Fortunately, the main players are on long deals. If a player wants away and he has only a year left he can threaten to simply bide his time and walk on a free. Not possible with a 3-4 year contract. We are in control of the transfers. We can't necessarily stop a player who is determined to get out from going (realistically) but we can make sure we get market value. By definition, we should be able to get a good replacement, if only in football terms. Nobody could replace Adam in our hearts, but then he could be replaced on the pitch. No, really, he can. Hope we don't have to though.
To be fair Channonfodder - I think we could actually get higher than market value for a) British players, b) young and c) that have longevity in their contracts. Cost is usually inflated with that criteria...
It would be best if they stayed but players can always be replaced... The Mirror article the other day was saying something like 9 players will leave us...complete crap but I guess we know that. The other thing with Morgan was the reported fee - £15m. I thought that was way too low for him but it got me thinking, what do we believe he is worth and what do we believe he could be sold for?
Every single time over this season there was a "How much is X player worth" thread, I said that if a big club came calling and the price was high enough, let them go. And just about every single time, everyone disagreed and said "Not for any price, because they love the club so much they are irreplaceable. No one will be as effective as them because of that." or "It's disloyal to the players, taking bids. What does it tell the young players if we sell Lallana?" Well, this is why you move them on. We turned down a bid for our captain, and it turns out he didn't take it like a compliment. Rather the reverse.
So tell me one thing. When do you draw a line and say no more go? After Rickie? After Adam? After Luke, Morgan, Dejan, Jack, etc? How about you try and manage the situation and manager the player?
Most players will fall in line if we get a new manager and they are told they won't be sold. Lambert has gone...heart breaking, but understandable for him. Lallana has gone in his head, so we need to get the best price. Shaw...has gone all quiet. I would like to believe he might yet stay, but not getting my hopes up...may just mean that unlike Liverpool and Adam, ManU and Luke are behaving professionally. Fine thing if Luke turns out to be more grown up than Adam. That should be it for all the first team....apart from those we don't want/need. Essential then that we spend well...not necessarily pricey players who may turn out a disappointment, but several good players...shouldn't put all our eggs in one basket. We have enjoyed our present style, but next season we could play differently...but after all this upheaval, different but effective will be wonderful.
Think the difference in approach of the two players may be their age and career plans rather than maturity. Adam is coming into his prime and needs to look now for the best place to play his best years. Luke has plenty of time ahead. Assuming they have above average length of years in the game. (It's an 8 yr average)
Don't underestimate the strength of character that Luke has shown not busting his guts on Twitter. Surprised he hasn't had a stroke managing to not share any news with thousands of his closest friends.
When was that average calculated..? 1968..? Or is it including career ending injuries, and across all leagues..? Lallana has already had an 8 year career so far, and both players will probably double that.
Yes including injuries. Recent figures I got from the horses mouth from a well respected ex footballer and ex member of the PFA board and stated here. http://www.thepfa.com/equalities/age
Yeah well, admittedly it's difficult. I don't pretend to have the answer. I'm not saying they have to sell them or should sell them. Just saying this is why you need to consider selling players, instead of insisting on keeping them at any price. We can't lose all of our players. We also have to show some backbone so we don't get pushed around. We also need to make sure we get value. All of that. But look-- the idea was that Lallana was irreplaceable because of what he meant to the club and vice versa for having come through the academy and having risen with us through the ranks. Turns out, all of that means nothing. So how good is Lallana? This is where our lack of stature hurts us. Because once you throw out the "intangibles" Lallana probably isn't worth 30m. A team like Man U, or maybe even a team slightly above us like Tottenham could sell him at that price and then buy another similarly rated midfielder. But we might not be able to find another similarly rated midfielder who will pay for us, considering the guy we have has more reason to play here than anyone else and still wants to go. OTOH, if Lallana doesn't want to be here and is influential in the lockerroom, it's a real problem having him here angry. This is why you have an academy. Because JWP isn't in the position yet where he could get a starting spot on a big club. But if Lallana goes, then he starts with us. And he's young and can be a little patient. So you reap the profit on Lallana maybe, roll with JWP for a few years, sell him for profit etc. And if we hang around long enough, knocking on the door of the elite then maybe at some point we rise to the level of a Tottenham or Everton. Then after another few years maybe we have a chance at breaking into the big time.
