How the other half live

[lappinitup 629]

After all the wailing and gnashing of teeth after Jez Moxey''s interview yesterday, it''s worth considering our lot with that of a similar sized club in the same division.Just like us, the CEO at ITFC has given a post-transfer window interview as follows........

After selling striker Daryl Murphy to Newcastle United for £3m last

weekend, the Blues brought in three players ahead of Wednesday’s 11pm

cut-off point – a free transfer (Leon Best) and two season-long loans

(Jonny Williams and Tom Lawrence).

They failed with several other

attempts to strengthen the squad further though, with seven-figure

offers for front men Marley Watkins (Barnsley) and Conor Washington

(QPR) rejected.

“All the bids we made were market value,” said

Milne. “They were sensible offers based on consultation between

(manager) Mick (McCarthy), (owner) Marcus (Evans) and (director of

football) Dave Bowman. They weren’t silly, derisory offers just so we

could say ‘look, we wanted to spend’.

“When we eventually decide

to walk away from a deal, it isn’t because Marcus says ‘I am not going

to do this’, it’s because Mick and Dave Bowman say ‘no, stop now, he’s

not worth that’.

“They are the experts and they know the value of players far better than Marcus and myself.

“We

are all of the opinion that if you over-pay regarding wages then that

can’t help the morale in the rest of the squad. You get a disparity.”

It’s

been calculated that Championship clubs had a gross spend of £215m this

summer – more than twice the previous record for the division – with

much of that driven by the investment of recently-relegated clubs

Newcastle, Aston Villa and Norwich.

Wolves, Derby, Sheffield Wednesday and Leeds have splashed the cash too.

“I think some of the clubs in this division have paid over the odds,” said Milne.

“The

clubs that have just come down with huge parachute payments can afford

to say ‘we want this guy, whatever the price’. That’s not how we work

here though.

“Don’t forget, Marcus got caught up in that at the

beginning and paid some silly figures for players. That didn’t work out

for us.”

He continued: “One player has just left and three have

come in. Our average wage bill is not going down, it’s going up. We are

paying £7-8k a week to players on average. That’s the market value in

this division. We are well up there with that. And over the course of a

one or two-year deal, that’s where the real cost is.”

With

McCarthy having said he will look to make more additions when the

January transfer window opens, Milne said: “That’s very much the case.

I’ve spoken to Marcus about that already. This is not a full stop to our

transfer business for the rest of the season, it’s ‘to be continued’.”

Firstly, the "silly figures for players" he refers to were the £2.6m they paid for Leadbitter and £2m for David Norris. Compare that with the ''paltry'' £14.7m we splashed out in this last window alone. Then he points out average wages of £7/8k whilst we regularly discuss wages of £30/40k (can''t remember the last time someone mentioned £20k).

I want to make it clear, this is not a ''bash the binners'' thread but quite simply a comparison with many other similar teams in this league. Everybody knows we''re streets ahead of them and yet some of you want to get rid of the very people who put us there.

I realise to maintain the financial advantages we have over most teams in this league we have to return to the Prem at the earliest opportunity, but our owners have done it before (three times in fact) and I see no reason why they can''t do it again.

Which is why I''ll be taking my seat at the Carra next Saturday happy to see Brady and Klose are still here and looking forward to seeing the new boys.

OTBC. [Y]

 

[Crafty Canary 495]

An interesting post Lapps. On the whole I''m quite happy with our window although,like most fans, I''d have liked to have seen another striker. I do think the fans are right to question why we find ourselves short in that department however it is what it is. I''m more disappointed that Lafferty and Naismith are still with us although we can live in hope that Naismith gets his act together.

The period now to the January window is a really important one to us. Unless we are well in the mix come January I believe we will find it very difficult to hold onto Klose, Brady and Olssen. On paper we certainly have the quality of squad, forwards not withstanding, to be right up there but AN needs to decide on his best eleven and play them regularly. I hope he is able to galvanise the squad as he did when he first joined the club.

Here''s to an interesting few months.

[Katie Borkins 1]

While I don''t disagree with the premise of your post, for me the question is whether we are getting maximum advantage from our relative financial strength.

At the end of this transfer window, we still have an unbalanced squad which is too midfield heavy and light at both ends.

It is great that we are in a strong position on paper, but are we really doing enough to convert that strong position into on pitch success?

[mr footy 36]

We have done well within our financial boundaries to compete.It is what it is.

[BroadstairsR 2,138]

This is a ''bash the binner'' reply though as they still enjoy revelling into our RVW disaster at regular intervals.

An £8m mistake such as him is a massive deal for them as they have no choice at all but to exist within the bounds of mid-Championship financial thinking and seem unable to grasp that it is all relative.

Previously their club had been taken to the cleaners by those two piss takers Michael Chopra and Jimmy Bullard who between them took the club for millions.

The ongoing effect of the debt being increased still restricts their spending.

With four of the last five seasons in the Premier League we can withstand (although not enjoy) such follies and still survive debt-free and better equipped financially than most in this league.

There have been far, far bigger financial flops in the Premier League in recent seasons than Rikki Van Wolfswinkle (and perhaps Steven Naismith) and all really made possible by the massive rewards of being in the top league in the first place.

[FCC 76]

Interesting post - and a reality check. The club has to live within its means to survive.

We are reaching a point where there will be more than 20 foreign millionaire owners, and they can''t all own a Premier League club. Watford and Bournemouth are living on borrowed time, whereas Burnley live within their means and are bucking the trend. Sunderland, WBA, and Hull have owners who appear to no longer be prepared to spend silly money on players.

From our position, I can''t understand the Maddison loan deal - he looks good, has already had a season in League One, and is an exciting talent. Not sure how long his contract is, but we aren''t getting value by loaning players we signed for significant amounts.

[Mello Yello 2,277]

I care nought for what''s occurring over in Suffolk or folk''s obsession with them......All I do care about, is how we achieve automatic promotion after giving them a whoopin'' at Carra - and finishing above ''them''......Fug ''em.......

[? 0]

[quote user="Katie Borkins"]While I don''t disagree with the premise of your post, for me the question is whether we are getting maximum advantage from our relative financial strength.

At the end of this transfer window, we still have an unbalanced squad which is too midfield heavy and light at both ends.

It is great that we are in a strong position on paper, but are we really doing enough to convert that strong position into on pitch success?[/quote]

Sorry for all the code.

Agreed Bor, as a lot of people have pointed out we have spent 4 of the last 5 seasons in the Prem whilst our Binner neighbours have spent the last 15 years in the Champs. What concerns me is the way things are going these are the type of transfers we will be dealing with in the not to distant future.

[mr footy 36]

Rvw was worth a gamble because of his goalscoring record In holland which was impressive. Sometimes it does not work out.Not the players fault or clubs. It is what it is.

[lappinitup 629]

[quote user="Katie Borkins"]While I don''t disagree with the premise of your post, for me the question is whether we are getting maximum advantage from our relative financial strength.

At the end of this transfer window, we still have an unbalanced squad which is too midfield heavy and light at both ends.

It is great that we are in a strong position on paper, but are we really doing enough to convert that strong position into on pitch success?[/quote]I think the next 4/5 games are vitally important. Kick on and hover around the top of the table should see us filling in those gaps in Jan. However, if we struggle in the next few games I don''t think our new CE will hesitate in changing the manager if only to stamp his mark on the club. Could be tough for our Alex.

[Canary Wundaboy 1,358]

I wish we''d played them after they sold Murphy, he was the main pressure point in our game IMO and the only player that offered any threat.