- Jan 25, 2004
- 4,611
- 2,267
I see very little downside to us playing hardball given our strong financial and contractual position.
This is because it could only hurt us in 3 ways:
1) makes us a notorious counterparty in transfers; which we are because we bully the small guy as much as anyone else but we have deep enough pockets now to resist bigger fish.
2) Destroys team performance; can't see this happening as we have until now till mid August to learn to play without Modric.
3) make us less attractive as employers because we have shown we are not interested in player development. I think most players these days are more interested in where they go next than where they go in 3 years so thats ok too.
This is because it could only hurt us in 3 ways:
1) makes us a notorious counterparty in transfers; which we are because we bully the small guy as much as anyone else but we have deep enough pockets now to resist bigger fish.
2) Destroys team performance; can't see this happening as we have until now till mid August to learn to play without Modric.
3) make us less attractive as employers because we have shown we are not interested in player development. I think most players these days are more interested in where they go next than where they go in 3 years so thats ok too.