Grealish

[nayimfromthehalfwayline]

So one example of why I consider it high risk. Take last summer when we signed Sanchez on 23rd August. What if someone else came in late for him and offered him more, or a club who he preferred to join - say a biggish Spanish team like Athletico (which often have more appeal for players from Latin America)? We'd have been in the last 10 days of the window and been scrambling around for a new CB. Given Sanchez was our back-up CB and turned out to be a really key player for us last season given the Toby situation, the alternatives which you suggest (go for a cheaper punt or go with what we have) could have backfired massively. We'd have needed Foyth or CCV to step up and play in the CL and PL

For squad players, like Lewis Cook would be or Gazzaniga who we only got in late on, its less of a problem if we miss out on them, but someone who would be in the first choice 18, like Sanchez would have been, I think it is high risk.

Your alternative is what exactly? Because it sounds somewhat wishy washy to me.

"Just get our targets early", as if we actively choose not too?

You conceed we can get our targets poached, how do you suppose that is less likely if we make our moves early?

 

[AdamB]

Your alternative is what exactly? Because it sounds somewhat wishy washy to me.

"Just get our targets early", as if we actively choose not too?

You conceed we can get our targets poached, how do you suppose that is less likely if we make our moves early?

I'm sure we have our walk-away price for any player given that we're a disciplined buyer. Once you've put that on the table and been rebuffed then you move on to the next.

 

[AdamB]

So basically your example is what if we don’t get one of our main targets? It’s happened several times before and it will happen again. Yet here we are still growing, still punching above our weight. So it’s not high risk at all because we have forward planning - high risk would be spending beyond our means just to appease our fans and it still wouldn’t guarantee us anything....

I dont think anyone is suggesting spending beyond our means at all

 

[milo]

I dont think anyone is suggesting spending beyond our means at all

The problem is that none of us know what our budget it is or how important it is getting players off the wage bill before bringing others in.

 

[harr1984]

I dont think anyone is suggesting spending beyond our means at all

I know but that’s what is a high risk strategy. How we operate is anything but high risk. In an ideal world we’d all want our targets in for day one of pre season but it’s simply not possible for us and with good reason....

 

[parklane1]

We did and we did fantastically well.

But whatever Poch meant by “be brave”, he meant we should do things differently and we aren’t. At some stage, this strategy will catch up with us if we persist with.

Se you are jumping to conclusions about what Poch meant( once again) when he said being brave, he could have meant upping our wage limit which has been done so you are wrong if that is the case.

As i said earlier NONE of us know what he meant being brave meant, although it has not stopped a few fans from jumping to conclusions about players being signed earlier and saying because it has not happened Poch has had enough.

 

[AdamB]

The problem is that none of us know what our budget it is or how important it is getting players off the wage bill before bringing others in.

Nope, and agreed. I think that this summer we've been disproportionately hampered by needing to shift players out, exacerbated by the number of non-home grown players we have. In that respect though, you often hear stories of us wanting crazy prices for players - rumours of wanting £75m for Alderweireld - so its unclear whether we're also making it yet further harder for ourselves (i.e. whether outgoing players are taking longer to shift because of our asking prices, meaning incomings are even more squeezed time wise).

 

[AdamB]

I know but that’s what is a high risk strategy. How we operate is anything but high risk. In an ideal world we’d all want our targets in for day one of pre season but it’s simply not possible for us and with good reason....

Understand, though other clubs achieve it....cue the response that we're 'special' etc etc!!

What we've achieved on the pitch under Poch has been incredible. But signings in our last two summer transfer windows have been underwhelming - 2016 was pretty awful (Janssen, Sissoko, GKN....Wanyama, was a success) and 2017 was average (Sanchez - great, Aurier - meh, Llorente - crap, Foyth - for the future, Gazzaniga - who cares?)....with 4 days to go this year isnt exactly a success!!

 

[nayimfromthehalfwayline]

I'm sure we have our walk-away price for any player given that we're a disciplined buyer. Once you've put that on the table and been rebuffed then you move on to the next.

And what happens when we end up on our 3rd or 4th choice player? Because the first was a flat no, the second got poached once we flagged them available...

Is that actually less risk than biding our time?

I would much rather hold out all summer to have a shot at someone like Kovacic, who will undoubtedly improve the team, than just do a supermarket sweep at the beginning with the sole purpose of having our business done early.

 

[nayimfromthehalfwayline]

Understand, though other clubs achieve it....cue the response that we're 'special' etc etc!!

What we've achieved on the pitch under Poch has been incredible. But signings in our last two summer transfer windows have been underwhelming - 2016 was pretty awful (Janssen, Sissoko, GKN....Wanyama, was a success) and 2017 was average (Sanchez - great, Aurier - meh, Llorente - crap, Foyth - for the future, Gazzaniga - who cares?)....with 4 days to go this year isnt exactly a success!!

We are special, in that we are in the frustratingly rare position of being in a place where we compete for the same players with half the resources.

Only Athletic come close by comparison, and they have 2 clubs to compete with not 5.

