General Wolves News

[Alan]

Rich ay we

 

[Boozad]

I seem to remember 90% of people on this board were as happy as pigs in shit when Fosun did

We didn't spunk money like Villa though did we?

 

[AndyWolves]

We did with Fabio & Semedo

Before that, like most of our other decisions, we got right

 

[Elephant Pyjamas]

Issue? Spunk money like Villa and 90% of this forum will be happy as pigs in shit.

We spunked £35mill of Fabio and NO ONE on this forum is happy about that.

 

[Tony Towner]

Depends what you mean by spunk? If you mean spend, they got £105m for Grealish so their spend this season is in profit - ignoring wages.

They spent about £60m across their first 2 seasons back more than we did across our first 2, so about 1/3 more.

If you mean waste then they've had some bad signings like Wesley, but we spunked £16m on Cutrone in our first 2 seasons.

 

[Del Woppio]

I don't think anybody wants a net spend of £100m every season. But we've basically spent fuck all for three years, and you can only do that for so long before your best players fuck off and then you're in a relegation battle.

 

[Boozad]

I mean splash the cash. I know our spending has been compared to Villa's on here, I'm pretty sure I've read it unless I'm going absolutely senile. Which is a possibility lately I'll admit. So if they only spent £60m more over the first two seasons back in the league and this season was money spent that was made from a freak sale, how are we so comparatively bad on the 'splashing out' stakes? We're either not spending anything or are spending near enough the same as out neighbours. It can't be both.

Quality of signings and value for money will always be a pointless argument to some extent and I've never been one to compare signings. For instance I'd rather sign Fabio for £35m than Ings at £26m. The former may eventually make us some of that money back, Ings has very little resale value, and guaranteed Fabio is on much less a week. But it's all subjective so no point in arguing it.

 

[Newbridge Wolf]

I suspect we are looking to sell, the trouble is our value is in our connection to Mendes, like it or not we are his project.

Perhaps he has grown bored and doesn't need us to move money around, perhaps Fosun are looking for a return on investment. Who knows, it has been odd behaviour since the restart, Nuno being sacked (over aspirations no doubt) not backing a new manager, constant loans being taken out, and hiking up the ticket prices with a PR rep who wouldn't look out of place in a Ricky Gervais skit..

I've said it previously that whilst this is one of the best seasons in my 30+ years supporting Wolves from a football perspective, I have a general apathy about the club and a genuine concern over our immediate future

 

[Elephant Pyjamas]

For instance I'd rather sign Fabio for £35m than Ings at £26m. The former may eventually make us some of that money back, Ings has very little resale value, and guaranteed Fabio is on much less a week.

Well i'm a football fan rather than an accountant, and i'd have prefered Ings, it's not always about re sale value, else we'd never have signed Moutinho, who is my favourite player since Bully.

 

[Alan]

What's Mendes' motivation with us? He certainly didn't need us in order to make money.

What "project" of his could we be fulfilling? Not saying you're wrong, Newbridge, just genuinely not sure what it would be. I guess it could be as simple as "more money" but I don't know.

Given Fosun's investment in Gestifute, isn't it more likely that if Fosun goes, so too does the Mendes link?

 

[Tony Towner]

I mean splash the cash. I know our spending has been compared to Villa's on here, I'm pretty sure I've read it unless I'm going absolutely senile. Which is a possibility lately I'll admit. So if they only spent £60m more over the first two seasons back in the league and this season was money spent that was made from a freak sale, how are we so comparatively bad on the 'splashing out' stakes? We're either not spending anything or are spending near enough the same as out neighbours. It can't be both.

Quality of signings and value for money will always be a pointless argument to some extent and I've never been one to compare signings. For instance I'd rather sign Fabio for £35m than Ings at £26m. The former may eventually make us some of that money back, Ings has very little resale value, and guaranteed Fabio is on much less a week. But it's all subjective so no point in arguing it.

