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'You definitely shouldn't play poker with David McNally'

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According to our own Simon Thomas of Sky Sports, that''s a direct quote from old ballbag chins himself.

I appreciate this is the umpteenth thread on how brilliant it is the way McNally handles our transfer business.....but still, isn''t it brilliant? :D

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Disappointing if true, Thomas seems convinced:

Simon Thomas ‏@SimonThomasSky 3h

Redknapp on missing out on Gary Hooper - "you definitely shouldn''t play poker with David McNally." Well played @davidmcnally62 #NCFC #OTBC

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Update: Bethnal is right, it''s from an article on Vital Football containing quotes from Redknapp but it looks like the quote in question is from the author of the article. Never mind eh, the thought was excellent though

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Doesn''t seem to be a direct quote, more like people not reading an article properly. The bit about not playing poker with David McNally seems to be someone else''s spin after a quotation from Redknapp. You''ve got to watch where those quotation marks start and end.http://www.norwich.vitalfootball.co.uk/article.asp?a=326223

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[quote user="Bethnal Yellow and Green"]Redknapp didn''t say it. Was just in an article about Hooper but not a quote from Harry.[/quote]

 

I''m not sure that is going to stop it becoming one of those message-board myths! People will still want to believe Harry said it.

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McNally does do a good job. The benefit of doing the transfer for Norwich over say Chelsea is you don''t have anywhere near the media exposure and many less games and less super agents etc. I am very glad about that tbh as it is a mind field. Love being under the radar makes it so much easier

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Actually I was the originator of the McNally the poker-player label back in March on this Pinkun thread:

http://services.pinkun.com/forums/pinkun/cs/forums/3/2890398/ShowPost.aspx#2890398

I mentioned it a couple of times since in other threads. The reason I gave him that moniker is because of the adroit way he handled the January transfer window. At the time he was under heavy criticism for mishandling January. On the contrary I thought he was playing a good hand of poker.

Interestingly, we have now signed both those mid-season transfer targets (RvW and Hooper) at a price lower than they would have cost in January. The discussion was in this thread.

http://services.pinkun.com/forums/pinkun/cs/forums/1/2867135/ShowPost.aspx#2867135

The evidence is overwhelming just what a cool operator McNally is.

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Without trying to be controversial has McNally played a particularly good hand? I''m glad we have finally got him but the fact that we have last minute gazumped QPR means Lennon has won in my eyes as we have been forced to pay QPRs bid.

Isn''t the reported 5.2mil fee what Celtic wanted originally? we weren''t prepared to pay so gave an ultimatum which they obviously ignored then QPR bid what they wanted and so we have to finally pay up to get our man.

I can''t help but think this could have been done at this price a couple of weeks ago and it''s just rumbled on instead.

I like McNally, he''s a bit of a legend in my eyes, but this looks like one he hasn''t got wrong but he hasn''t won either.

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Redknapp wouldn''t be able to play pokerHe''d get too excited when he had a good handCall a press conference and tell everyone what he had before he played the cards.

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[quote user="Monty13"]Without trying to be controversial has McNally played a particularly good hand? I''m glad we have finally got him but the fact that we have last minute gazumped QPR means Lennon has won in my eyes as we have been forced to pay QPRs bid.

Isn''t the reported 5.2mil fee what Celtic wanted originally? we weren''t prepared to pay so gave an ultimatum which they obviously ignored then QPR bid what they wanted and so we have to finally pay up to get our man.

I can''t help but think this could have been done at this price a couple of weeks ago and it''s just rumbled on instead.

I like McNally, he''s a bit of a legend in my eyes, but this looks like one he hasn''t got wrong but he hasn''t won either.[/quote]

I think Celtic were asking 7-8 million in January, so we''ve saved a packet by not panic-buying

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[quote user="Rock The Boat"][quote user="Monty13"]Without trying to be controversial has McNally played a particularly good hand? I''m glad we have finally got him but the fact that we have last minute gazumped QPR means Lennon has won in my eyes as we have been forced to pay QPRs bid.

Isn''t the reported 5.2mil fee what Celtic wanted originally? we weren''t prepared to pay so gave an ultimatum which they obviously ignored then QPR bid what they wanted and so we have to finally pay up to get our man.

I can''t help but think this could have been done at this price a couple of weeks ago and it''s just rumbled on instead.

I like McNally, he''s a bit of a legend in my eyes, but this looks like one he hasn''t got wrong but he hasn''t won either.[/quote]

I think Celtic were asking 7-8 million in January, so we''ve saved a packet by not panic-buying[/quote]

I think McNally was really clever here, in that he knew Celtic saw us as Mr Moneybags and as in Jan asked ridulous price 7M plus, suspect they thought could get it even now.