You might not like it, I certainly dont, but accepting that we are in between two worlds goes a long way to understanding why we do what we do.

 

[AdamB]

We are special, in that we are in the frustratingly rare position of being in a place where we compete for the same players with half the resources.

Only Athletic come close by comparison, and they have 2 clubs to compete with not 5.

You might not like it, I certainly dont, but accepting that we are in between two worlds goes a long way to understanding why we do what we do.

Do you feel that the 2016 and 2017 summer transfer windows were successful or this one so far?

 

[nayimfromthehalfwayline]

Do you feel that the 2016 and 2017 summer transfer windows were successful or this one so far?

So far being the key word. What will your attitude be if we end the window with Martial, DeLigt and Kovacic in?

16 and 17 I have no issues with, as always the squad ended up stronger and the team improved.

Do you have an issue with our 16/17 and 17/18 results?


Not all buys were great or worked out, and yes - of course - it would be my preference to get those players in early, or do better business (gift of hindsight), but really - on balance - I cant complain.


Can I ask you to answer the post above the one you quoted?

 

[AdamB]

So far being the key word. What will your attitude be if we end the window with Martial, DeLigt and Kovacic in?

16 and 17 I have no issues with, as always the squad ended up stronger and the team improved.

Do you have an issue with our 16/17 and 17/18 results?


Not all buys were great or worked out, and yes - of course - it would be my preference to get those players in early, or do better business (gift of hindsight), but really - on balance - I cant complain.


Can I ask you to answer the post above the one you quoted?

If we end up with those three I'd obviously be ecstatic! It would be the most incredible change in direction for a transfer window for any team ever.

Our results over the last two years have obviously been great, though the key players (Vertonghen, Dier, Lloris, Kane, Dele, Eriksen, Son, Alderweireld, Dembele etc) were longer-standing players or youth players. In 2016 we signed Sissoko, GKN and Janssen (as well as Wanyama). Last summer, aside from Sanchez, I wouldnt class it as a particular success. At the moment, signings this window has obviously been a failure.

re the earlier post, I guess you mean: "And what happens when we end up on our 3rd or 4th choice player? Because the first was a flat no, the second got poached once we flagged them available..."

My answer would simply be how do you not know that our current approach doesnt leave us signing our 3rd and 4th choice players?

 

[nayimfromthehalfwayline]

If we end up with those three I'd obviously be ecstatic! It would be the most incredible change in direction for a transfer window for any team ever.

You have no idea how the window is going. You know only one thing, we havent got anyone yet. And seem to be judging the window as if it were finished, when clearly much can change - including your perception of it.

For all we know we have been working tirelessly for weeks to line up a string of incredible deals. Why assume we are messing it up just because you havent seen results yet?

Our results over the last two years have obviously been great, though the key players (Vertonghen, Dier, Lloris, Kane, Dele, Eriksen, Son, Alderweireld, Dembele etc) were longer-standing players or youth players. In 2016 we signed Sissoko, GKN and Janssen (as well as Wanyama). Last summer, aside from Sanchez, I wouldnt class it as a particular success. At the moment, signings this window has obviously been a failure.

So 16 was good, if you ignore Wanyama. And 17 was good if you ignore Sanchez. And we had decent players anyway, which of course will have been bought by the same man with the same strategies...

Do you see where the argument starts to look a little weak?

re the earlier post, I guess you mean: "And what happens when we end up on our 3rd or 4th choice player? Because the first was a flat no, the second got poached once we flagged them available..."

My answer would simply be how do you not know that our current approach doesnt leave us signing our 3rd and 4th choice players?

We will have a better idea when the window is closed.

The point is, you state we have a policy of leaving it late and that it is risky. Your solution is to burn through a list of players early in the window, most likely ending up with 2nd/3rd choices anyway. And yet, dont see that as a risk?

 

[AdamB]

You have no idea how the window is going. You know only one thing, we havent got anyone yet. And seem to be judging the window as if it were finished, when clearly much can change - including your perception of it.

For all we know we have been working tirelessly for weeks to line up a string of incredible deals. Why assume we are messing it up just because you havent seen results yet?

I'm sure we have been making plenty of calls. I can't believe we're doing nothing. I'd be very happy to say that its been a success if it ends up as such. I'd be surprised if any deals are agreed and just need the signatures though given that with club officials at both ends, players, agents, lawyers, doctors for the medical etc there's too many people involved to keep things quiet

So 16 was good, if you ignore Wanyama. And 17 was good if you ignore Sanchez. And we had decent players anyway, which of course will have been bought by the same man with the same strategies...

Do you see where the argument starts to look a little weak?

16 was good? Sissoko, GKN, Wanyama and Janssen? It was pretty crap!
17 was good? Llorente, FOyth, Aurier, Sanchez, Gazzaniga. It was average

Apologies, not sure if you we being sarcastic but neither window was a great success if you ask me

 

[DeanoAustin]

Se you are jumping to conclusions about what Poch meant( once again) when he said being brave, he could have meant upping our wage limit which has been done so you are wrong if that is the case.

