Leeds banter 5

01 Sep 2026 09:45:05
BBC reporting that we're in for Melvin Bars who's a left back from Nice. A £1m loan with an option. I don't know a heck of a lot about him except that I used to sign him a lot on football manager whenever I was in the prem with Leeds because he was cheap and good on that game.

01 Sep 2026 07:51:31
See citeh covering all Grealish wages for his Toffees move.
Hats off to their team getting sine good business done.
Ours can’t close a door.

01 Sep 2026 09:51:54
I'm afraid there is zero chance that Citeh will be paying 100% of his wages while he plays for another club! Even Pants Down Pete didn't go that far!

01 Sep 2026 09:52:48
Jack Grealish is not the player he used to be at Villa. Time has caught up with him, injuries, etc. More of a passenger in my estimation.

01 Sep 2026 11:36:55
Maybe they need you on the case, Longlostfan. You're clearly an expert on all matters..

01 Sep 2026 01:39:11
5/10 window, on the whole, we have more or less replaced departing players, with better quality, but only in defense and gk. Midfield and attack, only Wilson has been brought in. Our recruitment team is seriously not up to the standard required. All the other teams seem to be having no problem bringing players in, and at decent fees or loans. Very disappointing and depressing.

01 Sep 2026 07:39:09
{Ed's Note - OptimumShots has posted a new article entitled, Where Everton Stand Under Squad Cost Ratio

01 Sep 2026 09:12:12
Great explanation of why people should not be equating sales out with the ability to bring the same amount of transfers in.

Also, shows the importance of improving ER revenue in the long term. But, all those Spuds fans that hated Levy for being so frugal whilst giving them a £billion pound stadium should be extremely grateful now, that his approach is supporting their ability to spend big and stay within SCR.

01 Sep 2026 12:18:43
Great insight, but where is the cost to build the new stadium factored in?

01 Sep 2026 00:24:04
A strange window, both good and bad (with 24hrs) to go.
If stays as is with Largie and Gnonto going, feel it’s a good window but not great.
Very good in defense, love look of Trafford, Gary, Elvis and think we are ok at the back.
In attacking areas, we're worse off, brought in Wilson only, who I feel will be a great addition but moved on JH, Gnonto, Largie, Geldhert.
Strange as we seemed very keen on that creative midfielder, seemed we were in for Brandt, that didn’t happen and now moved on and no other names mentioned.
Then all out for winger but again stalled and as is, failed on Paxo and Mudryk and low on options.


I like Okafor but injury prone, same with DJ, can’t see us getting any attacking players now, have to approach, agree, organise medical and then sign off, tough with less than 24hrs.
With all that said, I was anxious back in January, thought we definitely needed a striker, glad we didn’t go for Larsen and we ended season fantastically.
Still feel that now, only 2 strikers and I have a feeling that we are making a massive gamble, I felt 2-3 attacking options would make us very dangerous.
As is, think we will survive but may struggle to score and will bite us.
I’m currently underwhelmed and just an ok window.

01 Sep 2026 07:48:17
A pretty damned level headed, and accurate post there, Melbourne! Sums it up nicely.
I did feel that given Piroe was our only striker back up, he'd have been replaced immediately, but there's still hope and time to sort that.


Looks like the left sided back up is incoming, so we should be reet, all in all.
Good to get rid of a load of minimally / unused players, for sure!

01 Sep 2026 08:19:16
Agree, Melb, we look very strong at the back, and Trafford and Tariq are absolute quality, along with Elvedi, who is also an upgrade of Pascal. Reports this morning are we have agreed a loan of a French LB, which is great news, with Sicknote Gudmonson, and hopefully get Jake O'Brien from Everton, and if that happens, it's a 10/10 window at the back.
As you say, further up the pitch, we have less depth for sure, which is a huge concern.

Getting rid of Willy without a replacement is suicidal, as Noah and DJ like the biscuits in the physios room too much.
I am hopeful we get a wide player if Willy goes (hopefully Paxo Stuffing or Mudrick) and Flemming in as another striker to replace Piroe.
Then it's a defo 10/10 window. As it's stands, it's 7.5/10.

31 Aug 2026 22:51:50
Something isn’t adding up.

So in January we offered £40m for JSL. ✔️

Then we sold Struijk cheaply as we “needed” the money to ensure PAR compliance for last season/year.

See where this is going?

So if we had secured JSL for said £40m we would have been in the poo to the total of £22m ish!

Also, if we had spent that £40m on JSL would that have meant we would have only had a budget of £40 this summer?

Nothing’s adding up.

01 Sep 2026 07:50:36
PSR or whatever it was, switched to SCR, so the base figures have changed the maths.
Plus, we don't know if we would've then sold someone in January to partially fund that big outlay. So many variables, as always.

01 Sep 2026 10:57:29
We're in the middle with SCR. 91%. We've still £40m headroom before we hit 115%, when it's not a slap across the wrists but potential points deductions.
The Big 6 (excluding Chelsea) , Sunderland and the three promoted clubs are all below 85%, but Hull's figure might change, as they've got at least three signings lined up today.

31 Aug 2026 22:51:13
11 players out, some were on loan and would always be going but 8 player in or around the first team gone and 5 brought in. That math's don't work. We need 3 more players just to have the squad we had last season. We all agree what they are left back, striker and a central defender. We don't seem to develop youth anymore.

No Smiths or Kewells coming through. Players leaving on loan who we don't want yet like the bad penny they'll be back next year then sold for 1/3 of their cost. Having said that, the player we have got in are excellent. Trafford has to be probably the best signing ever.

01 Sep 2026 03:18:53
I don't know what's wrong with our youth set up. Are they not good enough or does Farke not trust them?

01 Sep 2026 07:52:57
Plenty of youth on show pre-season, and plenty with squad numbers for the season ahead, some of whom are highly regarded. Nothing to say that they won't get chances if our headcount remains unchanged.

31 Aug 2026 22:41:23
It’s not looking good, Mdryk wanting Spurs now, we do muckdrky about, we can’t seem to sell club well to potential players, really poor at completing signings fast
Paxo never been interested in coming to us, that made clear last summer but they don’t move on, ridiculous.

01 Sep 2026 07:39:18
Underwood - out of his depth. Said it last year, I'll say it again. Mr Nice sits on his hands.

01 Sep 2026 07:54:06
Don't believe we were ever in for Pax this season.

31 Aug 2026 22:00:28.
No Piaxo
No Mudryk
No Flemming

But we may get a journeyman utility player that turned us down for Bournemouth not long ago.