What's a selling club? And are we one?

[sloth]

There's a bit of chat flying about and so I thought I'd see what people thought.

I want to get a good definition of a selling club first.

Imo a selling club is one which sells because it can't afford not to and which harbours ambitions only to make a profit/stay afloat.

 

[michaelden]

A gooner friend of mine called spurs a selling club on the weekend. Says its cos we sell our stars.

I set him straight using our profits and turnover as an argument for us. But it got me thinking. If Berbs wanted to stay and we were offered 26mil would we keep him or would he be sold?

 

[eddiebailey]

I would say that the definition of selling club is one that to raise funds sells players who have not asked to leave and whom the coach wants to keep.

Depending on whom you believe, the sale of Carrick arguably put us into that bracket.

 

[Disconosebleed]

There's a bit of chat flying about and so I thought I'd see what people thought.

I want to get a good definition of a selling club first.

Imo a selling club is one which sells because it can't afford not to and which harbours ambitions only to make a profit/stay afloat.

My definition of a selling club is one who can be forced into selling their best players by the lure of bigger clubs...in that respect, we're a selling club. We don't have to sell our top players to survive, but we can be forced into selling our top players when big clubs show interest and turn the players' heads.

'Selling club' is just another arbitrary term rendered meaningless by the fact that there's no set definition of the term. Same with 'world class', I'm always hearing 'Player X is world class' or 'Player Y has the potential to be world class', but no one really knows what it means - that they're one of the best players in the world? That they would be good enough for any club in the world?

 

[Shanks]

To be honest, if the rumours are true we were too tight to offer carrick a high wage, so sold him because we got a seriously high bid for him.

I dont think we are a selling club, mainly because we haven't had the stars to sell (unlike west ham!).
But its difficult to stop a player with ambition, who wants to play CL football, so its best to get the most amount of cash possible (which might happen to berbs this summer).

 

[brasil_spur]

We're not a 'selling club' but we do sell players who we think are not helping us move forward (as do Man U, Chelsea etc....)

The only exception to this in recent times was Carrick. And for the £18m we got for him it made perfect sense to sell him.

If we sell Berbatov then that would be 2 players in recent times, but then look at Chelsea - looks like Drogba is off, and Man U sold Beckham and van Nistelroy while they were still very good players.

A selling club is someone like West Ham.

 

[chrissivad]

My definition of a selling club is one who can be forced into selling their best players by the lure of bigger clubs...in that respect, we're a selling club. We don't have to sell our top players to survive, but we can be forced into selling our top players when big clubs show interest and turn the players' heads.

over the last few seaons, who are the players we have sold to bigger clubs?

Carrick

going futher back Sheringham, who else?

 

[TheChosenOne]

I would say a selling club does so to pay for running costs of a club.

 

[Disconosebleed]

over the last few seaons, who are the players we have sold to bigger clubs?

Carrick

going futher back Sheringham, who else?

Which players have we had that top clubs would want? Robbie Keane has only hit consistently good form over the last 18 months or so, Berbatov has spent two years proving himself and will now leave in the summer. Carrick left as soon as a top club put in a serious bid for him. Ledley's injury problems have kept the top sides away from him.

Other than that, we've not had any players good enough for the top four, have we? We've had a number of players linked with the top sides - Defoe and King were linked with big moves, but no concrete bids were ever made. Robinson when he was in the form of his life was probably good enough for a top four side, but it's pretty rare for top clubs to look for goalkeepers, they generally find one they rate and hold onto them for years.

The crunch time is the next year or so, as I'd say we have more top-four-quality players than ever (King, Woodgate, Hutton, Bale potentially, Berbatov, Keane) - we just have to see how many of them we can keep. Berbatov's as good as gone, and to be honest unless we're challenging the top sides within 12-18 months I'm not sure how many of the rest of them we can keep. Hutton and Bale both had United sniffing around them before we got them, I imagine if they had put in bids we'd have been pushed out, and if they continue playing the way they have this season they'll probably end up there.

