Jump to content
Sign in to follow this  
BlyBlyBabes

10 days left.

Recommended Posts

What happens on the transfer front between now and 31st August will, I suspect, make or break our season.

It must be obvious to even the most naive and ''positive'' City fan that we need (1) a strong, solid, reliable centre half and (2) left sided defensive cover. And to make a real promotion push, we could also well do with a creative midfield player.

2 out of 3 will make me a promotion optimist. Less will make me a mid-table prophet.

Let''s see what the NCFC board is made of. I think that Peter is making a reasonable fist of his job between his own limitations and the rather sickly ''prudence'' of the board -  I rather like the fire in his belly.

So. Good luck Peter. Good luck City. May we triumph this season despite that ''prudent'' lot.

I knew a girl called Prudence once. But that''s another story for another time.

OTBC 

 

 

  

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I agree we need more cover in a few positions Bly, especially central defence. But looking back to those glorious benchmarking days of the 70''s and 80''s I remember there being no real cover for central defence. In 71/72 we ended up with Terry Anderson at centrehalf for loads of games when Big Dunc was injured and similarly in the 83/84 John Deehan covered for Aage Hareide for many games. There is no point in getting in just anybody unless you are of the opinion that just anybody is better than what we have (which seems to be the case for a few on here).

 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
[quote user="BlyBlyBabes"]

What happens on the transfer front between now and 31st August will, I suspect, make or break our season.

It must be obvious to even the most naive and ''positive'' City fan that we need (1) a strong, solid, reliable centre half and (2) left sided defensive cover. And to make a real promotion push, we could also well do with a creative midfield player.

2 out of 3 will make me a promotion optimist. Less will make me a mid-table prophet.

Let''s see what the NCFC board is made of. I think that Peter is making a reasonable fist of his job between his own limitations and the rather sickly ''prudence'' of the board -  I rather like the fire in his belly.

So. Good luck Peter. Good luck City. May we triumph this season despite that ''prudent'' lot.

I knew a girl called Prudence once. But that''s another story for another time.

OTBC 

agree 100% im just a litle concerened about the amount of money left in the kitty and iimo i think its minimul now as i believe PG spent most of the budget on replacements which would be disapointing because we are 2 players short and i dont think it takes a footballing genius to work that out. I think it would be a great time for the powers that be to prove to us doubters they mean buiseness.

 

  

[/quote]

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
[quote user="Arthur Whittle"][quote user="BlyBlyBabes"]

What happens on the transfer front between now and 31st August will, I suspect, make or break our season.

It must be obvious to even the most naive and ''positive'' City fan that we need (1) a strong, solid, reliable centre half and (2) left sided defensive cover. And to make a real promotion push, we could also well do with a creative midfield player.

2 out of 3 will make me a promotion optimist. Less will make me a mid-table prophet.

Let''s see what the NCFC board is made of. I think that Peter is making a reasonable fist of his job between his own limitations and the rather sickly ''prudence'' of the board -  I rather like the fire in his belly.

So. Good luck Peter. Good luck City. May we triumph this season despite that ''prudent'' lot.

I knew a girl called Prudence once. But that''s another story for another time.

OTBC 

agree 100% im just a litle concerened about the amount of money left in the kitty and iimo i think its minimul now as i believe PG spent most of the budget on replacements which would be disapointing because we are 2 players short and i dont think it takes a footballing genius to work that out. I think it would be a great time for the powers that be to prove to us doubters they mean buiseness. 

[/quote][/quote]

Good point Arther, I agree that the money is probably spent (with perhaps a a nest egg for the January window). In a squad sense I don''t think we are short on depth. If we get Huckerby & Smith back we cover the creative midfield gap that BBB mentions, Dion can cover at CB and Lappin drop back to cover LB. Of course this is making do but I don''t think there is scope for just bringing guys as cover. Of course it would be nice to bring in Murray & O''Dea to answer the doubters but I don''t see that happening. So it looks like we have set out our stall until Christmas, with a bit of luck and avoidance of injury I think this might just be enough. 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Ideally we need a centre back, left back, central midfielder and Riordan (we don''t need him to cover a position we particularly lack, we need him because he''s good) but realistically a big strong centre half and I''ll be over the moon.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Money already spent !! - you are joking I hope ??

