Joe Allen signs new 4 year contract with Stoke

[Cozoni Wam]

Of course we will spend, but only as much as we think we can get away with to give ourselves some sort of a chance of staying up. £50m really doesnt buy you very much at this level and wouldnt make much difference to our chances of avoiding the drop whereas in the championship it would give us two or three bites at automatic promotion so I think it makes sense for us to do what we are doing now and use what little money we are prepared to spend right now on players who can do a really good job for us in the championship and perhaps make the step up to the Prem.

[BlueArmy 86]

Gutted he won’t be playing at a higher level.

[blue matt]

Of course we will spend, but only as much as we think we can get away with to give ourselves some sort of a chance of staying up. £50m really doesnt buy you very much at this level and wouldnt make much difference to our chances of avoiding the drop whereas in the championship it would give us two or three bites at automatic promotion so I think it makes sense for us to do what we are doing now and use what little money we are prepared to spend right now on players who can do a really good job for us in the championship and perhaps make the step up to the Prem.

this is the bit i dont get, we dont spend too much this time with the idea that we will have some decent players for the next season in the championship where we will want to get promoted to the place we already are ? ? ? its just crazy talk imho as we will get promoted and have to spend a tidy amount to stay up the next time, we are already at that point

[Cozoni Wam]

this is the bit i dont get, we dont spend too much this time with the idea that we will have some decent players for the next season in the championship where we will want to get promoted to the place we already are ? ? ? its just crazy talk imho as we will get promoted and have to spend a tidy amount to stay up the next time, we are already at that point

I dont like it anymore than you do but I think we will have more chances of seasons in the premier league this way without getting into trouble with FFP. If we spend big now and dont stay up, our window of opportunity to get promoted in the division below will be smaller. We made a complete mess of it last time and had to spend the next 2 years cost cutting like mad.

I dont think it would do us any harm to become a yo yo club for a while. Eventually we may get lucky and stay up one season and then have a long stint at that level. We are going to need a big chunk of luck to become a settled premier league club.

[the other bob wilson]

Come January when we're in the bottom three and people are saying it only needs one or two good signings for us to get clear, what will the attitude be if we continue to "err on the side of caution" then and go for cheaper options? What is being praised as sound financial management in June will start being called trying to survive on the cheap if we are struggling come October and November when people are realising that "the Warnock factor" may not be enough to save us.
I take on board the need to try and avoid the sort of problems we had after our relegation in 2014, but this isn't a black and white issue where the only options are spending money like it's going out of fashion and trying, and almost inevitably failing, to stay up on the cheap. Our transfer business so far makes me hope that the club are opting for a middle way which would involve something like a Huddersfield last summer type of spending programme.

[Cozoni Wam]

Come January when we're in the bottom three and people are saying it only needs one or two good signings for us to get clear, what will the attitude be if we continue to "err on the side of caution" then and go for cheaper options? What is being praised as sound financial management in June will start being called trying to survive on the cheap if we are struggling come October and November when people are realising that "the Warnock factor" may not be enough to save us.
I take on board the need to try and avoid the sort of problems we had after our relegation in 2014, but this isn't a black and white issue where the only options are spending money like it's going out of fashion and trying, and almost inevitably failing, to stay up on the cheap. Our transfer business so far makes me hope that the club are opting for a middle way which would involve something like a Huddersfield last summer type of spending programme.

I think if we are holding our own come January we will do something similar to what we did last season and maybe take a bit of a gamble. It will be worth it then. I just think we need to be careful at the moment because you look at the squad - how many of them realistically are going to make the step up? It will be a big ask for a lot of them. Also, I dont want to say it but you've got take into consideration the style of football as well - fine in the championship but in the premier league? I cant help but think its gonna be just the one season up there Im afraid. I hope I am wrong, I am still gonna enjoy it anyway and if we play our cards right we will have more chances to get back up in the future. I just dont want us to squander this opportunity like we did last time and end up playing in a half empty stadium again. At the very least lets make sure that if we do go down we remain competitive at that level.

Maybe I am being a bit negative though.