Dyche - "Mike Rigg has had it tougher than expected"

[KateR]

don't believe it's insolvable at all, what "appears" to be the issue is the strategy, particularly where you outline in italics, it is not acceptable, but I am still behind the club.

[randomclaret2]

They "look for value on players " from a very small pool. Its like constantly shopping in one expensive corner shop

[ClaretAL]

We were discussing this years ago, when the nugget of knowledge around a sweet shop and trying to buy a chocolate bar from a shop keeper for 50p when it was worth £1, and the customer behind him was willing to pay the £1 In essence we are still in the same place, just a different analogy, so what has being at the top table given us, apart from pride which is obviously turning in to frustration as we have not kicked on from where we were when we first sat at the top table. I think the inevitability of it all is that the Premier League is no longer the cream of football teams, but more the playground of billionaires buying the teams and casting them against each other, and we have no right being there other than merit, and living off scraps, which those sat at the top table have now stopped throwing scraps and moved the price of meal up some what and pricing us out of it.
Our beloved club will never have the financial draw to compete, and you could say Dyche has known this for a while hence the long ball game thus cutting out 75% of the team opposing us. I am as frustrated as the next fan, that we haven't spent big, but 1 eye on that inevitable trap door means we will probably need that £30M buffer and parachute payments to remain safe in the Championship, and its not what any of us want to hear but it seems to be the party line.

[CombatClaret]

They "look for value on players " from a very small pool. Its like constantly shopping in one expensive corner shop

No we're shopping on a small weekly budget from a discount supermarket, occasionally we find stuff that is as good as the leading brand, other times we buy stuff that looked good on the packet but actually tastes like sh1t, but we had to buy it to find out.

But most importantly we stick to our budget and we don't go broke.

[IanMcL]

"Burnley, with no sugar daddy to supplement the Premier League prize money, have long had to live within their means, hence the need to spread the net for targets to try and find value.

And while Dyche admits Rigg has produced some ideal players, the finances simply don’t add up at the club to pursue them any further"

Well surely that means he needs to adjust the criteria. Anybody can produce a list of "some ideal players", but if they aren't feasible then whats the point

We could all name some superstars but if the wages don't fit, or the fees or the chap does not wish to join, then they are not 'ideal'.

Desirable or aspirational maybe but not 'ideal'.

[randomclaret2]

Were going strong on the shopping analogies here CC lol...
I just feel the club arent exploring all possible avenues to ensure we can bring the quality of player into the club to ensure we stay in the Premier League... which is ultimately the best way to make sure we dont go broke which none of us want whatever views we have.

[Corky]

To some extent for Burnley an insolvable problem, but here's they way they face it

“We have a pot of money and might spend it if the right opportunities arise. We’re looking for value on players, and if we can find that, we spend it, if we don’t, we leave it.”

It's so simple, accept it (and accept we all know less about football transfer than the people who's job it is) then get behind the club.

You see the above is OK and will be enough for those who find themselves in adult life still reading comics and using crayons but I was looking for something with a little more detail. Given the very real constraints put on Mike Rigg how does he go about combatting those constraints. That sort of thing. It is not about our knowledge of transfer activities or how well we support the Club it is about giving meaningful press conferences that actually tell us at least a little of what they may or may not be doing to solve the (in your words) insolvable.

In my view their PR really lets them down.

[CombatClaret]

You see the above is OK and will be enough for those who find themselves in adult life still reading comics and using crayons but I was looking for something with a little more detail. Given the very real constraints put on Mike Rigg how does he go about combatting those constraints. That sort of thing. It is not about our knowledge of transfer activities or how well we support the Club it is about giving meaningful press conferences that actually tell us at least a little of what they may or may not be doing to solve the (in your words) insolvable.

In my view their PR really lets them down.

Is there a way of them giving you what you want but not revealing details of our scouting and negotiating strategy to every other club who we're in competition with?
What would you like, spreadsheets, emails?
Have you ever considered it's some fan's expectations which are the problem as opposed to the financial situation the club finds itself in?

