For us, the commercial revenues are a very small part of the calculation; it's not just those that can be factored in, it's any source of income beyond the TV money as distributed from the Premier League central fund. So, sponsorships and shirts, sure, but matchday revenue, player sales, whatever minimal income we got from playing in Europe, all factor in. And player trading has been far, far bigger...remember, profit on the sale of players (where we're talking an accounting profit vs. the amortized paper value of the player's contract as determined by the original transfer price, rather than a 'bought for X sold for Y' profit) is one of the offsets, and because academy-developed players are considered valueless in accounting terms having never been subject to a transfer fee, those count as pure profit. Our on-paper player trading profit from last season was 44m...whatever our allowable spend was/is, I can guarantee it's not merely significantly more than we're spending, it's significantly more than we could rationally spend. Also, for what it's worth: the FA's version of the FFP rules are going to be reviewed after this season, and there's a broad expectation that they will be relaxed significantly, because the revenue jumps are so significant that the old levels no longer make much sense.
Good lad. As he's been big enough to apologise I'll allow him to play for the mighty Saints again but only if he behaves himself
You sure about that? Only I've been told different, by ssomebody who has had dealings with the club (about the ffp I mean). Not that I understand the minutiae of club finances.
I hate agents (no stereotyping there then) but surely he wouldn't be doing his job if he wasn't trying to get him £120k a week. I'm not saying that it would automatically be in the player's best interests from a purely footballing perspective but a few years of that and he's very well sorted for the rest of his life.
Exactly the reason agents are a scourge on the modern game-because they do their job, which is to make players rich at the expense of clubs and supporters. I feel the same way about agents as Donald Trump does about the press; ie I'd probably stop short of actually killing them.
This has probably been posted elsewhere on here but couldn't find it but on the whingers forum, Saints Web, Guan 2.0 [who is a proven in-the-known] seemed to suggest that Ronald maybe 'escorted' from the club as a cryptic answer to a previous query. Lack of clarity over his own future from Koeman himself - the club cannot be expected to delay that when the results are so bad. Also another poster has stated he has heard that the players aren't happy, particularly with the lax discipline at the club, certainly the tide is turning against Mr Koeman over there [surprise, surprise]. I'm a member on that board but now never post as I prefer here but I apologise if anyone has already read this or posted it - anyone heard anything similar or do you think it is entirely fictitious?
Personally I think too much is being made of this. Wanyama was arguably our best player against Arsenal precisely because he was physical. That's just the kind of player he is. Players like that get alot of cards and its worth it to the team in the long run. Fine he made an error of judgement on that second tackle at Norwich but would you rather he was too scared to make tackles in midfield? I'm not sure his work ethic should be called into doubt either. In my eyes he is a key player every week and works hard. He made a mistake and has apologised, showing the character he is.
Popped over to Saintsweb (reminded me why I don't usually bother) to see what Guan 2.0 was saying. There is a thread entitled 'Koeman to walk?'. It's not itk just a question. Guan 2.0 has chipped in saying more likely to be escorted out therefore suggesting he wouldn't walk but may get sacked. There is nothing (apart from the fact that it's Guan 2.0) to suggest this is itk and not just his opinion. The statement SC has posted is Guan's second contribution which again seems to be just his opinion because Ronald wont discuss a new contract yet. He is suggesting they would sack him as he hasn't committed to the club (even though he has 18mths left) and results are bad. Certainly doesn't sound like the way Saints do business.
I think half of the frustration some people have is that he is so pivotal to the team- last year with Spider-Man playing he could afford to go missing, have a brain fart because Morgan was there to give him the stare and cover up his errors. However, this year he hasn't adapted his playing style that much of at all to cope with the loss of Morgan. I'm one of his biggest critics for this reason. Against Arsenal I thought he was superb, balanced, feisty and most importantly controlled. When he has these off games and mind trumps, he needs to realise that it's not just him that's affected. The shape of midfield with him off roaming is wrong and it exposes our once tight, now soft centred back four. Last season I guess he was worth a crap load of cash and we were right to stand firm, but with performances below last years standards and things like the sending off, I can't see he's doing his asking price or the team/league position many favours. We bought him as a pivotal midfielder and at the moment he is, but in a negative way. People have argued Romeu is just the same as he picks up yellows too... But I'd much prefer his consistency and work ethic over want away Vic ATM....