There's a number of factors. Firstly my comparisons were based on first years back up so there is a years lag. In Villa's third season they've spent the Grealish money and are a better side for it. We took a similar amount for Cav, Costa, Doherty and Jota and are a worse side now than we were in our first season up.

Secondly, you can't get away from Fabio. For a team that was about to pull the drawbridge up, it has become an even more bizarre signing with hindsight and it looked stupid to me at the time. Being saddled with a not fit for purpose Trincao to make the Adama deal fit has similar vibes. I take your point re Fabio over Ings, they are both poor value so my preference in that scenario would be neither.

Thirdly the manager has made it clear in both windows he wants players and hasn't got them, so we still don't know what Brunoball looks like and is clearly frustrated by it

Fourthly ticket price rises this season and the perceived rise next isn't consistent with the recruitment - Villa have ripped their fans off for years on that front though

Fifthly Jeff's lies and overall bad PR coming out of the club since the end of last season. Linked to that the perception, perhaps fairly, perhaps not that we low ball offers for players to give the illusion that we are trying to be active, but don't have an alternative when the club doesn't move, add Sanches' bullshit injury extension to that. He was on record saying the squad was too small, yet we started this season one first team player down on the previous one.

Specific to Villa they show no signs of slowing down, Coutinho probable in the Summer and wanting Bissouma (I think he'll go higher though).

I don't expect Fosun to spend funds the club hasn't generated any longer amd understand that FFP isn't a budget it's a limit, but I do expect them to use those that it does though.

 

[Tony Towner]

What's Mendes' motivation with us? He certainly didn't need us in order to make money.

What "project" of his could we be fulfilling? Not saying you're wrong, Newbridge, just genuinely not sure what it would be. I guess it could be as simple as "more money" but I don't know.

Given Fosun's investment in Gestifute, isn't it more likely that if Fosun goes, so too does the Mendes link?

We give/gave him the ability to bring an English side into the club, he didn't have one before. As the biggest and most expensive league that's massively appealing to him. See Fabio as exhibit a

 

[Alan]

I suppose, but given our recent transfer outlay how much is he really making off of us at the moment? I guess he collects more fees than just commission...

 

[Tony Towner]

I suppose, but given our recent transfer outlay how much is he really making off of us at the moment? I guess he collects more fees than just commission...

Although it'll be reported as a swap the Adama and Trincao transfer will be 2 seperate deals worth a combined £50m, even if he only takes 10% off that it's £5m and it'll likely be a lot more. We are still of much use to him

 

[Boozad]

There's a number of factors. Firstly my comparisons were based on first years back up so there is a years lag. In Villa's third season they've spent the Grealish money and are a better side for it. We took a similar amount for Cav, Costa, Doherty and Jota and are a worse side now than we were in our first season up.

Secondly, you can't get away from Fabio. For a team that was about to pull the drawbridge up, it has become an even more bizarre signing with hindsight and it looked stupid to me at the time. Being saddled with a not fit for purpose Trincao to make the Adama deal fit has similar vibes. I take your point re Fabio over Ings, they are both poor value so my preference in that scenario would be neither.

Thirdly the manager has made it clear in both windows he wants players and hasn't got them, so we still don't know what Brunoball looks like and is clearly frustrated by it

Fourthly ticket price rises this season and the perceived rise next isn't consistent with the recruitment - Villa have ripped their fans off for years on that front though

Fifthly Jeff's lies and overall bad PR coming out of the club since the end of last season. Linked to that the perception, perhaps fairly, perhaps not that we low ball offers for players to give the illusion that we are trying to be active, but don't have an alternative when the club doesn't move, add Sanches' bullshit injury extension to that. He was on record saying the squad was too small, yet we started this season one first team player down on the previous one.

Specific to Villa they show no signs of slowing down, Coutinho probable in the Summer and wanting Bissouma (I think he'll go higher though).

I don't expect Fosun to spend funds the club hasn't generated any longer amd understand that FFP isn't a budget it's a limit, but I do expect them to use those that it does though.