So McN waited until QPR was reluctanctly accepted by Celtic as no one else bidding and then said right we will match that bid knowing Hooper was always going to pick us over QPR very very clever.

If we had kept bidding who knows it could have got silly as we kept being outbid.

I am still pinching myself what a squad we have now!

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[quote user="Monty13"]Without trying to be controversial has McNally played a particularly good hand? I''m glad we have finally got him but the fact that we have last minute gazumped QPR means Lennon has won in my eyes as we have been forced to pay QPRs bid.

Isn''t the reported 5.2mil fee what Celtic wanted originally? we weren''t prepared to pay so gave an ultimatum which they obviously ignored then QPR bid what they wanted and so we have to finally pay up to get our man.

I can''t help but think this could have been done at this price a couple of weeks ago and it''s just rumbled on instead.

I like McNally, he''s a bit of a legend in my eyes, but this looks like one he hasn''t got wrong but he hasn''t won either.[/quote]
QPR fans are saying that we have done a job on them. 
We waited and waited, appearing uninterested. Once Celtic accepted an offer from QPR we knew exactly how much to pay to hijack the deal.
Until Celtic had accepted an offer they would have played the two clubs off against each other. Once they had accepted QPR''s offer they couldn''t go back and ask for more money from them. 
In January I thought Celtic were holding out for £7m? If so then we have got him for £1.8m less. I expect that the fee we paid was the exact fee agreed between QPR and Celtic. If anything about £200k more. 
McNally has played it perfectly and QPR fans agree. 

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McNally played it well as did Celtic. QPR didn''t play it badly as there is nothing they can do about it because we are premier league

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[quote user="The New Boy"]
In January I thought Celtic were holding out for £7m? If so then we have got him for £1.8m less. I expect that the fee we paid was the exact fee agreed between QPR and Celtic. If anything about £200k more.  

[/quote]

 

No. We offered £7m on transfer deadline day, with apparently a plane standing by to bring Hooper down for a medical etc, because we were desperate to sign a quality striker to help us in what  was starting to look to Hughton (correctly) like a relegation fight. But, as McNally recently admitted, the problem was that Celtic didn''t want to sell. Nor were they even that keen now.Yes, we have him for less than we offered in January, but we were desperate then and Hooper had effectively become our only option. As a result we were willing to pay over the odds, added to which Hooper had 18 months left on his contract, and Celtic were still in the Champions League.The price now was bound to be lower. I think around £5m or so is about par the course. We haven''t got a bargain, nor have we ovepaid. Where we got lucky was that after Hull pulled out it was between us and a Championship club. If another PL club had got serious the price might have escalated.It is a decent piece of business, but not as impressive to me as getting Fer, Olsson and Redmond for - supposedly - no more than £10m. That is seriously good work by Hughton, the scouts, McNally and the other directors.

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We wouldn''t be saying how great he was if the failure to secure a striker in Jan had led us to be relegated!! It could have been as costly as the failure to sign a decent striker in 2004 when we waited till Jan before bringing in Ashton.

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This reads to me that we still took one hell of a gamble not paying the top dollar for him in January.To be fair you have to credit Holt, Jackson, Becchio (sp) and Kamara for doing enough between them up front to get the results. But really none of them look good enough now for the team we are creating.

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[quote user="NWC"]This reads to me that we still took one hell of a gamble not paying the top dollar for him in January.To be fair you have to credit Holt, Jackson, Becchio (sp) and Kamara for doing enough between them up front to get the results. But really none of them look good enough now for the team we are creating. [/quote]
Holt would easily be good enough to do a job for us if his mind wasn''t in Carlisle. If he came up again with Wigan I''d expect him to score goals. 
I think it is far too early to write off Becchio.
Jackson and Kamara are Championship standard, definitely. Top end of Championship mind. 

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[quote user="NWC"]This reads to me that we still took one hell of a gamble not paying the top dollar for him in January.To be fair you have to credit Holt, Jackson, Becchio (sp) and Kamara for doing enough between them up front to get the results. But really none of them look good enough now for the team we are creating. [/quote]

Very true. It was one hell of a gamble, but then McNally seems like a guy who will weigh up the risks before playing his hand. Celtic almost certainly would have sold us Hooper in January if we have kept upping our offer price. There comes a point when everybody is for sale. But as you said it would have been top dollar, and McNally wasn''t prepared to panic buy as he said he never doubted we would remain in the Premier league, as did Hughton.

