Leeds "must pay £5m for Jonny Howson"

[rock bus 853]

Think we can probably all agree this is disappointing and sad that we have been reduced to doing this.

However, Howson has been a member of a pretty badly performing midfield for the last two years. Probably the best of the bunch but not totally blameless.

Would''ve beeen much happier if he had gone to a prem team rather than Boro but that in itself tells a tale.

I still have faith in the new set up and remain excited about next season and the future even without Howson.

[It's Character Forming 1,161]

People need to remember our player wages budget next season without promotion is £13m.  So you can''t really call £6m "negligible".  I suspect Howson and Dorrans are both on relatively high wages which is the overhang of several seasons in the Prem.

 

I doubt if he''s comparing himself to Naismith - it''s just that Howson is at the point where we had to make an offer of a contract extension if we were going to.  I wonder if we''d even bother offering a contract extension to Naismith ?  If all the players who feel they are more valuable than Naismith wanted more money or else they''d leave, we''d probably be left with a very small squad.

[It's Character Forming 1,161]

And yes it''s disappointing to let go a player who''s decent (if variable) performer.  But the harsh truth is that we either sell him now, or get nothing in a couple of years.

[Indy 3,301]

I believe not many city fans would be sorry to see Jarvis or Naismith go, I''m pretty sure Howson has been pretty solid for us, and it''s normally when he''s out that we go on a poor run, the same as when Wes is out the squad.

I''m hopeful that we keep hold of the key players now, Murphy, Pritchard, Jerome and Klose for me are a must keep.

I know some will say Klose has been a poor as the rest, but under Farke hopefully he''ll flourish.

With a decent player in Reed, Vrancic who knows we might just be better in that department this season.

[Platonic 1]

Sometimes I wonder what it is that people want? You can''t say you want change and a shake-up and then be annoyed when that''s what you get. Business as usual equalled last season. Personally, whilst I like Howson, I think its good to see that Farke has the cojones to flog such a popular player (and don''t forget, Howson wanted out).

[Platonic 1]

.....and when I say "Farke" I mean "the current structure"

[Fuzzar 1,702]

This transfer is just another part of whether you believe in this new set up or not.

Vrancic for Howson with a much reduced wage bill might seem like a brilliant piece of business come the end of the season. Or it might not.

But I''m happy to run with it.

[norfolkngood 1,087]

Well at least we have 6 million towards Russell Martins New contract !! ;-)

[Rich T The Biscuit 562]

We all know that if the club didn''t have to or need to sell

him then we wouldn''t have done.

I suspect with this one it''s a bit of both, £6m seems like good money for him and feels like/looks like the midfield will consist of Vrancic and Reed with Pritchard/Wes thrown in for good measures. That still leaves Naismith, Tettey, Maddison and Godfrey in back up.

[Robornio 107]

As sad as it is to see Howson go, if a player feels so strongly that he no longer wishes to play or reside somewhere, you have little choice but to let them leave. Professional sport is a game of small percentages. Even 1% can make the difference between winning or losing. If someone isn''t fully committed mentally or motivated to give that extra bit of effort, then it can have a major influence - not to mention when that player is positioned in the middle of your team. Good luck Jonny and thank you for your years of service. Now let''s use that money wisely and find someone who does want to give his all.

[Indy 3,301]

I''m not sure I''m happy with it Fuzz but that''s what''s happened so we watch with interest.

I''m hoping Vrancic can take to the championship, it''s far more agricultural than the Bundesliga.

It''s been said that all our players have a price tag, just hope we don''t cave in and sell to cover our future financial difficulties, I hope that these two sales and the seven gone will mean no further sales of our young stars without an obscene bid!

[Wishbone 8]

I wonder whether Klose falls into the category of ''not fully committed''. Seemed like it when you consider his form last season. Depends on a buyer, but i''d sell Klose for £5-6 and get two committed centre backs. It''s definitely possible for that sort of money...

[Wishbone 8]

*£5-6 mil. I''m not sure £5-6 will suffice...

