It’s interesting that I saw this story when I got back as I was thinking about things financial (primarly the investment of the £35m for the former no.9 shirt). I think that we’re at a certain point, and truly we’re probably acheiving at the top of what we can expect from this squad, especially considering the long-term injuries that we have suffered. The difficulty of a self-sustaining model at this point (at least how I see it) is breaking past the point that we sit at this point. If we cash in on Cheik Tiote, for instance, we will have some money to invest into new players… but can you find better players at lower prices? Don’t get me wrong… if you bring in players that can approximate the level at which the departing players performed, you can reasonably expect to keep the status quo. I think that the right investments at the right price make sense… but I also think that we’re going to have to upgrade the overall talent still a bit more to give a bit of margin for when they’re not performing at the top of the expected results curve, if you know what I mean. Although how Mike Ashley has done it is often times questionable (even antagonistic towards the fans), we’re miles ahead of the financial mess that he originally acquired. Keep what you’ve got and get a little more.