Am I the only one...

[Petriix 3,219]

Am I the only one who thinks this is the best piece of business the club has ever done?

We've turned a £1.6M unknown player into a £40M star. We've made at least £30M profit on him and (again) proven ourselves as the best place to come to further your career. We've even got the 10% sell-on clause so we'll cash in again if he moves for mega money later on.

I love Emi, and will always remember his incredible vision and creativity at times, but he is far from the perfect footballer. He was wonderful in the Championship but slightly lacking in the Premier League, at least for us last time around. He really improved his workrate and discipline under Farke but there is no guarantee that another coach will get the same level out of him. He lacks physically and is freakishly bad at set pieces. He might carry on improving, but he could well have already peaked and actually find it hard to shine in a different team. We afforded him a lot of freedom that he will not find elsewhere. The step up is big.

He might end up looking like a steal at £40M. But he's the perfect advert for young players to come to Norwich. It's clear now that we won't hold someone against their will and will allow them to move when it suits all parties. And we arguably need more ability across the whole squad rather than concentrated in one player.

Players come and go. Some stick in your mind. Some help to create amazing memories. But none are bigger than the club itself. The money we are receiving is astronomical, especially against the backdrop of falling revenues for most clubs. There will be some bargains out there and I don't doubt that we will soon start to see the next crop of young players emerging into the fringes of the first team. It's exciting times and this is a sign of the incredible success of our model.

[ricardo 8,034]

I'd rather he stayed but that was never on the cards so realistically I accept that it was reasonable business.

He will be missed but life goes on.

[cambridgeshire canary 7,799]

Never forget one of his bigger problems- His love of very easily flopping to the floor when lightly tackled or the slightest gust of wind blows his way, and then sulking on the ground for the next 10-20 seconds as the play goes on around him, looking angry and confused and staring at and mumbling at the ref even though it's clear he's not interested.

Much as you can critisize other players, like Grealish for the same, at least in his case he gets right back up almost straight away and clearly want's to play and get on with things, unlike Emi who seems to enjoy throwing a strop.

 

Have a feeling many other manangers and players will get quickly tired by some of Emi's 'attitude problems' when it comes to those sort of things.

Edited June 6, 2021 by cambridgeshire canary

[TheGunnShow 7,377]

Largely my thinking too, with the caveat that the players who replace him do well. I think that's the ultimate litmus test of the overall sale, but completely agree with most of that, except for some bits in the third paragraph.

Edited June 6, 2021 by TheGunnShow

[Uncle Fred 526]

Binner 

[keelansgrandad 6,680]

But whatever you say, selling him shows we are not a club able to look for a long run in the EPL.

He is the type of player you build a team around.

 

 

[Indy 3,471]

He certainly is a player to build a team around, but we do have Cantwell who does that too, if we can build a stronger team around one creative player we might just survive. As said on a different thread we failed to win a single game in our last 13 games of the premiership season with largely the same squad. So I understand the OP, by selling we build, but that’s the question, who can we attract when we’re selling our prize asset and how much will we have in the kitty to tempt them.

[cambridgeshire canary 7,799]

4 minutes ago, keelansgrandad said:

But whatever you say, selling him shows we are not a club able to look for a long run in the EPL.

He is the type of player you build a team around.

 

 

'He is the type of player you build a team around'

 

Tiny Spurs, selling Kane no Ambition I tell you

[TeemuVanBasten 3,328]

Best bit of business we've ever done is selling Marley Watkins for £1m.

If you can do that you could sell sand to the arabs or ice to the eskimos.

[PurpleCanary 6,386]

25 minutes ago, Petriix said:

Am I the only one who thinks this is the best piece of business the club has ever done?

We've turned a £1.6M unknown player into a £40M star. We've made at least £30M profit on him and (again) proven ourselves as the best place to come to further your career. We've even got the 10% sell-on clause so we'll cash in again if he moves for mega money later on.

I love Emi, and will always remember his incredible vision and creativity at times, but he is far from the perfect footballer. He was wonderful in the Championship but slightly lacking in the Premier League, at least for us last time around. He really improved his workrate and discipline under Farke but there is no guarantee that another coach will get the same level out of him. He lacks physically and is freakishly bad at set pieces. He might carry on improving, but he could well have already peaked and actually find it hard to shine in a different team. We afforded him a lot of freedom that he will not find elsewhere. The step up is big.

He might end up looking like a steal at £40M. But he's the perfect advert for young players to come to Norwich. It's clear now that we won't hold someone against their will and will allow them to move when it suits all parties. And we arguably need more ability across the whole squad rather than concentrated in one player.

Players come and go. Some stick in your mind. Some help to create amazing memories. But none are bigger than the club itself. The money we are receiving is astronomical, especially against the backdrop of falling revenues for most clubs. There will be some bargains out there and I don't doubt that we will soon start to see the next crop of young players emerging into the fringes of the first team. It's exciting times and this is a sign of the incredible success of our model.

