Transfer Rumours Gibbo

There's a lot of hyperbole about representing your hometown club and it's a great idea but football is such a business now and you need to find employers who are going to look after you. Anyone who would encourage their child to stay with one club out of pure nostalgia is putting blind faith in a money-grabbing company over good parenting. I'd definitely just consider who is going to do best for my child, much as I would love them to represent the club I support it just isn't worth risking their career over.

Everton have a much better record than we do and are renowned as a family club.

 

So you are not married to Rafa's sister like Windy? You are just passing on 3rd Party gossip - Windy has been giving us actual facts. I put a 1000quid on there being a surprise at Newcastle this Summer with Ladbrokes with an insurance bet of a 1000quid at Betfair that there wouldn't.

 

If the surprise is that there isn't a surprise do they both pay out?

 

But then it couldn't be classed as an insurance bet so it would be null and void.

 

What odds did you get? I might want to get in on the action when it's such a certainty.

 

The kid has played 9 times for the U18s only. Never played for the U23s, so I'd say he's got a bit of proving himself to do before he can expect first team opportunities. That said, we should be offering competitive contracts although we may not be able to compete with Everton and our academy set up should be as good as anyone's, there's no excuse for it not being so - the cost of having the best facilities is negligible compared to the price of buying an average player these days. Everton have certainly got a better track record of promoting youth players into the first team, though.

 

Isn't his brother in the academy squad? That could hold some weight in his decision surely?

 

So we either

A - keep him on the basis that, in a few seasons time he may (or may not) develop into a 1st team player of some repute

B - take the ludicrous money we're being offered to invest in a player that can drop into the 1st team/squad immediately

I guess where we are right now, unfortunately it has to be Option B

 

It's not our decision. He doesn't have a professional contract with us so he can go or stay, it's up to him. If he does go, though, it sounds like we will be well compensated and, yes, the money would be useful right now. It might buy the left leg of a mediocre striker.

 

20-1 there will be a surprise
2-7 there wont be.
1-20 Windy's a bullshitter

 

Seems astonishing to me that, for all his ability, he'd be "disillusioned" at 16 years of age. Even then it doesn't make a lick of sense to go to Everton, who - correct me if I'm wrong - have just bought at least 8 first team players. Yep, BOUGHT. As in, to stop kids coming through the ranks. Hence why we picked up that CB from them for free.

Smacks of terrible advice, to me.

 

Everton have a decent record of bringing through kids from the academy so maybe looking at that. It's certainly better than our record.

 

Bloody good odds!

 

Apparently we either agree a fee/compensation (the £6m quoted) or it goes to arbitration

 

Selling our best youth players is never good.
If he's a scouser and keen to move closer to home, then that's fair enough.

We're not exactly over-loaded with talent at left-back, so it's still a little surprising.
£6m suggests the lad is going to develop into quite a player.

 

I would only comment that he might develop into quite a player. No doubt someone could pull together the stats as to how many 17 yo progress on to become the player they promised to be but I would guess not many.

Rather we had him than not have him but £6M is way expensive for someone that age and that position.

 

This lad from Stanley, Co.Durham is regarded as one of the hottest youngsters around. Wonder what his slightly older brother thinks who is also in our development squad. ( Seems pretty decent too )

 

It's not really a question of selling him in the sense that we don't have any choice in the matter. if he wants to go, he can go. Our only choice is whether to take the amount that Everton offers or make a claim for more in arbitration. Given that's our only choice, I think taking the £6million is sensible.

An interesting insurance bet would be on him never making the first team squad

 

hmmmm, much as want to believe in the idea that we get talent from our youth team, recent experience tells us it just doesn't happen.

If you discount Carroll, the best we've got out of our youth team in the last 15 years or so is Steven Taylor and Paul Dummett....we ain't gonna be challenging Southampton's youth system anytime soon.

Recent kids we've had:
Haris Vuckic - one of the hottest prospects in Europe, AC Milan and Man U were sniffing around him....ended up on the Rotherham bench
Phil Airey - one senior appearance, now at Whitley Bay, where all our kids seem to end up
Curtis Good - never actually gonna get a game, is he?
Nile Ranger - recent winner of the Wor Jackie trophy for most promising youngster.....now in prison for defrauding a granny

Hence our kids always turn out to be ****, let's just take the 6 mil.