[MACCA]

"MACCA: But as he's a fan, he always puts the club first which is clear to everyone, isnt it?"

What are you implying with this Macca? That MG is lining his own pockets rather than investing for the Club? You seem to have an axe to grind with MG as you have passed similar comments in the past. From your posts you also come over as being quite close to the Club - an employee perhaps? I can't figure out what your gripe is to be honest.

I'm implying he's a fan. He says so, and lots of others tell others he is.

And like all fans he has the best interests of the club at heart.
He wants Burnley football club to be the best it can be.

Like all fans, we have similar interests, and that bond.
We always look out for each other, whether thats on holiday when we spot another claret shirt, helping out with spare tickets, or sharing transport to games.

Mike is no diffrent, he just so happens to be the decision maker.

To say he will looking out for himself and his best interests would be ridiculous

[MACCA]

Is there a way of them giving you what you want but not revealing details of our scouting and negotiating strategy to every other club who we're in competition with?
What would you like, spreadsheets, emails?
Have you ever considered it's some fan's expectations which are the problem as opposed to the financial situation the club finds itself in?

This

[arise_sir_charge]

Something else to throw into the mix, we are a club that seem to revel in the fact that we pay very little in agents fees in comparison to others clubs.

Maybe this is an issue.

Maybe the agents don’t bother with us on the basis there is a better deal for them elsewhere.

Maybe our laudable frugality in this area is holding us back, as unlike other clubs we aren’t prepared to oil the wheels to make deals happen.

Maybe if we committed more cash to agents fees we’d get more done.

Just a thought.

[Giftonsnoidea]

Another long winded article trotting out a list of reasons why we are unable to identify and sign players that will improve the starting 11, something that most other clubs seem to be able to do. What is missing from the article is the steps that Rigg and the club have taken in the 13 months he has been in our employ to overcome these barriers. Exploring alternative markets, adapting the criteria etc. And one of the most alarming sentences in the whole article is:

"We got Crouchy who did brilliant for us coming in this way, so that one worked for everyone, right for the players and right for the clubs at the time". Really? 6 appearances from the subs bench, 0 goals in 5 months is classed as doing brilliantly for us? Christ on a bike that takes some spin to qualify those stats as a success. The only successful part is that we trousered 10m for Vokes, which distills down the rhetoric that seems to come out of the club. Forget about the turgid football you are watching, forget about us being dragged into a relegation battle, forget about us going out of a cup competition at home to a side 2 divisions below us, forget about the absence of a midfield worthy of the name, look how much money we have.

Only Getting Peter Crouch in would have resulted in a p45 at any other club, disaster of a signing and to think he nearly stayed!

[Burnley1989]

Something else to throw into the mix, we are a club that seem to revel in the fact that we pay very little in agents fees in comparison to others clubs.

Maybe this is an issue.

Maybe the agents don’t bother with us on the basis there is a better deal for them elsewhere.

Maybe our laudable frugality in this area is holding us back, as unlike other clubs we aren’t prepared to oil the wheels to make deals happen.

Maybe if we committed more cash to agents fees we’d get more done.

Just a thought.

That’s a fact! I don’t like Agents but I’d do the same, where can I get my client the best pay day which in turn gives me my best pay day! Some are on a decent % of a players weekly wage now.

Sad state of affairs really, and one that other clubs seem to have accepted rather than challenge

[Belgianclaret]

I feel sorry for poor old Mr. Rigg having to work within the constraints of a club that is now within the 25 richest clubs in the world

[ksrclaret]

A total waste of a position, and a salary.

Not because he isn't earning it, I'm sure he's doing what he can, but he's literally got no hope of his work even coming to fruition. Why on earth we appointed someone to his role is beyond me. We've openly admitted to not being able to complete to sign players.

It's like me advertising for a chauffeur, knowing full well I don't own a car for him to drive me around in. Utterly pointless.

[randomclaret2]

Any players in Belgium who are within our budget and might be better than what we have BelgianClaret ?

[Belgianclaret]

Any players in Belgium who are within our budget and might be better than what we have BelgianClaret ?

