Stuart Webber on Emi Buendía

[cambridgeshire canary 7,798]

[TeemuVanBasten 3,328]

I'm sure things like this get said in the heat of the moment, they are footballers not trained diplomats. Then you have ESL issues, agents, translators and all sorts getting in a muddle. 

But why is at Norwich City that they get aired in public?

Similar happened to Howson.

Why not just say "Buendia wanted to leave, we felt that if we forced him to stay again we wouldn't get the best of him so it was the best time to sell". 

The fact is that if his replacement had been effective to date, and we'll assume that is Rashica if he reckons Tszolis wasn't signed to make an instant impact, he wouldn't be backed in the corner and felt it necessary to continue to comment on Buendia.

Edited October 28, 2021 by TeemuVanBasten

[Ken Hairy 4,272]

"No one is bigger than the football club" Oh I totally agree with you there Webber. 

[crab man 178]

I hope everyone boos the hell out of Emi. Yes he gave us good times but refusing to play for the club stinks IMO.

[TeemuVanBasten 3,328]

4 minutes ago, crab man said:

I hope everyone boos the hell out of Emi. Yes he gave us good times but refusing to play for the club stinks IMO.

He pretty much single handedly dragged us up, Webber should really have let this incident slide rather than try to deflect heat onto him, I won't be booing the chap.

 

Edited October 28, 2021 by TeemuVanBasten

[Alex Moss 2,167]

Blatantly obvious from that interview that Webber wasn’t choosing to sell Buendia, if anything he sounded p155ed off that Buendia wasn’t prepared to continue the journey with us. 

[Danke bitte 1,154]

Very bitter of Webber. There’s a bit of a streak of that in him. I thought he was all about “ignoring the noise” being stoic and letting **** go?! Who cares if Emi didn’t want to play for us anymore? Just life. Part of being a Norwich fan of is witnessing talent, loving it and saying “goodbye and thanks for the memories”. 

[Alex Moss 2,167]

6 minutes ago, TeemuVanBasten said:

He pretty much single handedly dragged us up, Webber should really have let this incident slide rather than try to deflect heat onto him, I won't be booing the chap.

 

I’m pretty sure Webber didn’t say that because he thought the supporters would then all round on Emi and then ‘deflect heat’ away from the club ha ha. He’s just telling it like it is, as he always does. We were crying out for this kind of honesty years ago, and thankfully we’ve now got it. It’s nice that it’s finally been addressed as there were too many on here in the summer that were under some kind of illusion that we forced Buendia out against his will whilst he was actually happy to stick around 🤦🏻‍♂️

[By Hook or Ian crook 943]

Felt his ambition was not matched by that of the club and neither was his wages. At the end of the day he didn’t go to villa to win things because they won’t he went there because they offered him 80k a week which we could of done had we not spent 8 million on one of our new imports. 

[Canaries north 155]

I don't think we forced him out against his will but I also don't like hearing one side of an argument and taking a side. Who knows what went on. Did we agree to let him go after one more season if a certain amount of money was met. Did he agree to stay if we upped his salary to what he could get else where. Did he say I want out and will never play for you again. I doubt we will ever know but yes it does look like we are in a bit of a sticky patch and this is a handy bit of deflection. 

[Hank shoots Skyler 2,094]

21 minutes ago, Alex Moss said:

I’m pretty sure Webber didn’t say that because he thought the supporters would then all round on Emi and then ‘deflect heat’ away from the club ha ha. He’s just telling it like it is, as he always does. We were crying out for this kind of honesty years ago, and thankfully we’ve now got it. It’s nice that it’s finally been addressed as there were too many on here in the summer that were under some kind of illusion that we forced Buendia out against his will whilst he was actually happy to stick around 🤦🏻‍♂️

Genuine question though Alex - do you think that it is in Webber's interests to have the fanbase think that he couldn't possibly do anything else other than selling our best player? 

I feel like its hard to know where the truth exactly falls in these circumstances, its one side of the story. I'm not going to bust Webber's balls about it, or accuse him of flat-out lying, but without Emi stating words to similar effect how can we know?  

We also don't know how common this sort of thing is. Didn't Hoolahan have a similar falling out around the time of the Lambert / Villa misdemeanour? With him publicly slagging off the club if I remember rightly. So how often do players and staff fall out behind the scenes but its all kept under wraps and the player stays contracted and happy (seemingly)?

