The board The management

[TH1239]

If the player is happy at the club, has just signed a longer term contract arent on a half decent wage, are a few reasons why may have held onto them. More so if they have just signed a 5 year contract, do you realise how much our asking price would be for that player?

I do not know how you can argue wages arent a massive factor for attracting top flight players? Would Yaya Toure/Tevez/Silva have gone to Manchester City from their respective clubs, if 200k+ a week was not a factor?

There is no doubt that wages play a huge part of where certain elite players end up. However, my sole point was that our elite players, eventually, will be no different.

Just because Modric and Bale have long-term contracts doesn't mean 200,000 pounds a week from United, City, Barcelona or Real wouldn't turn their heads. Long-term contracts are nice, but the price inflation on their potential transfers that may result from them wouldn't make their fees be out of bounds for most of these mega clubs.

It's a reality we may have to face after this next season if we fail to make Champions League.

 

[Rout-Ledge]

Just think, if we held on to Bent we might be the ones looking to snatch 3rd off Arsenal...

 

[shelfmonkey]

Martin Tyler summed it up. He said 'think of the players city can now sign they are in the champions league'

We had our chance and our board and management blew it. We signed gallas aged 33 on a free and a bargain van der vaart. Simply a lack of ambition by the club and we deserve it. We had some good nights in Europe but we have ultimately went backwards and will now struggle to compete next year.

You're saying what I thought 9 months ago.

 

[nailsy]

Unfortunately the City effect has really cost us this year. The stupid money that they spend has over inflated prices, but it's also meant that teams seem to have to wait until they've done their business before getting started on theirs. What's their wage bill? £150M? How can you compete with that? It's ridiculous. Yes there are new rules coming in but I'm sure City will get round that somehow (like selling £1m seats to their super rich friends). Our league is becoming a joke because of the billionaires. It's really sad.

 

[Samson]

What some of you people don't understand is that when Harry came in he bought a lot of players, spending a lot of money and our wage budget has increased a whole lot since Harry came in which diminished our transfer kitty likewise.

Do any of you actually think they didn't try and get someone in? It didn't work out for whatever reason.

The fact that some of you are calling for the heads of Harry and/or Levy is embarrassing. We've had a good season, unfortunately we didn't do enough for 4th but I still don't see why we can't compete next season if we keep our best players and add a decent striker.

The knee-jerk and deludedness of some fans after one season in the CL is quite incredible. We've been mid-table shite for 20 years and now people expect CL every season... Have some perspective please.

I'd like to see Harry go (the one season before England thing worries me, given the way this one has sloughed off), but the idea that there is tonnes of money lying around unspent is untrue. We made a loss last season, and will make a loss next season, and have given new, large contracts to Gallas, Pienaar, Bale, Van Der Vaart and Modric, without being able to generate anything in sales.

 

[Caboose]

As Stoof said on the first page (I've not read on from there) we have gone for players since the end of last season. Unfortunately we're not a big name across the world, and our pockets arn't deep enough to attract players who will make such a big difference. We couldn't even sign Joe Cole! Going into the season we were all happy with what we had, a team that had just finished 4th, skillful and seemingly hungry. It just never clicked this season, we played well in patches, but ultimately we lacked a certain spark and certainly lacked consistency.

In January according to ITK we went for some strikers, offered good money, but again as a club we were not big enough to sign the quality we needed - perhaps we put our bids in too late but this may have been due to priority targets going else where, we know snipets of what has gone on but not the whole picture.

I'm very frustrated of how our season has whimpered out, but I don't blame the management, they've always invested over the years.

But the majority of fans (on this website it seemed) were happy with our squad at the start of the season. We wanted continuity and to let the players gel and grow together but just add quality to it. Unfortunately when it comes to attracting the very top tallent around the world, even though Spurs are the greatest team in our eyes, they're not the greatest team the world has ever seen and sadly we don't have Cities money to attract them through greedy eyes either. I just don't see what the management could have done differently.

 

[kishman]

They don't need CL football to do that anyway.

Exactly. CL football makes no difference when it comes to signing for City. As long as they offer the $$$$ players will come.

 

[nailsy]

Exactly. CL football makes no difference when it comes to signing for City. As long as they offer the $$$$ players will come.