Basically, any team that isn't competing for everything is a selling club, as far as I'm concerned. No matter how good you are, if you're not the best then you're at risk of losing your top players to the best teams. Even United, the best team in the country, are permanently at risk of losing Ronaldo because he's always wanted to play for the biggest side in the world, Madrid. Of course part of that is down to the culture and the Spanish/Portuguese link, but he's always said it's because Madrid is the club he has always idolised.

 

[Defsta]

Usually Edmonton Oilers is called selling club as they have sold their stars cos of financial crisis, but thanks to new CBA and new owner they don't have to.

But basically it means you develope your own youngsters and when they are good/star players you sell them, but in NHL it basically works like you trade those players to prospects and trade them for prospect when you have first developed them.


So basically selling team is definition for Westham or Leeds :up:

 

[Evolution]

A selling club for me is someone who sells on all there best promising young talent. West Ham spring to mind. They sold Joe Cole, Michael Carrick, Glen Johnson, Rio Ferdinand, Jermain Defoe and Frank Lampard etc and I firmly believe that we would not have done that.

West Ham would have a pretty decent squad with those lads in the team developed as they are now!! I also think they will sell on Freddy Sears and THAT for me is a selling club....not Tottenham!!

 

[DoublePivot]

Every club is a selling club except for the giants of football (our big 4, Barca, Real, the Milans, Juve and Bayern)

We are in that group of clubs with enough tradition and resources to be secure enough keep almost all of our players, but we have to sell on occasion

 

[AW?]

If we sell Berbs then you can safely say we are a selling club.

 

[Dibby]

If we sell Berbs then you can safely say we are a selling club.

Not neccesarily....

A selling club is a club which sells their players purely for a profit, even if it means it may hinder the performance of the club. Berbatov's sale is likely to be forced.

 

[brasil_spur]

Every club is a selling club except for the giants of football (our big 4, Barca, Real, the Milans, Juve and Bayern)

We are in that group of clubs with enough tradition and resources to be secure enough keep almost all of our players, but we have to sell on occasion

I'm not convinced we are any more a selling club than our top 4 - Vieira (Arsenal), Beckham (Man U), Owen (Liverpool), Robben (Chelsea).

In the last 10 or so years i can only think of Sheringham and Carrick as being players that we had to sell.

 

[AW?]

Not neccesarily....

A selling club is a club which sells their players purely for a profit, even if it means it may hinder the performance of the club. Berbatov's sale is likely to be forced.

I know what your saying but for me if a team sells it's best players it is a selling club either way.

 

[Evolution]

I know what your saying but for me if a team sells it's best players it is a selling club either way.

I think there is a distinct difference though between a team that sells its best bright young talent, unforced, just to cash in (eg. Wet Spam) and a team that is forced to sell its best player because he wants to play Champions League football and does not want to play for you anymore so your forced to cash in.

 

[bubble07]

Every club is a selling club except the very big clubs like AC, Inter, Barca, Real and Man U. Can u think of any players that left those clubs without their approval?

 

[arthurgrimsdell]

A selling club is one which develops players with the intention of selling them later at a profit as a matter of policy, because other forms of income are insufficient for the club to continue, rather than developing players to better the club, with a fall-back position of a good sell-on price if it doesn't work out, which is Tottenham's current position.

The epithet "selling club" is thrown at clubs one doesn't like when one of their star players looks like he wants to leave: hence Tottenham with Carrick and Berbatov, and Arsenal with Vieira and Henry.

West Ham went through a period of being a selling club when they were relegated, otherwise they would have been in deep financial do-do's, as both Arsenal and Tottenham would have been in the same situation.

If a rival supporter throws the accusation at your club, you will always be able to throw it back at them, even Chelsea, with their problems with Lampard and Drogba, and Manchester United with Van Nistelrooy. They'll argue, but then that's the point isn't it?

 

[bubble07]

I'm not convinced we are any more a selling club than our top 4 - Vieira (Arsenal), Beckham (Man U), Owen (Liverpool), Robben (Chelsea).

In the last 10 or so years i can only think of Sheringham and Carrick as being players that we had to sell.

Wenger and Fegie wanted to get rid of Vieira and Beckham. But I agree with the other 2.

The scum are a selling club because they coudn't hang on to overmars, petit, edu, anelka ect