Plenty, but I've given up now

[Dark Cloud]

We were discussing this years ago, when the nugget of knowledge around a sweet shop and trying to buy a chocolate bar from a shop keeper for 50p when it was worth £1, and the customer behind him was willing to pay the £1 In essence we are still in the same place, just a different analogy, so what has being at the top table given us, apart from pride which is obviously turning in to frustration as we have not kicked on from where we were when we first sat at the top table. I think the inevitability of it all is that the Premier League is no longer the cream of football teams, but more the playground of billionaires buying the teams and casting them against each other, and we have no right being there other than merit, and living off scraps, which those sat at the top table have now stopped throwing scraps and moved the price of meal up some what and pricing us out of it.
Our beloved club will never have the financial draw to compete, and you could say Dyche has known this for a while hence the long ball game thus cutting out 75% of the team opposing us. I am as frustrated as the next fan, that we haven't spent big, but 1 eye on that inevitable trap door means we will probably need that £30M buffer and parachute payments to remain safe in the Championship, and its not what any of us want to hear but it seems to be the party line.

There's an awful lot of sense here tbh and no small degree of "reality". Almost all other clubs in the PL and many in the Championship have billionaire backers and some of the ways they support their personal "toy" may be legal (in football terms) and some may be circumspect to say the least, but ultimately we don't have that and nor do we have 30,000 or 40,000 or 50,000 or even 60,000+ bums on seats every week. So in every way we are competing way, way out of our depth and just staying among that company is unbelievably difficult and a great achievement. Having said that, we have to show genuine endeavour and imagination and keep looking for the players and finding the ways and means to keep the miracle going, because if we stand for a still second we're going to be f**ked.

[Steddyman]

Perhaps the problem is that he's using the same analytics as other clubs so he's identifying the same players. We have to find good players that other Premier clubs don't want.

I'd be happy with us signing the players most of the better Championship clubs sign.

[Wile E Coyote]

what a farce ! a club prepared to bring in players and pay them a kings ransom every week, but not thought worthy of being utilised to step over the white line at seemingly any time, then a board playing silly buggers and pleading poverty and unwilling to purchase adequate replacements if the last lot weren't considered good enough.
SOMEONE isn't doing their job properly .

[KRBFC]

They "look for value on players " from a very small pool. Its like constantly shopping in one expensive corner shop

And how much value have we got from these signings in the past 3 years? Which of our signings are now worth more? I have no problem with shopping in the Championship but it has to be the right signing, I’ll use Bardsley as an example, we should’ve signed a younger right back to finally overtake Lowton, now Bardsley is the one filling that role instead, I think Bardsley has done well for us and I actually quite like him but he was completely the wrong type of player to go for at the time.

Why did we get Joe Hart instead of bringing in a younger keeper like Peacock Farrell earlier? When signing players do we not plan for 2 years down the line?

£5M on an injured Nakhi Wells who was never going to be good enough, why? Why not £5M on a younger forward with the potential to be good enough 2 years down the line.

We don’t have much money to work with we hear every window, why did we spend £15m on a 4th choice central defender when we had 3 excellent ones already? was a better option not to save £15m to spend elsewhere and either go with an old Gary Cahill free transfer type or a youngster like Mepham, Egan or O’Connell who could eventually step into the first team (Egan and O’Connell now doing well at Sheff United, Mepham at Bournemouth)

Look what we did with Taylor, Pope and Tarkowsi, 2 years down the line they replaced Ward Heaton and Keane in the team. 10 million for all 3 in fees? Now they’re worth 5x that. That transfer strategy has deserted us in the last few years, now we are a complete mess with obvious holes in the squad, a bunch of players soon to be out of contract and seemingly lacking the cash to stop the rot.

