The final day of the transfer window threw up some interesting questions that as a fan made it clearer where our club is going. We have a noticeable ambition to play good quality attacking football and it seemed that we were being linked with some class players. That said, we failed in attempts to lure these players into the club. Watching the day unfold it fascinating to see us linked to the likes of Berbatov, Bastos etc. Then also frustrating to see only Berbatov come in. It is not clear what the issue was with the interested parties but my guess is that we could not match the wage demands. From reports that flooded the internet we had players at Motspur Park but no news that they had signed, I guess that can only mean we agreed a fee with the players club but that the players could not agree personal terms. One article even eluded to the idea that Bryan Ruiz had told potential signings not to sign !!!! The message that was clear though is that we are trying to live within our means as a club. Whilst we may be able to meet the transfer fee we can only pay that that we can afford. Whilst this may be frustrating I admire the stance we have taken and the fact that we have stuck to our guns. Big Mo has been stung a few times by some big fees and wages. We have held out in the past with some requests for bigger wages ending in players leaving, Bobby and AJ, both of whom have failed miserably. The reality is simple, we have to continue to develop our youngsters and we have to dip into the market of senior players. This is only way we can attract players who are willing to play for the wages we offer. With the development of the Riverside stand, hopefully we can attract bigger crowds and generate bigger profits and then may be attract players on bigger wages. Add to that the possibility of selling some of our younger players and the likelihood of us getting better players becomes even more possible. It may be that we have a wait a few years for this to happen but we are going about it the right way. Good things come to those who wait. Big Mo and your management team take a bow.
Have Bobby and AJ really 'failed miserably'? I'm not sure about that. That niggle apart, I agree, Froggy.
Equally I'm not sure money was the fundamental issue with either, although they clearly were delighted to take the the booty on offer for what will probably be their swansong. In principle I agree with what you say as well Froggy. Although as I've said in other threads, if we are to attract younger, quality players our current wage policy/structure does merit a review. Just on the new Riverside stand, I doubt if the extra revenue from selling 5000 additional seats will have much efffect. The additional revenue will come from improved hospitality facilities on match day and having the area open 7 days a week for things like events and conferences.
Its nice to see the AJ appreciation society is still alive and well. 10 mil purchase, wages over 4yrs in excess of 6million, the worst league scoring record for a centre forward since before the war. "Maybe I have missed something".
Bobby and AJ have failed in the sense that both went to QPR to better themselves, Bobby went to get his name secured in the England set-up and AJ went to resurrect his career. Neither of these things look like happening. Their wages however have increased, so that could be seen as having been 'successful'
Or, they left because they didn't fit Jol's way of playing and didn't want to adapt. Bobby is playing well this season, as far as I can tell, and AJ has got more game time than I expected him to. They are both playing for a manager they have done well under and who knew what he was getting from them. Even leaving their wages out of it, I wouldn't call that an unsuccessful move from a players point of view. I agree with you that they haven't 'bettered themselves' compared to what they enjoyed at Fulham, but you could argue that they've bettered what they would be getting if they were still here (as neither, I suspect, would be major parts of Jol's vision).
I don't believe they didn't fit into Jol's system. Jol persisted to play both of them when fit instead of weeding them out. I think Jol sold AJ because he wanted a longer contract than we wanted to give him (similarly to Murphy, who was also not pushed out) and Zamora left due to personal problems with Jol. Zamora's personality since Roy brought him here has always been troublesome, so this may not be specific to Jol or Jol's tactics. Both bought into Hughes's 'ambition' but it has proven to be if not a backwards step then certainly a sideways one.
Well said Bidley. Although getting back to Froggy's original point about wage bills, it is worth repeating that with the three of them leaving we have saved something like £120k per week.
It's hard to weed players out when you don't have suitable replacements available, which I think was why they continued to get games, but I agree with Bidley - let's stop wasting our breath talking about players who have left the club.
The West Brom manager thinks we "do it the right way" - http://www.birminghampost.net/midla...bion-aiming-to-emulate-fulham-65233-31825126/
Praise indeed from Steve Clarke. But will we finish higher than WBA this season,I personally think so,but not to sure about a victory this Saturday,what say you.
