The Exiled Robin Posted August 27, 2014 Report Share Posted August 27, 2014 My views on the sale of Sam Baldock: the timing, the fee and the next captain. Suspect there will be some contrasting views on this so happy to answer feedback and comments! http://exiledrobin.blogspot.co.uk/2014/08/sam-baldock-should-we-have-let-him-go.html Thanks for reading! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
And Its Smith Posted August 27, 2014 Report Share Posted August 27, 2014 Overall the article is good but I don't like how you quote figures I.e. Baldock's fee and wage without actually knowing. You write as if the numbers are factual. Plus you compare the Baldock and Assombolonga fees but do not compare the lengths of contracts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wanderingred Posted August 27, 2014 Report Share Posted August 27, 2014 Quite simply, I no longer believe we are promotion contenders..thats our captain and 20 goals a season gone in a moment. We'll see what happens though. Agard could turn out to be a great buy, but we need to sign another striker. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy082005 Posted August 27, 2014 Report Share Posted August 27, 2014 At the end of the day....if a player wants to leave, which I think Sam did, there is not a lot you can do so yeah, we were right to sell. If City had stood firm, how committed would Sam have been for the rest of the season. I am not doubting his proffesionalism but like any one of us, in any walk of life, if a better opportunity comes up, with more money....and your employers stopped you, how committed and passionate would you be for the remainder of the time you were there? Also....players running down a contract is a risky game. Imagine if he did, then had a career ending injury in March. He wanted to move, It is possibly his last chance at a 'big signing on fee' and the security of a four year contract, its playing for a club who are where we would love to be in 5 years time. We move on and hope this new kiddie can fill the void Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sleepy1968 Posted August 27, 2014 Report Share Posted August 27, 2014 Well balanced article. Echoes the thoughts of many of us. Whether the announcement was delayed. Who knows. It might have affected a few (I mean three or four) peoples decision on whether to get a s/t, but 99.95% of us are already spoken for, so it would seem a bit pointless to do so. i'd give the captaincy to Smith over Elliott simply because of contract terms and building for the future. Elliott can mentor him this season. We needed another striker before Agard came in so I reckon we still need one know. The next few days might be interesting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
New Dazzler Posted August 27, 2014 Report Share Posted August 27, 2014 I would agree with most, if not all, of that. There will always be voices of doom and gloom when a top player is sold, but there was an air of inevitability about this once we signed Agard. A week ago everyone was fairly happy with the squad, and that was before he signed. I have a feeling that Cotts still has some deals to do, but he must have signed Keiron knowing that the game was almost up with Sam, so that represents the fact that a plan was in place. The (non) reported fee may be disappointing, but we just have to think of how Maynard's market value decreased in 4-5 months between Leicester's 6 million bid and the eventual sale to West Ham. And my recollection is that NM played well below his potential as he was running the clock down on his contract. No football club needs players who would rather be somewhere else where they know they realistically could be. It will be interesting to see if we land any more major signings, a lot of people have been speculating about where SC would most want to strengthen the squad, especially now that the strike force looks weaker (compared with this weekend) and the way that JET is going to progress is unpredictable to say the least! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leveller Posted August 27, 2014 Report Share Posted August 27, 2014 Overall the article is good but I don't like how you quote figures I.e. Baldock's fee and wage without actually knowing. You write as if the numbers are factual.Plus you compare the Baldock and Assombolonga fees but do not compare the lengths of contracts. Yes he did. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted August 28, 2014 Report Share Posted August 28, 2014 Quite simply, I no longer believe we are promotion contenders..thats our captain and 20 goals a season gone in a moment. We'll see what happens though. Agard could turn out to be a great buy, but we need to sign another striker. Agree, we need to be competing with the likes of Brighton f.f.s not selling them our best players. What have they got that's so great Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monkeh Posted August 28, 2014 Report Share Posted August 28, 2014 If baldock had longer then 9 months left on his contract the fee we got would of been double Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monkeh Posted August 28, 2014 Report Share Posted August 28, 2014 Agree, we need to be competing with the likes of Brighton f.f.s not selling them our best players. What have they got that's so great Championship football Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loco Rojo Posted August 28, 2014 Report Share Posted August 28, 2014 At the end of the day....if a player wants to leave, which I think Sam did, there is not a lot you can do so yeah, we were right to sell. If