I bet we didn't put one in during the deal that saw young Aaron leave for the Gunners. Shame, I'd love it if we did: http://www.footylatest.com/inter-milan-lining-up-sensational-20-million-raid-on-arsenal/24799
whether he goes or not, well I don't think it will make any difference to us TBH. At the time we sold Ramsey we were desperate for cash just to keep afloat, all that mattered was cash up front, we weren't in a position to negotiate sell on clauses............didn't we turn down £5 million from Manure , because it was in stage payments, and take £4.8m from Arsenal as it was a lump sum?
Thought it was negotiated for 4.8 million cash up front instead of 5 million in staged payments with no sell on clause.
TGI i think your correct ramsey has started almost every PL game this season i think (he wont be leaving any time soon thats for sure), he's really improving as a player and thats good to see as a fan of welsh football, shame the imcompetant tw*t ridsdale did such a terrible job of driving up the fee for a player chased by 3 of the then top 4 clubs though
I always thought he was a very competant twat myself. No question that Jones underplayed Ramsey and Ridsdale undersold him, but we were stuck for cash at the time living on a knife edge. Maybe the best way to look at it is that we're still here as a club. Ramsey was exceptional even at 17 years of age, and if Jones had blooded Ramsey more often and trusted him with a starting place against Pompey at Wembley, I believe we'd have won the Cup. Ramsey's profile would have been raised even higher to the extent that he would have demanded a fee in excess of the Walcott £9M and we'd have got it from someone, probably even Wenger. Walcott or Ramsey in your side? No question.
good point, with southampton both bale and walcott were first team regulars when saints cashed in so it was not as if they were sitting on the bench and arsenal & tottenham taking a gamble on talent, they were proving they were quality players in the championship, and that means they are worth more. same with oxlade chaimberlain, it seems at southampton if you're good enough you're old enough, and thats not a policy dave jones went with. maybe that was a weakness of DJ's, his youth policy. but anyway sparky, a forced sale means a lower price but £4.8m instead of the £12m or so with add ons that bale and walcott went for? nah, for me thats poor negotiation, if we had someone a bit more strong in negotiation we would have got at least £2-3m more IMO
Agreed Swamp - I think he took the money and ran, but we don't really know the financial pressure the club was in at that point in time. It's probabaly a fact of life that Wenger and SAF knew more about it than us and tailored their bids to suit to get a bargain. Hanging out for more money whilst under threat of WUPs and player wage committments could have tipped us over the edge. Must admit I didn't like the persona that Ridsdale put across, and it's fair to say that he appeared to create as many problems as he solved. I agree he was never a long term solution for the club but he wheeled and dealed to keep us on the map for a few years - and as I said, we're still here.
Thanks for the update & clarification guys. I thought it was a cash-only deal for circa. £5M, and yes we were strapped for cash. That cash was a lifeline for use and kept us afloat at the time. I'd prefer it if he stayed at the Arse, he certainly seems to be getting more game time now that Fabregas and Nasri have gone, so that can only help him improve as a player IMO.
