We’ve Taken Manchester City’s Scouts ...

[Assassin]

people!!

i am going on the End of league table not after 2 matches..

Swindon were once top of the Premier League in August..

We are not discussing Swindon or August

...how do you know where will be at the end of the season

[Muddled]

I think the Muddled one is trolling just a little bit.

Can we please un-ban Arn? This thread is perfect for his conspiracy theories.

[paulc]

We are not discussing Swindon or August

...how do you know where will be at the end of the season

where we will be at the end of the season has nothing to do with it..

if we finished 4th last season we would be in the CL now and would have had more cash and appeal for players

top players wont join a project.. they have done their time and want CL football, cant blame them

I am all for the approach of signing potential or out of sorts player needing a fresh start , i.e. Sturridge, Coutinho etc

[Assassin]

Can we please un-ban Arn? This thread is perfect for his conspiracy theories.

Is he banned. I hadnt noticed as he is on ignore

[Assassin]

where we will be at the end of the season has nothing to do with it..

if we finished 4th last season we would be in the CL now and would have had more cash and appeal for players

top players wont join a project.. they have done their time and want CL football, cant blame them

I am all for the approach of signing potential or out of sorts player needing a fresh start , i.e. Sturridge, Coutinho etc

This is becoming Arnish

[Muddled]

Is he banned. I hadnt noticed as he is on ignore

Yeah, details (kinda) here. He should be back in tomorrow?

[Arn]

Can we please un-ban Arn? This thread is perfect for his conspiracy theories.

:wave :

I think the magical word is PR. It is the way owners of teams in the NBA, NHL, MLB and NFL works.

The lack of ground work is a big worry IMO. We should have known that the only way we could get HM was to offer Shakhtar a few millions more than Dortmund offered and the player mega wages. Would have saved a lot of time if we had done the ground work better because we clearly wasn't prepared to outbid Dortmund and offer the player mega wages.

In the William case we should have known that our interest would leak and because of that our only chance to get him was to offer Anzi the kind of money Chelsea paid for him, at least the same wages. Offer Anzi that kind of money straight away and do a VERY quick deal.

It is very naive to think that agents or the club we are dealing with won't leak anything. They will if we start making low bids.

[little dave hedgehog]

Man Utd and Arsenal (maybe to a lesser extent now ) are near shoe-ins for top 4 every season - they are not playing catch-up like us. Massive difference to our situation, and as I eluded to in another thread, if they were out of the top 4 you would see them shelling out big time to close the gap and get back in.

It is clear we are not that far away from having a very strong first team, we just need those elusive 1 or 2 genuine quality players. Not the likes of Victor Moses. Jeez.

perhaps nobody took note of your thoughts because they were so elusive.

[Neil Young]

:wave :

I think the magical word is PR. It is the way owners of teams in the NBA, NHL, MLB and NFL works.

The lack of ground work is a big worry IMO. We should have known that the only way we could get HM was to offer Shakhtar a few millions more than Dortmund offered and the player mega wages. Would have saved a lot of time if we had done the ground work better because we clearly wasn't prepared to outbid Dortmund and offer the player mega wages.

In the William case we should have known that our interest would leak and because of that our only chance to get him was to offer Anzi the kind of money Chelsea paid for him, at least the same wages. Offer Anzi that kind of money straight away and do a VERY quick deal.

It is very naive to think that agents or the club we are dealing with won't leak anything. They will if we start making low bids.

They also will if we start making high bids. It's as if you know nothing about negotiating. The opening bid sets the floor. That's reality.

So this groundwork you speak of involves discovering whether a player might be interested and how much in wages might motivate him to join.

But we have to do the deal quickly before the agent or club leak the details in order to improve the terms on offer.

Good luck trying to resolve that contradiction.

[Havors]

I think the OP has some good points. Probably not too far from the truth tbh

[Arn]

They also will if we start making high bids. It's as if you know nothing about negotiating. The opening bid sets the floor. That's reality.

So this groundwork you speak of involves discovering whether a player might be interested and how much in wages might motivate him to join.

But we have to do the deal quickly before the agent or club leak the details in order to improve the terms on offer.

Good luck trying to resolve that contradiction.

You can do a deal quickly without any leaks if you offer enough money. The Willian deal is one example.

The opening bid sets the floor but if you offer enough money in the opening bid then it is much bigger chance that the player will put pressure on the club to accept it. The player really can't do that if the bid isn't high enough.

[Alex]

So we waste £5m to get it done quickly?

[Arn]

So we waste £5m to get it done quickly?

Something like that yes when you talk about £30m+ players. If the player isn't good enough then you can always sell him a couple of years later for a very good price if the player isn't to old.

I have always said that FSG should give Rodgers a net transfer budget and let him buy whatever players he want. He must be the one that say yes or no to a deal, no one else. Not even FSG should have the final word because they don't know how important the player is for the team. They don't know how much that player will improve other players etc.

[Neil Young]

You can do a deal quickly without any leaks if you offer enough money. The Willian deal is one example.

The opening bid sets the floor but if you offer enough money in the opening bid then it is much bigger chance that the player will put pressure on the club to accept it. The player really can't do that if the bid isn't high enough.

So now it's a probability rather than the certainty. Well, er, yes. Paying more means someone might be more willing to sell.

But even then it doesn't take into account the fact that it's in the interests of the player and/or selling club to get an auction going. That's simply how it is.

I don't know what you think the Willian deal proves but it isn't that a high initial bid gets the deal done. All I see it proves is that the last bid tends to be successful when it is highest. And that is pretty much how auctions always work.

[Alex]

Something like that yes when you talk about £30m+ players. If the player isn't good enough then you can always sell him a couple of years later for a very good price if the player isn't to old.

I have always said that FSG should give Rodgers a net transfer budget and let him buy whatever players he want. He must be the one that say yes or no to a deal, no one else. Not even FSG should have the final word because they don't know how important the player is for the team. They don't know how much that player will improve other players etc.

Like we did with Carroll? We spent over the odds to secure the player and then made a massive loss on him. Don't think FSG are stupid enough to make the same mistake twice.