As i said earlier NONE of us know what he meant being brave meant, although it has not stopped a few fans from jumping to conclusions about players being signed earlier and saying because it has not happened Poch has had enough.

Just so I can knock it on the head, I never said Poch has had enough.

None of us know for certain exactly what he meant but I think we can make an educated guess. Keeping Kane, Son and Lamela (aren't they the only 3 major players who have signed contract extensions) probably wasn't it. We can delude ourselves that Poch and the players won't see this as a bad window if we don't sign anyone but in my view, more of them will be thinking what Danny Rose said last year. We need to sign players and they need to be players that people have heard of, that have some proven pedigree not the likes of Janssen, Nkoudou or N'Jie. You can't deny that Poch sounds frustrated at the minute when he's questioned on it.

We were marginally ahead of Liverpool last year. They've gone and bought quality in positions where they were light. They saw where they were short, identified targets and got their business done. Liverpool aren't in the same league financially as Emirates Marketing Project or Man U. They are more like us or The Scum. We have built a stadium to close the gap on Liverpool and The Scum and here we are sitting a few days before the window closes wondering if we'll front up enough money to entice a lad who, with all due respect, isn't even at the level yet that we need to improve our team.

Christian Eriksen is 26. He's accomplished nothing in terms of trophies over the last few years. Alli, Kane likewise. These boys won't hang around forever.

 

[Lemonade Money]

Saw number of pages, thought something was happening.
Read pages, just a bunch of whining maggots.

 

[DeanoAustin]

We are special, in that we are in the frustratingly rare position of being in a place where we compete for the same players with half the resources.

Only Athletic come close by comparison, and they have 2 clubs to compete with not 5.

You might not like it, I certainly dont, but accepting that we are in between two worlds goes a long way to understanding why we do what we do.

Do we only have half the resources of Liverpool and The Scum? Bear in mind, The Scum weren’t in the CL last year and won’t be this year. Bear in mind we have a brand spanking new stadium that’s slightly bigger than their one and will get a nice wad through that?

Did Liverpool hang back in this window because they have less money than City and United and are competing for the same level of player?

We’re being overly cautious.

 

[monkeybarry]

Se you are jumping to conclusions about what Poch meant( once again) when he said being brave, he could have meant upping our wage limit which has been done so you are wrong if that is the case.

As i said earlier NONE of us know what he meant being brave meant, although it has not stopped a few fans from jumping to conclusions about players being signed earlier and saying because it has not happened Poch has had enough.

He was very clear, very clear, in what he meant.
Being brave means being brave.
No soft brave, no hard brave, just brave.

However, it seems other clubs are not giving us what we want, so we might end up with no deals brave.

 

[nayimfromthehalfwayline]

I'm sure we have been making plenty of calls. I can't believe we're doing nothing. I'd be very happy to say that its been a success if it ends up as such. I'd be surprised if any deals are agreed and just need the signatures though given that with club officials at both ends, players, agents, lawyers, doctors for the medical etc there's too many people involved to keep things quiet

16 was good? Sissoko, GKN, Wanyama and Janssen? It was pretty crap!
17 was good? Llorente, FOyth, Aurier, Sanchez, Gazzaniga. It was average

Apologies, not sure if you we being sarcastic but neither window was a great success if you ask me

Wanyama was superb for us and elevated the team. Sissoko is a fudging donkey and I cant stand him but he was used plenty last year and covered for absences.

Foyth, IMO will prove to be very good business. I thought Llorente was a smart buy. I like Aurier, and feel he will step up this year. Sanchez has been nothing short of phenomenal considering his age and experience.

Im comfortable to describe each as good windows, the squad was better off for the purchases made.

"Great Success", well we all have our own definitions. I wonder, how many clubs can regularly describe their transfer windows as such?

Keeping things quiet? We are actually really rather good at that. I can well believe there is loads going on we dont know about. Levy is the polar opposite to the like of the Dildo brothers who enjoy all the fuss and fanfare.

Do we only have half the resources of Liverpool and The Scum? Bear in mind, The Scum weren’t in the CL last year and won’t be this year. Bear in mind we have a brand spanking new stadium that’s slightly bigger than their one and will get a nice wad through that?

Did Liverpool hang back in this window because they have less money than City and United and are competing for the same level of player?

We’re being overly cautious.

Wage bills, as per the accounts:

Emirates Marketing Project - £264.1m (Our wage will is 48.05% of this)
Man Utd - £263.5m (Spurs 48.16%)
Liverpool - £207.5m (Spurs 61.16%)
Arsenal - £199.4m (Spurs 63.64%)
Chelsea - £219.7m (Spurs 57.76%)
Us - £126.9m

You really think its that much of an exaggeration?

Liverpool arent being cautious enough. They are also spending the Coutinho money, which mitigates things for them.

And bang on about the stadium as much as you like, TODAY its not going to pay. In time, yes, of course - and thats the whole point in building it.