I agree with most of that. I remember our representative who went to see him play for Cultural Leonese (a Leeds feeder club, it should not be forgotten...) was amazed there were no other scouts there. He was apparently overweight and moody and his career looked like it was going nowhere.

I doubt, though, he has peaked, and will probably be a success with Aston Villa. But if so he will then be poached by a bigger club. And in that case the amateur accountant in me recognises how smart we have been to sell to a club from which he will move on,  and for a fee  I think is a couple of million below what we should have got.

Because that increases the amount on which we will get a sell-on fee of 20 per cent or whatever...🤓

[keelansgrandad 6,680]

4 minutes ago, cambridgeshire canary said:

'He is the type of player you build a team around'

 

Tiny Spurs, selling Kane no Ambition I tell you

He hasn't gone anywhere.

[Wacky Waving Inflatable Arm Flailing Tube Man 4,620]

3 minutes ago, TeemuVanBasten said:

Best bit of business we've ever done is selling Marley Watkins for £1m.

If you can do that you could sell sand to the arabs or ice to the eskimos.

Turning a profit on Chris Brown has to rank pretty high too.

As for the question at hand, let's look at this way: had someone said when we signed him that we would sell him for £33m three years later after he fired us to promotion (twice!), it would've been beyond our wildest dreams. For that reason, it's phenomenal business.

Yet it still seems so absolutely crushing.

[sonyc 6,145]

You're not the only one @Petriix and I too wonder what he will be like in the future...last year he improved his decision making no end. A joy to watch and quite unpredictable with it. That is a special quality. 

But he didn't come here to us because it was a dream to play for Norwich City. It was his way into England and a chance to play at a higher level and then the dream of getting to the EPL. Which he achieved.

Webber stated that every player has a price and if they received an offer that matched a valuation they would speak with the player. Webber also stated that if the player wanted to stay that was ideal. 

One problem is that he has become such a favourite...the Emi song even ends with the line "please don't take my Emi away"....it more than hints at our deepest fear. Now it's come to pass. It's bittersweet. We've raised money way beyond our expectations as Wacky has indicated but still depressing to think of him playing in claret and blue. Who knows he may get injured. It's not unknown. For us or for another team. A risk for any signing for any team. 

Things move on. 

Let's judge later at the end of the window and perhaps after a few EPL matches.

 

[Virtual reality 860]

Sorry but I can’t see the sale of probably the most talented player I’ve seen at the club as a good piece of business. Just no

[birchfest 401]

In theory yes, I agree. However, much depends on what is now done in this transfer window, if we drop 10 million each on a couple of flops and no show next season then it’s not going to look good,

 

However, I’m actually quite excited to see what we do, I’m hoping we see the overall quality of the squad now go up.

[TheGunnShow 7,377]

27 minutes ago, PurpleCanary said:

I agree with most of that. I remember our representative who went to see him play for Cultural Leonese (a Leeds feeder club, it should not be forgotten...) was amazed there were no other scouts there. He was apparently overweight and moody and his career looked like it was going nowhere.

I doubt, though, he has peaked, and will probably be a success with Aston Villa. But if so he will then be poached by a bigger club. And in that case the amateur accountant in me recognises how smart we have been to sell to a club from which he will move on,  and for a fee  I think is a couple of million below what we should have got.

Because that increases the amount on which we will get a sell-on fee of 20 per cent or whatever...🤓

Actually, that bit in bold is a heck of a point if he fulfils his potential...

[Ken Hairy 4,272]

28 minutes ago, keelansgrandad said:

He hasn't gone anywhere.

Nor has Emi yet. Wouldn't it be funny if this all turned out to be fake news 😂

[Nuff Said 5,965]

2 minutes ago, Ken Hairy said:

Nor has Emi yet. Wouldn't it be funny if this all turned out to be fake news 😂

It’s not all a ploy by Archant to increase traffic is it?? 🤔

[Ken Hairy 4,272]

1 minute ago, Nuff Said said:

It’s not all a ploy by Archant to increase traffic is it?? 🤔

Certainly would have worked 😁

[Petriix 3,219]

1 hour ago, keelansgrandad said:

But whatever you say, selling him shows we are not a club able to look for a long run in the EPL.

He is the type of player you build a team around.

I don't think it's a given that selling Emi has to weaken our overall squad. We can't be so dependant on a single player who might get injured or suspended, lose form or even throw their toys and stop playing well.

He's also not a one-off. We're constantly developing talent out of potential. There's no reason why we can't keep doing it. This creates space for other players to step up.

I'm hopeful that we will start the season with a better squad, more capable of surviving in the Premier League than the one which just won the Championship.

