Thing is Graham may have scored 12 goals for us, but in fairness he never looked like getting much more than that. You cannot say that about Bony, the guy oozes class, confidence and ability, and with the right service he can score a hell of a lot more. Which is the worry I have about keeping him, he would be great for any team that can actually cross a ball, which is something we still fall behind in, and with decent service he is a 20+ goalscorer easy, which for the premier league is a sort after player. Unlike most strikers, who go to pieces when marked tightly, Bony doesn't, he can hold 1 or 2 defenders off at one time ffs, the guy is a beast, and thats what £12m bought us. Ignore Dai and his ramblings about not having to spend big, as this is the same Dai that said we paid too much for Bony, then changed his mind once he got going, he changes his mind when it suits. I mean the best argument he got above is "what if Graham cost us £12m" wtf is that all about lol, if Graham cost us £12m, we would have massively overspent on a player that was not worth £6m. and if he was worth £12m, he would have been a damn sight better lol. There is a difference to spending big, and spending big wisely. QPR are a perfect example of spending big. But its no good if your not wise about it, QPR spent big on players that were overpriced, over-hyped and just journey men. ITs when we start doing that, that you want to start worrying.
You can't guarantee it Dai, but there is a reason that a player has a certain price tag. The reason Bony was 12 million was that he had showed he was a goalscoring machine in the Netherlands, whereas Danny Graham had done alright in the Championship. If we pay 4 million for a striker - we are going to be hoping he turns into a 12 million striker, as opposed to getting a 12 million striker straight off. We have to lose this mentality that we have to be the lowest spenders in PL history. There are undoubtedly surprise bargains out there somewhere, but we won't always be as lucky in finding dreams like Michu was last season. Yes we spent 12 million on Bony - and that looks like a bargain now doesn't it ? You know we'd get hell of a lot more for him should we sell him on. When you say 'our level' what do you mean ? We are to go into our 4th season in the PL come August, some would say that's established. 'Our level' is, and should be climbing each season. 12 Million for a top striker is already being frugal in my eyes.
With a little research you will find that most strikers worth their money wont cost much less than 12 mill. There will always be the odd exception (Jay Rodriguez being one). However if we have any aspirations of finishing above mid table in probably the most competitive league in the world, anything less than this sort of investment in the most important position on the field will result in fighting off relegation next season. You can have the best defence in the world but if you cant score there is only on ediretion you will go. I agree we dont have to spend stupid amounts but its all about value for money and it is the one position that will always need the most investing in.
To be fair to Graham I think he got all his goals early then the goals dried up when Sig came in the 2nd half and took over scoring .No telling how many more Graham might have got if Sig never came along ........I think ...our game changed a bit Thing with Bony is if he goes , there is a good chance he will have repayed his 12 million transfer , payed his own wages and left enough to probably pay for our next 10 million man from a 23 or so million transfer to more than likely , Arsenal .. they will be eager to spend.
I'd also argue that taking our time to bring him up to speed has paid dividends in the second half of the season. Bony was a smart acquisition and his introduction was managed well by ML and co.
Van Wolfswinkel is a good example of a flop but a flop that cost 8.5 million so again it just shows that that kind of money doesnt get the quality needed for the Premiership. It would be interesting to know out of the current crop of strikers playing for the bottom half teams in the league what they cost and indeed what their goal return was for this season. Another thing is consistency look at Michu as an example, bargain price great return for 1 season only. To the point where in the main most fans are not that opposed to him going at the end of this season.
but to be fair - Michu has missed most of this season hasn't he. He's not really had a good run to find the same form as last season. I would hope he gets fit and stays and gets back to his best next season, although it seems that if the gossip is true then he'll be gone at first chance.
He is already on a big contract and jinx will not in any shape or form entertain anyone trying to change their contract. take it from me he is on good wages and a lot more than his team mates. Its typical of swanseola to say ignore my rambling but i have a lot of experience in football and business and i can see jinx's point exactly. bony dont have a say in the matter and if we start paying big money with wages to match then we wont last very long....I dont call between £5 m and £8 m peanuts for a player at all, qpr went down that road so did cardiff and a lot more and they have learned their lesson and are now looking to us as a role model and rightly so. You do want us to survive dont you, Well at least jinx does and he is the one with the purse strings so whether you agree or not my ramblings and point of view is immaterial but they are the same as the chairman and he will spend wisely..
Small minded lower league mentalities coming through here. I think most Swans fans agree our Club has been and continues to be run the right way and that way is frugally. But there is a balance here. Nobody is suggesting doing a QPR and signing up 8 or 9 players on stupid wages. However, in key positions you do need to splash as a general rule. Your comment "if we start paying big money with wages to match then we wont last very long" could well be true if you did that on a grand scale with multiple big name signings a la QPR but for the odd star player the statement is wrong. We splashed on Bony on his fee and wages. He has earned his coin and we will last at least another season so has repayed that investment 10 times over. He is many people's choice as the buy of the season. Like others I'm a little concerned that Jenkins is on a mission to prove how clever he is by penny pinching his way through a season (by Prem standards) by banking tons of cash without buying quality. I hope I'm not doing him a disservice because he's been great over the last ten years or so. There is a theory that football clubs shouldn't actually be in huge surplus just as they shouldn't be in huge debt and I can see the logic. Let's hope Jenkins does too.
