[drewks]

I think it does make a difference. If we all knew Ideye had been bought for 2.5m plus multiple add ons (or whatever it was) as opposed to to 10m (or whatever it was) it would have changed the weight of expectation on the player. Who knows, he might still be struggling but some footballers do labour with a transfer fee on their heads.

If this was just an attempt by the hierachy to make it look as though we were spending it seems pretty short-sighted, cheap, etc etc. We'd all prefer a cheap buy who works out as opposed to the opposite. Cyrille Regis - 5k (long before we had 'recruitment departments').

I admire JP's financial management of the club. As far as I am aware he does not have a fortune (in premier league terms) to bankroll the club and we all know of the numerous examples of want to stay PL clubs who have overeached themselves and are now trying to rebuild in lower leagues.

I suspect it is all part of the slight seige mentality that seems to exist. I believe the club would be better served by being more transparent with the fans. The above is an example but there are others. Team selction has been a huge issue this season yet, as a supporter, it is often impossible to know if a player is out of favour, dropped for tactical reasons for a specific game or deemed unfit by a fitness department that is derailed by the lack of a pre-season.

We all appreciate we're a smallish fish in a big pond. The club should appreciate we understand that and treat us accordingly.

Good post Stathem.....shouldn't that be 'Statham' tho?  
There is just so much crap/spin/mumbo jumbo going on in football at every professional level - it ain't just us. But you're dead right, it'd be so much better to do without all this rubbish and just tell the supporters - who ARE the club really - what's going on, and stop this stupid style of non-information    

[Superbobgod]

Exactly the point of my thread - Statham/Drewks!

[Stathemwasthebestever]

I think it does make a difference. If we all knew Ideye had been bought for 2.5m plus multiple add ons (or whatever it was) as opposed to to 10m (or whatever it was) it would have changed the weight of expectation on the player. Who knows, he might still be struggling but some footballers do labour with a transfer fee on their heads.

If this was just an attempt by the hierachy to make it look as though we were spending it seems pretty short-sighted, cheap, etc etc. We'd all prefer a cheap buy who works out as opposed to the opposite. Cyrille Regis - 5k (long before we had 'recruitment departments').

I admire JP's financial management of the club. As far as I am aware he does not have a fortune (in premier league terms) to bankroll the club and we all know of the numerous examples of want to stay PL clubs who have overeached themselves and are now trying to rebuild in lower leagues.

I suspect it is all part of the slight seige mentality that seems to exist. I believe the club would be better served by being more transparent with the fans. The above is an example but there are others. Team selction has been a huge issue this season yet, as a supporter, it is often impossible to know if a player is out of favour, dropped for tactical reasons for a specific game or deemed unfit by a fitness department that is derailed by the lack of a pre-season.

We all appreciate we're a smallish fish in a big pond. The club should appreciate we understand that and treat us accordingly.

Good post Stathem.....shouldn't that be 'Statham' tho?  
There is just so much crap/spin/mumbo jumbo going on in football at every professional level - it ain't just us. But you're dead right, it'd be so much better to do without all this rubbish and just tell the supporters - who ARE the club really - what's going on, and stop this stupid style of non-information    

Drewks...likewise on the posts; always read your's with interest and almost always agree.

However....I do blush.....it should be '....tham' as opposed to 'them' as talkSAFT gently pointed out to me last week. DS was my favouite player as a kid and once gave me one of his No 3 shirts (after repeated begging!). However this was the late 70s and there were no names on shirts and that's my poor excuse for mentally, and now actually, mispelling his name for 40 years. Hope he forgives me...sure he will, he was a class act in a team of Brawn, Cantella and Osbourn!

[BBB]

Can someone tell me in a transfer why it is not disclosed = why a secret?

---

Brown Ideye was not a £10m siging or £8.8m as has been revised in press recently!

I have on reasonable authority that the down fee was as little as £2.5m and that the overall package for his signing if all follow on fees are met - based on goals, apperances and stopping up bonuses, + agent fees, signing on fee and wages - then he would be a record signing, i.e more than £5.5 (Long,Sess,Vic).

I attended a supporters club meeting with Richard Garlick and he was an excellent guest - very straight forward, answered everything very honestly. He was asked by another guy that must of heard the same as me and after a bit of shufflking, looking at the floor and nervousness, he pretty much confirmed the above.