Before the transfer window opened, we had the hailed introduction of the Turners on to the board who "loaned" us £2m which prompted the statement - "we don''t have to sell any players this summer". Knowing that we would need to strengthen after last years dismal effort you can confidently assume that when this statement was made (unless the board are blatantly lying to us) their was some money for transfers. After that point we sold / released amongst others: Thorne, McVeigh, Henderson, Earnshaw, Etutu, Hughes, Safri - which not only bought us in over £5m in transfer fees, but also ensured the vast majority of our high paid players were off the books. Gallagher has also gone out on loan this week for 6 months - more money saved

There is no way in a million years the players brought in have used up anything like the money we got in fees or saved in salaries. Also net ongoings of players hasn''t been matched by the numbers coming in. 

Be real people - be under no illusions - to date the club has done very well financially out of this transfer window despite their hollow words of ambition.

We are in need of strenghtening in certain positions which we all agree on - NOT as cover though - but as players that are of first team calibre. The players we have at the moment are not good enough to mount a serious attempt at the play-offs, let alone the automatic promotion places. The games so far this season prove this despite the results. It was clear too me on saturday, and obviously from the reports on the Preston game we totally lack a creative flair/playmaker in the middle of the pitch. OK we have Hucks to come back into the team at some stage - but you still have to get the ball to him !! Yes Fotheringham did OK when he came on, but we need someone more consistant and better quality in that position and we all know about Central defence issues.

Loans for me aren''t the way forward either, unless there is a serious realistic opportunity to purchase the player at the end of the loan period.

I just look at the attendance figures over the Prem and Championship at the weekend and it just makes me so frustrated that the passion, commitment and desire for success of NCFC supporters is not matched by those who can really do something about it.

The board still have time to prove me wrong, and I am encouraged by the fact that Grant says he is after 2/3 players because we certainly need them for any realistic chance of success this season.

 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
[quote user="The Judge"]

Before the transfer window opened, we had the hailed introduction of the Turners on to the board who "loaned" us £2m which prompted the statement - "we don''t have to sell any players this summer". Knowing that we would need to strengthen after last years dismal effort you can confidently assume that when this statement was made (unless the board are blatantly lying to us) their was some money for transfers.

[/quote]

But - they never said we don''t have to sell any players if we want to buy some, did they?  I took that statement as a ''now we have kept the wolves from the door'' type thing, rather than a ''we have loads of money''.  Remember, there is a shortfall of £7m income this season.  However, I am not a staunch supporter of the Board, and it is patently obvious that we have not spent all that we''ve received this summer.

Loans may not be the way forward for you, but if we are being quoted silly money for players we are enquiring about (Davenport for £2m +?? You''ve got to be kidding me!), then loans may be the ONLY way forward if we are to strengthen the squad.  Try and be a little more objective.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Why is £2 million for Davenport so far out ,  if you balance it with what we paid for Doc years ago its probably a very fair price. Loans are a waste of time , whats the point supporting a club and having to watch a team full of another teams players .This Board need to put their hands in their pockets and actually SPEND some money , we have been stitched up yet again this summer.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

[quote user="Temp the Revelator"][quote user="The Judge"]

Before the transfer window opened, we had the hailed introduction of the Turners on to the board who "loaned" us £2m which prompted the statement - "we don''t have to sell any players this summer". Knowing that we would need to strengthen after last years dismal effort you can confidently assume that when this statement was made (unless the board are blatantly lying to us) their was some money for transfers.

[/quote]

But - they never said we don''t have to sell any players if we want to buy some, did they?  I took that statement as a ''now we have kept the wolves from the door'' type thing, rather than a ''we have loads of money''.  Remember, there is a shortfall of £7m income this season.  However, I am not a staunch supporter of the Board, and it is patently obvious that we have not spent all that we''ve received this summer.

Loans may not be the way forward for you, but if we are being quoted silly money for players we are enquiring about (Davenport for £2m +?? You''ve got to be kidding me!), then loans may be the ONLY way forward if we are to strengthen the squad.  Try and be a little more objective.

[/quote]

Don''t get me wrong Temp - I am very much of the opinion the statement didn''t mean ''We have loads of cash'', especially as you rightly state our parachute payments finished last season. However even our board would have realised that they would need to strenghten over the summer - even if it was just to appease the supporters.

As you can probably tell it just annoys the heck out of me that our board, time and time again sell NCFC supporters short of what we as a club need, desire and deserve. Few can disagree with Delia''s moralistic view of whats right and wrong, and that a football club should be at the heart of the community, available to all, and that she wouldn''t want the "wrong" sort of person investing in our football etc etc.. However, unfortunate as it is, football isn''t like this anymore, success comes at a price, the only losers in the medium to long term will be us as supporters, as we watch our team go backwards and downwards as clubs run by less idealogical people swarm past us.

However there is still 10 days left in the transfer window -let hope they prove me, and alot of others wrong, with at least one permenant signing that shows some intent.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
[quote user="The Judge"]

Money already spent !! - you are joking I hope ??

