Summer Transfer Thread and Gustavo Cisneros Type Rumours.

[richtheholtender]

It's that last part of his tweet. The not understanding the football world. Well, explain away......

[PeterWithe]

It's that last part of his tweet. The not understanding the football world. Well, explain away......

What it means is that when you say 'this is my club, my city, my home' and sign a new 5 year contract, what it really means in the football world is calling up your agent and getting a move to whoever will pay you the most money at the first opportunity you get.

Thats the real football world and we were all fools for thinking anything else.

[sickbeggar]

He's just not advised very well is he? In circumstances like this you just keep your mouth shut. It's easy. Don't do an interview because you won't come out of it well, and certainly don't reply to some Evening Mail journo

[chrisw1]

It's a shit article by a truly shit reporter.  Birmingham Mail / Live are an absolute joke rag.

The reality is Southgate wasn't picking Grealish.  The Phillips and Rice examples mean nothing - there isn't the same level of competition in those positions.

I recall saying at the time it would probably cost us our captain and it did.

[Drummond]

It's a shit article by a truly shit reporter.  Birmingham Mail / Live are an absolute joke rag.

The reality is Southgate wasn't picking Grealish.  The Phillips and Rice examples mean nothing - there isn't the same level of competition in those positions.

I recall saying at the time it would probably cost us our captain and it did.

No its not, it's a good article that sums the situation, and Ratboy, up perfectly well.

[Ozzjim]

And is totally vindicated by Ratboys response. You don't understand real football bull.

[Exeter 77]

I think Preece has switched his professional journalism off there and has written that piece as a fan.

[chrisw1]

It's a shit article by a truly shit reporter.  Birmingham Mail / Live are an absolute joke rag.

The reality is Southgate wasn't picking Grealish.  The Phillips and Rice examples mean nothing - there isn't the same level of competition in those positions.

I recall saying at the time it would probably cost us our captain and it did.

No its not, it's a good article that sums the situation, and Ratboy, up perfectly well.

It's not and it doesn't.  It panders to a section of the support.  I wouldn't have had you pegged as one of them tbh.

[Ozzjim]

Oh god don't start with the moral high ground for a bloke that calculated how to leave us while giving it the big one of you routine. He's a shit bag, and not with defending.

[paul_e]

He's just not advised very well is he? In circumstances like this you just keep your mouth shut. It's easy. Don't do an interview because you won't come out of it well, and certainly don't reply to some Evening Mail journo

Do the interview but when you do it don't forget that the club you spent 19 years at was integral to you becoming a £100m player. I think that's the problem Preece and many others have with what he said asnd, more importantly, how it was said, it felt a lot like "If i wasn't a fan I'd have left you bunch of losers ages ago and now I have people around me worthy of my talent". I know I'm overplaying it but it comes across as pretty clear that he's thinking along those lines and can't see why anyone has a problem with it.

[Risso]

It's a shit article by a truly shit reporter.  Birmingham Mail / Live are an absolute joke rag.

The reality is Southgate wasn't picking Grealish.  The Phillips and Rice examples mean nothing - there isn't the same level of competition in those positions.

I recall saying at the time it would probably cost us our captain and it did.

No its not, it's a good article that sums the situation, and Ratboy, up perfectly well.

Agreed, he sums Greasy's interview up perfectly.

[chrisw1]

Oh god don't start with the moral high ground for a bloke that calculated how to leave us while giving it the big one of you routine. He's a shit bag, and not with defending.

There is no way he could have played his exit that would have left you happy.

Not signinging a contract - the ungrateful bastard is running down his contract
Signing a contract but not saying anything - the ungrateful bastard is jis=ust signing the contract as his move fell through
Telling fans how much he loved Villa after he left - the lying weasel bastard, why did he leave then

etc, etc

It was impossible for him to leave without a meltdown one way or another.  Whatever he did or said would have been picked over with a fine toothed comb and thrown back at him.