I do of course agree that Buendia clearly wanted to leave, but to what extent could we have kept him, I don't know. I just hope we did do everything we could to try and make him stay, i.e. promised a wage structure breaking contract (not Villa's £80k but around £60k which we could definitely afford), with significant potential for add-ons if we stayed up, as well as promising to build our entire team around him etc etc.

If we did all that and he said no then fair enough. But did we? I'll never know but I just don't get the impression that we did - to be honest. 

Edited October 28, 2021 by Hank shoots Skyler

[RobJames 922]

10 minutes ago, By Hook or Ian crook said:

Felt his ambition was not matched by that of the club and neither was his wages. At the end of the day he didn’t go to villa to win things because they won’t he went there because they offered him 80k a week which we could of done had we not spent 8 million on one of our new imports. 

We could have afforded £12m plus bonuses, signing on fee over three years ? And see a queue of other players wanting their contracts upped as well. The money spent this summer can be recouped if needed. Those wage cannot. Webber was right to say what he did. Why should they take the flack for selling off players, when the reality is it is the players who want to move (better wages). If it was just a case of selling players then neither Aarons or Cantwell would be here.

[Disco Dales Jockstrap 1,959]

27 minutes ago, Alex Moss said:

I’m pretty sure Webber didn’t say that because he thought the supporters would then all round on Emi and then ‘deflect heat’ away from the club ha ha. He’s just telling it like it is, as he always does. 

So why did he not tell us this when we first sold him Alex? Why now?

Nothing to do with us having only 2 points or getting smashed by Chelsea? Nothing to do with fans starting to question what's happening at the club? He just decided now was the time to be 'honest'?

Interesting timing.

OTBC

[By Hook or Ian crook 943]

10 minutes ago, RobJames said:

We could have afforded £12m plus bonuses, signing on fee over three years ? And see a queue of other players wanting their contracts upped as well. The money spent this summer can be recouped if needed. Those wage cannot. Webber was right to say what he did. Why should they take the flack for selling off players, when the reality is it is the players who want to move (better wages). If it was just a case of selling players then neither Aarons or Cantwell would be here.

I hate that we are a selling club and people within the club are happy that we made 21 million profit this last year. So yes we could of afforded it. Facts are no one else in the squad deserved a bigger wage rise as he was head and shoulders not just our best player but the best player in the league. I’d of rather we were ran as a not for profit and all funds are invested into the club. 

[Pugin 601]

1 hour ago, TeemuVanBasten said:

The fact is that if his replacement had been effective to date, and we'll assume that is Rashica if he reckons Tszolis wasn't signed to make an instant impact, ...

 

Based on performance, I am inclined to think Rashica is actually Onel Hernandez's replacement 😉

[Son Ova Gunn 165]

Wording is clever, doesn’t directly attribute the words to Emi, just if a player says this then we have to get rid. Also doesn’t tell us why he wanted to leave or what we did to try and keep him. If we really tried I think Webber would of elaborated, ‘we offered to break out wage structure to keep him’ ‘We offered relegation release clauses’ etc etc.

If the signings made with Emi’s money were to go on and flourish, keeping us up, I have a sneaking suspicion that the story will not be that he gave us no choice, but that we were right in our decision to sell him to build a stronger team.. until that time they will continue along the ‘no choice’ theme.

[RobJames 922]

6 minutes ago, By Hook or Ian crook said:

I hate that we are a selling club and people within the club are happy that we made 21 million profit this last year. So yes we could of afforded it. Facts are no one else in the squad deserved a bigger wage rise as he was head and shoulders not just our best player but the best player in the league. I’d of rather we were ran as a not for profit and all funds are invested into the club. 

Every club is a selling club. Unless you know one that does not sell players. Anyone without a grudge against our club would be well aware of where we stand in the pecking order. For every Godfrey we sell, we sign another from lesser clubs (York City). All funds are invested in the club. Just as all my salary is spent on me. It;#'s just I don't splurge it in all one go when it hits my account. There are other demands through the month. If someone had come in with an acceptable off for Aarons in the last week, should we then spend the money so as to state it has been invested. Or should we wait until the right player comes up instead.

[chicken 3,086]

17 minutes ago, Disco Dales Jockstrap said:

So why did he not tell us this when we first sold him Alex? Why now?

