Yevhen Konoplyanka [Sevilla]

[Lecter]

Does seem odd that all an owner has to do is refuse to sign paperwork and a man can't work where he wants to ?

Especially if there's an agreed release clause in the blokes contract with said owner/club ?

I suspect that the clause had some small print in it that built in some protection for Dnipro

I further believe that the clause was something to do with how the amount set was paid to Dnipro

EG there is a £15 million clause but it all has to be paid upfront

If you meet all the conditions of any clause the owner would have to sell otherwise the player could sue for breach of contract and probably gain release and be a free agent

My guess is we bid £15 million but wanted to structure the payments and this is why the owner didn't sign the papers

Then we leak to the press we met the clause (which is partly true) and that the nasty owner was the problem (partly true again) and that we did everything we could to push the deal through (partly true again)

Oh well on to the next target

I must say I'm concerned how we have operated the last 2 windows. I think the scouts / committee / Brendan appear to have done a decent job in targeting specific players but executing those plans we have fallen short for whatever reasons

[Norbs]

We should've sold Suarez's first refusal to Madrid for £4m to balance the deal

[el matador]

I suspect that the clause had some small print in it that built in some protection for Dnipro

I further believe that the clause was something to do with how the amount set was paid to Dnipro

EG there is a £15 million clause but it all has to be paid upfront

If you meet all the conditions of any clause the owner would have to sell otherwise the player could sue for breach of contract and probably gain release and be a free agent

My guess is we bid £15 million but wanted to structure the payments and this is why the owner didn't sign the papers

Then we leak to the press we met the clause (which is partly true) and that the nasty owner was the problem (partly true again) and that we did everything we could to push the deal through (partly true again)

Oh well on to the next target

I must say I'm concerned how we have operated the last 2 windows. I think the scouts / committee / Brendan appear to have done a decent job in targeting specific players but executing those plans we have fallen short for whatever reasons

i dont think we are very good at transfers generally. If we meet the exact requirements of the clause we trigger it. The owner has no option but to sign the paperwork and release the player.

If we know what the clause is and how to avoid a load of hassle yet we choose not to activate it (in the right manner) we have to look at ourselves.

whether its payment structure etc... time is running out yet we try and negotiate.

[fah-q]

Reading some of the posts on here in the cold light of day they are exactly the same things arsenal fans were saying about Suarez last summer.

[Lecter]

i dont think we are very good at transfers generally. If we meet the exact requirements of the clause we trigger it. The owner has no option but to sign the paperwork and release the player.

If we know what the clause is and how to avoid a load of hassle yet we choose not to activate it (in the right manner) we have to look at ourselves.

whether its payment structure etc... time is running out yet we try and negotiate.

I seem to remember some reports of us trying something similar when we signed Aspas or Alberto

We met the release valuation then spent sometime arguing the payment structure

Whichever deal it was I think we managed to get some concession and got some of the payment structured.

If what I suspect happened is true then this time we failed in our attempt at structuring the payment

[The_weatherman]

I seem to remember some reports of us trying something similar when we signed Aspas or Alberto

We met the release valuation then spent sometime arguing the payment structure

Whichever deal it was I think we managed to get some concession and got some of the payment structured.

If what I suspect happened is true then this time we failed in our attempt at structuring the payment

Aspas took forever as well IIRC and Alberto was in the pipes for several weeks as well I think. Ilori was on the cards all summer, we seem to take forever concluding deals for one reason or another.

[john316]

Bottom line, in two transfer windows we've failed to land any of our top targets and yet have seen fit to publicly promote the fact we were talking and negotiating with all of them. Two things need to be done before the summer:
1) don't brief anyone on targets except those involved in the deal (press included)
2) figure out why our current negotiation process isn't working - whether it's Ayre or not - and agree some actions to fix it

Wouldn't it be nice to see a few new but recognisable faces in red shirts at a press conference at Anfield in the summer - and that's the first time we had them mentioned in the news

There is barely a deal ever done in this country that isn't in the papers days and days before. Was the Mata deal top secret? Did Man City look stupid with the Porto players and the booked private jet yesterday? Did Arsenal keep the Suarez bid under wraps? There are so many people involved in these deals and if they leak something that gets them another few £ in commission, then they will will do it every time.

[Tribute]

There is barely a deal ever done in this country that isn't in the papers days and days before. Was the Mata deal top secret? Did Man City look stupid with the Porto players and the booked private jet yesterday? Did Arsenal keep the Suarez bid under wraps? There are so many people involved in these deals and if they leak something that gets them another few £ in commission, then they will will do it every time.

So the focus should therefore be on reviewing where the process keeps failing, irrelevant of who's fault it is - it's just not working and needs fixing. Two windows, zero primary targets landed. That's not a sustainable strategy and will impact our ability to attract and retain the best talent, from Manager to playing staff

[cream]

Think about this. All our main targets are playing Champions league football.

[john316]

The only way you fix is it with a ton of cash in the bank plus Champions League football. We don't have either so we are absolutely right to pay what we can for players. If clubs ultimately decide to not do business like we did with Suarez then nothing you can do if you are the other club. We've just got to be much quicker in identifying if a player is available for the price we want to pay and then move on to others.

[Kenneth]

Think about this. All our main targets are playing Champions league football.

Maybe we're picking the wrong targets. Is there nobody out there who would happily join us and improve our first team?

[Lecter]

There is barely a deal ever done in this country that isn't in the papers days and days before. Was the Mata deal top secret? Did Man City look stupid with the Porto players and the booked private jet yesterday? Did Arsenal keep the Suarez bid under wraps? There are so many people involved in these deals and if they leak something that gets them another few £ in commission, then they will will do it every time.

Personally I don't think keeping quiet is necessarily the problem, although if by some chance you could manage to do that then obviously its in your benefit

Without knowing the intricate details of all negotiations and from the outside looking in it does look at times that we often take some time to negotiate deals whilst other clubs seems to get things done within a day or so

[Lecter]

Maybe we're picking the wrong targets. Is there nobody out there who would happily join us and improve our first team?

Well we managed to get Suarez, Coutinho, Sturridge & Sakho from teams in the Champions League

So maybe its not solely down to that

[Rowan]

The thing that grates with me isn't the way we conduct our business, although the public nature of our dealings is very tiresome, but more a wistful where could we have been had we secured one of our now 5 major targets? Costa looks tremendous, although fitting him in with Suarez and Sturridge would be a toughy and Sterling is excellent value for his place at the minute. mickatickylickan might have brought us the goals we need from midfield, not that scoring has been an issue. Salah would have meant we'd never have to suffer the criminally **** Moses ever again. Willian the same plus more creativity off the front and Kono would have given us real option.

But that said they are all in positions that while not as strong as some aren't really that much of an issue. I'm not sure they would have added to the points table in the scheme of things where as a defensive ****house and anyone other than Cissoko might have actually made a difference.

So maybe the only real cost is a reputational issue that we speak freely and confidently but don't get things done when it comes to bringing the really big signings to the club... Which still sucks.

[el matador]

Personally I don't think keeping quiet is necessarily the problem, although if by some chance you could manage to do that then obviously its in your benefit

Without knowing the intricate details of all negotiations and from the outside looking in it does look at times that we often take some time to negotiate deals whilst other clubs seems to get things done within a day or so

case in point given by salahs agent - lfc were talking to us for 2.5 months. chelsea wrapped up this deal in 2.5 days.

whichever way you look at this there is a problem somewhere - probably when you have commercial guys negotiating football transfer deals. it might take 3 months to negotiate a 10m deal with dunkin donuts but football moves much quicker than that.

2.5 months on a football deal is an eternity.