McLaren and all.......Joka's man mangement

[The Road Less Travelled]

We're 8th in the net spend table this season - one place below our league position. 

...

Transfer spend table for reference:
http://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/championship/transferbilanztabellenplatz/wettbewerb/GB2

Fine to use those figures but there's a massive margin for error in there. All you can really say is our spend was probably above 18th in that table but in any case substantially zero. I don't think even the people who compile those stats would contest that.

There is a margin for error, sure - but they as close to an official figure as we are likely to get in football these days though, so if we're gonna seriously question the veracity of them then we may as well not argue/discuss transfer spend at all.  And if they're going to be used by someone to argue we haven't spent much, then they have to be accepted to show that comparatively we're amongst the top third of the league in terms of total and net spend.  I'd also be surprised if our player wage outlay is less than it was last season - we may have got rid of Ross' big wages but I can't believe that the rest of the players we got rid of were on particularly good wages

We are also one of the teams still getting parachute payments, so in terms of total turnover we will again probably be well within the top third in the league this season - which is where we are in the league table as well.  But as Villa and Wolves are showing this season, and how we showed in seasons past, it doesn't matter how much you spend if it's spent poorly and managed worse.

[MJG]

net or gross its the interpretation of 'Shoestring'

Spending in region of £20m no matter how we got the money is not shoestring in my book.

[Twig]

If you are talking about how much the club has spent then surely you have to go on a net basis. That is the way I would assess any company's spending.  I do accept that Joka has been able to recycle the funds raised by the sale of K Mac and others but fact remains he had to consent or acquiesce to their departures before he could reinvest. 

[The Road Less Travelled]

If you are talking about how much the club has spent then surely you have to go on a net basis. That is the way I would assess any company's spending.  I do accept that Joka has been able to recycle the funds raised by the sale of K Mac and others but fact remains he had to consent or acquiesce to their departures before he could reinvest.

A shoestring budget doesn't allow you to spend £20million on players.  Using the example above, Burton and Rotherham combined spent money on four player and generated nothing from sales.  THAT is a shoestring budget.  We probably spent more on transfers than a good few teams in this league will generate in turnover this season - Derby County announced (at the time) their record turnover excluding parachute payments in the 14/15 season of £21.5million and they're one of the bigger teams in the league.

[Woolly Mammoth]

With all of the sacking and upheavals around us, one thing Joka did/said stands out a mile to me.
As we sail along on the "Goodship TeamMorale" one or two players were criticized for losing possession
in risky positions.
He said  "If a player loses possession in certain areas causing us problems , it is my fault as they are only
following my instructions and the system we all agree on to play"

How's that for man management and shouldering the blame for just about any mistake they may make.
It gives the players huge faith and confidence which is radiating in every area of our play.
Knowing that they won't be chastised 'internally' for the odd lapse in concentration and Ream-like unfortunate
slices frees their spirits to entertain and tsunami most teams.

I am so confident of a top 4/5 spot I could run naked around Craven Cottage if someone paid for my air fare :0)

Happy times for all of us and I won't be disheartened if we slip up on Tuesday, which of course we won't.
I predict only 1-0 or 2-1

How much is your air fare ?

Depends on the time of year, but it would have to a warm month  :0)

It has to be in the depth of winter preferably under floodlights and on Sky TV,  when everything tends to shrink in the freezing cold, and goose pimples everywhere, that has to be the deal, otherwise there is no fun, and I reckon you will enjoy it more if your freezing cold, with so many people watching you in your birthday suit. So you have to go through with it now.

[HatterDon]

Its similar to the no blame culture Tigana installed, especially in the first season in the championship.

The whole season for many has been an education in patience.
Patience in Joka to find the right blend.
Patience in our style of play.
Patience in waiting for the hard work and good play to bear fruit.

A lot on here felt Joka was right man from the off, many had doubts last season and as recent as October/November that he should be in charge.

But he seems to always have been a man with a plan, even down to injury time penalties not being given to 16 year olds on a hat trick.
No stone is upturned with this man. From playing the music loud (His idea) at the cottage during the warmup, to making sure that the club laid the same surface at Craven Cottage tat MP. (without the corner slopes tho).
We might see some selections as odd, we might not like some of the players for various reasons, but one thing is clear he is the right man in the right place for us now.

Excellent analysis, as usual.

I've learned to trust Joka's decisions, and it hasn't been easy. I've been Cauley's main cheerleader for a couple of seasons, but I trusted that he didn't fit Joka's picture. Cauley is having a good loan spell with Burton. I'm sure Joka knows he can do well at this level, but that his skill set doesn't fit Joka's idea for a striker.

