And yet Chelsea is looking to move Fabregas, and Arsenal so far is refusing Ozil the pay rise he wants or a transfer to Real Madrid...
Get your facts right.... Ozil is the one not wanting to talk about a contract.
And yet Chelsea is looking to move Fabregas, and Arsenal so far is refusing Ozil the pay rise he wants or a transfer to Real Madrid...
The thing is, you could argue that about anyone. If we signed Caulker for 500k a week we're showing a ton of belief in him. Would our belief be justified? Almost certainly not.
The gamble to extend a player is not inherently less expensive than to sell them and bring in a new one. If I knew the terms of Tadic's deal, and he was giving us a decent hometeam discount, then this could be a good move. If we're paying him market price despite already having him under team control, then it's not.
Who's "we?" I haven't been complaining about the club losing players.
No, when I quoted your post it wasn't there.Did you read the small print?
No, when I quoted your post it wasn't there.

Seen it now. My version is better.It was! Look again where you quoted me 20 minutes after I posted. You must have been on the home brew early![]()
Probably the same "we" you talked about when saying "we" didn't think Davis, JWP, Long, etc were good enough. Bloody typical that. Ok for you to use that in a debate, but not someone else.
Nope. Because I happen to know it's the some of the same people in this thread that are happy about extending Tadic. Why wouldn't they be? They want more attacking options/a greater threat, therefore it does no good to lose a decent attacking player. Except we wouldn't actually lose Tadic.
Nope. Because I happen to know it's the some of the same people in this thread that are happy about extending Tadic. Why wouldn't they be? They want more attacking options/a greater threat, therefore it does no good to lose a decent attacking player. Except we wouldn't actually lose Tadic.
I don't want Tadic et al. off the team, I just don't think we need to extend them. The fact is, if we bring in an additional attacking piece, plus the youngsters from the academy we want to integrate into the first team, plus the goal of bringing in 1-2 additional young players, then some players are going to have to move out. We are signing veterans at the same time we are going for a youth movement. It seems a bit contradictory. If we're having a competition for first team spots, then IMO we should wait to see who steps up and offer that guy the big contract.
All of the things people are talking about as far as stability, etc. I agree that those are good things. But there's a flip side as well, in that you are committing a lot of future money. If Tadic's salary is now 350k a week, would anyone consider it a "victory" that we kept him? Or that he's a loyal player when in fact he's just taking advantage of a ridiculous offer? But people aren't even asking about the money. It's like the more extensions the better, which is silly.
If all of these extensions are modest, and we're being given a hometeam discount then that's fantastic business. But somehow I doubt that. Given the club's general fiscal constraint I doubt we are spending ourselves into financial trouble, but we may end up with a weaker side than we'd like in a year or two.
On an individual basis, there isn't a whole lot to criticize about these deals without knowing the extension terms. And I agree we need stability, and that our current pay structure was too low, and that with the money coming in from TV we should be handing some of it out to players. I'm not arguing "never hand out extensions ever" or "Tadic doesn't deserve an extension." I'm just saying 8 in one season is a lot.
We don't have the resources that other teams have. If we are going to pay our players the same as they pay theirs, we can't compete. We have to be tight with our money.
We don't have the resources that other teams have. If we are going to pay our players the same as they pay theirs, we can't compete. We have to be tight with our money.
We aren't paying them the same that top clubs are, but we aren't exactly minnows, either. Let's say that each of the eight players extended has received a 20k p/w raise...that's a grand total of 8.3m in extra spending per year, setting aside the one-off fees and bonuses. Meanwhile, our revenues this year will be up by 40-50m. We can afford it and then some.
Fair enough, but just to be clear my concern has never been not spending, but spending efficiently. We have money, and we should spend it on players. I'm in agreement with you there.
The most efficient thing to do, then, would be to only sign players to one-year deals who are available on frees. If they're good, sell them in January. If they aren't or get injured, let them walk at the end of the year.
The most efficient thing to do, then, would be to only sign players to one-year deals who are available on frees. If they're good, sell them in January. If they aren't or get injured, let them walk at the end of the year.