Spot on. In past seasons there might have jealousy if one player was paid significantly more than others but this season in particular (and maybe last) one player (Bony) has kept us up and that means every player benefits in football terms and financially.
small minded paying between £5 and £8 million for a player. You do realize we are a small club in the premiership dont you. We have a small catchment area compared to most and you have not listened or taken onboard what has happened to bigger clubs than us. We are not man utd or liverpool you know and we are not even sunderland's size, we are a small club in wales where we have to live within our means or we will end up back where we started sending buckets around the stadium to pay the players wages....Some think we are a huge club, well i have news for you we are not, we are a well run club that has done well due to the lessons we have learned in our dark days and now some think we can spend big.. We are spending big and the right prices for a club like us and it increases every season but it has always stayed within our means and wage structure, we broke that rule under laudrups watch and jinx was furious and rightly so. Its academic now as jinx is back in control and bony will still be the highest earner next season as we wont spend his sort of price on anyone else for a few seasons yet. Its not the amount you pay for a player its how good they can play......look as carrol if you want an example...Live within our means or face ruination down the line....sorry far too risky...
Bony has been worth every penny and if he is sold in the summer we must spend a good 10-15 million on a replacement up front. In the PL if you want goals you need to buy quality. To buy quality, means you pay a premium. A £5-£8million replacement for Bony will not be good enough, unless it happens to be a fluke signing a la Michu.
I can see your argument daiswan but you miss the point, though Valley gets it. I'm actually agreeing with you that there must be controls, and silly spending avoided. Nobody here is saying we shouldn't live within our means. These days it's very much part of the "Swansea way". But I'm not clear whether you're saying we paid too much for Bony or not but you seem to be implying that the Chairman who signed off on that deal was "furious" over it. Unless I misunderstand you. Well if so he was wrong and Laudrup was right (if in fact he had any say in it) because the guy has almost single handedly brought us another season of Prem football. Outlay v Return analysis on Bony is a no brainer. The point I'm making is that sometimes clubs really do have to take a punt and splash. If they get it right the returns will be more than your outlay. If you get it wrong it's a disaster.
Its never going to happen under jinx you know it i know it. Who says just because a player costs £15 million that he will be better than a £5 m player. I quoted carrol of west ham as just one example ..the club cannot sustain wages of that level however you might think we can...
dragon its the disaster bit that is a worry because there are far too many clubs that have proved that if it goes wrong then you are in trouble. you not only got to replace the dud player but you still have to honor his contract and pay the other player. It can spiral out of control as we have seen and i would rather stay within our means and make the player we buy good like we have done in the past.
We are in a position were we don't need to do much to improve the squad and we have a HUGE increase in TV money, prize money etc. £12m is not stretching the club like it did last season. In fact we could sign another Bony and still have the same budget as least season. Every other club will be spending the increased tv revenues on players. So should we. We can't go buy a £20m+ player but £12m is not a huge amount (especially for a goal getter) next season.
Trouble with Dai's argument is that it fly's in the face of all the facts, and one of the main facts are that the clubs published accounts since we have been here in the Premiership are showing a £15 Million surplus year on year, and with increased revenue this coming season, then that surplus is going to increase. He goes on about the fact that we are a small club, but he ignores the fact that we with a small club overheads are receiving the same revenue or more, than some of the bigger clubs, who have much bigger squads and overheads. We have also transacted well with player transfers, with us generally making significant profits on sales of players and managers, this has happened with Rodgers and Alan, Martinez and Scotland, Sinclair, Graham, etc, etc. Do you really think that Jenkins is not at this very minute sitting on a pile of profit in the bank after 3 seasons in the Premiership? Only Dai thinks otherwise..............
Excellent point Phill. We may be small but we're pretty rich too. I actually agree with the idea that Clubs should have money set aside for transfers etc and a rainy day fund for emergencies and continuing development of their stadium / facilities etc. but should generally operate on a zero balance. That doesn't mean you spend for the sake of it but I don't believe the target should be squillions of profit that you sit on whilst you penny pinch in the transfer market. We all know key positions like strikers require outlay and scrimping can be an equal disaster to getting a big name signing wrong. It's a fine line and I'm glad I don't have to make those decisions. I worry that because we've got very lucky in recent times our Club will revert to trying to do this Division on the cheap and imo they are flirting with disaster if that's right. I cannot understand Daiswan's assertion that Jenkins was furious over spending £12M and high wages on Bony, unless I've misunderstood. As others have pointed out that isn't huge money by Prem standards even if you're the smallest club. Particularly when said £12M keeps you up.
Isn't it a FACT that Swansea are in the top 50 richest clubs in the world this season and next season we are forecast to be in the top 40 ? Not really a small club then ? Just to confirm the FACT.http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/football/25864881
