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

[striebs]

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, ....

Robbie has scored 15 - 20+ goals every season he has been at Spurs .

Over the last 5 seasons that makes him the most consistent striker still playing in the league doesn't it ?

I've been disappointed with many of Robbies performances this season but up until a couple of months ago he still managing to score regularly .

Don't think the recent drought has anything to do with Defoe going but you never know .

 

[worcestersauce]

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?

Barca - Figo to Real Madrid
Man Utd - Heinze to Real Mdrid
Arsenal - Reyes to Real Madrid
Liverpool - Owen to Real Madrid

Just to start it off.

Can you see a pattern here?

 

[Wsussexspur]

I dont think we are a selling club as such! The thing is for clubs outside the top 4 it is getting harder and harder to keep hold of star players cause of the money the top 4 clubs have from the champions league meaning they can pay top dollar for players and also offer more wages than the clubs outside it! Look at this summer if you believe the papers it wont only be us losing our star player if Berbatov leaves, Looks like Villa will lose Barry, Blackburn Bentley, Wigan Valencia all these clubs star players and all to top 4 clubs. Its sadly just the way footballs going and unless we break into top 4 on consitent basis then every star player we have i.e Berba, Carrick will be constently linked with moves away from the club to the top 4 and its the same for any other clubs outside it!

 

[striebs]

The definition of selling club is hazy . The definition of "shop window club" is clearer and very much applies to Spurs .

From Chelsea and Man Utd's view point it's not much different to sending a youngster out on loan .

Let them aclimatise to the Prem at a decent club like Tottenham , West Ham or Villa and pick them off when they are ready .

 

[nickspurs]

For me a selling club is when you HAVE to sell your players when bids come as you need the cash AND the player hadn't asked for a transfer.

Carrick to ManUSA wasn't an example as DC had apparently told Levy that the money was too good and that he could replace him with a better player for less money. We were willing sellers and didn't NEED the cash.

It gets a bit murky these days with the continuing concentration of power, money and staus of the CL clubs oligopoly. Players are often discreetly tapped up by these clubs and they want to move to get CL football, etc.

We don't need the money for Berba but he wants to move. For me that's not really us being a selling club per my strict definition but at the end of the day the results are the same - we're losing our best players. It's just a player-driven route and reflects the growing power players have at the expense of contractual obligation and the divide between the CL have's and have-not's.

 

[fazza]

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!!

Spot on, West Ham are indeed the definition of a Selling/feeder club, Looking at the list you've mentioned, West Ham could be top 3 contenders.

 

[Mornstar]

yeah we're a selling club. we have a habbit of selling all our brilillant players

atouba, ziegler, salty, murphy, zamora, vega, ferdinand, carr..........the list is endless

 

[bubble07]

Barca - Figo to Real Madrid
Man Utd - Heinze to Real Mdrid
Arsenal - Reyes to Real Madrid
Liverpool - Owen to Real Madrid

Just to start it off.

Can you see a pattern here?

Figo and Heinze have to be the only acceptions. I know pool and the scum are selling clubs

 

[DC_Boy]

to my mind a selling club is a club forced by finances to sell players they don't want to

we don't fit into that bracket - except in the sense that like most/any club in engalnd, if a player wants out we're liable to sell him rather keep him against his wishes

AFC have sold plenty of players like Anelka Henry - doesn't make them a selling club - like us they're a trading club - just better at it overall during the 'Wenger years'

however it could be said at times the Board's 'spin' may make fans like me think we're a trading club when in fact we are a selling club - eg in the Carrick case - I don't know what went on - on the surface it was a good price for a player who wanted out - but but but etc

 

[Tequila]

I have always thought a selling club is one that "lives and dies" by selling players, under those definitions we are not a selling club.

 

[tRiKS]

we are not a selling club now to anyone belowour top 4 or the top 3 in each of the other 2 big leagues. It's the same for all of them though but the bigger you are now the less clubs you sell to. If you assume UTD and Madrid are top of the tree they are the only non-selling clubs by the very strictest of criteria.

Carrick, Carr and Teddy are the only players of recent past i can remember that we've had to sell becasue they've wanted to go and "better" themselves. 3 in 15 years i don't thinik really puts us that far into the "selling club" catergory.

 

[si_yidarmy]

west ham are a selling club,

man utd are a buying club as are chelsea.

we would be a bit of both i guess, buy decent players, sell them because they become to big for the club.

 

[sloth]

What are the reasons a club sells a player they'd prefer to keep?

Reason one is that they receive an offer too good to refuse.

Reason two the player kicks up a stink and the club has to cut its losses.

All clubs are selling clubs in the first sense. If Utd received a £300m offer for Ronaldo they'd sell and the reason for that is that in their estimation the value of the fee is greater than that of the player.

Until you reach the pinnacle every club lies in category two. We however, imo, only have about ten clubs in world football with greater pulling power than us. That's not bad. Of course if one of those club's expresses an interest in one of our players we're going to face a fight to convince them to stay.

So to answer my own question. Yes, we're a selling club but so are all clubs to one degree or another; everyone has their price. This being so, bandying accusations such as "selling club" are meaningless. If, for example, we sell Berbatov (or anyone else for that matter), it won't be a sign we're something different than we were, it's not cause for despair, it's simply a confirmation of how things are. What we 100% should not do is not sell in order to prove a point.

 

[StockSpur]

we definately ain a buying club when it comes to recognised stars, we would never spend 25 million on a player, i was shocked when we naffed 16mill on Bent.

who cares who we sell if they dont fit our plans, we need to start buying solid stars and not trawling Englands bargain basements..