We now seem to be bringing in top quality players at reasonable prices, when compared with other clubs transfers. This has got to be a combination of excellent scouting throughout the European market, Hughton''s ability to convince good players that Norwich is the place to be , and McNally''s negotiating skills. That, to me, is a formidable trio at work behind the scenes. Perhaps the best management setup we''ve ever had in our history.

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[quote user="Rock The Boat"]

[quote user="NWC"]This reads to me that we still took one hell of a gamble not paying the top dollar for him in January.To be fair you have to credit Holt, Jackson, Becchio (sp) and Kamara for doing enough between them up front to get the results. But really none of them look good enough now for the team we are creating. [/quote]

Very true. It was one hell of a gamble, but then McNally seems like a guy who will weigh up the risks before playing his hand. Celtic almost certainly would have sold us Hooper in January if we have kept upping our offer price. There comes a point when everybody is for sale. But as you said it would have been top dollar, and McNally wasn''t prepared to panic buy as he said he never doubted we would remain in the Premier league, as did Hughton.

[/quote]

Dear old Rock The Boat. You are priceless. Using a quote that wasn''t said (while ignoring a quote that was said) to back up an argument with more holes than a pair of colanders. I will try to explain this one last time, using what Hughton and  McNally said at the time and did. And it is always actions that speak the loudest. Your idea that McNally indulged in some genius poker-playing gamble in January would hold water if this had been what happened:Hughton goes to the board in December and pleads for serious money to strengthen the squad. He explains it is already showing signs of running on empty. In particular we desperately need a class striker, because we don''t have even one. And everyone looks at McNally and he says: "Nah! We''d have to pay over the odds, and I think we''re already safe. You can have a few hundred thousand and that''s it."Was that what happened? No it wasn''t. Hughton makes his speech and the board, which includes McNally, hands over several million pounds. And we bid (almost certainly) £2m for Curtis Davies and £7m for RVW.  When we get quoted €20m for RVW we switch entirely to Hooper, making at least four bids, culminating in one of £7m on transfer deadline day. Plane standing by etc. Are those the actions of a CEO who has decided in December we are already safe and still thinks that, even though in January we haven''t won a league game and have just lost to Luton in the FA Cup? No, boys and girls, they are not.The penny finally drops that Celtic really really really don''t want to sell (why should they?) and we drop out. Because we think relegation isn''t on the cards? No, because we have no choice, unless we are prepared to pay an absurdly high amount (£9m? £10m? £11m?) which we are never going to do, and might not work anyway. So we switch to another target, right? Sadly not, because we have staked all on getting Hooper and there is no time left. We are effectively forced to throw in our hand and hope for the best.As to your hilarious claim that McNally and Hughton never doubted we would say up, that is based on what they said AFTER the event. But at the time McNally was rushing around trying to spend £10m, and later he and Hughton cancelled the players'' dinner and Hughton said this about the WBA game:“It is a must-win. We are where we are for the obvious reasons. We had a great run before Christmas, and we’ve found it very difficult since then. it’s a real battle that we’re in at the moment and the players are going to have to show plenty of character this week.”

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[quote user="PurpleCanary"][quote user="Rock The Boat"]

[quote user="NWC"]This reads to me that we still took one hell of a gamble not paying the top dollar for him in January.To be fair you have to credit Holt, Jackson, Becchio (sp) and Kamara for doing enough between them up front to get the results. But really none of them look good enough now for the team we are creating. [/quote]

Very true. It was one hell of a gamble, but then McNally seems like a guy who will weigh up the risks before playing his hand. Celtic almost certainly would have sold us Hooper in January if we have kept upping our offer price. There comes a point when everybody is for sale. But as you said it would have been top dollar, and McNally wasn''t prepared to panic buy as he said he never doubted we would remain in the Premier league, as did Hughton.