There are many factors, no denying that. And if you look at the first three seasons we improved massively off the bat while they didn't, it took three attempts before they started to improve really and if goal line tech had worked properly they'd be stiffing it in the Champ again (massive injustice and no real bearing on this but hey ho, it still boils my piss). They're starting to progress like we did three years ago while we've hit a wall, hopefully only a temporary one.

I can't get away from Fabio, nobody can. He could come good, none of know for sure whether he will or won't but it was stupid fee, insisting on not making the same mistake again doesn't always mean you don't make a different one. I would take neither either but seeing as both deals happened just chose those as a loose comparison.

Yes Bruno made it clear he wanted players, and he needed them. I have no idea why we've done such a massive U-turn and Bruno's not the only one who's frustrated.

I will never even try and defend the ticket price rises, I'm not going to pretend they're pricing me out of going as they're not but the ridiculous price hikes are definitely making it an easier decision given my circumstances. If Virgin put my bill up but halved my broadband speed and removed my sports package I'd go elsewhere. Not really a like for like comparison but you don't pay more for less product or shittier service, this is no different really.

I don't get the PR at all, that's one aspect I have been quite vocal on. It's gone from everybody buzzing and pulling together as a club to a divide bordering on Moxeyism. Not even going to try to understand it, it makes no sense. Unless they think all football fans are thick as shit.

Villa don't show any signs of slowing down no, and maybe they'll be far and away ahead of us next season, but for the here and now I think I'm just trying to say that a) we obviously have spent as the previous few back and forths have proven, mainly with the freak £100m sale being the big difference between us and them and b) massive spending doesn't always equate to success. We're toeing a fine line where we're not exactly overachieving as some of the performances have been pretty good, but when we're bad we're terrible and we haven't given Bruno any opportunity to change that as the outlay has mainly gone on loans to perms.
And the more I look at it the more I think FFP is a complete myth, and I'm pretty sure we're well clear of being rogered on that front anyway. It certainly is a reasonable expectation for the club spend the funds it generates as well, and I know a 'judge them in the next window' comment the other day may have been aimed at me as I've said it time and time again but personally I am prepared to do that. It could turn out to be a genius move when we smash the market in the summer after two or three keeping the coffers closed (although they haven't been completely closed), but if we go through the next window without improving the squad drastically then it's time to be concerned.

Ultimately there's nothing we can do about it anyway except try and enjoy the good days and forget about the bad as quickly as possible, an extreme stance could see people vote with their wallet. And I honestly don't think I'm bothered enough by it all to type out more words in one post than I have for years, maybe ever. But I've done it anyway. Even if it didn't make sense.

 

[Paddingtonwolf]

Although it'll be reported as a swap the Adama and Trincao transfer will be 2 seperate deals worth a combined £50m, even if he only takes 10% off that it's £5m and it'll likely be a lot more. We are still of much use to him

Ahem. Small point. Two loan deals where he gets commission. Followed by two permanent deals where he gets a further slice. It is four loads of commission.

 

[Newbridge Wolf]

The way I see it, Fosun took a financially strong club, from the championship into the Premier league increasing the value of the club.

The risk was minimised by having an agent who was able to distribute players we had no right to whilst pumping money into his clubs (whilst creaming fees) essentially fixing it

Fosun have now got a much more valuable asset, mendes has used us to distribute players revenue. It's a win win for both parties, there's a limit to how far this goes and I think we're close to it, the risk/reward payback is too much, plus we are now competing against top teams

 

[Tony Towner]

Conor has been on 5live for the last hour, usual Conor answering the questions politically but with warmth and humour (fuck you Wordle). His devastation he still feels from the Cup Semi the most interesting part for me. It'll be on BBC Sounds

 

[AndyWolves]

I almost think you can pinpoint the exact time the Fosun strategy changed as being the day after we bought Semedo & Fabio

 

[Wilf Wolf]

I almost think you can pinpoint the exact time the Fosun strategy changed as being the day after we bought Semedo & Fabio

More likely they asked questions when watching Semedo’s first few games and changed strategy when they saw Silva in the first team for the first time.