Nothing to do with us having only 2 points or getting smashed by Chelsea? Nothing to do with fans starting to question what's happening at the club? He just decided now was the time to be 'honest'?

Interesting timing.

OTBC

Ah yes, always good to be critical of players whilst a transfer window is open and you are hoping your own targets are helping to push through moves to you... 

[RobJames 922]

16 minutes ago, Disco Dales Jockstrap said:

Nothing to do with fans starting to question what's happening at the club? He just decided now was the time to be 'honest'?

I think you have answered your own question.

[Haus 267]

31 minutes ago, RobJames said:

We could have afforded £12m plus bonuses, signing on fee over three years ? And see a queue of other players wanting their contracts upped as well. The money spent this summer can be recouped if needed. Those wage cannot. Webber was right to say what he did. Why should they take the flack for selling off players, when the reality is it is the players who want to move (better wages). If it was just a case of selling players then neither Aarons or Cantwell would be here.

Other teams manage to have players earning more than others without issue 

Do you reckon Ronaldo earns more than luke Shaw? 

Other players in the team might even have been pleased to keep him and at the sign of intent to stay up, which is good for all of them 

[Indy 3,471]

What a ****e statement to make! As above it doesn’t actually attribute that statement to Buendia but implies it, but the reality is as taken from the pink in the summer!

“The 24-year-old, who had a stand out season in the Canaries' Championship title-winning campaign, is part of Argentina's squad for World Cup qualifiers.

"We wouldn't sell just to build up a transfer fund, because maybe the better value is in keeping these players right now

Arsenal were also heavily linked with Buendia, but his move to the Midlands is expected to be confirmed within the next 24 hours.

City's sporting director Stuart Webber made it clear at the end of the season they would listen to acceptable offers for their crown jewels.”

“It might be that we sell one of the, let's say one of the more in demand players, to help fund even bigger transfers,” said Webber. “But that's us being open and honest and realistic, because we'd only sell one of them if it was right for us.”

Sounds like Rashica hasn’t been as good as anticipated and now Webber is deflecting the fact 20 million pounds worth of players are warming the bench! The fans saying how much we miss Buendia has caused this ****e statement by Webber. Better to just left it alone and not bought this up. Buendia was amazing for us and deserves his move to Villa. He earned it.

 

 

.  

 

Edited October 28, 2021 by Indy

[chicken 3,086]

3 minutes ago, RobJames said:

I think you have answered your own question.

It's like people haven't bothered to watch the interview or something... 

[RobJames 922]

4 minutes ago, Haus said:

Other teams manage to have players earning more than others without issue 

Do you reckon Ronaldo earns more than luke Shaw? 

Other players in the team might even have been pleased to keep him and at the sign of intent to stay up, which is good for all of them 

If those clubs can afford the level of wages then fine. You are overlooking the fact that City could not. Likewise, you are assuming that Buendia would have stayed if we could match his wages at Villa. But if you need a stick, then I suppose reasoned argument is not the best one to use.

[ron obvious 1,711]

1 hour ago, By Hook or Ian crook said:

Felt his ambition was not matched by that of the club and neither was his wages. At the end of the day he didn’t go to villa to win things because they won’t he went there because they offered him 80k a week which we could of done had we not spent 8 million on one of our new imports. 

And how much of a pay rise for our other promotion heroes?

[wcorkcanary 4,784]

1 hour ago, Alex Moss said:

I’m pretty sure Webber didn’t say that because he thought the supporters would then all round on Emi and then ‘deflect heat’ away from the club ha ha. He’s just telling it like it is, as he always does. We were crying out for this kind of honesty years ago, and thankfully we’ve now got it. It’s nice that it’s finally been addressed as there were too many on here in the summer that were under some kind of illusion that we forced Buendia out against his will whilst he was actually happy to stick around 🤦🏻‍♂️

Nope,  twist it into something  negative,  preferably  a cudgel  that can batter someone/ something  at the club.... it makes sad people feel better about  themselves. 

[Yellow and Green 352]

2 hours ago, Danke bitte said:

Very bitter of Webber. There’s a bit of a streak of that in him. I thought he was all about “ignoring the noise” being stoic and letting **** go?! Who cares if Emi didn’t want to play for us anymore? Just life. Part of being a Norwich fan of is witnessing talent, loving it and saying “goodbye and thanks for the memories”. 