Before the transfer window opened, we had the hailed introduction of the Turners on to the board who "loaned" us £2m which prompted the statement - "we don''t have to sell any players this summer". Knowing that we would need to strengthen after last years dismal effort you can confidently assume that when this statement was made (unless the board are blatantly lying to us) their was some money for transfers. After that point we sold / released amongst others: Thorne, McVeigh, Henderson, Earnshaw, Etutu, Hughes, Safri - which not only bought us in over £5m in transfer fees, but also ensured the vast majority of our high paid players were off the books. Gallagher has also gone out on loan this week for 6 months - more money saved

There is no way in a million years the players brought in have used up anything like the money we got in fees or saved in salaries. Also net ongoings of players hasn''t been matched by the numbers coming in. 

Be real people - be under no illusions - to date the club has done very well financially out of this transfer window despite their hollow words of ambition.

We are in need of strenghtening in certain positions which we all agree on - NOT as cover though - but as players that are of first team calibre. The players we have at the moment are not good enough to mount a serious attempt at the play-offs, let alone the automatic promotion places. The games so far this season prove this despite the results. It was clear too me on saturday, and obviously from the reports on the Preston game we totally lack a creative flair/playmaker in the middle of the pitch. OK we have Hucks to come back into the team at some stage - but you still have to get the ball to him !! Yes Fotheringham did OK when he came on, but we need someone more consistant and better quality in that position and we all know about Central defence issues.

Loans for me aren''t the way forward either, unless there is a serious realistic opportunity to purchase the player at the end of the loan period.

I just look at the attendance figures over the Prem and Championship at the weekend and it just makes me so frustrated that the passion, commitment and desire for success of NCFC supporters is not matched by those who can really do something about it.

The board still have time to prove me wrong, and I am encouraged by the fact that Grant says he is after 2/3 players because we certainly need them for any realistic chance of success this season.

[/quote]

Calm yourself......I am not joking just looking pragmatically at the situation and yes I think the money is spent (save something put away for Christmas & loans) through the vagaries of football finance that the Doomcaster feels is commercially confidential. It will all show up in the accounts (eventually [:|] ). Organised and discipiplined the players we ahve are capable of mounting a play-off campaign and well done to Grant for assembling them. That is not to say they will, all kinds of misfortune might lurk but that is football. We would all like the option to bring Premiership class players but it is not going to happen because they are not there. That is why Burley in a panic bought Thomas and why the burnley fans are laughing their socks off at getting £1.2m for a donkey they don''t rate. These are not the sort of mistakes we need at City thank you very much.

OTBC

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
[quote user="Temp the Revelator"][quote user="The Judge"]

Before the transfer window opened, we had the hailed introduction of the Turners on to the board who "loaned" us £2m which prompted the statement - "we don''t have to sell any players this summer". Knowing that we would need to strengthen after last years dismal effort you can confidently assume that when this statement was made (unless the board are blatantly lying to us) their was some money for transfers.

[/quote]

But - they never said we don''t have to sell any players if we want to buy some, did they?  I took that statement as a ''now we have kept the wolves from the door'' type thing, rather than a ''we have loads of money''.  Remember, there is a shortfall of £7m income this season.  However, I am not a staunch supporter of the Board, and it is patently obvious that we have not spent all that we''ve received this summer.

Loans may not be the way forward for you, but if we are being quoted silly money for players we are enquiring about (Davenport for £2m +?? You''ve got to be kidding me!), then loans may be the ONLY way forward if we are to strengthen the squad.  Try and be a little more objective.

[/quote] We put bids in for Sharp for 2 million rising to 3 million and for Eastwood for 1.5 million. This was way before we had sold any player. The board might of speculated that earnshaw was going to leave, his release clause only operated in june i beleive. But the bid the for sharp was accepted and we still bid for eastwood. If both of these players decided to come to us and then earnshaw decided to stay here we must of had the money in the transfer kitty, just in case earnie didn''t go?  If derby didn''t come in for him i can''t really see who else in the premiership would of wanted him, and i find it hard that our board would speculate on selling a player and bidding 3.5-4.5 million on two players if their wasn''t a healthy sum in the transfer kitty in the first place. We have been told everytime a player leaves that the all the money will be at Grant''s disposal. I don''t mind loan signings as long as they are in the same quality bracket as Hucks and Crouch.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Indeed, Temp. I still don''t understand why anybody persists in interpreting that statement as meaning there was money available to spend on buying new players. Also, you can''t just add up the income from the players who departed and the players who come in; it''s not that simple. As you quite rightly point out, there''s a multi-million pound shortfall in parachute income to make up for too and we have absolutely no idea what other fees and expenses have been involved in the transfer merry-go-round.

