The Measurement of Transfer Window Failure

[Rudolph Hucker 0]

If Hughton and McNally fail to sign Hooper they might get some criticism from Norwich fans; but mainly because summer failures brought the situation in the first place.

 

But they would get SERIOUSLY slated if they allowed this saga to side-track them - as the Holt contract extension may have done - all the way up to the bitter end of the transfer window as happened again in the summer.

 

There is plenty of time to go and its time to put the Hooper issue on the back burner with ''here''s our best offer we''ll wait to hear from you.'' And then go after other options.

 

If we missed out on Hooper and got Graham for example this would be great. If we bought in a decent centre half and ball player this would be ok. But if we ended up empty handed it would be naive and foolish.

 

We are treating Hooper like the latest ''must have'' lets not add ''at all costs.''

[Branston Pickle 3,694]

How do we know we are treating Hooper as a must have, any more so than anyone else, though? The only reason we know anything is because someone decided to leak to the media (and Lennon, for all his suggestions to the contrary, seems more than happy to discuss these things!); the traditional Norwich way has been to do these things quietly and there is no real reason to suggest we aren''t doing so on other guys who we are equally keen on.

[Rudolph Hucker 0]

Because we keep putting in higher bids.

[Joanna Grey 0]

Oh dear.

[Thirsty Lizard 3,183]

Rudolph - we MAY have put in a higher bid - you don''t really believe everything on SSN do you?

[Google Bot 3,329]

You''re forgetting one thing, and that''s that Celtic aren''t looking to sell him.

The club are working at unsettling the player as best they can GET IN BRADFORD JUST SCORED!!...

urm... so, yeah, i think that''s the game plan.

The one offer, take it or leave can be easily dismissed and wouldn''t have the same effect.

It''s a tough tough business when we''re little fish.

[Joanna Grey 0]

LOL @ the distraction.

[PurpleCanary 5,586]

[quote user="RUDOLPH HUCKER"]

If Hughton and McNally fail to sign Hooper they might get some criticism from Norwich fans; but mainly because summer failures brought the situation in the first place.

 

But they would get SERIOUSLY slated if they allowed this saga to side-track them - as the Holt contract extension may have done - all the way up to the bitter end of the transfer window as happened again in the summer.

 

There is plenty of time to go and its time to put the Hooper issue on the back burner with ''here''s our best offer we''ll wait to hear from you.'' And then go after other options.

 

If we missed out on Hooper and got Graham for example this would be great. If we bought in a decent centre half and ball player this would be ok. But if we ended up empty handed it would be naive and foolish.

 

We are treating Hooper like the latest ''must have'' lets not add ''at all costs.''

[/quote]

 

But we don''t know if that is true, Rudolph. For starters the bid for Graham may have been as a possible alternative. And who knows what bids or approaches we may have made that so far have stayed private? I grant you it to an extent looks the way you''re portrayed it with Hooper, because of two bids, but then this - unusually - is being played out in public. There may be all sorts of fallbacks in place.

More generally, I do think this is shaping up to be a fascinating transfer window, for various reasons. Bowkett and McNally had so much nailed their colours to the mast of staying up that I assumed we would do more business that some fans expected. But now, based on Graham and Hooper, we have shown that our hand at least adds up to £10m and quite possibly a fair bit more. My vague idea, based on nothing at all, that Smith and Jones and/or Foulger may have dipped into their piggy banks might turn out to be true. Certainly £10m-plus is around the top end of what I thought might be available.

But in any event, whether that is true or not, it will now look odd if we don''t spend all that is available (on fees, as opposed to ruinous wages, which are what kill you). That would be very hard to explain at the next AGM if we subsequently got relegated. And I notice from the McNally interview today that while he bemoans the higher than justified transfer fees in January he doesn''t say we won''t pay them. No stirring stuff about not being held to ransom.

[Dave 0]

The transfer window does not close until jan 31st until then it''s not a failure

[Rudolph Hucker 0]

I don''t think what I wrote has been comprehended, but never mind. BBC Radio 5 reporting we have gone back with an increased bid.

 

Also, as I said elsewhere we could just end up being an unwitting stalking horse for another club.

 

The truth is we don''t know, but we are entitled to view our thoughts.

[Mr Brownstone 0]

A 3rd bid? It''s being reported that our 2nd bid fell shirt of £6m let alone the £7m/£7.5m or cash + player deals suggested in the press today.