except feathering his own nest.
Ive not drilled onto Sullivans wealth other than hearing its mostly tied up in property assets. Hence syphoning off cash via deals in his football business is a nice way to keep his cash / liquidity topped up. Thing is this cash is ultimately coming from futureTV and ticket revenues which finance the whole operation including transfers. Its all done on the “never never”, borrowing against future TV, ticket even transfer instalment income to pay off the growing interest and instalments for past borrowing. The best run clubs take a long term view and look at ways to finance their spending either via success ( Euro league qualification and league placing and trophies etc) and / or recruitment policy designed to give the best chance of increasing the value of players purchased. We’ve done it once with Rice.
Re: Summer Transfer Window 2025 | Official Thread
Posted: 30 Jul 2025, 16:22
by Steady
What does Salthouse have on Sullivan? Or does Sullivan literally get a cut of any transfer we make involving a Salthouse client?
Re: Summer Transfer Window 2025 | Official Thread
Posted: 30 Jul 2025, 15:08
by Sir Alf
Ramsay may be but injury prone possibly? Salthouse needs someone to take that chance on him so calls his mates Dave or Dave Jnr who is being given a role as a player wheeler / dealer like the best in the business his old man. Suppose he has to do something with his life young Dave Jnr? Dad didnt think the family porno business was his thing after he struggled with beimg a tester for the latest “big boy pegging” appliances ?
Re: Summer Transfer Window 2025 | Official Thread
Posted: 30 Jul 2025, 15:05
by El Scorchio
Fairly versatile, right?
For all the jokes and despair, a Salthouse client is ok if they will actually be beneficial to the team assuming we aren't stitched up by the terms of the contract. On the playing side, Ramsey gets into the team no doubt.
Re: Summer Transfer Window 2025 | Official Thread
Posted: 30 Jul 2025, 15:01
by goose
Jacob Ramsey is actually a very decent player.
Re: Summer Transfer Window 2025 | Official Thread
Posted: 30 Jul 2025, 14:40
by Sir Alf
Sadly Scorch you might be right.
”Yesterday’s solutions, today”. The Sullivan mission statement for West Ham. . A “state of the Arc” team for a “state of the arc” stadium.