At the worst of times, the manager/head coach knows more about his squad and who should/should not be selected. This is NOT the worst of times. That's why whenever I've posted on the last few "name your XI for Saturday" threads, I've said, "Whoever Joka picks is fine with me."

[The Road Less Travelled]

To turn around in the way we have, on a shoe string budget is phenomenal!

just wondering, if this post had said "To turn around in the way we have, on a shoe string £0 net budget is phenomenal!" ...perhaps everyone would be in agreement

seem to be getting sidetracked by the meaning of the word shoestring

My issue is with bringing finances into it at all tbh - we obviously don't know the absolute ins and outs of ours but we are easily one of the stronger clubs in the league in financial terms based on our parachute payments.  Had the comment been about the speed at which he'd turned us around, or the stylistic change then there would be absolutely no issues.  Hell, had it been a comment on our lack of reinforcement and/or options and problems up front there wouldn't be an issue either.

We aren't little old Fulham in this league.

[toshes mate]

To turn around in the way we have, on a shoe string budget is phenomenal!

just wondering, if this post had said "To turn around in the way we have, on a shoe string £0 net budget is phenomenal!" ...perhaps everyone would be in agreement

seem to be getting sidetracked by the meaning of the word shoestring

I know it always gets back to have we spent a lot or haven't we and that is never a good place to be.  I am in the camp that says since transfer in expenses are almost identical to transfer out receipts then I am pretty sure that is a shoestring budget in every sense of the word.   And I don't want the Club to suddenly throw money around like confetti, but we should be thankful that SJ and company have put a lot of really hard work to turn us around.

[The Road Less Travelled]

we are easily one of the stronger clubs in the league in financial terms based on our parachute payments

you keep mentioning turnover and parachutes but those things are irrelevant if you don't spend them. whatever profit we've made from parachute payments, tv money and gate receipts (may not be much anyway but that's another debate for another day) has evidently been locked deep in the coffers. the point people have made on the last 2 pages of posts is that all we've spent is what we generated from a couple of player sales in the summer (which clearly, may or may not fit one's definition of shoestring, depending on personal preference)

Or spent on wages and agents fees.  I'm sure I read somewhere that we had paid some pretty ridiculous agents fees in recent years, and the players we have brought in are likely on (collectively) more than the players we got rid of.  Ross will be the outlier, but the likes of O'Hara and Lonergan will be on less than Jozabed was on in the first half of the season and Button will be on.

We're probably still paying off some of our old managers too.

[The Road Less Travelled]

we are easily one of the stronger clubs in the league in financial terms based on our parachute payments

you keep mentioning turnover and parachutes but those things are irrelevant if you don't spend them. whatever profit we've made from parachute payments, tv money and gate receipts (may not be much anyway but that's another debate for another day) has evidently been locked deep in the coffers. the point people have made on the last 2 pages of posts is that all we've spent is what we generated from a couple of player sales in the summer (which clearly, may or may not fit one's definition of shoestring, depending on personal preference)

Or spent on wages and agents fees.  I'm sure I read somewhere that we had paid some pretty ridiculous agents fees in recent years, and the players we have brought in are likely on (collectively) more than the players we got rid of.  Ross will be the outlier, but the likes of O'Hara and Lonergan will be on less than Jozabed was on in the first half of the season and Button will be on.

We're probably still paying off some of our old managers too.

o'hara vs jozabed... strongly inclined to dispute that but since neither us knows we'll just have to agree to disagree

as for paying off old managers, not really sure how that supports your argument here that jokanovic has had a generous transfer budget but maybe i'm missing something

The last bit is to dispute the fact that it's locked in the coffers, as would the embargo we got for breaching FFP.

Either way, based on the info we have at hand we're in the top third in terms of money spent and net outlay in transfers.  Newcastle have a £30million transfer surplus and wouldn't be half considered as operating on a shoestring budget so simply using net transfer spend isn't an even half sensible way of looking at it anyway.  What we spent on Sigurdsson alone was more than 10 teams spent on all of their signings, Kebano cost more than 9 teams and Jozabed more than 7 teams.  Anyone who spends close to/more (Cardiff spent £160k more than we paid for Jozabed) than a third of the league does in total on three separate players is not operating on a shoestring budget.

I honestly can't see how anyone can consider us as a team operating on a shoestring budget.  "Sustainable" sure, but not shoestring.  If you asked fans of other teams to name 10 Championship clubs who have a shoestring budget how many do you think would say us?

But to bring it back onto the topic at hand, Jokanovic is doing a fantastic job and we're playing football that half the teams in the PL would be envious of.  And considering where we were at the end of last season no matter how much money was spent that would be a hell of an achievement.