'Since we've been in the PL it hasn't been how much we've spend but that we've spent it on some pretty poor players who we can't get rid of.'

Maybe we agree on more than it first seems. I just think you're a bit quick to presume, right, he said this, which doesn't infer anything, then did this, which may not be a result of one thing in particular, and because some commentators are free to throw their opinion in (without it having any consequence), it must be real.

The 'lack' in describing funds is poorly phrased. Poorly planned transfer strategy over time, yes.

It's got me thinking, with the help of knowing Jimmy and Cabaye are free agents next summer and Mensah and Cheek will probably return, that something needs to change.

Our wage bill is 9th yet the squad will rarely hit 9th,X and probably won't this or next season. We're signing players that cost what Spurs pay for them, but because of that we can't afford depth, and yet they're not as good as spurs players anyway. And this is because the scouting is poor. So what have we done? Signed Riedewald who Frank obviously knew and hired freedman who's far from qualified for such a role.

It's not 'lack' of funds that's the problem. It's lack expertise and strategy that's the problem. We've gone through repetition of recruit and replace or sign and drain the wage bill. The 2 obvious ones in error were Pardew's extension and Parish signing Sakho.

It's going to take time to address it all if we get the chance to in this league but one thing's for sure. The scouting will have to be pretty good next summer unless we sell big and sell top talent to maintain being a high paying and reasonably high trading club. High in first team plus a few I mean.

COYP

Fair enough, I can accept what you are saying though I don't tend to rely on one person saying something in one interview. I can also accept that I tend to apply past practises when thinking of current situations. Parish has a history of being a tight sod and dressing it up with keeping the club out of trouble which he isn't wrong for doing but got away with it in his first 5 years so it is easy to believe it is about money.

However, as I said I don't just go by one interview. For example, Parish said one thing in the BT Sport post match show after the Burnley home game where he spoke about how much we spent in January and that we won't be able to spend that much in the summer. As you know we spent about £30m plus Sakho's loan fee.

Parish then said something else regarding the summer transfer activity (can't remember where but probably Talksport) and then in the US radio interview in June where he said he had agreed on one maybe two players coming in. Some people say Sakho plus one.

Piecing the three together you can get a picture (as long as Parish is being truthful and nothing changes after the fact which it did because de Boer was appointed) and that picture is pretty much what has happened.

As you rightly say the transfer policy has been poor and we have been somewhat of a time bomb waiting to go off which might happen next summer. As you say Jimmy and Cabaye are out of contract, the two loanees will return plus 'squad players' such as Speroni, Delaney, Sako, Lee and Mutch will be out of contract if not more (I think Ward, Kelly, Dann and Souare might be too).

As I said before, I don't believe in throwing money around but had we invested £10m on good potential a year ago and follow Chelsea's model of loaning then out then that £10m would be recouped and we might have the next first team squad in the making.

As Chelsea loaned out between 45-55 players in each of the last two seasons I can only imagine how much revenue that generated. Some would have generated over a million some a few hundred thousand. But it's income.

I'm of the opinion that Wilf will be sold next summer. It's the only thing that makes sense. When he signed a new contract I was generally cool on it. Parish said he had 3 years left and wasn't going anywhere so a new contract was no indication that he was more likely to stay, just that we could command a bigger fee because of his better contract. He basically signed up to 2 extra years and trebled his waged and had a host of clauses inserted.

But that is nothing against Wilf, I almost think he should leave because he deserves better than what he is having to play with.

So not 'Lack of' funds then.

You seriously suggesting we can go out and buy players of £10 million and loan them out? Already there's talk of where we could've used the money on Riedewald and actually if you add the Riedewald money of £8 mil to the about £11 mil we were prepared to pay for Niasse, that's £20 mil on top of Souare. So more so, not a 'Lack of funds.'

I'm at the point where I don't understand why you're trying to prove this 'lie.' If you agree with what I said regarding not spending more than 9th on wages and a very reasonable amount on transfers, whilst also saying Parish is known for being tightfisted, who is your beef with? We have been able and prepared to splash the cash again. £45 mil or so, Sam hasn't made any noises about managing a club again after managing us after the England controversy and mentions of another international job.

So I'm confused. What's the problem, who's the beef with, because it doesn't add up as you think?

COYP

Is every 2 things mutually exclusive to you? So a 70 year old who's been around the block for decades and doesn't really need it anymore had a meaningful talk with his wife but it was really to do with 'Lack of' funds that there weren't a lack of?

COYP

I think you are making some very good and valid points, some of SP decisions and transfer deals over the last four and a bit seasons are very questionable and it is very surprising that we are alleged to have the 9th highest wage bill but probably one of the most injury prone and worst quality squads in the PL league. During the latest period in PL we have also had more managers than most other teams, we appear very unattractive to most good managers and players who seem not to want to come to the club. The latter points are probably exacerbated by the lack of stability that we seem to have as a result of SP and his inability to make decisions and then when he finally does, he does not seem to get them right.
Overall ignoring 2010, and just reviewing our latest period in the PL you have to say based on the evidence, far to many managers, bad transfer decisions, more injury prone players than most, 26 wins from 78 home PL games, failure to act when it was clear after the cup final that AP should have gone, FDB and the latest despicable decision to bring in Freedman as sporting director is the evidence needed to say, yes we do need new leadership at the top and it is time for SP to go!

No, of course not but it can't have helped.

I mean, he might have carried on if he could rebuild the team or at least rebuild half the team.

Say it was 50-50, having the prospect of a season with only 2 new players when we lost a lot more than that probably tipped the balance.

It's the old saying 'the straw that broke the camel's back'. We all know something minor like a straw can't break a camel's back but it can be the pivotal factor.