Have we become a feeder club ?

[Andy_Lochhead_in_the_air]

1954 - 2011....Blanchflower, Hitchens, Hateley, Rioch, Platt, Yorke, Barry, Milner, Young. Those are just off the top of my head.

NO, we have not BECOME a feeder club in the way I believe you are using the term.

[richardhubbard]

Are not clubs who play in the champions league like AJAX, lyon feeder clubs so yes we are

[The Man With A Stick]

Someone on here said a few weeks back that there are only three clubs in world football who aren't feeder clubs (Barcelona, Real Madrid and Bayern) and I think that's just about correct.

Even the self-styled biggest club in the world have trouble holding onto their prize assets (e.g. Ronaldo and Beckham).  If Rooney was a true world-class player without a disciplinary problem and a penchant for octogenarians-of-the-night, he'd probably have been off to Spain a few years ago as well.

The trick is dealing with it, instead of getting our knickers in a twist.  As soon as someone wants away, let them go for a price in our interests and replace them accordingly, just like Arsenal and Man Utd have done over the years.

[not3bad]

The trick is dealing with it, instead of getting our knickers in a twist.  As soon as someone wants away, let them go for a price in our interests and replace them accordingly, just like Arsenal and Man Utd have done over the years.

Exactly

[ktvillan]

I'd agree with The Man with a stick too, almost everyone has their best players nicked.  That's why clubs should be constantly keeping tabs on potential replacements so that the next generation has already been identified should a top player get poached. 

[danlanza]

I'd agree with The Man with a stick too, almost everyone has their best players nicked.  That's why clubs should be constantly keeping tabs on potential replacements so that the next generation has already been identified should a top player get poached.

Isn't that why we have our acadamy, and reserves, under 18 and so on ?

[Billy Walker]

1954 - 2011....Blanchflower, Hitchens, Hateley, Rioch, Platt, Yorke, Barry, Milner, Young. Those are just off the top of my head.

NO, we have not BECOME a feeder club in the way I believe you are using the term.

I'll do the same for Man Utd:

Denis Law, Joe Jordan, Ray Wilkins, Mark Hughes, Ruud Van Nistelroy, Cristiano Ronaldo...

There's not one club in the Premier League that hasn't sold its best players.  The trick is to have a plan/system in place that allows the club to continue growing whilst selling. 

If you can do it with skill, selling (even your best players) can be a positive thing for your club.  I think the last manager we had who could do this was Ron Saunders.

EDIT ...maybe not Denis Law, he was getting on a bit when they sold him.

[not3bad]

EDIT ...maybe not Denis Law, he was getting on a bit when they sold him.

Bit them in the arse though didn't it! Heh.

[Mister E]

From the time when Villa sold Bruce Rioch to Derby in the early-mid 1970's, it was clear that all clubs are prepared to take the right price and players to hear the siren calls of crisp £££ notes.
It's not a new phenomenon but it is certainly accentuated by the extreme wealth of the few clubs in the Euromillions group.

EDIT: sorry - should have read the last page or so of posts!

[SirSteveUK]

EDIT ...maybe not Denis Law, he was getting on a bit when they sold him.

Bit them in the arse though didn't it! Heh.

How so?

[Billy Walker]

EDIT ...maybe not Denis Law, he was getting on a bit when they sold him.

Bit them in the arse though didn't it! Heh.

How so?

Man Utd got relegated and Law scored against them with a back heel to rub salt into the wounds.

[silhillvilla]

Define feeder club, if you mean can't retain it's top players ? We've been one for decades

[danlanza]

A club who nurtures talent from an early age, only to sell when the big boys come a knocking. US. Feeding bigger clubs with our young talent. Hence the term, Feeder club. US.

[villan from luton]

Therefore most clubs are feeder clubs, would you call Man Ure a feeder club for selling Ronaldo to Real Madrid? Nearly every player has a price when the champions league mob come knocking

[danlanza]

Therefore most clubs are feeder clubs, would you call Man Ure a feeder club for selling Ronaldo to Real Madrid? Nearly every player has a price when the champions league mob come knocking

No i would not. He was already a world class player before he went to UTD.