He'll be pretty disappointed when one of his team acts like that. Webber lives by a particular set of values and probably doesn't respect people who act with petulance.

I see it as honesty. If Emi is willing to do that then Webber has the right to let the fans know the real circumstances behind his departure, rather than rumours spreading. 

A lot of other players have left on good terms, with Webber often saying that they've outgrown the club, they've acted like model pros, he leaves with our blessing etc. If the players are willing to be difficult then they should be prepared for the truth to be known. Hopefully it will make other players think twice about playing up.

[The Bunny 326]

3 hours ago, Alex Moss said:

there were too many on here in the summer that were under some kind of illusion that we forced Buendia out against his will whilst he was actually happy to stick around 🤦🏻‍♂️

Who on here has ever said that? 

Maybe instead of just inventing arguments that were never made, you could look at the reality of the situation. We're rock bottom in the league and we've scored one goal from open play in 9 games. This immediately followed us selling our best player (and primary creator of goals) and bringing in a bunch of players who were untried at this level. 

Not trying to persuade said player to stay (or simply requiring him to fulfil his contractual obligations) is looking like a pretty terrible decision at this point. Anyone who can't see that at this point is either blind or has some kind of agenda. 

Webber is culpable here. He should be held to account. It's not honesty - he's trying to deflect. If the quote was true, Cantwell would have left ages ago. 

[Danke bitte 1,154]

9 hours ago, Yellow and Green said:

He'll be pretty disappointed when one of his team acts like that. Webber lives by a particular set of values and probably doesn't respect people who act with petulance.

I see it as honesty. If Emi is willing to do that then Webber has the right to let the fans know the real circumstances behind his departure, rather than rumours spreading. 

A lot of other players have left on good terms, with Webber often saying that they've outgrown the club, they've acted like model pros, he leaves with our blessing etc. If the players are willing to be difficult then they should be prepared for the truth to be known. Hopefully it will make other players think twice about playing up.

Maybe I’d rather live in ignorance?! A shame that Emi acted in that way. As Webber rightly points out no one is bigger than the club. Disappointed to hear it and I hope it addresses those fans who keep holding onto him and using his sale to beat the club with but he’s gone, we need to move on. 

[Erraticus 55]

13 hours ago, Alex Moss said:

Blatantly obvious from that interview that Webber wasn’t choosing to sell Buendia, if anything he sounded p155ed off that Buendia wasn’t prepared to continue the journey with us. 

Perhaps this late 'long after the horse has bolted' Webber revelation was deliberately rolled out at this unsettled time to unify and bring the fans on side about our best player leaving the club. However, it clearly implies that the club did not need to sell Emi Buendia and only did so because of a hissy fit and, if that is the case, the club should have told him that he signed a contract which still has X* years left to run and he would be staying at the club until the club decided whether or not to release him ahead of contract expiry - with a review in the January window. I don't buy into the cliched "oh well, if he doesn't want to stay at the club we should let him go" position**. The club has to do what is in the best interest of the club and allowing Buendia to go just before the start of another crucial stab at staying in the premiership was odd, particularly having viewed the clutch of replacement Buendia hopefuls.

All that having been said, this latest claim about Buendia is in sharp contrast with the previous claim that Buendia stayed at Norwich last season because he was promised he could leave at the end of that season. Or perhaps my memory is letting me down.

* I don't know how many years were left on his contract but if two or more then IMO the club had a duty to keep him given that we are now led to understand that the club did not need to sell him for for financial reasons

** I don't believe that a player will either perform badly or not at all because of a sulk over not being allowed to go at his chosen time rather than at a time chosen by the club. How would such behaviour be helpful to gaining a move to a 'better and bigger' club ?

[king canary 8,757]

13 hours ago, Alex Moss said:

I’m pretty sure Webber didn’t say that because he thought the supporters would then all round on Emi and then ‘deflect heat’ away from the club ha ha. He’s just telling it like it is, as he always does. We were crying out for this kind of honesty years ago, and thankfully we’ve now got it. It’s nice that it’s finally been addressed as there were too many on here in the summer that were under some kind of illusion that we forced Buendia out against his will whilst he was actually happy to stick around 🤦🏻‍♂️

It is hugely naive to suggest Webber just 'tells it like it is' and everything he says can be taken as the gods honest truth.