oaksoft

All of this would help but realistically unless we can sustain European runs year after year, we will never be able to compete financially with Aberdeen, Hibs and Hearts. It's just the reality of having a much smaller fan base and a much smaller stadium. BTW, we can absolutely still compete on the pitch though. No doubt about that. Unearthing emerging talent and brushing them up whilst everyone else is buying in the finished article is definitely the way to go for us.

Yep. Even if we filled the stadiunm with season tcket holders we still wouldn't be able to compete financially with Aberdeen, Hibs or Hearts. Nowhere near it. We would possibly be able to compete with Dundee Utd at that point but that would be it. The way we compete on the pitch is to recognise that the 5 or 6 biggest clubs always seem to look to buy in the finished article. We always seem to find diamonds in the rough. That is our method and it's proven to be a very successful strategy for the most part over the last 15 to 18 years. We do seem to have a lot of fans happy to delude themselves that a player will turn down multiples of his salary to stay with us. I don't really know what to say to them.

I'm sure someone more interesting will be along soon to chat with you. Away and talk shite to them.

Agreed. How you achieve that is another matter.

True. They still find enough money to pay some of the players several thousand pound per week though. Can't imagine we'll ever get to that position.

The problem the SNP have is that anything short of a full majority is going to look like failure and might well kill any chance of a referendum being allowed. It really is an incredibly ridiculous situation to be in but that's the reality. Any gloating from the opposition should be tempered with the realisation that it could well be decades before the SNP lose power at Holyrood and IMO that challenge will end up coming from the Greens as environmental issues start to dominate the middle years of the century.

I hope so too but it's not about ambition. It's about what we can afford to pay people and we can't compete with Aberdeen. The Brophy thing was a one-off. People seem to be getting carried away a bit over that.

I suspect this is going to be a painful summer.

Dear oh dear. What a state to get into. I do love the idea that you truly believed anyone on here needed taught that income to a business is not all available as expenditure. I'm still struggling to find a single person on the thread who gave even a hint that they thought that all of the £3m would be available for wages. You appear to have constructed that particular strawman all on your own.

At the moment I would agree which is why I think a move to Aberdeen or Hibs first would be best for him.

I imagine all the players would have a trigger value in their contracts but if a club offered less I have no idea what Tony would do. As I said, you'd need to direct that question to Tony.

Direct that question at Tony.

They'll almost certainly quadruple his wages (perhaps even more) and they may even build a team around him if they think he's that good. He'll also be playing European football. No way is that a backwards move from where he is right now.

Yep, I do agree with the sentiment but the reality is that right now, we're not a position to refuse transfer fees or block players from moving. IMO that's just going to prevent other players coming here and will be self-defeating. So how do we break that cycle? By taking opportunities when they land on our laps like winning this Cup for a start and getting to Europe. Finishing top 6 would be another and we got within a few minutes of doing that without a decent striker. If we'd had Dennis and Quaner fully fit I am pretty confident we'd have finished top 6, won the League Cup and be looking at another trophy in the Scottish Cup. All of this makes it easier to recruit and keep better players. We have to punch way above our weight first and whilst we're almost there we have a bit to go. We need to make sure that when the McGraths move on that we have others coming through. Personally, I think we need to be largely producing our own like Henderson and Reid. Also, in the 80s, the clubs had all the power and could end a players career. England wasn't as far away from Scottish football as it is now. Comparisons with those days are futile really.

You and salmonbuddie seem absolutely intent on having a fight. Life's way too short. I'll leave you to it.

Aberdeen and Hibs are not Toms, Dicks or Harrys. And the offers from other clubs will determine McGrath's market value.

Both played in the Premiership. That's the salient point.

If Aberdeen are NOT looking at Jamie then they need their heads examined. He's absolutely perfect for them and they are perfect for him. He's ready to walk right into their team. Other than Hibs and Aberdeen there isn't another better option out there for him in Scotland than staying here for another year. He might be ready for lower leagues in England but I think 2-3 years at Aberdeen and he'll be ready for the Premiership down South just like McGinn and McLean before him.

Oh Bud. As I've said before, if you knew anything about me at all you'd know how ridiculous that bit in bold is. As for IOBS, have a look at his last posts. They are still up there. You'll quickly see why he no longer posts here.

I was hoping for that too but he doesn't seem to have the guts to stick his head above the parapet and come up with alternative figures of his own. If I could coax myself onto a plane I might get a passport sorted out as well. It's incredible we're even talking about this being a possibility just a few years after narrowly missing relegation to League One.

Ah. The old "it was the kids" defence. That did make me smile though. Thanks for that. Won't lie. I'm a bit jealous of that "hut". You've got me dreaming of having one now. Got a nice patch of garden where I removed my shed many years ago and I've done nothing with. Could probably manage something around 14 feet by 12 feet at an absolute push so nowhere near as big as yours but big enough to make a wee garden office or a cosy sun trap.

Still waiting on some smart arse coming up with more accurate figures. Am I doomed to wait forever Cooks?

I won't lie. That is a huge weight off my shoulders. Phew!

Can't agree with this. If a player wants to move on, we should let him do so with the absolute minimum of fuss as long as we get the financial deal we are looking for. That is our selling point in getting these players to join us in the first place and we should honour it. At least he's not off to waste his career at the OF.