The problem is... All those questions and statements with comparisons to our old strikers are with the power of hindsight.
I remember when everyone was really excited we'd signed Alves after he scored 30-35 goals in the Dutch league....
I can imagine there was some excitement before we signed Assombalonga too...
It's very easy to say "Gyokores will be better than Assombalonga", when you've already seen that Assombalonga didn't live up to the hype.
Christ Ash, there is risk in EVERY signing.
All analysis is retrospective by definition, it is with hindsight, including yours.
AndyW is spot on. Things are very different right now, for the first time in years.
1. The wage bill has been massively reduced.
2. Amortisation is now minute, there is only McGree and odds that will still have any book value at all.
3. Revenue is increased, therefore the operating loss (that is a fact of life outside the PL) is hugely reduced.
4. The Club has a nucleus of players to form a top end squad.
5. There are a lot of players who could be sold for fees if required that would represent 100% profit now for MFC (Jones, Fry, McNair, Dijksteel, Bola, Coburn) they are not trapped financially as they have been.
6. The league looks weaker than it has for a very long time.
7. The FFP position is very sound at present up to 2021-22 season.
8. The Club have just received an immediate £22.5m Profit on Disposal of Player Registrations in this season 2022-23, which will be reflected in each of the next 3 seasons from a FFP perspective.
9. The Club have a manager who they worked hard to attract, who has experience of doing exactly what is required.
10. The fan base is more engaged than since the promotion season in 2015-16.
These are all key elements and they are all aligned.
Next season, all of those variables will change.
The idea of slowly building in this league is a joke given the short term nature of players being at the same club.
By the time a group of "prospects" start to deliver, the experienced core you have has moved on, as have finances, the manager, the level of competition, the fan mood etc.
I am not saying we will not have to be more cautious at other times when they don't have a £22.5m windfall.
I am not saying we should spend money we can't.
I am saying we should seize the opportunity when it is there and it most certainly is right now.
It was there in 2016 and the Club made a complete mess of it. They under-invested and recruited horrendously.
Don't make the same mistake again with this great opportunity.