Silly season and potential outgoings

When a player only has a couple of years left on his contract a club will need to think about selling them or losing them for nothing. That isn't really a factor with a player on a longer length contract. The fact that so many of our players have signed new contracts lately is the reason that most of us aren't really concerned about players leaving.

Speaking of Barkley, Koeman said recently that if he won't sign a new contract he would be sold......although I don't think Koeman realizes that in a post-Bosman world that he can't force a player to sign a contract anywhere if he doesn't want to.

Don't tell me...they'll be getting double the money for Sturridge despite him being made of glass and hardly being played when he is fit.

 

The only one I would be scared about is Barca in for Eriksen. Watching Barca, they need exactly this type of player.

He would be an ideal replacement for Iniesta.

Other than that I cannot see it, the players are not complete retards, they surely must understand that we could win everything next year.

 

Think you'll find De Gea is widely tipped to be on the move this summer.

Never ideal to lose your 'keeper, don't care who you are - look at City!

 

This to me show's just how far ahead Poch and Levy are thinking. I truly believe that when the new stadium is ready to field our side it will be a side far better than the one we are seeing even today.

 

Where is the wanking emoji when you need it?

 

Contracts mean 2 things, a club safeguarding its asset and a pay increase for player, that is it. Clubs readily dispose of players earlier into their 4-5 year contacts if they do not make the grade, supporters will go a long with but somehow supposedly this does not apply he other way if our best players are approached by a bigger club? If an elite club approaches one of our best players then it really doesn't matter then length of the contact for the player. They have a limited career with often limited opportunities, they are not suddenly going to forgo interest on the basis of a contract signature.

 

Apart from Bale - who we got a world record fee for - when was the last time we sold one of our star players who had more than 2 years left on their contract?

 

Tom Carroll.

 

Let me just exclude the one that doesn't fit with my point hey? How about Modric then?

As I stated before it doesn't matter whether they have 2 years or 6 years, the control is with the players.

This is the case at virtually all clubs and this applies equally to them as it does to us. Why some choose to deny the realities of modern football when it comes to their own club I do not know.

 

Lol I wasn't making a point, I was asking a question.

even so, the reason I excluded bale is because his was obviously an exceptional case. A club our size, who at the time were not in the CL could not turn down a fee that big. Especially as it had the possibility of helping us strengthen the whole squad.

It was an exceptional case and circumstance which didn't fit the trend of other stars we were forced to sell under ENIC - Carrick, Berbatov and Modric all had 2 years or less left on their contracts.

And contrary to your point earlier Modric was not sold to Chelsea because they didn't stump up the cash it's because Levy refused to strengthen a rival. Plus the power was still with club as at that time Modric had 3 years left on his contract. The fact we sold him for £30m to Madrid a year after Chelsea had offered £40m shows the fee was not the determining factor in his sale.

I agree with a lot of points you have made regarding our place in the food chain. But I evidence suggests we won't be bullied into selling anyone that doesn't have 2 years remaining on their contract or we don't have a world record bid in for, and I don't see that changing.

 

Back in the day before t'Internet, rumours were sweet. After a sneaky peak of page 3 in the greasy spoon you'd read all the rumours from the back pages, Papin to Spurs, Hagi, Maradona, those were simpler times and you didn't really know what was going on at the club so you think yeah, there's a chance of that. It wasn't all pie in the sky because we pulled Klinsmann out of the bag one sunny day.

Then, once t'Internet came around there was the heyday of ITK, some juicy gossip some of which transpired and some that was just blown out of their asses. As time moved on It was the ITK's with contacts in the club or agents who had the good info, passed on in forums like this one. Increasingly journalists just weren't in the loop unless they're fed stuff with an ulterior motive from the club.

These days though it's a tight ship with tight lips, and talksport, sky & the papers just print bullshit to generate clicks & sales with the odd exception. These are the preserve of morons or people who like laughing at morons.

It seems we won't sell to rivals and why would they want to go there anyway? The domestic ones have deep pockets but they're not as good as us. Our England contingent have a sense of pride playing for the national team, where else would they be better placed to get in? Playing for us with an understanding is a massive incentive for any England manager to utilise.

And the clubs like Real, they like individuals, superstars, as talented as our lot are Eriksens passes wouldn't be as effective without Deles exceptional off the ball movement. And vice versa. We have quality players but the sum is greater than the parts. We don't have a Bale that can beat half a team and slam it in the goal every other week. Why buy solid Toby for what ever we paid for him when you can splash 50 million on flashy John stones?

Real Madrid it's the chairman that gets the players in, unless we start winning leagues or doing something serious in the Champions League clubs like that won't take notice. The clubs with canny managers who would take notice like Dortmund or Monaco etc couldn't afford them.

The only way I see someone leaving is if they want a fatter contract and take a step down to join one of the Manc clubs and in that case Levy would impose a substantial Levy. & we wouldn't want that type of player in the squad anyway, Poch would mould someone else to take their place.

TLDR: Rumours these days are nonsense. Take no notice and laugh at those that do.

 

Post of the day.

 

Bale wasn't the exception, Modric signed a six year contract in 2010 and left in 2012. And us not being in the CL had no bearing on Bale departing, to believe this safeguards is in any way from clubs like Real Madrid would be to seriously to deluded yourself and we didn't need the money. The player left simple because he had the opportunity to join Real Madrid and would

Again this applies most clubs, Liverpool have lost the likes of Alonso, Mascherano, Suarez despite having CL football and finishing 2nd in the league. A Madrid and Dortmund have been asset stripped despite wining domestic leagues and reaching CL finals. This is what happens to clubs of our standing and capacity so I really do not understand why some of our supporters believe we ( a club far less successful that those clubs) are somehow immune to this. That is just the reality of our postion, it is not something to get annoyed at. The frustration should really be with the fact that we are not taking advantage of these players whilst we have them.

 

Pretty sure I read about hagi and papin on teletext! Remember the premium rate phone numbers with headlines like 'spurs linked to world cup winner'? The Klinsmann signing broke on radio 5 live when I was having a driving lesson on a runway with my old man. Fun times.

 

Yeah mate teletext. Brilliant. And yeah I phoned some of those rip off phone lines just to find out who that world class player was only to find out it was Phil Babb or Garry Breen. Wankers lol. You live and learn l guess.

 

We are taking advantage of these players, we're in a title race with 5 games to go. You really are a glass half empty chap aren't you? You have to enjoy these moments or what's the point? For me that's what it's all about, even if we don't quite do it.

 

Club call wasn't it?

They would spend the first 2 minutes explaining to you that the call you were making was 28p per minute or something while I'd be sat there thinking "I KNOW, shut up and tell me the player."

It was then inevitably bullshit

 

We are not taking advantage of these players if we dont win anything. We been here before with the Redknapp, Bale, Modric, VDV, King era.

And not it is a half full attitude, its is about placing expectations and demands on a talented side, that is how it should be because we won't have it for too long.

The question should be why wouldn't you do when the club hasn't won anything in nearly decade and when it has such talent at its disposal?

 

I think the players and the manager place these expectations upon themselves. Poch was first manager in the premiership era to talk about actually winning the Premier League. That was a quantum shift in club mentality. To start with it sounded strange but now it's our ethos it's our aim, and the supporter base is starting to believe. Well maybe not Milsey, but more than ever before. If we fall short it won't be through want of trying or any lack of ability.

Where do we come into us as supporters? I see no need to place any expectations, I hope we win the league but I'm just going to sit back and enjoy the ride because we are in good hands. And if we come second I'll still be really proud of this side. My expectations if I had any or your expectations have no bearing on anything with all due respect.