No, this is not a general negative thread ( per se ) so at ease gents and ladies. Just was thinking that maybe the media's somewhat biased portrayal of us over the last few years, albeit it somewhat true is behind the reluctance of certain players to sign up... Nothing else, just a thought! ( I can quite easily go back to making lame jokes about beadle or reprise the anagram thread! ) Looking forward to August! You R'sssss
I feel that there may well be a degree of truth in what you're saying surrey. I just hope that the board have learnt from their/our previous experiences and won't be held to ransom and appear so desperate to think that they're getting the right sort in when they clearly weren't. Hence why we haven't made any immediate signings. This may go horribly wrong if we leave it too late though.
A bit like the situation Warnock faced 3 years ago following the Tango & Cash departure, leaving us grasping at straws to sign up players just before the season start, but despite that devastating home defeat against Bolton, we still fielded a team that travelled up to Everton and won 1-0.
I think that was more of a one off. Warnock had targets but T&C wouldn't spend. It is also why we lost Wayne Routledge. By the time the change of ownership came about and Warnock was given the money most of the targets had already gone. I am not so sure about negative press preventing targets from signing. It may well be so in a few cases, but for many I think that money, the chance of regular playing time, geographical location and future teammates are just as important. Of course, the biggest influence on a player (especially younger players) is his bloody agent.