[dsr]

We don’t have much money to work with we hear every window, why did we spend £15m on a 4th choice central defender when we had 3 excellent ones already? was a better option not to save £15m to spend elsewhere and either go with an old Gary Cahill free transfer type or a youngster like Mepham, Egan or O’Connell who could eventually step into the first team (Egan and O’Connell now doing well at Sheff United, Mepham at Bournemouth)

Look what we did with Taylor, Pope and Tarkowsi, 2 years down the line they replaced Ward Heaton and Keane in the team. 10 million for all 3 in fees? Now they’re worth 5x that. That transfer strategy has deserted us in the last few years, now we are a complete mess with obvious holes in the squad, a bunch of players soon to be out of contract and seemingly lacking the cash to stop the rot.

Egan is older than Gibson, actually.

I reckon it's a stretch to call Long "excellent". Many of us reckoned that Tarkowski would have left by now, many of us reckoned that either Tarkowski or Mee might be injured, and Long was not seen as a suitable long-term replacement in either case; we needed someone better.

Players out of contract in summer are Hendrick, Brady, Lennon, Wells, Legzdins. I wouldn't get too worried about the bunch of players out of contract; even with Brady, it's not a big bunch.

Transfer strategy may have taken a downturn or it may not - the strategy may still be in place but not working right well - but "complete mess" is overstating it.

[Dark Cloud]

And how much value have we got from these signings in the past 3 years? Which of our signings are now worth more? I have no problem with shopping in the Championship but it has to be the right signing, I’ll use Bardsley as an example, we should’ve signed a younger right back to finally overtake Lowton, now Bardsley is the one filling that role instead, I think Bardsley has done well for us and I actually quite like him but he was completely the wrong type of player to go for at the time.

Why did we get Joe Hart instead of bringing in a younger keeper like Peacock Farrell earlier? When signing players do we not plan for 2 years down the line?

£5M on an injured Nakhi Wells who was never going to be good enough, why? Why not £5M on a younger forward with the potential to be good enough 2 years down the line.

We don’t have much money to work with we hear every window, why did we spend £15m on a 4th choice central defender when we had 3 excellent ones already? was a better option not to save £15m to spend elsewhere and either go with an old Gary Cahill free transfer type or a youngster like Mepham, Egan or O’Connell who could eventually step into the first team (Egan and O’Connell now doing well at Sheff United, Mepham at Bournemouth)

Look what we did with Taylor, Pope and Tarkowsi, 2 years down the line they replaced Ward Heaton and Keane in the team. 10 million for all 3 in fees? Now they’re worth 5x that. That transfer strategy has deserted us in the last few years, now we are a complete mess with obvious holes in the squad, a bunch of players soon to be out of contract and seemingly lacking the cash to stop the rot.

TBH, I can't argue with much there. Very well reasoned and very well put!

[Burnleyareback2]

Hindsight is a wonderful thing.

We all thought at the time that the Gibson signing was cover if Mee it Tarks left. There was outrage on this board that we only had Kevin Long as cover. It’s pretty fair to say that you would also expect and injury at some stage. If we hadn’t signed him people would still be moaning.

If the we had signed Cahill, people would be moaning on here that he wasn’t playing and that we should be signing younger players.

Wells and Vydra haven’t worked out, again signing probably to give us cover.

We can only play 11 at any time and it has always been clear that SD manages with loyalty. If an opportunity comes up to come into the 11 and you do well, you keep your shirt until that changes - Pieters at the start of the season and McNeil being good examples. Taylor being a previous example when Wars was here, Westwood would be another.

The opportunity hasn’t come up for Gibson and I suspect working with Vydra everyday hasn’t given SD any confidence.

Of course someone will disagree with me, but at times the club just can’t win with anything they do.

[jojomk1]

I was under the impression, perhaps mistakenly, that Rigg had been brought in to address the issues we have with recruitment.

That article reads to me as though we are just exactly where we were. In which case, what’s the point?

There is a common denominator to this whole scenario (pre and post Rigg)

For me, the main issue we still have with recruitment is the manager, hence no change since the appointment of Rigg

When the manager is adamant that the signing of Crouch (no starts and no goals) was great business you begin to worry. Add to that SD actually wanted him to stay on this season

[Right_winger]

There is a common denominator to this whole scenario (pre and post Rigg)

For me, the main issue we still have with recruitment is the manager, hence no change since the appointment of Rigg

When the manager is adamant that the signing of Crouch (no starts and no goals) was great business you begin to worry. Add to that SD actually wanted him to stay on this season

To be fair Crouch is a Dyche type of signing. Perfect for hoofball and the right age profile for mr Dyche.