On top of that, it really annoys me when people insinuate that there is a conspiracy among the Board members to line their own pockets with ''profits'' from player sales instead of investing in the squad. Unless massive holes appear in the official accounts there is absolutely no foundation for such assumptions apart from the simplistic beer mat calcuations some posters on this site base their opinions on.

1...2...3...4...5...6...7...8...9...10

Phew; I can feel my blood pressure beginning to return to normal now. :-)

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
[quote user="Lincoln Canary"]

Indeed, Temp. I still don''t understand why anybody persists in interpreting that statement as meaning there was money available to spend on buying new players. Also, you can''t just add up the income from the players who departed and the players who come in; it''s not that simple. As you quite rightly point out, there''s a multi-million pound shortfall in parachute income to make up for too and we have absolutely no idea what other fees and expenses have been involved in the transfer merry-go-round.

On top of that, it really annoys me when people insinuate that there is a conspiracy among the Board members to line their own pockets with ''profits'' from player sales instead of investing in the squad. Unless massive holes appear in the official accounts there is absolutely no foundation for such assumptions apart from the simplistic beer mat calcuations some posters on this site base their opinions on.

1...2...3...4...5...6...7...8...9...10

Phew; I can feel my blood pressure beginning to return to normal now. :-)

[/quote]

 

Calm down Lincoln - I''m not insinuating anything at all - where have I said the board are lining their pockets ?

All i''m saying is the board time and time again come out with statements which they don''t back up with action. We are short on quality in vital areas of the pitch (everyone agrees)i.e. central defence and creativity in cental midfield. We have made money in this summer transfer activities, we have 2 new board members who supposedly bring something to the party, we get crowds that some Premiership teams would love to get, our board state they are ambitious - I just want them to show me/us they share our dream/aspirations, because so far this summer they have done no more financially than previous seasons.

OK the players coming and going have been greater (and was needed) but the nett financial impact is the same i.e. more money in than out. Is the quality better ? - can''t answer that one yet. We have had years of off field investment (admitted to by Munby), the time must come when we invest in on field activities - as ultimately it is this will determine the greatest opportunity for future revenue. Yes it is more risky, and i''m not asking them to be reckless, I personally just feel with all the activity this summer they have sold us short again.

You and others probably disagree and that is perfectly within your rights to do so. 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
[quote user="topoftheleague"][quote user="Temp the Revelator"][quote user="The Judge"]

Before the transfer window opened, we had the hailed introduction of the Turners on to the board who "loaned" us £2m which prompted the statement - "we don''t have to sell any players this summer". Knowing that we would need to strengthen after last years dismal effort you can confidently assume that when this statement was made (unless the board are blatantly lying to us) their was some money for transfers.

[/quote]

But - they never said we don''t have to sell any players if we want to buy some, did they?  I took that statement as a ''now we have kept the wolves from the door'' type thing, rather than a ''we have loads of money''.  Remember, there is a shortfall of £7m income this season.  However, I am not a staunch supporter of the Board, and it is patently obvious that we have not spent all that we''ve received this summer.

Loans may not be the way forward for you, but if we are being quoted silly money for players we are enquiring about (Davenport for £2m +?? You''ve got to be kidding me!), then loans may be the ONLY way forward if we are to strengthen the squad.  Try and be a little more objective.

[/quote] We put bids in for Sharp for 2 million rising to 3 million and for Eastwood for 1.5 million. This was way before we had sold any player. The board might of speculated that earnshaw was going to leave, his release clause only operated in june i beleive. But the bid the for sharp was accepted and we still bid for eastwood. If both of these players decided to come to us and then earnshaw decided to stay here we must of had the money in the transfer kitty, just in case earnie didn''t go?  If derby didn''t come in for him i can''t really see who else in the premiership would of wanted him, and i find it hard that our board would speculate on selling a player and bidding 3.5-4.5 million on two players if their wasn''t a healthy sum in the transfer kitty in the first place. We have been told everytime a player leaves that the all the money will be at Grant''s disposal. I don''t mind loan signings as long as they are in the same quality bracket as Hucks and Crouch.[/quote]

Do we have definite proof that we put a bid in for Eastwood?  I don''t recall the club ever confirming that, but I may be wrong.  I believe it was an engineered piece of media manipulation by Southend''s chairman to force Wolves'' hand.  And even if we did bid for Eastwood, my guess is that we already knew that Sharp wasn''t coming by that point so we were losing nothing.  As I said, I don''t believe we have spent all we have, but neither do I believe we necessarily should - unless we are spending on players who are better than we already have.

