[Foxman_WBA]

Barry .... £800,000 for a year should be a good deal. Doesn't disperse my disappointment that we are constantly signing players towards the end of their careers, (over 30's) some way over or players with horrendous injury records ... yes, generally we have a good record of keeping them injury free but that risk is there.

Why oh why can't we build a squad, a competitive squad of 20 - 25 year old that can push for glory for years and be built and developed instead of fire fighting every year, plugging this hole and that hole with a cheap stop gap.

I know I'm just a dreamer but I'm not the only one ...... I hope one day you'll join up and the Albion will live as one.

I do agree with this and in an ideal world I would be asking the same questions however if you look at all other prem teams the squad is constantly changing year in year out. I do wonder sometimes why we don’t spend more on slightly younger players as the resale value would be higher etc, taking Barry on at £800,000 at his age is a straight up expense. You spend £20 mil on a younger model play them for 3 years then flog them on for £40 mil (the way the money is going wouldn’t surprise me) that £20mil player has actually cost less.

But having said that, it’s clearly not that easy as all clubs would do it, some spend millions on players that turn out to be awful and end up wasting tens of millions on garbage. For all premier league teams it’s obvious that the here and now is more important than the future due to the prize money involved. Which is why constant stop gaps and Pulis style management will be the rage.

Let’s face it if a player is good enough and young enough they get one season at a club like us before the big boys come sniffing. Look at Southampton, constantly buying good young players and constantly getting raided.

I yearn for the days of free flowing attacking football with icons at the club, but those days are long gone It would be nice though to start the season with a full squad though let’s face it however it’s clear that quality is hard to come by and its better that than just a squad of dross.