Going back on an earlier point regarding Gibson. I don’t think the frustration is in the signing as such, just the fact that he’s never used. Ben Mee has been through some serious dodgy spells yet still gets picked every week.

We can’t improve if our players we sign aren’t going to replace the ones in the starting XI. That im afraid superfans is down to Dyche. Our transfers the last couple of years have been dreadful.

We are at the stage where a squad rebuild is in order. There’s plenty of players out with these shores who we can afford. Let’s look at a club with a smaller budget than us, Celtic for example. They seem to manage to get signings over the line no problem so why can’t we go out and sign an Odsonne Eduoard for £9m ?

[Sproggy]

>We are at the stage where a squad rebuild is in order. There’s plenty of players out with these shores who we can afford. Let’s look at a club with a smaller budget than us, Celtic for example. They seem to manage to get signings over the line no problem so why can’t we go out and sign an Odsonne Eduoard for £9m ?

Ahh, you've fallen into the trap of naming a player. Expect Che Adams to be thrown at you imminently.

[Cleveleys_claret]

Egan is older than Gibson, actually.

I reckon it's a stretch to call Long "excellent". Many of us reckoned that Tarkowski would have left by now, many of us reckoned that either Tarkowski or Mee might be injured, and Long was not seen as a suitable long-term replacement in either case; we needed someone better.

Players out of contract in summer are Hendrick, Brady, Lennon, Wells, Legzdins. I wouldn't get too worried about the bunch of players out of contract; even with Brady, it's not a big bunch.

Transfer strategy may have taken a downturn or it may not - the strategy may still be in place but not working right well - but "complete mess" is overstating it.

Where we need to worry though is central midfield. Knowing our recruitment we will not sign anyone until the last day of the summer transfer window. Meaning that they will not be going straight into the team. Meaning our midfield next season will yet again be Cork and Westwood. They are not good enough as a midfield pairing. We can predict what is going to happen at Burnley because it happens every year. Just like on the pitch........predictable

[claretonthecoast1882]

Where we need to worry though is central midfield. Knowing our recruitment we will not sign anyone until the last day of the summer transfer window. Meaning that they will not be going straight into the team. Meaning our midfield next season will yet again be Cork and Westwood. They are not good enough as a midfield pairing. We can predict what is going to happen at Burnley because it happens every year. Just like on the pitch........predictable

Surely then you have had long enough then to get used to it and will have done complaining about the same thing ?

[Cleveleys_claret]

Surely then you have had long enough then to get used to it and will have done complaining about the same thing ?

This is a message board for opinions. Just because you think we have never had it better doesnt mean that we cant be better. Just settling like you have obviously only leads to one thing which is ineviatably dropping. Dreaming bigger and trying to reach for the stars may still lead to us dropping down a division but wouldnt it be a much better journey than just believing that we shouldnt be here. Why shouldnt we? What makes any other club have a greater right to being here? Shefd Utd have shown you dont need to spend big.....just good tactics and being flexible.

[TVC15]

Egan is older than Gibson, actually.

I reckon it's a stretch to call Long "excellent". Many of us reckoned that Tarkowski would have left by now, many of us reckoned that either Tarkowski or Mee might be injured, and Long was not seen as a suitable long-term replacement in either case; we needed someone better.

Players out of contract in summer are Hendrick, Brady, Lennon, Wells, Legzdins. I wouldn't get too worried about the bunch of players out of contract; even with Brady, it's not a big bunch.

Transfer strategy may have taken a downturn or it may not - the strategy may still be in place but not working right well - but "complete mess" is overstating it.

Add Bardsley and Hart to that list and also Gibson, Vydra and a few others entering the last year of their contract and we have got a lot of decisions to make. If we have no plans to play Vydra and Gibson it would seem madness to let them walk away for nothing - which means we should be looking to get something back for them in either this transfer window or the summer.