[/quote]

Dear old Rock The Boat. You are priceless. Using a quote that wasn''t said (while ignoring a quote that was said) to back up an argument with more holes than a pair of colanders. I will try to explain this one last time, using what Hughton and  McNally said at the time and did. And it is always actions that speak the loudest. Your idea that McNally indulged in some genius poker-playing gamble in January would hold water if this had been what happened:Hughton goes to the board in December and pleads for serious money to strengthen the squad. He explains it is already showing signs of running on empty. In particular we desperately need a class striker, because we don''t have even one. And everyone looks at McNally and he says: "Nah! We''d have to pay over the odds, and I think we''re already safe. You can have a few hundred thousand and that''s it."Was that what happened? No it wasn''t. Hughton makes his speech and the board, which includes McNally, hands over several million pounds. And we bid (almost certainly) £2m for Curtis Davies and £7m for RVW.  When we get quoted €20m for RVW we switch entirely to Hooper, making at least four bids, culminating in one of £7m on transfer deadline day. Plane standing by etc. Are those the actions of a CEO who has decided in December we are already safe and still thinks that, even though in January we haven''t won a league game and have just lost to Luton in the FA Cup? No, boys and girls, they are not.The penny finally drops that Celtic really really really don''t want to sell (why should they?) and we drop out. Because we think relegation isn''t on the cards? No, because we have no choice, unless we are prepared to pay an absurdly high amount (£9m? £10m? £11m?) which we are never going to do, and might not work anyway. So we switch to another target, right? Sadly not, because we have staked all on getting Hooper and there is no time left. We are effectively forced to throw in our hand and hope for the best.As to your hilarious claim that McNally and Hughton never doubted we would say up, that is based on what they said AFTER the event. But at the time McNally was rushing around trying to spend £10m, and later he and Hughton cancelled the players'' dinner and Hughton said this about the WBA game:“It is a must-win. We are where we are for the obvious reasons. We had a great run before Christmas, and we’ve found it very difficult since then. it’s a real battle that we’re in at the moment and the players are going to have to show plenty of character this week.”

[/quote]

 

Hello PC I hope you''re keeping well. Both McNally and Hughton had no doubts that we would be relegated. In fact I had the quotes in my signature for a couple of months but removed them last week as I thought that this had all been put to bed!

Never mind. The quotes can be found in some of the older Pinkun articles if you or anyone else wishes to search for them. 

Now I''m just a little suspicious as to how you know just what conversations went on between McNally and Hughton. Unless you are actually one of the gentlemen in question? I suspect you might be. After all, Mr. McN likes to tease on his twitter quotes and I wouldn''t put it past him to have an account on here just to spread a little confusion amongst the yokels. Smoke and mirrors, sort of thing. The only person who would fail to acknowledge what DM has achieved would be David McNally in a game of double-bluff.

 

Do I get my five pounds?[:D]

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[quote user="PurpleCanary"] I will try to explain this one last time, using what Hughton and  McNally said at the time and did. And it is always actions that speak the loudest. 

As to your hilarious claim that McNally and Hughton never doubted we would say up, that is based on what they said AFTER the event. But at the time McNally was rushing around trying to spend £10m, and later he and Hughton cancelled the players'' dinner [/quote]

 

Nice try at obfuscation - however - as you pointed out in your 1st sentence "using what Hughton and McNally said at the time" - at no time did either of these Gentlemen say they were concerned that we might be relegated. Furthermore, by your own admission you are guessing as to what was bid for Curtis Davis. As for your assertion that CH & DM were "rushing around trying to spend £10m" - I think that is a slightly fanciful suggestion.

 

However, there is no denying that they were trying to get some reinforcements - it''s called "strenghtening the squad" or in the words of a predecessor "giving the lads a hand".

 

So whilst we appreciate your "one last time" explanation - it is, after all, only your interpretation of the information at your disposal - you interpreted it one way, others chose to interpret it another way. It looks like some of us got it right and some of us didn''t[:D]

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[quote user="ABC A Basingstoke Canary"][quote user="PurpleCanary"] I will try to explain this one last time, using what Hughton and  McNally said at the time and did. And it is always actions that speak the loudest. 

As to your hilarious claim that McNally and Hughton never doubted we would say up, that is based on what they said AFTER the event. But at the time McNally was rushing around trying to spend £10m, and later he and Hughton cancelled the players'' dinner [/quote]

 

Nice try at obfuscation - however - as you pointed out in your 1st sentence "using what Hughton and McNally said at the time" - at no time did either of these Gentlemen say they were concerned that we might be relegated. Furthermore, by your own admission you are guessing as to what was bid for Curtis Davis. As for your assertion that CH & DM were "rushing around trying to spend £10m" - I think that is a slightly fanciful suggestion.

 

However, there is no denying that they were trying to get some reinforcements - it''s called "strenghtening the squad" or in the words of a predecessor "giving the lads a hand".