The Bham mail on Friday (im no good at posting links) was the first time in the press that this pretence has been dropped and Bill Howell talked about Brown being easier to move on then people think because of the fee structure. Obviously we will not be paying anywhere near the higher fees as he wont be hitting the goal and appaerance bonuses.

The 2 things that bother me most are;
) Why did Peace/The club pull the wool over our eyes - i assume to make it look like we actually spent money in another poor transfer window!!
) Would Brown actually of come off and done well without the additional pressure of the '£10m failure' - media and fans (twitter abuse) would of granted far more slack to a £2.5m signing plus additions than to this mega £10m, high profile, finished article signing!

I feel sorry for the bloke - he seems a good guy with the comments he puts on twitter and he hasnt moaned about his lot at all - only encouraged. He runs channels well, he just needed some confidence at the right times and is lacking physically a bit for english football.

Why didn't Brown say anything, was he under a gagging clause? Incidentally I watched Father Brown tonight on BBC - good.

[aries22]

Did anyone watch Tony Pulis's first media interview after his appointment? Terry Burton was sitting next to him and was squirming, especially when TP said the relationship between a manager and the chairman is a really important one, never mind that the management reporting line goes TP-Terry Burton-JP!
I honestly can't see how TP is ever going to report to Terry Burton, who seems hopelessly out of his depth with such a strong character and proven manager as TP. What TP wants, he will let Terry Burton know for sure, but Pulis will then speak directy to JP.
TP has already said he's sat down with JP to tell him what's required in the January window. I could never imagine any of that happening under Alan Irvine.
I reckon Terry Burton already feels redundant.
Good old TP! He's just what the doctor ordered.

[talkSAFT]

Did anyone watch Tony Pulis's first media interview after his appointment? Terry Burton was sitting next to him and was squirming, especially when TP said the relationship between a manager and the chairman is a really important one, never mind that the management reporting line goes TP-Terry Burton-JP!
I honestly can't see how TP is ever going to report to Terry Burton, who seems hopelessly out of his depth with such a strong character and proven manager as TP. What TP wants, he will let Terry Burton know for sure, but Pulis will then speak directy to JP.
TP has already said he's sat down with JP to tell him what's required in the January window. I could never imagine any of that happening under Alan Irvine.
I reckon Terry Burton already feels redundant.
Good old TP! He's just what the doctor ordered.

Not necessarily, Aries. That formula has served us well for 10 years or so.

[aries22]

It certainly served us well up until Dan Ashworth left, talkSAFT. Then we had Richard Garlick in the role and he failed at it and reverted to a Sporting Director role, and I honestly don't see, or haven't seen, what difference Terry Burton's made so far. Under him and Mervyn Day (the latter only to a certain extent because he joined us late last summer) a few of our signings have been a bit iffy, and I can't see what else he's done. I do stand to be corrected, as always. But there's no question that, after Pepe Mel and Alan Irvine, something needed to be shaken up, and TP is the man to do it IMHO.

[Foxman_WBA]

I don’t see how this has taken until now to come to light!

How has the world of football thought he was our most expensive transfer when he was nowhere near! Has JP that little faith in the fans that he thinks that all the matters is the cash spent? If we all knew we’d signed a player of his age and his record for effectively 2.5mil, surely no-one could have complained at that?

Hopefully now with TP at the helm all of these crazy shenanigans are behind us and we can concentrate on playing football!

[talkSAFT]

I don’t see how this has taken until now to come to light!

How has the world of football thought he was our most expensive transfer when he was nowhere near! Has JP that little faith in the fans that he thinks that all the matters is the cash spent? If we all knew we’d signed a player of his age and his record for effectively 2.5mil, surely no-one could have complained at that?

Hopefully now with TP at the helm all of these crazy shenanigans are behind us and we can concentrate on playing football!

Well said, Foxman.
Unfortunately there were many fans on WBA-Mad who would have been appalled that we had "only" spent £2.5m. Many were creaming themselves that we had spent £10m - good or bad. One the other day was quite upset and disappointed that we'd only squandered £2.5m. (I use the word "squandered" with respect to Ideye!)

[aries22]

It does seem very strange that Brown Ideye has been paraded as a £10m buy - or at least no one's gone on record to clarify or deny that - and now there's speculation he's only cost us £2.5m up front?