I would like to see us include Crofts into a deal for Bridcutt if we were interested. More like for like players in a way. Regarding Snodgrass think it's also a message to Snodgrass that you could play Premier League football next year. Definitely to test Leeds anyway.
On paper with only a year to go on his contract I'd say Leeds would be very lucky to get £8M for him. But then again Jay Rodriguez has a year to run and Southampton have reportedly offered £7M which is a huge gamble for a newly promoted side. Has Lambert got the funds to offer £8M say if Southampton were to make a sly little bid for Snodgrass?
They have reasonably deep pockets and I'm not sure it's that much of a gamble, It's pretty likely he'll perform well. therefore retains his value when sold on, if necessary
He will retain his value the question is how much above his value will the bidding get? That's when team loose money. He's not worth £8m and so would have to perform very well to be worth that.
I wouldn't get too excited just yet guys. There are talks taking place to buy the club from Bates, and if that happens the new owners might show the ambition Snoddy's been looking for.
With the quotes being banded about in the press fee wise, I will be suprised if we have made a move. I said a couple of weeks ago and will say again especially if this talk of a takeover happens, i will be very suprised if we see another Leeds player at our club.
I would hate to think that we would ever contemplate paying £8M for any player. We would just be joining the haemorrhage that is Premier League finance.
8mil is not alot of money in footballing terms nowadays. the problem is, is the fact that the 8mil valuation is moving down the leagues which is just ridiculous. It's like this nick Powell from Crewe, 5mil for a league 2 player, that's just utter stupid. No player in that league is worth anywhere near that no matter how young or talented they are.
That is so wrong. You are paying for the potential. These days you have to pay that for a 'wonderkid'. If somebody bought Nick Powell for 5m and he turned out to be one of the best English players of his generation, that would end up being an absolute steal. Sure, he may end up being a dud - just like Wickham seems to be - but the big clubs can afford to make a mistake from time to time.
But if, for example, we spent £8mil on a midfielder who became the first name on the team sheet, scored 15 goals in the PL, set up another 15, and pretty much single handedly helped us avoid relegation, then in my book that is £8mil well spent because of the financial bonus of avoiding relegation. For any club with ambition, you've got to put your money where your mouth is to be able to grow. If (and it's a big if) we ever become an established PL side, looking to challenge for Europa league places, then we're not going to be able to continue to improve the squad with league 1 and 2 players. Granted, at the moment £8mil seems steep and could probably be spent on several players, but we're going to have to be prepared to spend more on players if we're going to grow.
Absolutely agree, it's too much cash at the moment, but assuming another season in the PL when the cash rewards start to become more meaningful to the club, we will spend that much,
It's a perfect example, although it was much less of a gamble thanks to the loan. Swansea know exactly what they're getting, and they deem it to be a sound investment. They know he fits in with their team, and that playing in the PL didn't present any problems. If we do bring anyone in from abroad, it's the sort of approach I'd like to think we'd try and arrange. Whilst there is the gamble that you bring the player to the attention of other PL clubs (If Man U had followed up their supposed interest in Sigurdsson, Swansea would be kicking themselves), but if you do land him permanently, you know it's money well spent.
what you've forgotten is that swansea have just splashed nearly £7m on a player whom only takes them back to the same level they were at last season! we probably need to spend about £4m on naughton to get ourselves back to where we were!! when you say it like that it shows how crazy the fees are - its eaten up most of the swans budget on a player they already had!!!
I think he is a decent player but not sure he is £7 million decent. I certainly wouldn't say he is better than the much less expensive Howson (How do does our management team do it?)!
Well, yes and no. They only had him from January, so whilst it takes them back to where they were, it's still an improvement on where they started last season. They've got a full season with him, rather than only half, so (if nothing else had any effect!) you'd expect them to pick up more points next season. But yes, in terms of progress from May 2012 to September 2012 they have spent £7mil to go nowhere. On Naughton, I do agree, and ideally I'd hope we can bring him back on loan again, and look to sign him permanently next year, when we should have written our debts off if we survive. It's all a gamble, isn't it? It's betting £7million that Sigurdsson is good enough (alongside their current squad) for them to survive next season. If they survive, they reap the financial benefits of PL status for another year. If they go down, then the £7mil wasn't enough, but you don't know if spending it any differently would have helped, and he'll still have value on resale, or be one of the best players in the championship if you hold onto him. They're spending within their means, so whilst it's a gamble, it's not one that will push them down the slippery slope towards administration, etc.
