It would. It would also make Gary Hooper a laughing stock after all he has said recently. For a start he can forget an England call up and the 2014 world cup regardless of what he does @ Reading. Assuming he goes there that is. Lol. Nothing yet on SSN about this one. Nor i unless Hooper is just another wonga monga. If so he can go to Reading with pleasure imo. Yes but under FFP that is n ot an issue anymore. No longer can rich owners bank role a club. They wont. Massive risk and i dont see it happening. Very true. Even if Hooper goes to Reading the likes of Odemwingie - Austin - Bent - Defoe - Elmander and Rhodes are still available. £8m for Hooper is stupid money and for once a Celtic fan posting good sense. Well from what has been said on twitter and thats where most of it is being said, nothing has yet been mention on SSN and they normally have something to say about a deal like his one. So it comes down to the tried and tested TWT.
Basically, let's not spend £8m on a £5m player. It's no surprise is it that clubs don't want to sell their best players to us for precisely the prices we want to pay. These negotiations will be long, drawn out and complex affairs. The transfer window isn't even open yet. I don't think we should go setting those precedents of overspending and displaying a desperation and panic in the market before the window is even open. If only we had had some kind of financial meltdown last time we were in the Prem that we could draw experience from....oh yeah we did!
The problem was having a manager who thought he was better and more special than he was and we got relegated. It's easy to get relegated from the Premier League: just refuse to pay the going rate for good players in transfer fees and wages.
The football player market is different from most markets. The number of clubs and players are relatively limited when you take into account the positions and quality. Despite agents being despised by fans they do have a good idea of the worth of players even if their public comments don't convey that.
Another part of the problem was bringing in players who weren't good enough for fees that were too high and wages that were too generous, just so we got them. The going rate in this case is substantially more than the player is worth, with a year left on his contract. Would you pay £8m for something you know to be worth £5m? They don't want to sell him so they're asking for more than he's worth. Even if you spend these sums and bring the players in you're not magically guaranteed survival. Then if you do go down, it's either in a reasonable financial shape, or a **** one like before.
Only Celtic have been mentioning £8m. I've not seen Hooper play so I can't comment on what he is worth. I think we need to pay a mixture of wages of £20k/£30k/£50k per week to stay up. Some teams play 10 average players and a super goalscorer and do well. I hope City don't try to play 11 average players.
I'd say the problem last time was just the opposite, we paid over the going rate for mediocrity. £35k a week for Kilbane, £30k a week for Olofinjana, £26k a week for McShane etc. This time we're doing it right, we've made a fair offer for a player in his final year, a player who's openly stated he wants to move to the Premier League and who won't sign a new contract. I expect us to bid again(unless someone kills the deal with a massive bid), but I don't think we should be looking beyond £5m. You start looking at that level, then there's the likes of Kone and Sako and others like Austin and Odemwinge who we could get for less.
Playing mediocrity at any price won't work. Playing good players is better. You don't get good players on the cheap.
We're not trying to get players on the cheap, our current targets are excellent and our offers have been reasonable. I don't know how anyone can be critical of how we are operating now, I think we've handled everything bang on so far.
I thought you were moaning a couple of weeks back about the Allam's thinking they could pay a lot less for players? I confess I don't know what wages they've been offering which is the crux of getting players.
I wasn't moaning, I just said I hoped they were aware of what the going wage rate for PL players was. The signing of Figeuroa suggests they do.
Anyone who thinks spending big is the answer need only look at QPR to see how that can work out an then look at the likes of Swansea who have done things on a more modest budget. I'm sure we'll be fine with getting new players in and we'll have back up options available. There's no point worrying about missing out on players or concerns about our ambition when the fixtures aren't even out yet.
I like the players we have identified, and the stance we are applying for transfer bids. Celtic and Leicester are on drugs with the valuations of their players with <12 months on their contract. Our offers have been very fair. I can see players unsettled and putting in transfer requests.
Regardless of whether we should or shouldn't sign him or put a bigger bid in, the question I keep asking is why would Reading spend big money in the Championship when they weren't prepared to do so in the Premier League last year??? That's the bit that doesn't stack up for me!
In Leicester's case though a couple of million means nothing to them, they'd rather use Schmeichel for a year and have another push at promotion and lose him for free at the end of it if necessary than sell him for £2m. I don't blame them for wanting a lot of money for him.
I find it hard to believe that Reading are offering anything like £8m for Hooper, nor do I believe that he'd entertain leaving Celtic to play in the Championship.
me neither, ever thought Celtic could be playing the cannie game of talking up Hooper's price tag by leaking out rumours on the social media?