Just wait and see - don''t complain about these things until the window is closed!

Oh, by the way - no, I do not believe Davenport is worth £2m+.  I would pay no more than £750k for him - and even that''s pushing it.  Bit of a scarcity of reasonably priced centre halves around, isn''t there?  Especially ones that would significantly improve our starting 11.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

[quote] We put bids in for Sharp for 2 million rising to 3 million and for Eastwood for 1.5 million. This was way before we had sold any player. The board might of speculated that earnshaw was going to leave, his release clause only operated in june i beleive. But the bid the for sharp was accepted and we still bid for eastwood. If both of these players decided to come to us and then earnshaw decided to stay here we must of had the money in the transfer kitty, just in case earnie didn''t go?  If derby didn''t come in for him i can''t really see who else in the premiership would of wanted him, and i find it hard that our board would speculate on selling a player and bidding 3.5-4.5 million on two players if their wasn''t a healthy sum in the transfer kitty in the first place. We have been told everytime a player leaves that the all the money will be at Grant''s disposal. I don''t mind loan signings as long as they are in the same quality bracket as Hucks and Crouch.[/quote]

Except they didn''t come[:O], and in the scrabble for players pre-season it never made sense to put all the clubs eggs in 1 (or 2) baskets. We would never have bought both and if Shef U hadn''t come in for Sharpe Wolves probably would have picked him up which would have left us Eastwood. In which case, of course, we wouldn''t have bothered with Cureton and he would have probably ended up at Hull. And having spent our cash on a striker we probaly would have also passed on Marshall and gone with Gilks. Such is the way teams are assembled in the post Bosman era.[*-)]

Or alternatively the club could have done nothing as they did when Ashton and Francis left at this last minute before the window closed leaving no time to ship in replacements.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

[quote user="Shack Attack"][quote user="BlyBlyBabes"]

9 days left now.

OTBC

[/quote]

Thanks for the update. I couldn''t have worked that out myself.

[/quote]

Munby wouldn''t be proud of you.[;)]

OTBC

 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

[quote user="ncfc1"]Why is £2 million for Davenport so far out ,  if you balance it with what we paid for Doc years ago its probably a very fair price. Loans are a waste of time , whats the point supporting a club and having to watch a team full of another teams players .This Board need to put their hands in their pockets and actually SPEND some money , we have been stitched up yet again this summer.[/quote]

But if the loanees are any good we can build up extra money by january and BUY them don''t forget.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
[quote user="The Judge"]

Calm down Lincoln - I''m not insinuating anything at all - where have I said the board are lining their pockets ?

All i''m saying is the board time and time again come out with statements which they don''t back up with action. We are short on quality in vital areas of the pitch (everyone agrees)i.e. central defence and creativity in cental midfield. We have made money in this summer transfer activities, we have 2 new board members who supposedly bring something to the party, we get crowds that some Premiership teams would love to get, our board state they are ambitious - I just want them to show me/us they share our dream/aspirations, because so far this summer they have done no more financially than previous seasons.

OK the players coming and going have been greater (and was needed) but the nett financial impact is the same i.e. more money in than out. Is the quality better ? - can''t answer that one yet. We have had years of off field investment (admitted to by Munby), the time must come when we invest in on field activities - as ultimately it is this will determine the greatest opportunity for future revenue. Yes it is more risky, and i''m not asking them to be reckless, I personally just feel with all the activity this summer they have sold us short again.

You and others probably disagree and that is perfectly within your rights to do so. 

[/quote]

My apologies, The Judge. I wasn''t accusing you directly in my second paragraph; I was going off at a bit of a tangent. There have been a number of examples over the last few weeks of people indicating that, because transfer fees spent = less than transfer fees received (even though we don''t have a confirmed exact figure for many of them), then the Board members have done very nicely thank you out of it and can now buy themselves a fourth villa in Barbados this year. In my opinion, many people on here have an overly-simplistic view of what is involved in running a football club. I don''t profess to know any better myself, but I do believe there are far more issues involved than the simplstic ''speculate-to-accumulate'' stance that many posters take.

You say it is your opinion that "they have sold us short again". What are you implying? That they have spent all the money available but have paid over the odds; or that there is money to spend but they are hoarding it for some reason? What more would you like to have seen and do you have any evidence that Grant and the Board didn''t actually try to make that happen?

 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
[quote user="BigFish"]

in the scrabble for players [/quote]

 

Would that make Zak Knight the perfect signing?  Would be at worth at least 26pts as season,  depending on where he is played. [:D]

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
Sign in to follow this  

×
×
  • Create New...