Philly The Kid

@Davefevs Is there a drop off point for the compo? or is it open ended? If, say he doesn't get a club 'til next summer (Unlikely I suppose) will we still get the compo as we were the last club he was registered for? On another point (Very unlikely I know), given that in order to claim compo, we had to offer him at least what he was on, on his last contract, if he suddenly found that attractive because he couldn't get it elsewhere, could he come back if that was agreeable to both parties? I (probably like you and a few others) thought he was a missed opportunity and was worth persevering with. Someone else said we've since blocked academy progress for one or two by buying in certain positions so keeping him wouldn't have left us in any worse situation than now, in that sense.... Financially a different matter of course... accept that!

But the £5m isn't guaranteed if the targets aren't met. Saying £5m over a period of time doesn't necessarily mean guaranteed instalments if that £5m is made up of agreed targets like appearances, premier league status etc Therefore, the only guaranteed sum is the £20m, and even then, there's a chance we've agreed to accept that in guaranteed instalments.

Nige has probably realised we've got to 155 pages and it's slowed down a bit. Announcing he's got a knock will soon get things back to their usual fever pitch pretty quickly ?

I understand your argument and to a lesser extend I agree. However, it's not as simple as you make it out to be. No where in any of your replies have you mentioned what the player actually wants. It's easy to say he's under contract he'll have to knuckle down and get on with it.. That doesn't work with modern professionals who basically, hold all the cards. Once their head is turned it's nigh on impossible to get them back (although it can happen). When Alex goes away on his England duties don't you think he talks to other players about their contracts, Financial and anything else? Once he realises he's getting a fraction of what they're on he knows he can do better. Up until now he's been a model pro. But if I was a betting man (and I'm not) I would wager he's had a conversation with uncle Steve and stated his desire to play at the highest level and if they can do a deal which is right for the club, right for his development and career then can we do that please? I very much doubt he's said I'll forgo whatever earnings I could make elsewhere to stay and try and win promotion with City, unless no deal is done before the start of the season and come January we're fourth with 3 games in hand, then the dynamic changes. I think the notion you have, whilst being morally right is somewhat romantic and just doesn't stack up in the real world. The realities of what we are as a club, our past mistakes and an uncertain future with Steve trying to punt us on means we won't always get what we want...

Ah, things will start moving now the heavy hitter's now involved..?

I knew he'd have a hand in it...

Yes, and that's the point isn't it? we're not guaranteed anything which is exactly why the club are playing hardball and asking for a fee they believe to be his true value as it stands. Where his value goes in the future is dependent on whether he continues to progress and whether he's properly coached to achieve his maximum. There are no guarantees in life.

They haven't and I never suggested they did. My point was that we thought we were in for a Brucie bonus with sell on fees. Some naively thought if Bournemouth and Burnley came back down, those two were nailed on Premier league players who would be snapped up and we'd get the sell on bonus. My point was that hasn't happened so the same thing (conceivably) could happen with Alex if he goes to Bournemouth or Wolves. What if he doesn't kick on like Kelly didn't in the way some thought? If he goes on a long contract with no relegation clause it's conceivable we won't get any meaningful sell on. Not sure that'll happen, grant you, but I never mentioned anyone going on a free!

We all thought that with Josh Brownhill and LLoyd Kelly (as previously mentioned). Doesn't always happen.

Gotta laugh at how some people assume if he's sold we'll start chucking the money around on more expensive signings. No one at the club has even insinuated that. More expensive signings usually come with a wage commensurate with the fee, So given our wage max is a reputed £12k a week (I'm sure I read on here) then that's probably why we have been paying the fees we have. We now have a wage structure which was/is long overdue and means everyone is earning about the same once established. Anyone coming in on big money will destroy the harmony and balance and I don't believe NP will allow that to happen. We can still find gems in the range we've been shopping in, no reason why that can't continue. I don't get this "oh look, we've come into £25 mill let's spend spend spend mentality"... Sure, fill the gaps where they exist and buy cover, but we've done bloated squads before and look where that got us.

Why would it need to land in Jersey? There's an airport in Guernsey...

Piece of piss when you're spending someone else's money!!!

Lansdown has always been a vociferous critic of the parachute payment system. With our luck, you watch, the very season we eventually get promoted will be the same season he gets his way and they are abolished!!!

I wonder if they get the *cough* test....?

Posted just now I don't think Alex will have any qualms about moving abroad if he feels his career will benefit by it. He's such a level headed guy with a common sense which belies his years. I remember Le Tiss once said in an interview that the channel islanders view the continent differently to most main landers and they see themselves more continental in a british way! (Contradictory but I get what he means!) I've long advocated Dortmund for him and I suggested this a few years ago not only because I lived there and it's a great club but because of how they've developed young talent. They seem to instil a mentality into them which benefits their all round game. Whether Italy is a go-er remains to be seen but a continental move I think is great for young players. Broaden your horizon's and all that. As for fees etc, we'll get what someone's prepared to pay whether it's £25m, £15m or £30m. At the end of the day it's down to our resolve, what we judge to be fair to us and Alex and whether the structure of the deal benefits the club.

Still ongoing...

For a club who have perennially under achieved given it's fan base, infrastructure and supposed ambition, It's somewhat bizarre that in recent seasons we've aspired to be 'Bang average' given our struggles. It's easy to see why some people adopt a cynical "believe it when I see it" attitude. It's difficult to remain optimistic when every new season promises so much and then disappoints. As @Davefevs says, It's the hope that kills you!! FWIW, I think NP is doing a great job given the mess the club was in. It needed a root and branch review and it's been done and a coherent achievable plan has been put into action. Yes we'll have to be patient and sometimes that's difficult but for the first time in ages we seem to have a plan. But yes, I think when you look at the big picture we've been average, mediocre, impressive and careless all in roughly equal measure. It's all part of the journey.

Different gravy....

Tease!!

Tomorrow? ?

I didn't quote him as being ITK as he clearly isn't. His chat was on a general basis and TK threw it in the conversation. The fitter explained him and his missus were going to Prague and how beautiful it is and TK responded with how nice it was here. It went from there.

I had some carpets fitted recently and the fitter had done a couple in Tomas's place recently too. He got chatting and he apparently said he wanted to stay, felt the club wanted him and he was hoping it could be sorted. He did apparently say football finance had changed after COVID and it was something we all have to accept. Loves the area.

"Tomorrow never dies Meester Bond..."

For any Mary Poppins fans out there.. As the song goes;;; "supercalifragilisticexpertcunnilingus Gonna have to use my tongue I've broken all my fingers Even though the taste of it, it often kinda lingers supercalifragilisticexpertcunnilingus..... umdiddleliddle umdiddle I" (Tongue shapes as appropriate...)

She did and improved my oral technique no end. I soon became reasonably fluent in German. That liaison ended when I met a girl from Venlo and decided Dutch was the new German. Godverdommejij!!!