Check Napoli's transfers in recent years. I'd bet that they've been beaten to a fair few transfers by clubs that no one would consider to be of the same stature.
Including some below us in the Prem list I suspect despite us being the "10th richest." We are shopping at bargain basement most of the time with teams around us and below actually managing to pull in players from "traditionally bigger" European clubs. If there was a player out there and it was us and Napoli going for that player do you think we would win? And if so do you think we would instantly win if we were up against Palace or Watford or Stoke? It would be a toss up on all counts I suspect even if the draw of the PL were to beat Napoli's interest.
Insigne got lots of reported links over the past couple of seasons. Mertens another decent player. How many of their first 11 would have come to us (before this season started) had we been interested?
I think that you're completely misunderstanding the point. It's about the ability to i) meet the valuation of selling clubs, and ii) meet the wage expectations of players. Our ability to do so rivals not only all but a handful of PL teams, it rivals clubs on the continent that most consider to be several measures above our station. We are not minnows fighting over the right to acquire Rory Delap anymore. We're fishing in a much deeper pond, and if we truly have the quality of scouting and analysis that we like to proclaim, that should allow us the ability to out-compete the clubs around us financially, and even compete with the financial elite when things break right. We can see that in practice already. The Van Dijks, the Wanyamas, the Manes...these involved outlays that simply wouldn't have been possible a decade ago. But the rising tide of Premier League revenues have made those players available. Edit: we were linked to Mertens, actually. Insigne would join because they'd (understandably) want 50m+ for him, but on the flip side we have had players that are well outside of Napoli's price range, too.
I agree with you that we are not minnows fighting over the right for Rory Delap anymore but that is not my point. My point is that being 22nd in the world means nothing when everyone in the Prem is virtually in the same "affordability" bracket now bar those at the top with ridiculous money to burn. Us being more able to afford a player in the market than a top French side doesn't mean much when we are not in an actual competition against the top French sides. We are in a competition against the rest of the Premier League and virtually all the teams in the Premier League can afford the same transfers and wages as we can (or do.) We can beat foreign clubs to the good players I agree however so can the rest of the teams we are actually competing on the field against and that renders the "world richlist position" meaningless. Unless you are a team that constantly qualifies for intranational competition then it matters not a jot that we can beat a non PL team to a signature because we won't be playing the teams we can beat to a signature. We will be playing other teams that can also beat the non PL teams to a signature so it levels out again. I doubt many of the players that Saints, West Brom, Palace, Watford get make that decision based on the club itself. To most players coming to the Prem from abroad us lot below the big teams will see all of us as short term cash cows and not choose Saints because they are Saints. IF we were in the top 6 despite it now being back to being a closed shop for the uber rich English clubs then maybe we would have a draw. My point though was that being the "22nd richest club in the world" means nothing in the competition that we actually play in because we are not beating our actual on the field competitors to the signatures. If Mertens were to become available and we went in for him then other teams in the PL would also be interested. Only at that point does it become meaningful IF we won the race to sign a player and I am not confident we would beat teams lower than 22nd in that race.
This interview came at a bizarre time really. We have had months of silence from the club. Before a game that we knew we had to win, leaves Ralph looking pretty stupid.
He's backed MP right at the wrong time. He has basically made it impossible to sack him without looking stupid. Unless he can convince MP to resign (doubtful) then he is the manager. MP looks paler every time I see him, I'm not sure if it's the weather or stress. If he did resign it seems that we don't have anyone lined up so it could be down to Kelvin and we saw how well that went with Everton. From the little we know of what is going on it looks a right mess.
Imp our last three signings have come from Lazio, Juventus and Bayern. We are hardly struggling with our appeal now are we? Edit - well maybe not our last three but you get my drift
That brilliant then those players preferring us to those 3 clubs You miss my point again. All the clubs in the Prem below the top 6 are doing the same. We are all competing in the 10-20m market now. Until we are beating our competitors to players then we have no advantage. Our only competitors at the moment are those in the Premier League.
Enjoyed the months of quiet. Now he's talking again, he's annoying. If I want sound bites, I'll go on youtube and ask for them. We now want actions, not words mr chairman.
I'm starting to wonder if Krueger knows there is relegation in this country. After all, American sports don't have relegation, being franchise based. That would explain an awful ****ing lot.
He speaks a different language to the majority of us. When things are going well, you can just about take it, but when they are not, you can’t stand it.
Some fans demand to hear from the club...and get quite irate if they don't. The club can't win. I don't mind words, but would rather have action.
Yep, and he'll be going on about rebuilding the farm system (that's US talk for youth players for those that don't know).
I want to hear from the club Fran, but I want to hear about action. Concisely. Fobbing us off with waffle and management-speak is not the one. We’re essentially shareholders, and should be treated as such.
I'm sure he's aware of it, but I'm not certain that Ralph's self-regard allows us to be relegation contenders in his eyes. We're a well-run, innovative club...after all, we say so frequently. And relegation is reserved for bad teams.
Swansea & WBA are licking their lips having someone as soft as us in the mix. We have no leaders, we are not reactive, I personally think we will go down. I always pay close attention to the final few weeks fixtures, and ours looks like those of a club fated to go down. People say they are the same as everyone else's, but they most certainly can fall in the most cruel way as ours do. At least we will find out what sort of owner has bought us.
