madras

truth is though, we haven't got a clue what is going on and how things are conducted by us or others. What we know doesn't matter, the fact that the competion seem to is the worry. How serious in all reality was the Remy bid anayway? He took a week to think about it for starters and his club started telling everyone about our bid from day one. Shouldn't we have got a stronger indication from the club and player in a more confidential manner before the window even opened?? I mean he was our main target or so it appeared. when we signed ba that had been in the press for best part of a week, we outbid everton according to the media. only the cabaye deal really came out the blue.

truth is though, we haven't got a clue what is going on and how things are conducted by us or others. You could apply that argument to almost every single thing about the football club. Actually, you do apply that argument. Gets a bit tedious after a while, you're not saying anything. This forum would be dead if there was no speculation or discussion about things we can't possibly know for good. We're putting down our opinions and thoughts on what is going on. don't mind speculation, my problem is when people treat their speculation as fact.

truth is though, we haven't got a clue what is going on and how things are conducted by us or others.

i wouldn't mind it being off so i can go sledging.

There was a problem with his medical iirc and Liv weren't so keen to really test anyones resolve. liverpool tried to say their was a problem with the medical, maybe to try and get a better deal. they were blown out of the water by the man who conducted the medical iirc.

do you or do you think agents are contacting other agents and clubs in the hope of getting a better deal ? I don't doubt that goes on all the time. I just can perfectly believe that we have insisted on clubs and agents keeping their gobs shut on deals. I can't see how else they would be kept quiet so effectively when there are so many avenues for news to be leaked these days. We seem to be doing particularly s**** at this recently like. all those leaks etc are to the press though. i'd be surprised if the vast majority of the agents stuff was well away from the press and better for the player (the client) if it's done that way. it's funny reading managers memoirs and you realise what doesn't reach the press, it's always happened , george graham was here as a player and very nearly signed as was ian st john, both just before they made it big.

too late now for tomorrow. i'll do it for villa.

Walcott hasn't been messed around in terms of position. He's not good enough to play as a lone striker, lets be fair - at least not in a team that wants to challenge for major honours. Media seem to go on like he's Ian Wright or Lineker, which is how good you need to be to succeed as that kind of forward. Wenger had the right idea trying to develop his game. All the young players he signs start out wide, or deeper in midfield before he gives them the the crucial #10 or #9 positions in his team. In Arsenal's current position mind with their striking options it probably is the best option to play him there, but that's more an indicament of the position they are now as a club and a squad. Would take him in a shot, like. Just not good enough to be upfront in a SUPERCLUB. Where would you play him though? Hatem is better ( goes without saying) and i think he would be pretty ineffective down the left unless you're thinking of 4-4-2 and playing him with Cisse of course. not that it would ever happen (or rather it could just not here) but cisee with ben arfa and walcott in behind would work.

do you or do you think agents are contacting other agents and clubs in the hope of getting a better deal ?

i'm looking forward to more of these. a little while back i was tempted to do a "memories of..........." to coincide with the teams we were playing and heading them with scanned foto's of programmes from years past. one of those possibly great you just never get round to doing.

Right on. We need to add a no shop provision to our bids. Yep. Exclusivity would be helpful to us. I think it's nonsense that our bids are getting highjacked or shopped to other clubs after we get them accepted. Really poor on seller if that's true. Our policy of backing down in "auctions" doesn't help either. We don't even low ball bid and increase to our "ceiling" it seems. We just offer what we can pay max, say to the seller take it or leave it, f*** off if the deal requires any brain work. Obviously these deals aren't going to be clear, cut and dry anymore. We aren't even adapting to these changing conditions either ffs. Would it be better to stealth with multiple offers for different players? Obviously not versed in footbal transactions, but I'd think that would be a way around it. Having a better relationship with the selling club would be helpful too. A p*ssed off seller isn't going to help us out at all. We've been on the fortunate end of getting quiet deals done during the Ba/Cabaye/Marv summer, but now the selling clubs and player reps have caught on to us. We've GOT to adapt our policy or we will see more and more of this. Everyone knows we are cheap and won't move our bids up much (ie like Madras said, De Jong, Ba etc) so if they get wind we won't up our bid, then your West Ham's of the world will up their bid by 500k and if the player isn't totally in love with joining us, then we'll lose out. Again, I'm only trying to apply what I've done in my own career in transactions for my company and take some of those elements and apply them to football. I know we've not a clue what is going on with the deals, but we have quite a strict wage policy and valuation policy that has gotten us this far, but it sure could use some tinkering. Thanks for the considered reply. Don't worry too much Ashley and lambyarse are clueless about football anyway. They've got lucky with a couple of deals and thought it would just continue like that (low-tight bidding). The competition have adapted and have our deals on their radar what with our recent scouting prowess. Either we go for exclusivity in the first phase (no leaking or some kind of penalty clause) or we tie up deals in 24hrs (give selling club a short deadline). why would the selling club go with an exclusivity dealand what agent is going to dash into a deral if he thinks he can drum up intrest from elsewhere ? Why have they done so before? have they ? never heard of it, thats not to say they haven't. what would they have to gain ? Well how else have we done these signings 'out of the blue' that some are clinging to right now? Cisse springs to mind. £9m, a free-scoring striker and it was a done deal within three hours of it being known he were even in talks to sign him. Why wasn't he touted around for weeks? may be the clue to it. because it isn't in the press doesn't mean players aren't being touted, agents trying to do deals etc.