I think it makes a big difference. Some players will come for the money, but there are still players who want to win things. Before they could sign excellent international players, now they can probably try to sign the true greats of the game. I expect to see them try and sign someone like Messi, Ronaldo or Eto now that they have champions league football.

 

[Locotoro]

I hope City go and spend ridiculous amounts of money on 5 or 6 first team players. If City splash the cash we have a better chance of finishing above them.

 

[GLUESODA]

Reading through all this I really agree with everyone’s anguish and frustration - for me its the pain of not buying Suarez in January, and Rossi in August last year and not taking this great oppurtunity we had to take us up another level.
Gallas and VDV were great buys, Pienaar and Khumalo were strange ones but F**k the whole freaken world could see we needed another striker!

But just thinking bout it this morning, we might actually be in a better position to attract good players now, than at the same stage last season.

Almost everybody in Europe now knows the "Tottenham Hotspurs" - a good exciting team with a tiny maestro called modric, a big ear welsh dribbling demon Bale, a clumsy goalkeeper and the tallest striker ever who can’t win a header for shit.

Maybe now is the time to strike while our profile in Europe and around the world is the highest its been in ages, to try get an "almost world class player" like we did with Berbatov & Modric before the bidding war starts in July August.

The key is also to hold onto the good players we have already (Modric, Bale, VDV, Gallas, Lennon, Dawson) because if everyone sees them leaving for greener pastures then we might not have a chance in hell of getting more quality in

Basically we still have a bit of pull power to work with, maybe one last chance to attract some real quality.
Im generally a miserable git but im gonna hold onto this last bit of hope in turning our promising team in the right direction again

 

[Mr Pink]

Yes the Champions League is the big Carrot, but even more so are wages.

Nothing major is likely to change regarding the latter so I dont think there will too much difference, in terms of pull, when you consider the positive exposure we've had this season...it might balance out if we can convince new recruits of our intention to qualify again this season.

What is imperative that people dont see us selling our best players who were heavily involved in getting us that exposure...thats key.

 

[kishman]

I think it makes a big difference. Some players will come for the money, but there are still players who want to win things. Before they could sign excellent international players, now they can probably try to sign the true greats of the game. I expect to see them try and sign someone like Messi, Ronaldo or Eto now that they have champions league football.

They will try but they will fail. Anyway no CL football, didn't prevent them signing stars such as Yaya Toure, David Silva and Carlos Tevez. Now they have CL football might make a slight difference, but most certainly not a big difference. At the end of the day, players will join City mainly to earn the highest wages, not for CL football.

 

[nailsy]

I'm sure you're right about Messi and Ronado, but there will be players who will go there now who wouldn't have thought about it last year.

 

[kishman]

Yeah perhaps. I have a feeling they might sign Kaka in a deal involving Adebayor going the other way.

 

[nailsy]

I think they'll go for Kaka again too. Not sure if Real will take Adebayor though.

 

[RichieS]

I think they'll go for Kaka again too. Not sure if Real will take Adebayor though.

And will Kaka still laugh at them? Wonder if they'd sell us Adebayor now..?

 

[nailsy]

I doubt it. But if they do I'd take Bellamy as well.

 

[ryantegan]

I think people are underestimating the power of regular first team football in the worlds best league. Champions League and wages aside. People in Europe know who we are, and the carrot we should dangle to these potential targets is "look how bad our strikers are and yet we still compete, go make a star of yourself"

This is why I think we are well in pole position for Lukaku

 

[JUSTINSIGNAL]

I think people are underestimating the power of regular first team football in the worlds best league. Champions League and wages aside. People in Europe know who we are, and the carrot we should dangle to these potential targets is "look how bad our strikers are and yet we still compete, go make a star of yourself"

This is why I think we are well in pole position for Lukaku

Really?

I would be very surprised if we even bid for him. If Harry doesn't think Wickham is ready for the prem then I doubt he would think a 17 year old playing in a league equivalent to league one will be.

 

[ryantegan]

Really?

I would be very surprised if we even bid for him. If Harry doesn't think Wickham is ready for the prem then I doubt he would think a 17 year old playing in a league equivalent to league one will be.

I'll put my neck on the line and say that I expect us to officially bid for at least one of those two.

We dont buy finished articles mate, we make them! (for Man Utd) :grin: