[overseas baggie]

Blues sold Bellingham practically on his 17 birthday. It doesn’t matter how much older Alex Scott is either. The point was if we keep losing them go this young we never have any chance of seeing those sort of returns.

You’re missing the point.  Players cannot sign a professional contract until their 17th birthday, which is why we keep losing 15 and 16 year olds to other clubs. Therefore you can’t compare a compensation fee paid for a 16 year old with a transfer fee paid for a 19/20 year old. 

[johnny Cash]

You’re missing the point.  Players cannot sign a professional contract until their 17th birthday, which is why we keep losing 15 and 16 year olds to other clubs. Therefore you can’t compare a compensation fee paid for a 16 year old with a transfer fee paid for a 19/20 year old.

You can sign pre contracts before 17 and these do appear to be enforceable although I don't know how much anyone's tried to break one .  I've seen clubs announce players have signed them previously, heard a football league chairman say they are enforceable, and remember stories from the time we had Izzy Brown that we believed we had a valid pre-contract and that we had addressed any pre-contract issues arising again.

It has reported we had one in this case (although Blandy has said he thinks that's incorrect).

When I say enforceable, I don’t mean legally either, as a minor can’t sign any binding contract under 18 for anything but ‘essentials’. The FA/FIFA can govern in such a way to make them unable to register for any other club though.

[overseas baggie]

You can sign pre contracts before 17 and these do appear to be enforceable although I don't know how much anyone's tried to break one .  I've seen clubs announce players have signed them previously, heard a football league chairman say they are enforceable, and remember stories from the time we had Izzy Brown that we believed we had a valid pre-contract and that we had addressed any pre-contract issues arising again.

It has reported we had one in this case (although Blandy has said he thinks that's incorrect).

When I say enforceable, I don’t mean legally either, as a minor can’t sign any binding contract under 18 for anything but ‘essentials’. The FA/FIFA can govern in such a way to make them unable to register for any other club though.

It’s a legal minefield and certainly wouldn’t want to rely on enforceability.

In practice, our best youngsters usually get their heads turned when they get into England age group squads and are “advised” not to sign anything so that they can be poached with nil or nominal compensation

[BalisPen]

No one here even wants to give the steam off their pi ss to the dark side, let alone a promising youngster, who was apparently prepared to stay (I hope him wanting to stay is a sign of the good work being done by Stevens behind the scenes).

However, we are skint, and needs must.

I hope he flops there, and has a good career after they release him for free.

[gazberg]

More of our kids will be leaving if they keep forcing them to model tat like this




What have we become.

[baggiejohn]

More of our kids will be leaving if they keep forcing them to model tat like this




What have we become.

It's a range of four items on the shop website.

Assume it's being tried as a source of income over the summer period until the new kit is launched.
Fair play to the marketing team for giving it a try.

[SmethDan]

The 'Hawaian Range' looks like it's been thrown up against a wall. Cleary in particular does not look impressed. Neither am I. If that's the best the marketing team can do they'd be better served opening a stall on the chronically underfunded site otherwise known as West Brom market. It's only fair to point out that the bogs don't work. Just in case.

[gazberg]

Villa in advanced talks to sign Rico Richards. He's still under contract technically so whacked it here.



https://www.footballinsider247.com/revealed-aston-villa-in-advanced-talks-to-sign-west-brom-star-richards-sources/

[SmethDan]

Villa in advanced talks to sign Rico Richards. He's still under contract technically so whacked it here.



https://www.footballinsider247.com/revealed-aston-villa-in-advanced-talks-to-sign-west-brom-star-richards-sources/

Maintain we should have offered him another year with us. Nothing to do with him being in talks with the Vile either. Oh well.....

[NJS]

Surely if we offered him a first team squad slot, he would stay with us.  If he's considered by the sages  at the club not to be worth a place, who else among the academy midfielders might be? 

(Of course with the dynamic and hard running Chalobah and Mowatt we're rich in that position )

[johnny Cash]

Maintain we should have offered him another year with us. Nothing to do with him being in talks with the Vile either. Oh well.....

So do I. He wasn’t ready to be written off yet

[Maresca Was A Baggie]

Are the Vile completely incapable of bringing through their own players? Once again it makes a mockery of our academy, that we bring them through and as soon as they show any promise they are gone!!

[Atomic]

Are the Vile completely incapable of bringing through their own players? Once again it makes a mockery of our academy, that we bring them through and as soon as they show any promise they are gone!!

We released him so he was already gone. It was our choice so it's not like Villa took him off us.

[alex1]

Does he seriously think he'll make more appearances at Villa than with us? I think he'll be way behind in the pecking order there.

[Hunnington Baggie]

Does he seriously think he'll make more appearances at Villa than with us? I think he'll be way behind in the pecking order there.

we released him, I think it's more he'd like to be in A club at all rather than having the freedom to pick.

[Mo]

Are the Vile completely incapable of bringing through their own players? Once again it makes a mockery of our academy, that we bring them through and as soon as they show any promise they are gone!!

For me any promise Richards had was a couple of years back , a change of scenery might do him the world of good perhaps he was very comfortable here but wherever he ends up  he would need to exert far more influence on games than I’ve seen in recent months . Not surprised we let him go.

[Dexy]

Did Jaime Andrews and Mo Faal sign those new contracts ?

[gazberg]

Did Jaime Andrews and Mo Faal sign those new contracts ?

Jamie Andrews is showing picturs of himself in training with us on his social media so would assume he has.

[gazberg]

The academy has retained it's category one status

https://www.wba.co.uk/news/albion-academy-given-premier-league-stamp-approval?fbclid=IwAR2KgumpPogh7MXlgpuH-zJrIRrdnYd9yhIOMSc6qyybZXctGnI4F_xG-XI

[baggiejohn]

The academy has retained it's category one status

https://www.wba.co.uk/news/albion-academy-given-premier-league-stamp-approval?fbclid=IwAR2KgumpPogh7MXlgpuH-zJrIRrdnYd9yhIOMSc6qyybZXctGnI4F_xG-XI

I believe Ron Gourlay had said that some of the MSD loan was earmarked for this project.

[gazberg]

Castro signing for York when his contract expires.

Stepping stone plan didn't quite pan out for him.

[Baggie79]

Castro signing for York when his contract expires.

Stepping stone plan didn't quite pan out for him.

How dare you doubt him, WBA to York to Barcelona. Seems to make sense.

[gazberg]

How dare you doubt him, WBA to York to Barcelona. Seems to make sense.

Quite right. Sorry I was doubting his ability there. My apologies!

He's heard there are some lovely buildings in York so stopping off for a year.

[gazberg]

Jamal Jimoh has confirmed on Instagram he's off (to AV i guess)

"This is not a message I thought I’d be writing so soon, to a club that has done so much for me and my family.

After 10 years, It is with a heavy heart that i have made the very difficult decision to leave my boyhood club. This was not an easy decision for me to take, however it's one that i felt was necessary.

I would like to thank everybody at West Brom, my team mates for supporting me week in week out on the pitch & my coaches for pushing me year after year to improve.

I’m forever grateful.

Jamal Jimoh 💙🤍"

[cads_ap_albion]

Jamal Jimoh has confirmed on Instagram he's off (to AV i guess)

"This is not a message I thought I’d be writing so soon, to a club that has done so much for me and my family.

After 10 years, It is with a heavy heart that i have made the very difficult decision to leave my boyhood club. This was not an easy decision for me to take, however it's one that i felt was necessary.

I would like to thank everybody at West Brom, my team mates for supporting me week in week out on the pitch & my coaches for pushing me year after year to improve.

I’m forever grateful.

Jamal Jimoh 💙🤍"

Money talks.

We cannot turn down a decent bid for anyone.
Young teenagers cannot turn down the wages the money bags seals are offering

The seals are buying youth players from all over the country and going down the Chelsea model of making money through then loaning them out.