City had stood firm, how committed would Sam have been for the rest of the season. I am not doubting his proffesionalism but like any one of us, in any walk of life, if a better opportunity comes up, with more money....and your employers stopped you, how committed and passionate would you be for the remainder of the time you were there? Also....players running down a contract is a risky game. Imagine if he did, then had a career ending injury in March. He wanted to move, It is possibly his last chance at a 'big signing on fee' and the security of a four year contract, its playing for a club who are where we would love to be in 5 years time. We move on and hope this new kiddie can fill the void This, absolutely this. People need to remember that Sam was the one who told Cots about Brightons interest before the very first bid, which suggests he/his agent were contacted and a certain level of interest to leave. This concept of 'keeping' a player is nonsense in football and i agree with your example above. I think it would have become reality and we'd have a player who'd have become resentful leading to another Maynard situation. Personally, i think this is a great bit of business for a player with a year left on his contract. Time to move on. The only thing that needs to be managed carefully is the ripple effect this could have on the rest of the team. Time will tell. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dolman Pragmatist Posted August 28, 2014 Report Share Posted August 28, 2014 Personally, i think this is a great bit of business for a player with a year left on his contract. And there's the crux of it. In another thread fans are still exercising their vitriol about Nicky Maynard, while Sam Baldock retains his stately status. Yet Baldock has, as far as I can see, behaved in exactly the same was as Maynard by refusing to sign a new contract and effectively holding the club to ransom. We had no option but to sell him, but he has cost us a lot of money by refusing to accept a new deal (while at the same time professing his apparent love for Bristol and his happiness to remain at City. Yeah right.). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ten minutes of rough Posted August 28, 2014 Report Share Posted August 28, 2014 Championship football But that is what we were investing in, selling our prize asset was crazy, even if we had lost on a transfer fee in the summer, but but then we might have been Championship anyway, who knows he might have signed a new contract. Anyway the King is Dead, God Save The King. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin phantom Posted August 28, 2014 Admin Report Share Posted August 28, 2014 Classic example of not letting your prize assets get down to the last year of their contract !! I wonder how far back this goes?, to me when he was on fire for us last season, a contract should have been put under his nose immediately. Whether this was done or not remains to be seen, but certainly odd that nothing has come out of the club explaining this. Can we blame the player? No, he has gone somewhere higher up the ladder than us, may have been a gamble with his career staying with us to see if he could get to the level of BHA, as they were pushing for promotion to the Prem last season can't really say it was a tough decision for him Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ten minutes of rough Posted August 28, 2014 Report Share Posted August 28, 2014 Quite simply, I no longer believe we are promotion contenders..thats our captain and 20 goals a season gone in a moment. We'll see what happens though. Agard could turn out to be a great buy, but we need to sign another striker. I agree we do need another proven striker, step forward Nicky? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wacker Posted August 28, 2014 Report Share Posted August 28, 2014 Sam baldock wanted to leave.....end of! Well done the club in bringing in new players I say. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monkeh Posted August 28, 2014 Report Share Posted August 28, 2014 But that is what we were investing in, selling our prize asset was crazy, even if we had lost on a transfer fee in the summer, but but then we might have been Championship anyway, who knows he might have signed a new contract. Anyway the King is Dead, God Save The King. Aye we are investing in that but there is no garantee we will be playing it next season, Do we risk letting him go on a free even if we got promoted or do we get as much as we can for him? I really thought he would stay but it's totally understandable why we have sold him and for once we sold a player on our terms after we got a replacement in, The club looks like it's finally learnt on that front and should be commended, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marina's Rolls Royce Posted August 28, 2014 Report Share Posted August 28, 2014 Agree, we need to be competing with the likes of Brighton f.f.s not selling them our best players. What have they got that's so great A fantastic shiny new stadium that is already built, a larger fan base and an impressive track record in the past 2 seasons, longer contract terms and higher wages but apart from that and Championship football- absolutely nothing. Why anyone believes that a club can force a player to stay is beyond me and talk of selling a prized asset is naive when it is clear Sam wanted to go. Every player we have is going to leave. And as for anyone believing that our promotion hopes are now over as a result is more a comment on our fans than our club. AS for all the talk of Assombalonga- different