Firmly agree that losing Morgan has impacted the team alot, but I think it's just a little unfair to blame Victor for not becoming a new player to replace him. Morgan is one of the best complete midfielders in the league, wanyama isn't a complete midfielder he's a ball winner. They've tried to split Morgan into two players with the tackling of wanyama and the passing of clasie. One could equally criticise clasie for not adapting his game to be better in the tackle like Morgan was. Let's not forget that he now has to perform the ball winning duties of two midfielders now Morgan has gone so he's bound to pick up yellows and reds. Not sure that's his fault really, more a fault of the team assembling.
Agree with all you've said re Victor. Its a tricky situation all round and there are so many different facets to it all. The club have tried to replace Spiderman, but that is almost impossible as you quite rightly say. I went to see the FC Midjttiland (??!!) game and I have never been so underwhelmed with a new player as to what I was with Claisie, however he has improved and I can see him steadily improving game by game. He is not a Morgan replacement though as you say. I have supported Davis for a long time now, but am a bit vanilla about him now. I genuinely think he's a more attacking player, but he has been use in the opposite role as a dependable workhorse/defensive midfielder due to his experience. Despite his recent pre-xmas flurry of goals for club and country, we cant depend on him week in week out. This makes me wonder about his usefulness...?? If I am vanilla about SD, then Im not sure what flavour I am for JWP. If I hear another commentator say that he is technically assured and yet another example off the conveyor of talent or something equally ridiculous-I will scream. Ive said before and I will again that I think we as fans and the club are waiting for something to happen with him, but no-one is really sure what. I've mentioned before about loaning him out to a Champ club to learn his trade and I still think this is a good plan. Harry Reed seems like he is where JWP was about 18 months ago, young, exciting and a bit of an unknown quantity. He is a workhorse in the SD and OR mould and I would like to see him more, if not, get him out on loan. I've already mentioned OR previously. This all came about because of people questioning VW and what they would do with him currently. Its a quandary alright and very hard to manage for anyone. I think with the help of his agent, he became caught up in his own hype last season and believes he is much better than he actually is. Although I agree totally with the stance the club took back then, I could see him going somewhere like Arsen-hole for the reported £25 ish million. I also think he was made to look good in a good team and would consequently struggle as a bit part squad player as many of our other ex players have. Currently, if he still believes he is as amazing as he was, we have an issue on our hands. Its only my humble opinion, but he is half the player he could be last season and not just because of the weekend. The Gooner game the other week shows how good he can be but these performances are too few and far between. If he was doing that week in week out, I wouldnt be surprised by the exit talk, but he's been nowhere near consistent enough to command anything other than a £15 million plus a crap load of add ons. He has done the right thing apologising, but this is the bare minimum to expect. There should also be a hail of rallying cries from him to help pull the squad through a difficult time, his agent should come out and state publicly that he's not engineering him a move and we should do a Morgan on him. It is for this reason that people are looking for alternatives, the club has a big part to play in finding the right personnel but if VW wants to play, he's got to up his game.
He's made it clear he wants out so between now and the end of the season, one more sending off I'm sure.
If Arsenal buy Wanyama, especially for £25m, but didn't buy Morgan for the same price, I will forever completely doubt Wenger's suitability as a football manager, regardless of anything he wins!
Interesting to see Arsenal being very strongly linked with a defensive midfielder from Basel, Mohamed Elneny. Virtual done deal, according to the Mirror. Maybe Wanyama's sending off was as a result of frustration, after being told Arsenal were no longer coming for him?
These are the same players that came in for extra training on their day off last season, I just don't buy it.
Wenger won't buy Wanyama. Don't see that ever happening. Wenger is a football purist, and Vic is...well, he's Vic.
I'd say that for Wenger Wanyama's not good enough on the ball, he's not mobile enough and he doesn't cover enough ground. His concentration and discipline aren't good enough either.