JBG’s injury record and Lowton’s regular losses of form in the last 18 months give us more decisions to make as they were both previous first team regulars and clearly they are not now. The players who usually replace both our out of contract and don’t really justify a new one (maybe Bardsley does but he’s surely not the answer for the first team ?)

For me we have the biggest rebuild of the squad on our hands in a few years and it’s a concern that this doesn’t seem to have been recognised publicly by the club.

[Cleveleys_claret]

Add Bardsley and Hart to that list and also Gibson, Vydra and a few others entering the last year of their contract and we have got a lot of decisions to make. If we have no plans to play Vydra and Gibson it would seem madness to let them walk away for nothing - which means we should be looking to get something back for them in either this transfer window or the summer.

JBG’s injury record and Lowton’s regular losses of form in the last 18 months give us more decisions to make as they were both previous first team regulars and clearly they are not now. The players who usually replace both our out of contract and don’t really justify a new one (maybe Bardsley does but he’s surely not the answer for the first team ?)

For me we have the biggest rebuild of the squad on our hands in a few years and it’s a concern that this doesn’t seem to have been recognised publicly by the club.

We will give anyone who wants one another contract. Not saying they all will but no way are we going to replace them when they are here already. Good characters and all

[claretonthecoast1882]

This is a message board for opinions. Just because you think we have never had it better doesnt mean that we cant be better. Just settling like you have obviously only leads to one thing which is ineviatably dropping. Dreaming bigger and trying to reach for the stars may still lead to us dropping down a division but wouldnt it be a much better journey than just believing that we shouldnt be here. Why shouldnt we? What makes any other club have a greater right to being here? Shefd Utd have shown you dont need to spend big.....just good tactics and being flexible.

Opinions and suggestions are great for a message board fully agree, constant whinging at everything the club does isn't it gets boring.

We do belong here as we have earned it, not sure what you mean about dream bigger.

[Right_winger]

Add Bardsley and Hart to that list and also Gibson, Vydra and a few others entering the last year of their contract and we have got a lot of decisions to make. If we have no plans to play Vydra and Gibson it would seem madness to let them walk away for nothing - which means we should be looking to get something back for them in either this transfer window or the summer.

JBG’s injury record and Lowton’s regular losses of form in the last 18 months give us more decisions to make as they were both previous first team regulars and clearly they are not now. The players who usually replace both our out of contract and don’t really justify a new one (maybe Bardsley does but he’s surely not the answer for the first team ?)

For me we have the biggest rebuild of the squad on our hands in a few years and it’s a concern that this doesn’t seem to have been recognised publicly by the club.

This is where I expect to see Dyche exit stage left and leave the mess to someone else. If nothing else to stop the blame being landed at his feet so his career isn’t tarnished.

[Marney&Mee]

I wouldn't be surprised to see Dyche call it a day at the end of the season whether we stay up or go down. We are in a Catch 22 situation. He is our perfect manager, but we won't (rightly so) spend £90k a week on a big name (who won't accept a 50% pay cut on relegation). So unless Rigg starts unearthing the next Kante's/Mahrez's from abroad we will continue to stagnate.
Sean is being asked to cook a hearty omelette with one quails egg at the mo...

[Safron]

This is a message board for opinions. Just because you think we have never had it better doesnt mean that we cant be better. Just settling like you have obviously only leads to one thing which is ineviatably dropping. Dreaming bigger and trying to reach for the stars may still lead to us dropping down a division but wouldnt it be a much better journey than just believing that we shouldnt be here. Why shouldnt we? What makes any other club have a greater right to being here? Shefd Utd have shown you dont need to spend big.....just good tactics and being flexible.

Exactly what ever happened to the famous quote DARE TO DREAM

[Cleveleys_claret]

Exactly what ever happened to the famous quote DARE TO DREAM

More like DARE TO SPEND

[Cleveleys_claret]

I wouldn't be surprised to see Dyche call it a day at the end of the season whether we stay up or go down. We are in a Catch 22 situation. He is our perfect manager, but we won't (rightly so) spend £90k a week on a big name (who won't accept a 50% pay cut on relegation). So unless Rigg starts unearthing the next Kante's/Mahrez's from abroad we will continue to stagnate.
Sean is being asked to cook a hearty omelette with one quails egg at the mo...

