Have to disagree there I think the 3 of them all look really energetic, get stuck in, good on the ball.. a lot of the same attributes. I can’t see what Neil would give us in abundances that the others couldn’t I think we’d be a much better team with a proper DM in there alongside one of the others if we were to sell him for big money - which is all hypothetical anyway. Josh Cullen was the best midfielder in the championship last season and he cost Burnley £3m at the start of the season. Sammy Smodzics was £1.5m from Peterborough, joint top scorer this season with Clarke iirc. Ahmedhozic £4.5m from Malmo to Sheff Utd. There’s the spine of your team sorted for less than half of the money.
You're right, of course, but there is a time and a player every now and then that deserves and is worth the money. In our recent history we've got this catastrophically wrong. But, we have a few players on our books now whose values will double every year that we can keep them and are basically economically irreplaceable in our current position...I agree with Roach that ideally some of them would probably rather stay given half a reason, but to achieve that we need to make it so they're financially rewarded enough here and making sufficient career progress so that when they do ultimately pull the trigger and leave, they haven't lost out. Clarke, Neil and Rigg will get us promoted eventually. Within reason, they should be paid disproportionately in order to keep them here for as long as possible.
Ahmedhozic is a defender Neil has passing ability, vision and experience that Ekwah and Bellingham don't (yet) have. He would be a massive loss. I don't know what it is about our fanbase and their pithy dismissal of home grown talent.
Yeah I’m saying we could improve all over the pitch for £25m and you said we couldn’t? So I named a CB, a CM and someone that can play anywhere across the front for less than £10m who would improve us massively. I didn’t even bother throwing in some of the more expensive options who were too obvious. In regards to dismissing homegrown talent it’s quite the opposite. I’ve said numerous times Neil is good he’s just not as good as some of our fans make out imo, and that’s because he’s local that he gets put on a pedestal. Which is fine because we should put our home grown talent up there but we also have to be realistic and this squad was nowhere near the automatics last season and it would be a surprise if we are this season therefore the squad isn’t good enough and needs to improve. To improve we need to invest and to invest we need money. Brentford sold Watkins for £35m after he scored about 30 goals at this level and replaced him for £5m. I’d argue he was a lot harder to replace than Neil would be for us. He’s being kept out of England u21s by 2 championship midfielders. So if he’s worth more than £25m how much are they worth?
If I had to pick one player we couldn't afford to lose it'd be Neil. He's a very valuable player in the team and while not impossible to replace I wouldn't be confident that an expensive replacement would be better.
Aye it would be staggering to sign a proven goal scorer who has carried it through the leagues and isn’t a kid learning his trade. How old was Phillips? Or Vardy when he went Leicester. We are trying and trying with forwards who are still learning the game and it’s costing us.
I would not like to lose Dan Neil as I believe he will only go on to bigger and better things given time and hopefully that is with us. As for the money, we are not a club that needs to sell as our revenue is growing on and off the pitch and I think will continue to do so. Our fans continually seem to ignore what the club say and spin statements to suit their own agenda as last window KS stated that the club were not a selling club but were a club looking to build ready for the future. We will sell players when it is right for the player and the team not because of cash as people seem to think. I don't know the numbers but think we are probably the most popular championship team on Sky, this in itself should indicate how well our commercial team are doing behind the scenes. As for the comment about DN not playing for England's u21 team I think a quick look at the full squad and how the manager chooses his team may well answer that question. Managers like players they know and will pick them regardless of form (Harry Maguire and Kelvin Phillips come to mind) and this is what is happening with DN who is up there with the best in this division. I do not believe he will be sold for commercial reasons IE to generate money but he may be sold for football reasons IE he asks to leave for a more lucrative offer or a chance to further develop his career at a higher level.
Why does everything have to be an agenda? Don’t rate O’nien. Agenda. Say Gooch isn’t good enough. Agenda. Mention not covering a key position. Agenda. Referees have an agenda against us. England have an agenda against Neil.. Maybe everyone just doesn’t see football through red and white tinted glasses? There’s no agenda mate. I know what the club said about not being a selling club but people are taking that statement far too literally. Refusing such a big offer just handicaps the club, we will definitely sell players if the right offers come in we just won’t let them go on the cheap which is the right thing to do. I don’t even think our overall revenue was £25m last season or it was only just thereabouts if it was. I remember reading an article last season about revenue from televised games and championship clubs were getting about £100k tops for a home game whilst PL clubs got over £1m. It’s pittance for us unfortunately and a big player sale would allow for much better transfers. I’m not saying that has to be Neil I’m just saying I think we already have a player who could step into that role if that’s the route we took.
That is not what is costing us. Mowbrays inability to set us up in a way which creates multiple good chances per game for a forward is costing us. You mention Langstaff, he is averaging over 3 shots a game which is way more than our forwards so he would not make a difference.