[HertsCanary93 222]

I think most would have preferred Jarvis or Naismith to be sold instead.

That said, no one in their right mind is going to bid for Jarvis and I think Naismith is happy to see his contract out.

Apparently we are stuck with Jarvis until 2019!? Absolute madness...

[Indy 3,301]

But there lies the issue, if we sell Klose for 6 million, Ake cost over 20 million, who is out there at 5 million as good as Klose can be if Farke can get him at his best?

We need another CB anyhow so I''d definitely keep Klose.

[Indy 3,301]

[quote user="HertsCanary93"]I think most would have preferred Jarvis or Naismith to be sold instead.

That said, no one in their right mind is going to bid for Jarvis and I think Naismith is happy to see his contract out.

Apparently we are stuck with Jarvis until 2019!? Absolute madness...[/quote]

Funny thing is I called this when we signed Jarvis only to be shot to pieces by the normal happy with anything the club does brigade. One of my close friends is a spammer and said they bought him, he had a half decent start then got injured and never got back to fitness, we signed him on loan, then signed him permanently injured.

Naismith was an absolutely rubbish signing in anyone''s book, a bit part player in Everton, and we paid well over the odds and to lure him we had to chuck obscene wages at him! In my book worse than RVW.

[Fuzzar 1,702]

Huddersfield signed Michael Hefele on a free last season. I bet their fans were happier with his performances than ours were with Klose''s.

And this is the point, can Webber and Farke do this season what Webber and Wagner did last season, and from an arguably stronger starting point?

[Creative Midfielder 1,996]

[quote user="Platonic"]Sometimes I wonder what it is that people want? You can''t say you want change and a shake-up and then be annoyed when that''s what you get. Business as usual equalled last season. Personally, whilst I like Howson, I think its good to see that Farke has the cojones to flog such a popular player (and don''t forget, Howson wanted out).[/quote]Of course everybody says they want change but what they really mean is they want improvement, and selling your best player (to a close rival!) isn''t normally a good route to improving a team unless its for such a huge wedge that you can replace them with several pretty good players, and this deal isn''t going to do that.Hopefully some of the new signings will do the business but however you look at it, this is a change that weakens rather than strengthens us and a decision that could very easily come back to haunt us come the end of the season.

[Essjayess 307]

[quote user="lharman7"]Great piece of business by the club. The price sounds about right too. Fingers crossed the sale of Howson will fund a decent new center back and left back.[/quote]Agree with this. Have to look back at last season under AN and just remember where we were then. Same squad virtually each season, to many high waged players not even playing, young guns like Maddison and Pritchard not getting enough game time, AN taking us nowhere and inevitably we failed to get promoted, which straight away out of necessity pushed the changes that badly needed doing. Dont forget also we had Moxey leave not long after his predecessor. I said long ago in January 2016 that summer 17 would be the time of great squad changes, but i did not forsee the huge change in the coaching /management dept.Because we are into the 2nd parachute season and because of the way the club is run and structured (of which i personally dont want to see change) it was absolutely essential to not just trim, but cut deep, our player wage bill. To do it in such a way as to let  many players go, and bring in younger, hungrier, more modestly waged players would ever be as easy as us armchair forum buffs think. To grab Webber, then get in Farke and his fellow coaching friends in, is a bold new approach, and so far, with 10  gone and 5 in, im staggered how well the new set up is doing. We still have a nucleus of high wage earners like Klose and Naisy here, but we have so far, kept the guys that really matter to us,the young guns, and they now have more oppurtunity of match time now that Dorrans and Howson are gone.Honestly, dont weep for any of the 10 that have left, all were expendable, im excited by whats happening, onward and upward. OTBC.

[Bethnal Yellow and Green 1,560]

I think regardless of Norwich''s financial position we would have seen quite a few players shipped out to make way for Webber''s signings.