Right on. We need to add a no shop provision to our bids. Yep. Exclusivity would be helpful to us. I think it's nonsense that our bids are getting highjacked or shopped to other clubs after we get them accepted. Really poor on seller if that's true. Our policy of backing down in "auctions" doesn't help either. We don't even low ball bid and increase to our "ceiling" it seems. We just offer what we can pay max, say to the seller take it or leave it, f*** off if the deal requires any brain work. Obviously these deals aren't going to be clear, cut and dry anymore. We aren't even adapting to these changing conditions either ffs. Would it be better to stealth with multiple offers for different players? Obviously not versed in footbal transactions, but I'd think that would be a way around it. Having a better relationship with the selling club would be helpful too. A p*ssed off seller isn't going to help us out at all. We've been on the fortunate end of getting quiet deals done during the Ba/Cabaye/Marv summer, but now the selling clubs and player reps have caught on to us. We've GOT to adapt our policy or we will see more and more of this. Everyone knows we are cheap and won't move our bids up much (ie like Madras said, De Jong, Ba etc) so if they get wind we won't up our bid, then your West Ham's of the world will up their bid by 500k and if the player isn't totally in love with joining us, then we'll lose out. Again, I'm only trying to apply what I've done in my own career in transactions for my company and take some of those elements and apply them to football. I know we've not a clue what is going on with the deals, but we have quite a strict wage policy and valuation policy that has gotten us this far, but it sure could use some tinkering. Thanks for the considered reply. Don't worry too much Ashley and lambyarse are clueless about football anyway. They've got lucky with a couple of deals and thought it would just continue like that (low-tight bidding). The competition have adapted and have our deals on their radar what with our recent scouting prowess. Either we go for exclusivity in the first phase (no leaking or some kind of penalty clause) or we tie up deals in 24hrs (give selling club a short deadline). why would the selling club go with an exclusivity dealand what agent is going to dash into a deral if he thinks he can drum up intrest from elsewhere ? Why have they done so before? have they ? never heard of it, thats not to say they haven't. what would they have to gain ?

i took lyon with half an hour left.

Right on. We need to add a no shop provision to our bids. Yep. Exclusivity would be helpful to us. I think it's nonsense that our bids are getting highjacked or shopped to other clubs after we get them accepted. Really poor on seller if that's true. Our policy of backing down in "auctions" doesn't help either. We don't even low ball bid and increase to our "ceiling" it seems. We just offer what we can pay max, say to the seller take it or leave it, f*** off if the deal requires any brain work. Obviously these deals aren't going to be clear, cut and dry anymore. We aren't even adapting to these changing conditions either ffs. Would it be better to stealth with multiple offers for different players? Obviously not versed in footbal transactions, but I'd think that would be a way around it. Having a better relationship with the selling club would be helpful too. A p*ssed off seller isn't going to help us out at all. We've been on the fortunate end of getting quiet deals done during the Ba/Cabaye/Marv summer, but now the selling clubs and player reps have caught on to us. We've GOT to adapt our policy or we will see more and more of this. Everyone knows we are cheap and won't move our bids up much (ie like Madras said, De Jong, Ba etc) so if they get wind we won't up our bid, then your West Ham's of the world will up their bid by 500k and if the player isn't totally in love with joining us, then we'll lose out. Again, I'm only trying to apply what I've done in my own career in transactions for my company and take some of those elements and apply them to football. I know we've not a clue what is going on with the deals, but we have quite a strict wage policy and valuation policy that has gotten us this far, but it sure could use some tinkering. Thanks for the considered reply. Don't worry too much Ashley and lambyarse are clueless about football anyway. They've got lucky with a couple of deals and thought it would just continue like that (low-tight bidding). The competition have adapted and have our deals on their radar what with our recent scouting prowess. Either we go for exclusivity in the first phase (no leaking or some kind of penalty clause) or we tie up deals in 24hrs (give selling club a short deadline). why would the selling club go with an exclusivity dealand what agent is going to dash into a deral if he thinks he can drum up intrest from elsewhere ?

Was a classic own goal at the Boro, no doubt about that, another classic was when we lost 4-3 at home to "Tommy who's up Mary Brown Dochertys" Man Utd just after they came back up from Division 2 and I remember McFaul rolling the ball to Nattrass who passed to John Bird who passed back to McFaul from over 30 yards out and sent the ball miles over McFaul into the net. Daft c***! I remember Graham Oates chipping McFaul in a midweek game in the first few seconds from about 30 yards without the oppo (Leeds, it says here) touching the ball. On his full home debut as well iirc. His career never recovered, unsurprisingly. First time I heard the phrase "Oh, for f***'s sake" x about 30,000 Poor Willie must have hated his defence. best own goal i've seen that, better than keeleys.

and they're getting beat 3-1 at home to zwolle.

i'm sure keeley score more than one cracking own goal and i seem to remember him putting his net finding talent to better use when pushed up front at blackburn. didn't realise nattrass played on till 1986, i've no memeory of him from about 1983. anyone else think he'd have made a fantastic centre half in todays game ?

except we did up our bid for de jong and we did deal with ba's multiple agents. what you have to remember is that we know very little of what goes on.

Are you aware we have made a substantial profit on transfer dealings in every season under Mike Ashley bar his first? so ? why look at that financial aspect in isolation ?

why ? they think they have upgraded just like clubs do with players.

d'oh

and how do we show that ? announce to the press officially who we've bid for, how much for the transfer and wages ?

Yeah, can imagine Southampton reject given lots of time by our support. Like Southampton reject Alan Pardew? pardew left southampton for erm "other reasons"

Dinnis Gordon Lee must have caused uproar when he left for Everton mind. Was it half way through the season or summit? yeah, half way through iirc. some couldn't stand him as he'd sold macdonald and hibbitt, some loved him as he had us doing well, we'd finish fifth and get into europe. and get relegated the following season. if your looking for omens it could point to keeping your manager that created that team

think injuries put paid to him going further.