[Hank shoots Skyler 2,094]

1 hour ago, Petriix said:

Am I the only one who thinks this is the best piece of business the club has ever done?

We've turned a £1.6M unknown player into a £40M star. We've made at least £30M profit on him and (again) proven ourselves as the best place to come to further your career. We've even got the 10% sell-on clause so we'll cash in again if he moves for mega money later on.

I love Emi, and will always remember his incredible vision and creativity at times, but he is far from the perfect footballer. He was wonderful in the Championship but slightly lacking in the Premier League, at least for us last time around. He really improved his workrate and discipline under Farke but there is no guarantee that another coach will get the same level out of him. He lacks physically and is freakishly bad at set pieces. He might carry on improving, but he could well have already peaked and actually find it hard to shine in a different team. We afforded him a lot of freedom that he will not find elsewhere. The step up is big.

He might end up looking like a steal at £40M. But he's the perfect advert for young players to come to Norwich. It's clear now that we won't hold someone against their will and will allow them to move when it suits all parties. And we arguably need more ability across the whole squad rather than concentrated in one player.

Players come and go. Some stick in your mind. Some help to create amazing memories. But none are bigger than the club itself. The money we are receiving is astronomical, especially against the backdrop of falling revenues for most clubs. There will be some bargains out there and I don't doubt that we will soon start to see the next crop of young players emerging into the fringes of the first team. It's exciting times and this is a sign of the incredible success of our model.

Sorry but I cannot fathom how selling our best ever player to a club we should be looking to compete with in the footballing chain is anything close to the ‘best bit of business we’ve ever done’. One of the most ‘little old Norwich’ things I’ve read on here. But it’s such good business because of all the profit we made isn’t it? Is that what we care about as fans now? Would you be happy if you sold the family dog on for a tidy profit too?!

I also love the attempt to now poke holes in his game too 😆 are you trying to convince us or yourself? He lacks physicality? I can only assume you have been watching a totally different player to me the past three seasons. He may be short yes but he’s as strong as anything in possession and tenacious in the tackle, he wouldn’t have anything close to the dribbling skills he possesses without a good amount of strength. The man is hands down the most talented player I’ve seen in my life time at NCFC, and you’re trying to point at a some of his flaws.

I understand what promises were made to him we had to keep, but that doesn’t excuse the nature and timing of the transfer which was not done in the correct way for a player of Buendia’s importance in the team. As I’ve said elsewhere, I could stomach the quick fire sale of Aarons or Cantwell, but not the heart and soul of our team.

A transfer I knew was going to happen at the close of the season has transpired into one of the most disappointing transfers I can remember.

Sorry Petrix, I like a lot of what you post on here. But I don’t think I could be at a much more opposite end right now. I’m sure we’ll be more in the middle come the start of the season, but ‘best bit of business we’ve ever done’? Never ever ever.

[sgncfc 1,330]

1 hour ago, keelansgrandad said:

But whatever you say, selling him shows we are not a club able to look for a long run in the EPL.

He is the type of player you build a team around.

 

 

Villa are apparently paying him £80k a week plus bonuses. There's your answer to the question of why we can't build our team around him.

[TheGunnShow 7,377]

27 minutes ago, Hank shoots Skyler said:

Sorry but I cannot fathom how selling our best ever player to a club we should be looking to compete with in the footballing chain is anything close to the ‘best bit of business we’ve ever done’. One of the most ‘little old Norwich’ things I’ve read on here. But it’s such good business because of all the profit we made isn’t it? Is that what we care about as fans now? Would you be happy if you sold the family dog on for a tidy profit too?!

I also love the attempt to now poke holes in his game too 😆 are you trying to convince us or yourself? He lacks physicality? I can only assume you have been watching a totally different player to me the past three seasons. He may be short yes but he’s as strong as anything in possession and tenacious in the tackle, he wouldn’t have anything close to the dribbling skills he possesses without a good amount of strength. The man is hands down the most talented player I’ve seen in my life time at NCFC, and you’re trying to point at a some of his flaws.

I understand what promises were made to him we had to keep, but that doesn’t excuse the nature and timing of the transfer which was not done in the correct way for a player of Buendia’s importance in the team. As I’ve said elsewhere, I could stomach the quick fire sale of Aarons or Cantwell, but not the heart and soul of our team.

A transfer I knew was going to happen at the close of the season has transpired into one of the most disappointing transfers I can remember.

Sorry Petrix, I like a lot of what you post on here. But I don’t think I could be at a much more opposite end right now. I’m sure we’ll be more in the middle come the start of the season, but ‘best bit of business we’ve ever done’? Never ever ever.

Re. the bit in bold, it's potentially fantastic if the proceeds from this sale are invested in players that, unlike two years ago, help us stay up. In the light of prices falling due to Covid, putting ourselves in a reasonable position in cash terms - might - make us capable of picking up some proven quality at relatively low prices and improve our squad in general.

