- Aug 25, 2010
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Well the reason I've heard, and I haven't had it corroborated(so take it with a large pinch of salt) which is why I haven't posted it until now, was that we couldn't shift Sanchez or Tanganga so we never pushed it. We were waiting for one of them to firm up first. Thing is you keep saying that big clubs don't usually get 3 in in January, and you are right they don't(so I've answered your question) but is that because it's so very difficult to do so, or because they don't really need to because they usually get what they need in the Summer. No one can tell me how hard things are in January, I know far better than most the added difficulties the winter window brings, but it's far from impossible. As I've said previously.... "We have wanted Porro for a good while, yet leave it until last minute to try and shave a few quid off(which we didn't btw). It's 100% a deliberate strategy to wait until the last week because in the past there's usually been more value. When you are trying to buy other clubs best players though, it doesn't happen because be it the beginning of the window or the end they still don't want to sell.
Regardless of how much revenue comes in Levy is never willing to push the boat out or take even the smallest risk to push us forward. In January we spent a month haggling for a player we paid full price for, and signed a player on loan who fell in our lap. You keep saying "The big clubs never address three major problems in January", and I've said "you're right because they address them in the Summer and then just need to tweak in January". That's the point. You keep comparing us to the other big 6 clubs, but when it comes to transfers we are not a big 6 club because we don't act like one, if we were we wouldn't be having the same post mortem after every single transfer window be it Summer or Winter.
If we were skint I'd accept it, I'd understand it, and it's why all the way through the stadium build and NDP I made allowances. I defended Levy to the hilt because he was right in what he said regarding needing that income to compete for the bigger players. "It would be a game changer". Fact is though It hasn't made the slightest bit of difference to the way we negotiate through the transfer market, we are still trying to be cute with every deal despite having the best income v outgoings differential and the highest season ticket prices in the world.
Brilliant post.
And your last paragraph is the most frustrating part.
I thought it would change, but we're still applying the same negotiating tactics every window and charging the highest season ticket prices around.
And we've actually got people defending this on here.
It's absurd.