Out of the 14 players Huddersfield used in the play-off final, Webber had signed 11 of them in the two seasons he was in charge - 9 of them were signed in the last season alone - this isn''t a man who is scared of being radical.

[The Big Bad Wolf 0]

The overhaul is starting to look more drastic than I expected. Really not sure which way we are heading...maybe getting set for an extended stay in the Champs? Either the new regime are effecting a masterstroke or it''s going to go pear shaped. I really don''t like to see us selling good players to our rivals. I guess money really is tight. Webber pulled it off at Huddersfield so going with it so far. Starting to worry though. Really dont want to see CJ go. Wolf.

[BobLoz3 492]

I''m excited about our fresh start but it seems as though the old issue of funding and how the club is run has come back to haunt us... Except now we''re struggling to compete financially in the Championship rather than struggling financially in the Prem. I guess that this bad feeling of mine has probably been triggered by the sale of possibly my favourite City player of the past few years in Howson. But if a player is determined to move there is not much the club can do to stand in his way. Especially seeing as though we can''t afford to pay him the same amount as he was on, seemingly. I am happy to trust SW and DF to deliver but I can''t help but feel we''re going backwards slightly, rather than being the ''progressive'' club the board would like us to believe we are.

[sgncfc 1,228]

Howson is a slightly above average Championship standard player.

Whatever anyone thinks, he never influenced matches for longer than 20 minutes.

I''m more than happy with £6m for him and I suspect he will do a Snodgrass with West Ham and be on the bench within a dozen games.

We can do better.

[paddycanary 539]

Mixed feelings on this one. Howson has been a virtual guaranteed starter since he arrived, under a number of managers. He does a number of jobs competently in both halves, has a good shot on him and pops up with goals.

But he''s not a defensive midfielder, he''s not an attacking midfielder, he''s not an enforcer, he''s not a dead ball specialist and he doesn''t (often) make killer passes. Sometimes you don''t notice his graft & positional sense as you follow the ball. He can''t be left blameless for the lack of defensive support under AN.

The club needs to freshen the squad up & needs money. He''s a saleable asset, presumably one of the highest earners. I can see the logic of cashing in at this stage, particularly if it is true that he wanted out. Time will tell but I think we have to have faith in the Webber/Farke project at this stage and see where it takes us. It was inevitable after the last two seasons that some sacrifices would have to be made. This looks like one of them.

[Captain Birdseye 0]

Can''t believe he is gone and the Stowmarket 2 are still in the club

Honestly we are going to hell in a hand cart

[0ridgemanddMMyyyy0Falseen-USTrue 0]

Where does this leave Farke 48 hrs ago he is reported as saying he wants Howson to stay and says I would like to work with him longer. Who sanctioned this move.

[KeiranShikari_2 0]

Did he say that he wanted Johnny to stay? I thought he said that Dorrans is off and nothing about Howson.

[iron_stan 0]

what a foolish decision

[It's Character Forming 1,161]

[quote user="Wishbone"]I wonder whether Klose falls into the category of ''not fully committed''. Seemed like it when you consider his form last season. Depends on a buyer, but i''d sell Klose for £5-6 and get two committed centre backs. It''s definitely possible for that sort of money...[/quote]

 

Klose is a tricky one.  He can look like a class player but was sub-par for most of last season.  My guess is that he sussed out that AN was out of his depth and lost faith in him fairly quickly, which was why his performances were so variable (and he was dropped for a spell), and our lack of defensive coaching must have made it difficult for him.  I imagine he''s on a pretty hefty salary so I wonder if our management team might decide they''re better off selling him, if they can get a decent fee, for a couple of Y&H replacement CBs ?  It will be interesting to see what happens here.

[Wishbone 8]

On Howson’s departure, Sporting Director Stuart Webber told canaries.co.uk: "Jonny, via his agent, made it very clear during my first week in the job he didn’t want to be here and wanted to move back to the north.

"We spoke about a new contract but he was insistent. Jonny is a good guy who was great for this club but sometimes you have to accept it becomes about getting the best deal for the football club."