we did. We've got 14 senior pros. back in 2017 we had 24, that's excluding the kids on the fringe like Fry, Tav, and Pears.
I have no issue about the kids being involved in youth games, then maybe 1 or 2 becoming proper 1st team squad options. But this is different, they will be on the bench next week, 5 or 6 of them
You've excluded our GKs this year and added our GKs to our 2017 squad to try and illustrate your point - https://www.mfc.co.uk/news/boro-squad-numbers-confirmed
We had 21 outfield players listed in the 2017/18 squad, when we had parachute payments.
That's 7 more than in the squad that we've just announced.
Howeverrrrrr........
We sold Alex Baptiste to QPR before the season started, and Guedioura was injured but still given a squad number, he didn't play his first game until the 30th December.
Tavernier only played 200 minutes before being loaned out to MK Dons (he wasn't a "senior pro").
Connor Roberts only played 3 cup games and 1 league game before going back to Swansea (also wasn't really a "senior pro - he was only 20).
That brings us down to 17.
We didn't really have Braithwaite either, as he played the first game that season and then threw his toys out the pram and didn't play again until mid-October.
Since I took Tav/Roberts away, we'll take Boyd-Munce away too to make it more even... We're actually only 3 players away.
And like I said in my very first post, which seems like ages ago now.... Smith + 2 Strikers.