Fingers crossed he goes....though he wont. No club will employ him at the wages he wants. Can see him becoming part of the England set up like Aidy Bothroyd once his time comes to an end with us and he has a break. The thing with Dyche like he has mentioned in the past is that it is just a game. Hence he doesnt care about style...just results and making enough money so that he can walk away from the game and be with his family.

[TVC15]

Fingers crossed he goes....though he wont. No club will employ him at the wages he wants. Can see him becoming part of the England set up like Aidy Bothroyd once his time comes to an end with us and he has a break. The thing with Dyche like he has mentioned in the past is that it is just a game. Hence he doesnt care about style...just results and making enough money so that he can walk away from the game and be with his family.

Pretty pathetic comments all round.
You clearly have no idea about Dyche as a person if you think that’s why he is at Burnley.
There is only one person responsible for our lack of activity in the transfer market - and it’s not Dyche.

Dyche is the person who has transformed the club and given us more years in the Premier League than we ever expected. No one single person has done more for the club in the last 50 years - to talk about him like you do is embarrassing and pathetic.

You are going to be sadly disappointed as a Burnley fan if you think these are the bad times.

[Dark Cloud]

Just to chuck in: I think we have to realise that when Rigg, Dyche, Garlick or anyone else says the Crouch deal was good business, they are also looking at the sale of Vokes the other way and the cash we got for a guy who (rightly or wrongly) had become very much a fringe player. Although not public knowledge, I don't believe, SD referred to it as a substantial (if not ridiculous) amount of money. So us signing Crouch for 5 months isn't the ONLY thing they're referring to when they talk about that I'd suggest.

[TVC15]

Vokes / Crouch deal was a big risk and one I still believe was an unnecessary risk given the position we were in.
But as always we don’t know the full details of the offer and if Stoke were insistent it happened in January then the amount they gave us for Vokes may have been too good to turn down - it certainly seems so given what has happened since...in fact it is bordering on the “ridiculous” to get as much as we did for him.

Obviously bringing Crouch the other way was to help mitigate the risk of losing Wood or Barnes so not sure why people get so obsessed with this signing as some kind of example of where we are with our transfer dealings - it was clearly all about the Vokes deal

[claretonthecoast1882]

Fingers crossed he goes....though he wont. No club will employ him at the wages he wants. Can see him becoming part of the England set up like Aidy Bothroyd once his time comes to an end with us and he has a break. The thing with Dyche like he has mentioned in the past is that it is just a game. Hence he doesnt care about style...just results and making enough money so that he can walk away from the game and be with his family.

[burnleymik]

charging kids to be mascots etc etc. Little things like that can tell you a hell of a lot.

To be absolutely fair that isn't true. The money raised from those fees go to the Burnley FC in the Community team, the charity, not to the club.

[Dark Cloud]

Vokes / Crouch deal was a big risk and one I still believe was an unnecessary risk given the position we were in.
But as always we don’t know the full details of the offer and if Stoke were insistent it happened in January then the amount they gave us for Vokes may have been too good to turn down - it certainly seems so given what has happened since...in fact it is bordering on the “ridiculous” to get as much as we did for him.

Obviously bringing Crouch the other way was to help mitigate the risk of losing Wood or Barnes so not sure why people get so obsessed with this signing as some kind of example of where we are with our transfer dealings - it was clearly all about the Vokes deal

I definitely agree, it's a bad example to use in this discussion because there were lots of other factors. On the surface we paid crouch a king's ransom to sit around on our bench and "be a good influence in the dressing room", but the facts are that Vokes was getting 10/15 minutes game time as a sub on a good day and sometimes he was getting none at all. He was naffed off and WANTED to play. Crouch was more than happy to take that role and play 10 minutes tops late in a game and (probably) even happier if he didn't come on at all. When you factor in Stoke chucking silly money at us, it appeared a good move all round. (Keeping Crouch beyond the summer though would have been utter madness!!!)

