Simon Jordan has had enough....

[Tee]

.... no, not of his sunbed, but of football. I must say, I am with him on this one. Really takes the piss this case:

Jordan to sell Palace

Disillusioned chairman to quit over Bostock affair

Crystal Palace chairman Simon Jordan claims he has taken the club as far as he can after outlining his intent to sell the Championship outfit.

The outspoken Eagles chief, who bought Palace out of administration in 2000, has made no secret of his disdain for various aspects of the modern game.

His disillusioned mindset peaked in the close-season when a League transfer tribunal awarded the club only £700,000 following 16-year-old John Bostock's move to Tottenham.

Bostock, reportedly courted by the likes of Manchester United and Barcelona, is regarded as one the country's top young players and it would appear the fee received for a starlet brought through the club's academy looks to be the final straw.

Jordan said: "Without a shadow of a doubt, this is my last year. I've taken the club as far as I can.

Cheated
"It's my specific intention to find a buyer this season. I will do nothing to affect manager Neil Warnock and I will be absolutely committed to the club and I will find a responsible buyer.

"I am not de-motivated by the team, manager or fans. But I have been disillusioned with football for a long time.

"I kept my sanity by pumping millions of pounds into my academy, feeling the saving grace of my club was finding players who would be chomping at the bit and honoured to play in the first team.

"But that's been taken away from me as well. Bostock was one of the best players my academy has produced in the last 10 years - and he has been sold for a packet of crisps.

"Bostock was the gem of gems and had Manchester United and Barcelona courting him. I got £700,000 by the tribunal - the system that is meant to represent me."

[PTP]

I usually think he is a bit of a cock Simon Jordan, but i agree with him here.

[The_weatherman]

Have to feel sorry for them and other clubs gettinig ripped off like this, I know we have done it ourselves and will do it again but I'd like to see some rules to prevent young players getting snapped for next to nothing, but while the other big clubs do it we have to follow suit or lag behind.

[Fivex]

Wasn't the formula used based on a similar tribunal from 4 or 5 years ago, with normal economic inflation factored in, rather than looking at the actual transfer market inflation?

[Tee]

It must be very disheartening when you invest so much in young players and see your best prospect literally just walk away for peanuts.

Compare Bostock's tribunal fee with that of Aaron Ramsey, 700k against 5m - that is just plain ridiculous.

[Shaggy]

He is a complete cock but you have to agree with him here.

[Tee]

Will it not be sad though that someone like him, who (no matter what you may think of him as a person) clearly loves his club and has invested his own money in them, decides to pack it all in because some duff committee cannot use common sense and protect those who nurture and develop this type of talent?

Bad for football IMO.

[CJ]

yep this thing is bad for football.

more and more clubs will go to the wall.

Nurturing youth was supposed to be the answer for clubs like palace. However the answer doesnt add up anymore.

[dww]

I'm not sure where I stand on this actually. You have to feel that getting £700,000 for a player who didn't make the first team remains a lot of money in real terms (especially if you look at the suposed superstar kids being poached from Barca and Real by ourselves, Arsenal and United for ~£200,000). But it does set a bad precedent in a lot of ways considering the values that players can go for on the open market which is basically that the big clubs can go to the FA anytime they want to screw little clubs for their top talent. The market values of the likes of Ramsey and Walcott have to be taken into consideration I would have thought by the tribunal.

Although I have some sympathy with them as they are attempting to get young players to develop the best they can and the problem is that the Championship and lower leagues more generally are not good places to develop young players. Most teams are conservative as to how much they play young players and strength is generally valued over skill. This means that there is an imperative for the FA to try and get young players into PL clubs where at least they get to stagnate under the tutelage of the best coaches.

I think the FA and the league need to look at themselves and think about what they can do to encourage young player development. Then they could have an entirely consistent tribunal policy that fairly rewarded clubs for player development.

I would start by implementing a 5 + 2 underage players subs bench.

[Tee]

I'm not sure where I stand on this actually. You have to feel that getting £700,000 for a player who didn't make the first team remains a lot of money in real terms (especially if you look at the suposed superstar kids being poached from Barca and Real by ourselves, Arsenal and United for ~£200,000). But it does set a bad precedent in a lot of ways considering the values that players can go for on the open market which is basically that the big clubs can go to the FA anytime they want to screw little clubs for their top talent. The market values of the likes of Ramsey and Walcott have to be taken into consideration I would have thought by the tribunal.

Although I have some sympathy with them as they are attempting to get young players to develop the best they can and the problem is that the Championship and lower leagues more generally are not good places to develop young players. Most teams are conservative as to how much they play young players and strength is generally valued over skill. This means that there is an imperative for the FA to try and get young players into PL clubs where at least they get to stagnate under the tutelage of the best coaches.

I think the FA and the league need to look at themselves and think about what they can do to encourage young player development. Then they could have an entirely consistent tribunal policy that fairly rewarded clubs for player development.

I would start by implementing a 5 + 2 underage players subs bench.

Sorry but Bostock did make the first team - he was given his debut aged 15 and was set to be a regular next season.

Totally disagree with you on the second paragraph - personally I am 10000% for a player staying in the Championship to develop rather than spending the formative years of his development in a reserve prem set-up.

Sure there are exceptions - I think this kid will be one of them - which is more the reason I do sympathise with Palace on this one.

Bostock looks set to be a great player by all accounts - I mean you do not have Chelsea, Man Utd, Barca and Arsenal wanting to sign you at that age if you have not shown something special.

[dww]

I'm not sure you can use the fact he was 'going to be' used as much of an argument as no one can know but I take the point that he has played (it appears 5 games albeit I have no idea how many as sub - which his debut was). I really meant hadn't become a first team regular.

I really don't think players that stay in the Championship develop that much in general. There are very few coaches who are really able to do much with players. I was actually exaggerating my argument a bit deliberately in that I do agree that first team experience is important - I just think that in general most players at the age of 15-17 are likely to benefit more from mostly good training than just a few games (which could be picked up on loan) that is the general fate for most talented young players as few teams will actually play people until they are able to suit a rough and tumble game in that league. The standard of the Championship whenever I watch it is terrible, highly competetive but very little technical ability. The physicality allied to the lack of class IMO makes it in general a bad place for players to learn how to play.

[-V-]

Walcott and Bale both went from Championship to Premiership clubs for over £10m each and Palace obviously felt Bostock was worth something too. Ramsey went for £5m recently too

Im with Jordan on this, maybe the FA might take notice of the problem and stop fannying around now

[Norbs]

The thing is, Jordan isn't a cock at all. He's trying to bring some sense in to the game and speaks honestly without pulling any punches. He's the sort of guy we aspire to be. Give me a Jordan instead of a Kenyon or a Bates anyday.

[Shaggy]

He's a totally self-satisfied cock. One glance at his haircut and orange face confirms that.

I don't aspire to be Simon Jordan.

I agree his views on football are forthright and straightforward, but then anyone with a modicum of common sense can come to these sensible viewpoints. Away from football he comes across as a first class cock.

[anfieldanfield]

Does Jordan still write that weekly piece for the Guardian ?

I used to really enjoy that.

Looks like a total cunt but speaks a lot of sense in my book.