6 minutes ago, JTG said:

All of that is easy to say in hindsight but they finished 16th last season only 6pts off the drop. It’s a risky game to play and we all saw what happened against Stoke in the league cup earlier in the season when we made the mistake of playing too many of the kids. I’m not sure our fanbase would tolerate the short-term pain for potential longer-term gain.

Sunderland's fanbase were up in arms about it the entire time.

We tried it with Woodgate and almost paid the price. Appointed Warnock and rolled back to buying and loaning championship warhorses to try and short-cut it back into the Premier. Then that didn't work so tried a variation where we appointed Wilder as a promotion specialist and Scott to remodel our squad.

If you're going to go with youngsters you need an experienced coach who is skilled at working with them. Carrick is an inexperienced coach who was used to working with elite-level, experienced players. 

14 minutes ago, KJA_mfc said:

Just feels if we dont bring an established goalscorer to replace him the squad will wonder where is the ambition? Much like the fans. What message does it send to players Vdb and Morris on our future aspirations, theyll wonder if they are wasting their time. Even doak will wonder what the point of sticking around is like we will be trying to get in his head to tell Liverpool. Im concerned and would love to be proven wrong  

That's something i'd not considered before. Very good point.

Losing Latte-Lath will obviously be a bitter pill to swallow. But looking at it:

The chances of the autos with or without ELL are very slim now. So the best we can probably hope for is a play off spot. 

Now what would our chances of a PO spot, without Latte-Lath be? I still think we are equipped enough to bag a spot in the play offs, looking at the rest of the field and the opposition (outside the top 4).

So taking the decent fee on ELL, and then hoping to finish in the top 6 probably seems the most sensible play...knowing we will have that money (plus much more based on the recent published accounts in regards to FFP) to reinvest and have another crack at it.

If we lose ELL, it will also put some more pressure on Carrick to get us results - which again, may help to see if he is fully up to the task, as this is effectively his team now.

If we lose ELL and don't finish in the top 6 then that will be very difficult to take and big questions will need to be asked - is it Carrick, is it the recruitment, is it both....amongst other questions.

 

As much as I love ELL and think he's brilliant, I do think the decision to sell ELL for £18m+add ons is the right decision. But we certainly need to use that money to recruit.

3 minutes ago, Humpty said:

That's something i'd not considered before. Very good point.

I think there more likely to think that if they keep performing at a high level for this club then its possible for them to get big moves. Lets be honest thats probably the reason they have came here. 

Just now, Marvanelli said:

The chances of the autos with or without ELL are very slim now. So the best we can probably hope for is a play off spot. 

Agreed totally. The autos are long gone and whether or not we have ELL makes no difference.

On the other hand, there are enough inconsistent teams in the league that we can probably end up 5th or 6th regardless of whether we sell ELL. So selling him and strengthening elsewhere, especially with an eye to another year in the Championship next season probably makes sense.

For example, imagine we buy two players of the quality of Morris and Conway for a total of around £10m plus a bring in a couple of expensive loans we should still have plenty left in the summer and arguably a stronger team on balance.

Of course, if we sell him, fail to make the play-offs and don't properly strengthen, there'll be ructions. Especially if we also lose Doak.

 

I think selling him and not signing an adequate replacement will end our season tbh.

Our home form is bad enough as it is without selling our top scorer and only fit striker.

It'll be a big gamble by the club.

1 minute ago, TeaCider24 said:

I think selling him and not signing an adequate replacement will end our season tbh.

Our home form is bad enough as it is without selling our top scorer and only fit striker.

It'll be a big gamble by the club.

I wonder if the club have worries that if they don't sell now he has another cr#p run of form like the start of this season. Maybe they think it's just better to cash in. Playing devils advocate if we reject bids now, he goes on to be rubbish the rest of the season we'll then have a 26 yr old striker who has really only done it for a couple bursts in the championship. We may be lucky to get half the current value in the summer.  

1 minute ago, Dan1234 said:

I wonder if the club have worries that if they don't sell now he has another cr#p run of form like the start of this season. Maybe they think it's just better to cash in. Playing devils advocate if we reject bids now, he goes on to be rubbish the rest of the season we'll then have a 26 yr old striker who has really only done it for a couple bursts in the championship. We may be lucky to get half the current value in the summer.  

I think we accept the deal but are waiting till we can get a replacement in ready for the weekend 

6 minutes ago, Dan1234 said:

I wonder if the club have worries that if they don't sell now he has another cr#p run of form like the start of this season. Maybe they think it's just better to cash in. Playing devils advocate if we reject bids now, he goes on to be rubbish the rest of the season we'll then have a 26 yr old striker who has really only done it for a couple bursts in the championship. We may be lucky to get half the current value in the summer.  

Maybe, but I thought he was still performing well on that barren spell, there were some superb saves keeping him from scoring during it.

I'd sell him in the summer regardless, and make it clear to him that we will and he'll know that he has to perform to get that move.

Edited January 13, 20251 yr by TeaCider24

1 hour ago, Humpty said:

Can't be, Dom Shaw is a good lad.

Are you insinuating there is something wrong with Nunthorpe? Just for my peace of mind?

19 minutes ago, Mfcdanny said:

I think there more likely to think that if they keep performing at a high level for this club then its possible for them to get big moves. Lets be honest thats probably the reason they have came here. 

You could take it that way. That's not how I'd see it personally. 

I can see a lot more positives than negatives from the Latte Lath story.

1. Our Scouting Recruitment Team deserves massive credit. They unearthed Lath and signed him for what now looks like an absolute bargain at £4 million.

2. Potentially selling him for £20 million highlights our ability to develop players and generate significant returns. This is great for the club’s financial sustainability.

3. This sends a strong message to our potential targets. They’ll see what we’ve done with Lath and believe they could follow a similar path. We’re clearly an appealing club for ambitious players.

4. Losing Lath will hurt short-term, no doubt, but it opens up opportunities to strengthen other areas of the team. With the transfer fee, we can invest some or it to buy two or three quality players who could make us even stronger.

5. Latte Lath’s departure could lead to a tactical refresh. We’ve relied on him for goals, but this could push other players to step up and spread the responsibility, making us less predictable to opponents.

6. This deal shows we’re a club moving forward—scouting talent, developing them, and reinvesting smartly.

It’s part of a long-term vision, not just short-term thinking. Get over it!!!

Everything is going to come down to a couple of things I think.

If we sell Lath this week do we have someone who can play up front effectively on Saturday. If Conway isn't fit we either need a new player or try Forss up there if fit enough.

Can we get a result on Saturday? If not our form and the mood will be pretty terrible.

So there's pressure on Scott and Carrick to have very good weeks. I'm not feeling terribly optimistic at this point. 

We need some good news. All the Echo and Gazette articles are pretty depressing. They seem to be reflecting the fans mood. That will be reaching the club. They will know that the mood needs lifting.

1 hour ago, Alves car salesman said:

Turkish second-tier club Amedspor have offered Heart of Midlothian striker Lawrence Shankland, who is out of contract at the end of the season, a lucrative deal. (Scottish Sun)

 

 

could be a decent stop gap signing on cheap if we choose to sell ELL

That would be seriously depressing, he’s rubbish.

20 minutes ago, Swifty said:

That would be seriously depressing, he’s rubbish.

Like upgrading Suarez with Rickie Lambert