Summer 2010 Transfer Thread: B*llsh*t, Rumours & Wishes

[hilts_coolerking]

If we're still hoping to sign Ireland then who is driving that transfer?  Who has decided the squad / team needs that player?  I'm not sure that anyone other than the manager should be deciding who comes to the club.  Okay, Randy can set the limits on spending but that's as far as his involvement should go.

[Chris Smith]

If Randy/Faulkner were looking after transfers, then the Milner/Ireland thing won't be affected by any of this. In fact I would bet that MON didn't want Ireland at all, wanted the cash and likely had his own targets in mind.

The owner and CEO buying players against the wishes of the manager. Much as I'm dismayed at what has gone on I don't believe that they'd do that, if they had then it would be why MON has walked.

[Monty]

I think MON wanted Ireland in anyway (whether swap deal or not is hard to say), and then it's got this far down the line that he's part of the deal, and to change it at this late stage would seem a bit odd. I'd be surprised if any incoming manager was upset with having Stephen Ireland.

[hilts_coolerking]

I think MON wanted Ireland in anyway (whether swap deal or not is hard to say), and then it's got this far down the line that he's part of the deal, and to change it at this late stage would seem a bit odd. I'd be surprised if any incoming manager was upset with having Stephen Ireland.

If Martin wanted Ireland then we shouldn't be signing him because Martin is no longer our manager.  If Martin didn't want Ireland then our owners shouldn't be deciding which players we need.  I imagine any incoming manager would much prefer to have the cash.

[Monty]

Well, to be procedural about it, our current manager is Kevin MacDonald, and if he wants Ireland then technically we should get him. If we decide to go for a purely cash deal, Ireland goes elsewhere and the new manager comes in and says "why did you do that, I wanted Ireland" then the new manager will be just as annoyed as in the scenario you're positing. I think it far more likely that any incoming manager would like Ireland anyway.

[Chris Smith]

From The Guardian:

James Milner's protracted transfer from Aston Villa to Manchester City is finally set to go through on Thursday after the two clubs agreed a package worth about £26m.

Stephen Ireland – whose agent today held talks with the Villa chief executive, Paul Faulkner – will sign for Villa as part of the deal, providing he reaches a settlement with City over the remainder of his contract. Discussions will take place between Ireland's representative and City's hierarchy tomorrow morning.

Ireland has been valued at £10m, meaning that Villa will receive a further £16m in cash in addition to the former Republic of Ireland midfielder. Should Ireland pull out of the transfer – there is no indication that is likely to happen at the moment despite Martin O'Neill's resignation yesterday – Milner will move to Eastlands in a straight cash deal. Both players have been pencilled in for medicals at their respective new clubs on Thursday and could make their debuts at the weekend.

The latest development will come as a relief to all parties involved. The Guardian revealed City's interest in Milner almost four months ago but negotiations between the two clubs have dragged on. City tabled a £20m bid in May that was flatly rejected, with Villa holding out for closer to £30m for a player who cost £12m two years ago. In the end Villa agreed to lower their demands although many of the club's supporters will feel pleased by the final outcome.

Ireland's inclusion as a makeweight in the transfer was thrown into doubt when O'Neill unexpectedly quit, but the talks that had been agreed before that development went ahead as planned. The 23-year-old, who was voted City's player of the year at the end of the 2008-09 season, appears to have accepted that he has no future with Roberto Mancini in charge. Having signed a lucrative five-year contract with City little more than 12 months ago, he will hope to negotiate a sizeable settlement.

Seems we don't need a manager to buy and sell players as I suggested on the General's thread. I wonder if Faulkner will be selling any more of them.

[Ads]

Its a deal O'Neill was involved in from the start. Everything was agreed in principle to the best of my knowledge before he shat over this mighty club.

[Monty]

Wow Chris. I always thought you'd make a formidable pessimist, but wow. Cheer up there, lad, there's surely not much bad to be got out getting Stephen Ireland and money for a player who is about as good as Ireland but less what we need.

[Mazrim]

Great news. We needed a shot in the arm.
Just in time to orchestrate tearing West Ham a new anus.

More of this sort of thing.

[Chris Smith]

Wow Chris. I always thought you'd make a formidable pessimist, but wow.

I've learnt from experts.

[pauliewalnuts]

I hope you haven't just been watching that M6 documentary on BBC1, Chris.

Stay away from the iplayer if you haven't

[Monty]

I can imagine him now, sitting in the dark, staring at the press release on the OS listening to the Smiths (pun absolutely intended). A bit like me when we signed Heskey.

[hilts_coolerking]

Well, to be procedural about it, our current manager is Kevin MacDonald, and if he wants Ireland then technically we should get him. If we decide to go for a purely cash deal, Ireland goes elsewhere and the new manager comes in and says "why did you do that, I wanted Ireland" then the new manager will be just as annoyed as in the scenario you're positing. I think it far more likely that any incoming manager would like Ireland anyway.

Your first point is crazy because, barring some sort of brain melt from Randy, MacDonald will be in charge for something like a fortnight.  He should have no say in multi-million pound acquisitions.

Your second point seems to be that whoever we get will have wanted us to sign Ireland.  The truth is, some managers may like Ireland, others may not.  I imagine that most managers would prefer the chance to decide for themselves who they buy, even if that means Ireland goes elsewhere.  If it was a genuinely world-class player we were talking about then I would agree; but this is Stephen bloody Ireland.  He's had one very good season in the Premier League and that's it.

We have no idea who the next manager will be, and therefore no idea what style he likes to play, which players he likes, or whatever.  Far better to bank the money and let the new man make his own decisions.  If money is tighter than it has been in recent seasons, we can't risk c. £10M on a player that was signed at the behest of a departing manager or, worse still, the board and then cross our fingers and hope that the new manager likes him too.

[Mazrim]

Chris will be back riding high on a horse called chipper as soon as this whole clusterfuck resolves itself.
And it will.

[Monty]

I was being just a little bit deliberately obtuse with the first point there, Hilts. My main point, however, is that if this is the deal then player or otherwise, that is what has been agreed. I still think it's far, far more likely that any manager coming in would like Ireland for us in our position than not want him, especially with Milner gone. Plus, with not much time in the transfer window, we are in no position to enter tricky negotiations for Milner-level players. Signing players, as you know, is a very tricky, long-winded business, and it'd be hard to just suddenly go for someone in the last couple of weeks of the window when you don't have money to burn.