Profit is only half the battle, it depends on the outcome of the re-investment. That's the "wait and see" bit. But I can easily see what he's driving at and the potential it has. Also re. the timing, getting this down early means we can focus on primary targets instead of coming to the market late and getting sloppy seconds (and probably getting the price pushed up for them too as they know we're more desperate).

If we stay up with the resulting signings from this, I'll go as far as call it a masterstroke.

[Hank shoots Skyler 2,094]

20 minutes ago, TheGunnShow said:

If we stay up with the resulting signings from this, I'll go as far as call it a masterstroke.

I agree. I think whatever happens it could  never be the best or worst business we’ve ever done (unless we win the league or something ridiculous), but if we do stay up I’ll obviously be able get behind the sale.

I’m glass half empty about it at the minute but I think the nature of this sale is always going to cause a negative skew. Pressure is now on Webber more than ever! Can you imagine what this place will be like with another relegation (myself included)?

[hogesar 10,766]

The chances of replacing Emi with a similar player with the same skill and ability is incredibly unlikely, which is why Villa were willing to spent £40 million on him.

He has the ability to progress beyond villa but part of me wonders if that will happen with Dean Smith as manager.

[Petriix 3,219]

6 hours ago, Hank shoots Skyler said:

Sorry but I cannot fathom how selling our best ever player to a club we should be looking to compete with in the footballing chain is anything close to the ‘best bit of business we’ve ever done’. One of the most ‘little old Norwich’ things I’ve read on here. But it’s such good business because of all the profit we made isn’t it? Is that what we care about as fans now? Would you be happy if you sold the family dog on for a tidy profit too?!

I also love the attempt to now poke holes in his game too 😆 are you trying to convince us or yourself? He lacks physicality? I can only assume you have been watching a totally different player to me the past three seasons. He may be short yes but he’s as strong as anything in possession and tenacious in the tackle, he wouldn’t have anything close to the dribbling skills he possesses without a good amount of strength. The man is hands down the most talented player I’ve seen in my life time at NCFC, and you’re trying to point at a some of his flaws.

I understand what promises were made to him we had to keep, but that doesn’t excuse the nature and timing of the transfer which was not done in the correct way for a player of Buendia’s importance in the team. As I’ve said elsewhere, I could stomach the quick fire sale of Aarons or Cantwell, but not the heart and soul of our team.

A transfer I knew was going to happen at the close of the season has transpired into one of the most disappointing transfers I can remember.

Sorry Petrix, I like a lot of what you post on here. But I don’t think I could be at a much more opposite end right now. I’m sure we’ll be more in the middle come the start of the season, but ‘best bit of business we’ve ever done’? Never ever ever.

It's great how we can all see things differently. I'm not trying to convince anyone, and I know I'm in the minority. And I'm also tinged with sadness about losing him.

I'm just being pragmatic. While we didn't necessarily have to sell, everyone has their price. In a business sense, there always has to be a balance between retaining assets and selling when the time is right.

Imagine if we'd kept him for another season and he'd not delivered for us, there's no way that anyone would be paying this much off the back of an average Premier League season and relegation. Worse still he could get injured at any point and suddenly be worth nothing.

The sense of loss is all about what could have been: far from certain to actually happen. There's 33 million tangible and definite reasons (and a bunch of potential extras) to justify the sale.

[Graham Paddons Beard 2,791]

You keep having to tell yourself that something happened last year that made this inevitable. A non existent player , then a reluctant sulking player who wouldnt celebrate , to a team player that played a huge part in getting us back up. 
Webber managed that (somehow) with I suspect some guarantees (even possibly contractual) and money . 

Emi was gone providing someone came in. The fact that it was Villa meant a bigger sell on clause I suspect in lieu in the fee wanted if he had gone to Arsenal. 
 

Those of us still reeling from selling Kevin Reeves have seen it all before .

 

But the silver lining could be a nice new Buendia City Stand - to go with the Reeves River End . 

[duke63 739]

Exceptional player and a joy to watch when on song...but I can't help feeling he might prove to be too lightweight physically to be a top PL player.

Our biggest problem in the last season in the PL was we were too small and lightweight.

[Dean Coneys boots 1,531]

Slightly lacking in the premier league??? 
the man managed to get more assists than almost any other player in a team that put in their worst ever performance in that league. 

we just sold our best hope of survival and one of the few players at the club capable of stepping up to the level required. 

[Capt. Pants 5,013]

Far too early to say. If we can't replace Emi, or adjust our way of playing without him and get relegated was it worth it? If we can't then get promoted and stagnate in the Chump was it worth it? Of course the total opposite could happen, but far too early to say.

Exciting times though and may instigate a period of change at NCFC. With Max also likely to leave, what will we do with all the money?