style of player entirely, long contract, younger and already proving his worth at Forest. Meanwhile- thanks Exiled Robin- enjoy your articles and in this case I think you've answered your own questions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Major Isewater Posted August 28, 2014 Report Share Posted August 28, 2014 For me the more pertinent question is "could we have kept Baldock ? " Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ten minutes of rough Posted August 28, 2014 Report Share Posted August 28, 2014 For me the more pertinent question is "could we have kept Baldock ? " Yes he was under contract FWIW Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marina's Rolls Royce Posted August 28, 2014 Report Share Posted August 28, 2014 Yes- of course we could. Refuse to let him talk to anyone and let him rot in the reserves and go for free in a matter of months. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BristolBEAT Posted August 28, 2014 Report Share Posted August 28, 2014 I do believe we are a weaker side with Baldock gone. Don't expect too much of Agard, he is going to take time to bed in. Agard will aimlessly run around for the first few games, trying to find where he should be playing. Optimism and promotion hope dampened. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B-Rizzle Posted August 28, 2014 Report Share Posted August 28, 2014 Classic example of not letting your prize assets get down to the last year of their contract !! I wonder how far back this goes?, to me when he was on fire for us last season, a contract should have been put under his nose immediately. Whether this was done or not remains to be seen, but certainly odd that nothing has come out of the club explaining this. True, but much easier said than done. He initially signed a 3 year contract with us. After year 1 we were relegated when he had probably hoped we'd be doing a whole lot better (not going to be contract talks then are there). After year 2 he he had had a great season but the team had largely struggled and only salvaged the season in the last few months. I'm certain during last season the club would have had informal discussions with SB/ his agent re a new contract. Having said that, do you really think he would have signed a new deal last season or this summer? Put yourself in his shoes, he 100% wouldn't. The truth is we have never been in a position to get him signed up again. I agree that in an ideal world you avoid this happening (like with Maynard) however I don't think the club has been at fault with SB. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BCFC_Dan Posted August 28, 2014 Report Share Posted August 28, 2014 Good article and sound arguments. I think the club was right to sell and did well to get a replacement in ahead of time. Signing Agard only really made sense as Baldock's replacement, so things have worked out well and the extra couple of weeks will help Agard to settle in. Maybe it won't make a huge difference but it can't hurt. Now I think we need to look for a 4th striker. My thoughts when we signed Agard was that, unless Baldock was leaving, we should have been looking for a player in a similar position to Agard when Rotherham signed him, not one in the position he is now. Now we need a 4th striker I think that's the sort of player we should look for. Someone young, unproven and cheap who may not succeed but won't be an expensive failure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ash the Bash Posted August 28, 2014 Report Share Posted August 28, 2014 Great read Exiled Robin Totally agree about Flint... A good pre-season & a couple of decent league games - time for the captaincy? No, lets be sensible about this.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoldenBall Posted August 28, 2014 Report Share Posted August 28, 2014 I do believe we are a weaker side with Baldock gone. Don't expect too much of Agard, he is going to take time to bed in. Agard will aimlessly run around for the first few games, trying to find where he should be playing. Optimism and promotion hope dampened. Like Baldock did this season Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SimonR Posted August 28, 2014 Report Share Posted August 28, 2014 But that is what we were investing in, selling our prize asset was crazy, even if we had lost on a transfer fee in the summer, but but then we might have been Championship anyway, who knows he might have signed a new contract. Anyway the King is Dead, God Save The King. I find myself in agreement with Ten, Now lets get behind Agard and give him the encouragement he deserves. No point in castigating the Club, Manager or even Sammy B. You Reds! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davros Posted August 28, 2014 Report Share Posted August 28, 2014 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kezman Posted August 28, 2014 Report Share Posted August 28, 2014 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
exAtyeoMax Posted August 28, 2014 Report Share Posted August 28, 2014 Sam was only "on fire" for less than half the season. He came good in the end when he was given more space and not played as a lone striker. But I do think people are possibly over inflating his part in the team. We have done well since Albert left with new and different kinds of players, so why not without Sam? I think we have a decent squad to push on for promotion. This isn't the end, but the beginning of a new chapter to which we will adapt and evolve into a better team. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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