What The Phrase 'under no financial pressure to offload' Really Means...

[STFU 0]

The facts of the matter are that nobody knows what the facts are. Those that want to bash the club (either it’s owners, manager, board or sporting director) are interpreting events in a negative way, those that don’t want to bash the club are interpreting them in a neutral or positive way.

Me, I’m just bored with reading what everyone has to say!

Real First World problems 😳😳😳

[Jim Smith 2,317]

Any player will probably be up for the move if you tell them you''ve accepted an offer for them or if they think they are not wanted or if you''ve been hawking them around left right and centre like Webber has clearly been doing with some of our players. Or if they see the entire team being sold off and replaced by cut price replacements and think its a club that''s not really going anywhere.

Its Hudderfield Town for g*ds sake. Premierhsip or not its hardly a dream move for him and whilst he may well have "fancied the move" as its premier league football it was entirely in our hands to say we are not going to sell him or to hold out for a higher price before letting him go. Its pathetic.

I don''t believe Howson "wanted to move" until the club made it clear they were up for selling him . They effectively manufactured a scenario which made it look like he forced the move by rejecting a contract which was either never formally offered or they knew he would turn down because the wages we could offer were well below existing.

Funny how every player we get offered good money for suddenly "doesn''t want to be here." Very convenient.

[lincoln canary (& Golden Coppel) 0]

[quote user="Jim Smith"]Any player will probably be up for the move if you tell them you''ve accepted an offer for them or if they think they are not wanted or if you''ve been hawking them around left right and centre like Webber has clearly been doing with some of our players. Or if they see the entire team being sold off and replaced by cut price replacements and think its a club that''s not really going anywhere.

Its Hudderfield Town for g*ds sake. Premierhsip or not its hardly a dream move for him and whilst he may well have "fancied the move" as its premier league football it was entirely in our hands to say we are not going to sell him or to hold out for a higher price before letting him go. Its pathetic.

I don''t believe Howson "wanted to move" until the club made it clear they were up for selling him . They effectively manufactured a scenario which made it look like he forced the move by rejecting a contract which was either never formally offered or they knew he would turn down because the wages we could offer were well below existing.

Funny how every player we get offered good money for suddenly "doesn''t want to be here." Very convenient.[/quote]

Well put, Jim.

[Jim Smith 2,317]

Here''s how selling players works under NCFC these days:

1. Webber goes to the press well in advance of transfer window during a spell where things are going ok on the pitch. He does straight talking interview where he''s bullish and gets kudos but drops in about how many terrible mistakes his predecessors made and how we''ve got some "tough" decisions to take in the future as a "self funding" club.

2. Start of transfer window - article suddenly appears in the press from "sources" saying Norwich will listen to offers for player x, y or z. Or alternatively that Norwich are not up for selling player x, y, or z but with a line in the article making it clear that every player has a price.

3. News of unacceptable or derogatory bid leaked in press. Norwich turned it down. Good old Norwich playing hardball.

4. Pinkun journos run a poll asking Norwich fans how much they would sell player for and announce the figure the majority voted for in website. For example £12 million.

5. News of improved bid leaked, turned down again. Norwich really are playing hardball but "sources" start to suggest that the player "really wants the move" or "doesn''t want to be here." Fans start to chunter "well if he doesn''t want to play for us he can sod off, may as well sell him if we can get good money."

6. Bid hits magical level considered vaguely acceptable. Coincidentally this could be the same figure reported by the Pinkun as the figure most fans who voted would accept (lower end of scale).

7. Player travels to discuss terms - "up to them now" but again let it be know the "player is keen on the move" via friendly journos.

8. Transfer goes through.

9. Club makes announcement which refers to "self funding" 17 times and mentions again for completeness that the player was really keen on the move.

[Van wink 2,994]

If you want our players you wil have to pay top dollar. 🙄

[simmo_2 6]

[quote user="Feel The Force"]That''s nonsense Rich T. Agents and players are fully aware of how to force a transfer.

By saying we don''t have to sell means that buyers are going to have to offer good money. Which they have for Pritchard.

What is more of a concern is that come the summer and the end of our parachute payments we will be in a position where we do have to sell. That swings the power to the players, agents and buying clubs.

Better to get a good price for Pritchard now, in an inflated January window, when we ''don''t have to sell''.[/quote]

But it’s not a good price, 15 million minimum

[City 2nd 191]

What’re many of you seem to overlook is that in these days of footballing agents, most if not all contracts have a written release clause in them. If that is met, head turned, financial melt down necessitates a sale etc etc, then the player has to be allowed to at least talk to the club concerned! Now it doesn’t really matter what valuation any club puts on a player, the release clause is the catalyst, and if a club refuse to let a player talk to another club when they have met the requirement, then the club are in breach of contract.

Similarly, that’s what makes contracts worthless!p whether long term or short term. It’s whats in the small print that matters and that’s exactly why agents working with the big boys get fatter and fatter. How many times now do you hear of a player in the top leagues requesting a transfer. They don’t need to, and if they do, they don’t get a cut of the fee and the agent wouldn’t get paid either. It’s not rocket science. So in the case of Pritchard, and all those who stated he could have done better than Huddersfield! But better didn’t come in for him, Huddersfield did and were willing to meet what his NCFC contract demanded!

[Yorkshire Canary 118]

With Pritchard it was a perfect storm unfortunately. Everyone knows we are in a financial mess, no chance at all of promotion, the lad deserves pl football who can blame him,we cannot even afford his wages next season and we got offered a half decent price though I think he was worth more in the current market and he will probably help keep Huddersfield up. They have done what we didn''t in the pl invested wisely. All this put together and its not rocket science nor is the fact others will go. If we invest wisely in lower league players we will bounce back if not the club will rapidly fall apart over the next few seasons

[Mason 47 1,379]

To see Pritchard go has caused a lot of pain in the fanbase, because we can see he is a genuinely PL-quality operator that we never really saw get going with us.

However, as Bethnal has alluded to this is more a game of chess than a straight fight for us now. For all the talk of Yanic and his potential appearance clause, it''s likely to be the case IMO that Pritch (as an injury prone player historically) has a similar clause; say that it''s £2million at 40 apps. In our current position, would another 10 Pritchard appearances be worth that price? Honestly, probably not. And then in the summer, the price we would get for him (we can all agree he would never have been starting next season with us) would be much reduced.

It''s a hard truth but Webber has always referenced the fact that we would have to be ''creative'' and for better or worse we are going to have to be a bit patient.

[Guest]

PLC''s, Sporting Directors, Agents. Games of Chess, Financial Impacts, Buy Out Clauses

No room for "football" nowadays?

[Guest]

Lincoln

I agree with some of your points but you cannot denigrate Huddersfield who are doing OK in the Prem, and compare them to us, who are struggling in the Championship.

For Pritchard, next season, the worst he will be playing is the Championship with his club having two years of parachute payments.

It was a good move for him as he is likely to start games as well and for him be seen on MOTD, SKY etc and just maybe enhance his CV even more.