In terms of the club’s financial situation, Shilen Patel’s open letter is not necessarily telling us anything we didn’t already know.
We know that the next set of financial accounts will be worse than the previous annual losses of £11m and that the EFL rules mean they cannot splash a load of cash this summer.
But what the letter does is spell out the limitations the club will face in the transfer window in black and white and makes it incredibly transparent for the fans.
There are also huge positives revealed, including investment in the training ground, The Hawthorns pitch and the women’s team being incorporated into the club. All of which reiterate his commitment to the wider set-up.
There’s no doubt the American is ambitious but he’s also fully aware of Albion’s current situation – if they weren’t already, now the fans are too – and this letter shows he is sticking by the promise he made shortly after the takeover was competed earlier this year, that he will be a custodian and steward of the football club.
That should be yet another level of reassurance for the supporters, who this time last year were worried they might not even have a team to support at all.