 

So whilst we appreciate your "one last time" explanation - it is, after all, only your interpretation of the information at your disposal - you interpreted it one way, others chose to interpret it another way. It looks like some of us got it right and some of us didn''t[:D]

[/quote]

ABC, I hardly know where to start. Your dictionary must have a different definition of obfuscation to mine. Secondly, Hughton DID say he was worried we might be relegated. What else do you think he meant after the Villa defeat by:It is a must-win. We are where we are for the obvious reasons. We had a great run before Christmas, and we’ve found it very difficult since then. it’s a real battle that we’re in at the moment and the players are going to have to show plenty of character this week.”He doesn''t use the word "relegation" but only an idiot wouldn''t realise that was what he was talking about. Added to which  there was the cancellation of the players'' dinner.Thirdly, although "rushing around trying to spend £10m" is a tabloid phrase the fact is we did offer bid £7m for Hooper on transfer deadline day. And, if you want another fact to explain how desperate we became, in January, apart from beating Peterborough in the FA Cup, our results were a 2-1 loss at West Ham, a 0-0 with Newcastle, a 5-0 defeat at Liverpool, a 1-0 loss to Luton and a 1-1 with Spurs. Just two goals in five games as the transfer window was starting to come down. That was bound to reinforce the notion that we needed a class striker.Finally, you claim there are other interpretations of those facts, but then your interpretation - "There is no denying that they were trying to get some reinforcements." - is my interpretation! I have just been a bit more specific.

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[quote user="Rock The Boat"]

Hello PC I hope you''re keeping well. Both McNally and Hughton had no doubts that we would be relegated. In fact I had the quotes in my signature for a couple of months but removed them last week as I thought that this had all been put to bed!

Never mind. The quotes can be found in some of the older Pinkun articles if you or anyone else wishes to search for them. 

Now I''m just a little suspicious as to how you know just what conversations went on between McNally and Hughton. Unless you are actually one of the gentlemen in question? I suspect you might be. After all, Mr. McN likes to tease on his twitter quotes and I wouldn''t put it past him to have an account on here just to spread a little confusion amongst the yokels. Smoke and mirrors, sort of thing. The only person who would fail to acknowledge what DM has achieved would be David McNally in a game of double-bluff.

 

Do I get my five pounds?[:D]

[/quote]

 

I am well, Rock The Boat. You too, I trust? The summer is going rather well, don''t you think? Sadly, though, as per my answer to ABC, you don''t even get €5.

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[quote user="PurpleCanary"][quote user="ABC A Basingstoke Canary"][quote user="PurpleCanary"] I will try to explain this one last time, using what Hughton and  McNally said at the time and did. And it is always actions that speak the loudest. 

As to your hilarious claim that McNally and Hughton never doubted we would say up, that is based on what they said AFTER the event. But at the time McNally was rushing around trying to spend £10m, and later he and Hughton cancelled the players'' dinner [/quote]

 

Nice try at obfuscation - however - as you pointed out in your 1st sentence "using what Hughton and McNally said at the time" - at no time did either of these Gentlemen say they were concerned that we might be relegated. Furthermore, by your own admission you are guessing as to what was bid for Curtis Davis. As for your assertion that CH & DM were "rushing around trying to spend £10m" - I think that is a slightly fanciful suggestion.

 

However, there is no denying that they were trying to get some reinforcements - it''s called "strenghtening the squad" or in the words of a predecessor "giving the lads a hand".

 

So whilst we appreciate your "one last time" explanation - it is, after all, only your interpretation of the information at your disposal - you interpreted it one way, others chose to interpret it another way. It looks like some of us got it right and some of us didn''t[:D]

[/quote]

Purple, I have taken the liberty of commenting as appropriate in red below.

ABC, I hardly know where to start. Your dictionary must have a different definition of obfuscation to mine. (nope, Collins, OED, Websters etc are all pretty unanimous on that one)

Secondly, Hughton DID say he was worried we might be relegated. (No he didn''t - even you admit that further down) What else do you think he meant after the Villa defeat by:

It is a must-win. We are where we are for the obvious reasons. We had a great run before Christmas, and we’ve found it very difficult since then. it’s a real battle that we’re in at the moment and the players are going to have to show plenty of character this week.” (I would say he meant exactly what he said - it''s only your interpretation that he said we were in a relegation battle)

Thirdly, although "rushing around trying to spend £10m" is a tabloid phrase the fact is we did offer bid £7m for Hooper on transfer deadline day. (Seriously? You have proof of that? Or is that just a reflection of the media spin on the night?)

Finally, you claim there are other interpretations of those facts, but then your interpretation - "There is no denying that they were trying to get some reinforcements." - is my interpretation! I have just been a bit more specific. (Then we at least agree on that point - my apologies, I mis-interpreted your "rushing around trying to spend £10m" comment)

[/quote]

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