ITK Discussion The Daily ITK Discussion Thread 3rd January

[brendanb50]

Not at all suprised that these players turned us down. The reality is we are shopping on the shelf below the one they are on. That means we have to take risks (with good scouting reducing risk) but it also means the fees should be smaller.

Fans calling for 50m plus signings need to realise that it's not as easy as signing a check, because the players that cost that much won't come to us when they have offers on the table from teams who are more likely to win something in the short term.

Agree with this - we have to get in there MUCH quicker if we want players with this sort of potential. Sanchez is a decent example of recent business; Getting in a season or so earlier, paying the fee and the wages - a rare example of a complex deal falling nicely into place.

It does beg the question though - were we lucky with how well DS settled with us? Could we have moved for a De Jong or Pulisic a couple of years ago and got a first team talent within the first season? Or more often than not (history suggests so) is moving too early potentially damaging for the player and the club?

Oh well, onto more realistic targets i hope.

 

[absolute bobbins]

It's a reality check for some of the fans I reckon Doc.

The over entitled pussies or those who think the Club do no wrong?

edit: Or both?

 

[Cruyff]

Does Pulisic realise that by the time he adjusts to the PL Chelsea will have a different manager? He's not developed or experienced enough to deal with Chelsea. It's like a poor man's Real.

 

[Parkie]

We are an attractive club for some players but - look at comments attributed to Rabiot about us being “too small” a club - we haven’t won anything to shake up the “old order”. Man City and Chelsea have the money to throw around and cash makes a big difference but (for now) we either need to spunk the cash or win trophies (or both) to attract (and retain) the best players.

 

[gerishep]

Two things either its about wages or they've been told something about Poch that we don't know about.

 

[Deleted member 27995]

The over entitled pussies or those who think the Club do no wrong?

edit: Or both?

Yeah I think it works on both sides.

 

[Colonel Dax]

So nothing really to do with JJ's tweet, just your view, that's cool, I can see that.

Lol. Excuse me for giving my view on a football forum.

 

[synththfc]

Was actually very upbeat for the January window about a month ago, now I can't wait for it to be done

 

[dirtyh]

JJ's info is welcome but shouldn't be a surprise. you also need to factor in the influence of agents in all this, constantly in the ear of the player in question and will ALWAYS point the player where they can make the most commission. given that we're amongst the lowest 'payers' of agents and levy despises them, this is probably more of a factor (especially these days when we pay relatively good wages) than people realise.

 

[Ron Burgundy]

It's a reality check for some of the fans I reckon Doc.

Definitely. We're dining at the top table, but for whatever reason, none of the cool kids want to come to our party.

Ultimately there are lots of teams that have come from outside of the elite to grow aggressively - City, Chelsea, PSG...you could even say Liverpool. So it can certainly be done, but it's not happening for us.

I guess this could be down to:
- fishing in the same pool as other, bigger clubs
- wages
- uncertainty on Poch
- Levy and his (terrible) relationship with Agents
- a belief that the more established elite aren't going anywhere, and by extension, we'll be edged out in time

It's slightly odd though. I'd have thought players in their 20s would see us as, at least, a great place to get exposure and improve. It seems weirdly difficult for us to buy players

 

[Ghost Hardware]

I’m not at all surprised about De Jong, I am about Pulisic. I can only assume that Chelsea offered more and told him he will take up the mantle of Hazard when he leaves. To be honest, getting into the first team here will be harder then Chelsea as we really don’t need any wingers.

 

[Metalhead]

I suspect that there will be little, if any 'positive' ITK this month but realistically, this is what we all had to be expecting.

 

[ziggy]

A few years back it was all "you've got to be in the CL to get the top players" now we have regular CL footie and seemingly still can't get them. Got to be about the money

 

[Metalhead]

Definitely. We're dining at the top table, but for whatever reason, none of the cool kids want to come to our party.

Ultimately there are lots of teams that have come from outside of the elite to grow aggressively - City, Chelsea, PSG...you could even say Liverpool. So it can certainly be done, but it's not happening for us.

I guess this could be down to:
- fishing in the same pool as other, bigger clubs
- wages
- uncertainty on Poch
- Levy and his (terrible) relationship with Agents
- a belief that the more established elite aren't going anywhere, and by extension, we'll be edged out in time

It's slightly odd though. I'd have thought players in their 20s would see us as, at least, a great place to get exposure and improve. It seems weirdly difficult for us to buy players

Wages and transfer fees + maybe we are not yet seen by the elite players as a club to come to in order to win trophies.

 

[Trix]

It's not always about wages. Agents fees and their affiliations with clubs/owners are also a big part to play.

 

[thebenjamin]

Depressing that we can't even attract top young players, you'd think that would be one area we'd have a head start, given our track record of developing them.

 

[Wig]

A few years back it was all "you've got to be in the CL to get the top players" now we have regular CL footie and seemingly still can't get them. Got to be about the money

I don't think money is the only factor, as ambitious players will also want to win silverware. Reality is that we will only become a top tier club when we start winning trophies, something which all the other top 5 clubs have done in recent years, even Arsenal. Very chicken and egg, when we are hoping to buy the top quality players to help us achieve the top tier trophy-winning status.

 

[rez9000]

It's not always about wages. Agents fees and their affiliations with clubs/owners are also a big part to play.

Can I just clarify something on this, Trix? By affiliation, do you mean just the relationship an agent will have with an individual club or that some agents prefer only working with a certain set of clubs?

 

[SpartanSpur]

It's not always about wages. Agents fees and their affiliations with clubs/owners are also a big part to play.

Time we started greasing some palms like Liverpool have then. Say what you want about Baldini but he certainly seemed to close some deals.

 

[Rob]

A few years back it was all "you've got to be in the CL to get the top players" now we have regular CL footie and seemingly still can't get them. Got to be about the money

That's because the CL was where the money was. It's always been about money but the new TV deals mean everyone now has "CL" levels of income.