WestYorksRoyal Right, time to say it. I'm really concerned by this Puscas rumour that looks true. Yesterday's business looked rational, but this just looks like tipping point.
Rafael was a free and Pele was a loan, so they are sensible. The club may still be hoping to move on a couple of high earners, in particular Gunter, but overall I understand how they don't screw us. Joao's fee was supposedly financed by the Hector sell on fee and structured to ensure a greater expense hit our account next year, after the £20m loss goes off our FFP calculation.
I don't know what Howe et. al know, but given everything we've heard this summer, I simply don't understand how that leaves room to smash our transfer record, however we structure it. If we funnel the expense into future years, it's a short term fix; not a long term solution.
My worry is that this has come from the owners, who do occasionally get involved and are ambitious. I like our owners overall; Bearwood is a great development and the free away travel is a fantastic gesture. But they don't know the English game like Howe, who presided over such a successful era.
I also don't see a clear need for Puscas. We are well stocked in attacking positions now, and I want a chance for Loader, Olise and Barrett to push on this season. Puscas pushes that door shut a little more. The 3 other signings seemed to fill a clear need in the squad; this doesn't.
I share the desire to the Premier League again, but it doesn't have to be this session. We need to develop the foundations of the squad, and add a few key acquisitions year on year until our team is awesome, as in 2006.
Maybe it's suspicion through experience. In SJMs era, we dreamed of weeks like this and they never happened. But we consistently played good football and were in the promotion mix. Since that era ended, which I view as triggered by the disastrous Pogrebnyak signing, we've lost that. Our recruitment has not had any sort of strategy and it's resulted in dross.
That last bit absolutely could not be said about our recruitment in the last winter transfer window!