Aye fair comment to a degree mate, but we do need someone who will take the chances if we start making them. Someone mentioned switching from inverted wingers. Makes a lot of sense. I know Jacky strength is cutting in but actually would we gain more than we lose by having them on their strong foot and therefore getting balls in early? It could be a really simple switch and something to try in the tighter games for sure. If Langstaff is having 3 shots per game, and he’s scored 80 plus in 2.5 years, that’s mightily impressive in my eyes. I will confess I don’t know how he plays only seen the fleeting bits in the goals round ups etc, purely looking at his outrageous ratio per game over a decent period and over 3 levels of football.
You are right though, his ability to step up the divisions with ease is very Vardy like. He's actually averaging more shots in League 2 than he was in the Conference. The Notts coach Luke Williams is very highly rated and wouldn't be surprised if he got a championship job soon.
My point is that fans and the media keep talking about how we need to sell players to raise the revenue to improve the team when in reality we have already proven that is not necessarily the case. The revenue for a televised game is not solely based on payment from the league as you also generate revenue from sponsors which also adds to club profile and social media and Internet revenue streams. The agenda I spoke of is not aimed at anybody in particular I just think it is important to make sure our fans balance their opinions on what we know and not on some of the wild conjecture that flies about during transfer windows as I am sure you seen at the end of the last window when we were selling everything, mainly stuff put out by so called journalists as it suited them to get clicks on their websites and socials (That in effect was their agenda ) we have fans who read it and are far too quick to believe what is written. KS has been reluctant to name numbers or how much the club can spend but has said that if the right kind of player is available for a deal we think is acceptable then there is funds available for that, and as stated earlier we are not a club that needs to sell but will if the deal is right for both parties. Our model is to build a team that can compete at the highest level possible but that won't happen overnight and players will be bought and sold over time to help achieve that but only when deals are right for everybody concerned. That has been pretty much the stance since KLD started this re build. I don't think you have an agenda against anybody I think you have an opinion. Some might agree some may not the point is at this present time the club has never stated they need to sell to raise revenue for purchases In fact they have probably hinted that is not the case at all as at the moment the books seem to be very well balanced and cash is available if needed so do we really need to sell to generate cash or do we continue to build wisely as we seem to be and do our business inthe right manner at the right time.
Neil will move on at some point but it wont be in Jan. Clubs like Burnley and Palace can try and sign him all they want / if they want, but be isnt going to a premier league also ran mate. I expect him to go to Liverpool personally, and for a fair bit more than £25m as well. Selling him now would be selling at the bottom in my opinion, his trajectory is steep and he will keep increasing in value. In my opinion there really isnt a midfield headache to solve. There would be withouy Neil though. No way is Jobe ready to give what Neil does. A great prospect, but he isnt consistent yet. Ekwah is learning fast, but again isnt the level Neil is at. Both might get there and surpass, but right now we would be much much weaker if we take him out. I would hate to see any sold but accept they will go at some point. I think Clarke goes first personally, then probably Neil. Ballard is interesting to watch as well. He isnt premier league ready yet but in another year could be.
Agree, our model is to make the team stronger not weaker, and the contracts we have players on gives us a quite a bit of control. The one I fear losing this winter is Roberts because of his contract situation. I do believe that we will sell players, but only when it is beneficial to the club and we can replace them appropriately and without weakening the squad. Great post by the way please log in to view this image
Roberts is an unbelievable talent if his end product was more effective/consistent he wouldn't be playing for us & i guess his talent is what Man City saw when they signed him Its a funny one, im wary we give him a big contract & dont think we will pay over the odds the way the club is now setup. If we were to get promoted we could easily see Roberts torturing teams left right & centre....but nothing come of it & it might not help us win games..... although i do want him to stay & do enjoy watching him All opinions, I also dont believe Clark is read to step up to the PL in January, most likely this would be to a bottom end club who need goals, there would be a lot of pressure on him & yes ges great turning inside & getting us chances & goals....as yet i dont think he has enough in his locker & may get found out a little by quality PL fullbacks, low end, apart from Burnley maybe, more setup not to loose games so he might be attacking a weaker fullback but not see the same space he does with us as sides may sit in more restricting him attacking them
Massively effected not having Armad to torture sides with, we haven't shown the same attacking threat from CAM role, Jobe is a different sort of player
I have been really impressed with Ba when he has played this season. I think this time next year he will be a mainstay in our side and we will be talking about him as a player attractinf transfer interest. We are just lucky to have so many youngsters we want to see in the team, best times in ages for us supporters.
The value of our players for selling does frankly depend on interest and offers in our other players. I love Dan Neil but I also think any bid of £25m for him from the top, top sides is going to be hard to reject, if he wants to make the move, and there is no sale of any other players on the cards. We need a big sale to kick on and we also need to show our players (and potential signings) the kind of moves we can get them if they come here. I'd rather it wasnt him mind (but I guess thats always the way when it comes to selling) However if its £25m to somebody like Burnley they can feck off. But if Liverpool for example come in, and offer us very good money and with future sell ons etc, I can see us accepting. It all depends however on other sales. If Clarke gets £40m bids for example and we don't need to make another sale, then I'd be turning down £25m for Neil. There's also something to be said for spacing out the player sales. Rather than selling a few in one go. Basically its too nuanced to second guess the club.