[burnleymik]

I understand the markets are tough and we are struggling recruiting, but they need to think about the alternative because even in the championship, the leading sides are spending incredible sums of money. So, the alternative is that our recruitment and finances are only suitable for the lower half of the Championship and below?

[Cleveleys_claret]

Pretty pathetic comments all round.
You clearly have no idea about Dyche as a person if you think that’s why he is at Burnley.
There is only one person responsible for our lack of activity in the transfer market - and it’s not Dyche.

Dyche is the person who has transformed the club and given us more years in the Premier League than we ever expected. No one single person has done more for the club in the last 50 years - to talk about him like you do is embarrassing and pathetic.

You are going to be sadly disappointed as a Burnley fan if you think these are the bad times.

1) Regards transfer activity...prove to me that it isnt Dyche

2) he has said himself football isnt life and death...it is just a job. He has also said he cant see himself in the game for long as he wants family time. How is that slagging him off. It is just stating facts based upon what he has said.

3) where do I say they are bad times?

[Blackrod]

It’s a bit like a company having a Chairman or CEO just to keep things ticking over until the inevitable decline in sales and profits.

Most businesses would recognise to go forward that they need extra investment and actively look for this and provide communication on this front.

These are really the 2 scenarios ( although even in the first scenario I believe we can afford a better central midfielder). Do Garlick and the board do enough of the latter or are they content with a positive balance sheet and ultimate relegation ?

Imagine a business stating this is the maximum turnover we will ever have and we will not be striving to increase it in the future, or a film production company not trying to make better films after having a hit because it would require outside investment.... and so on. We started from small beginnings so that is our rightful place and we are going back there. To take the club forward and keep it successful you have to find a way to operate in that market or you will go backwards. Garlick has evidently taken the club as far as he can and it’s whether we now just throw the towel in which is what we will be doing without strengthening this team.

[BOYSIE31]

Add Bardsley and Hart to that list and also Gibson, Vydra and a few others entering the last year of their contract and we have got a lot of decisions to make. If we have no plans to play Vydra and Gibson it would seem madness to let them walk away for nothing - which means we should be looking to get something back for them in either this transfer window or the summer.

JBG’s injury record and Lowton’s regular losses of form in the last 18 months give us more decisions to make as they were both previous first team regulars and clearly they are not now. The players who usually replace both our out of contract and don’t really justify a new one (maybe Bardsley does but he’s surely not the answer for the first team ?)

For me we have the biggest rebuild of the squad on our hands in a few years and it’s a concern that this doesn’t seem to have been recognised publicly by the club.

I agree but of course claretonthecoast will not as he thinks everything is rosey - probably never even gets near turf moor

[Chester Perry]

A different world in the same league - last season Roman Abramovich pumped £249m into Chelsea who had an operating loss of £196m before player sales - I don't ever want our club to operate like that

[TVC15]

1) Regards transfer activity...prove to me that it isnt Dyche

2) he has said himself football isnt life and death...it is just a job. He has also said he cant see himself in the game for long as he wants family time. How is that slagging him off. It is just stating facts based upon what he has said.

3) where do I say they are bad times?

1) the proof is clearly that Garlick has the final say and decision on all transfers. Tell me one club in the world where the owner or chairman does not have this decision and the manager does.

2) he has said football is not everything - he’s correct. What you said is very different though - you said he did not care about the style of football and he’s doing it just for the money

3) where did you say these are bad times ? Mmmm let me see - how about winging about Dyche for the last few years ? Or wanting rid of him every time we have a bad spell ? Or saying he is only in it for the money ? How would that equate to anything other than you are not happy and these are not good times in your view ?

The facts are that Dyche has spent the last 7 years away from his family doing a job he loves - whatever he says about football not being life and death take with a pinch of salt - he has never known anything other than being involved in football....if he ever leaves the game in the future there are no signs of it now as he has just missed 7 years of his kids growing up.

As I said you are embarrassing yourself.