weeyin

Which takes my back to my original point that, given Turnbull was happy to stay another year at Fir Park, I think we should have taken the small risk his value would decrease and had the pleasure of getting another season out of him. That would have given value to the fans as well as the club, as the main point of developing young talent is to provide the first team with players we'd never be able to afford to buy. Selling that talent is obviously important, but secondary. The basis of any football club is, after all, to put the best team it can on the pitch every week.

His best league effort is 12 goals in one season. Most seasons he has been a mid to low single digits striker. What we need is a 15 - 20 goal striker. We got away with it when Turnbull was knocking in the goals, but that won't be happening next season.

I imagine Sloth was brought in with a view to replacing Turnbull. As Turnbull was the most accurate shooter in the SPFL last season (with the highest percentage of on target shots) and scored more goals from difficult positions than other player in the SPFL, there is zero chance anyone we bring in can replace that.

I'm getting pissed off at Turnbull now, and I like the guy.

Oxford pay more than us.

It's raining here, but probably have cleared up by early afternoon.

I would expect that the small increase in budget will be used to bring in additional players in our current wage structure, though, rather than fewer (but higher paid) players.

We will be adapting to our circumstances if we stick to the same model. Our circumstances being that we need to break even, service our debt to pay off Boyle and Hutchinson, renovate our pitch, maintain the stadium, and invest in the academy and its facilities (which from the Maurice Ross interview seems to be taking a financial hit this year) etc. If, at the end of next season we find we have more budget available once we take care of all of the above then maybe we can reconsider, but the last thing we need to be doing is splashing out extra cash on transfers and salaries for 2 or 3 year deals then incur an unexpected cost in 2020 that screws us over.

I think I prefer the amber at the top.

As I said at the time the original news broke - if Turnbull signs for Celtic, for the rest of his career the Scottish media will refer to him as "Celtic Starlet" and "ex-Celt". This is a perfect example.

I certainly hope it doesn't. We need to stick to our model.

You and your facts.

I think you're right. Those pin stripes would have worked pretty well without the band this season.

I've always been a fan of the white away kits - or change kits as they were when I first saw them thanks to our rules that made the home team change. I wonder if they'll make a version as a regular polo shirt/golf shirt kind of thing (without the sponsor logo).

Is Ariyibi coming back?

Can't beat a white kit on a damp November evening under the floodlights. Bovril in hand. Jerseys for goalposts. Two at the back, three in the middle, four up front, one's gone home for his tea. Beans on toast? Marvellous.

If I was Norwich, I'd be playing him, not loaning him out.

I take it back. They nailed the collar on that away shirt.

Exactly. We just followed the standard process for the transfer of contracted players. A buying club has to agree terms with us on a fee before they are allowed to speak to the player. If they speak to the player before that agreement then they are guilty of tapping up. Once the transfer fee has been agreed it's then up to the buying club and player to agree on personal terms. If talks fail, then it's no deal. The only thing that's unusual is that we have a player of sufficient quality to attract multiple suitors. The fact that we are in no rush to sell, and Turnbull is in no rush to leave, just gave us and Turnbull even stronger hands in any negotiation.

McCarthy went to Everton for £13 million in 2013. If Turnbull progresses at his current rate, he must be worth that. (Not counting any chickens yet, though, until Delia puts him on a tractor for public display).

Remember that the club accepting an offer just means that Norwich have the right to sign him if personal terms are agreed. It doesn't make it a done deal. You'd have to think joining a "smaller" EPL team, however, would be an ideal move for him. (You'd also have to think that maybe his agent knew there was another offer brewing and intentionally stalled the Celtic negotiations. But that might be the cynic in me).

"Let's be avin' you!"

They did the same last season. The EPL clubs agreed that having the transfer window open after their season started was disruptive to the teams, so they moved it. FIFA requires the window is open for 12 weeks, so it means they start 2 weeks earlier. The Football League teams use the same window as us, I think. And to add to the confusion, EPL teams can still sell until Sept 1st - they just can't buy after 8th August.

If Celtic requested we keep the details of the deal confidential, we won't be announcing anything, though. I can't see any reason why, given the fact that we hold all the negotiation cards, we wouldn't insist on sell-ons. It makes absolutely no difference to the buying club because they just include the premium when it comes time to sell.

If he follows the Lewis Morgan development path, you'll no be seeing him next season. While I understand the reasons behind Turnbull taking the Celtic path, the best thing that happened to McGinn's career was moving to Villa.