[PeterWithe]

Southgate wasn't picking him for England, and now is, after three games for Man City and still no Champions League games. He may very well become a better player there but he isn't now any better than he was with us.

It stinks, we might as well all give up if everytime we get anyone decent with ambition they all feel they need to move to a ESL6 team to get to play for England.

[RamboandBruno]

This is more about Smith than transfers.I can't think of a player who has regressed under Smith.Elmo,El Ghazi and Conor nailed down places in the Championship side and Whelan had a part to play when most of us thought he was finished.
Hause wasn't well regarded by the Wolves fans,Brentford fans thought that Konsa's signing was a bit premature.Eddie Howes couldn't find a place in a leaky defence for Mings.How Howes ? Shades of Cahill and Knight.
The last 3 you might file under Terry but Smith helped to make  that Citeh player worth £100m. .In the first season we were crippled by injuries to very important players,Heaton,McGinn and Wesley but with relegation looking likely ,Smith and more importantly the players didn't panic.
Most buys have been good value,how much are Watkins and Konsa worth ?
Even lesser lights like El Ghazi and Nakamba have kept their value.
Flops only a few and minor ones,Kalinic ,Engels and injury might have scuppered a true assessment of Wesley.
The manager deserves a lot of credit.

Totally agree with this as well.
The other thing that is always thrown at Smith is the G factor and how we’ve gone on long winless runs without him under Smith. On the face of it you can’t argue with it, the results and facts point to this. But I would argue firstly, any team losing a true world class player would suffer, unless your a Man City. But taking a Salah out of Liverpool, despite their other resources would impact them, Spurs in the past have never done that well without Kane, although this may change this season, Chelsea haven’t been the same side without Kante.

Secondly and nearly always missing from the smith is nothing without Grealish discussion, is how good was Grealish on a consistent level until Smith came along. Ok he had injuries as ever, but in those first couple of years in the championship, can anyone seriously remember Grealish putting in a run of consistently good games, cuz I was there and I can’t. Is it really a coincidence that Grealish became this player under smith. Or are the smith decriers really saying that the admittedly hugely talented Grealish just came good of his own accord around about the time smith took over and how lucky was that for smith.
There is no doubt having Grealish really helped smith and it will be a challenge for him going forwards, but there is also no doubt in my mind that the benefit was mutual and we and Grealish has much to be appreciative of smith, for his development of said ratboy.

It's hard to know how much was down to Smith, and how much was down to suddenly playing with a much better standard of player. He went from playing in the same team as the likes of Chester, Jedinak, Elphick and Adomah; to McGinn, Mings, Tuanzebe, El Ghazi and Abraham in the space of a season.

Maybe Risso, but his form palpably improved almost immediately after Smith came in, he wasn’t doing anything from August to October in that season surrounded by all those players you mention (other than Mings)I don’t think it’s a fair analysis to regularly say (not aiming this specifically at you btw) Smith can’t hack it without Grealish, without at least taking on board the idea that it was a mutually beneficial professional relationship and Ratboy wouldn’t of been the influence he was for us without Smith.

[Risso]

He's just not advised very well is he? In circumstances like this you just keep your mouth shut. It's easy. Don't do an interview because you won't come out of it well, and certainly don't reply to some Evening Mail journo

Do the interview but when you do it don't forget that the club you spent 19 years at was integral to you becoming a £100m player. I think that's the problem Preece and many others have with what he said asnd, more importantly, how it was said, it felt a lot like "If i wasn't a fan I'd have left you bunch of losers ages ago and now I have people around me worthy of my talent". I know I'm overplaying it but it comes across as pretty clear that he's thinking along those lines and can't see why anyone has a problem with it.

Exactly Paul. It's hugely disrespectful to his former club and team mates, and he needs telling, the horrible little chav. He's played four games for his new club, and lost two of them, the other two being absolute gimmes against the two worst clubs in the division at the time, but all of a sudden his play is suddenly elevated to a whole new level? Absolute fucking cobblers.