[WBAinDEVON]

Maybe the more we spend the higher we finish the more attractive we become for a decent reliable bid to purchase the club.
Lets just hope billionaires who own football clubs bubbles burst

[WorcsWBA]

12 months ago nobody would have dreamt we would be going in for Given, or even Freidel possibly,

It's easy to go for anyone - who you actually sign is all that counts. Some people have been happy with Bosmans on the basis that money is being concentrated on key signings. I think there's a difference between paying what you can afford and trying to squeeze every last penny out of a deal even if it risks losing out on the player. If we don't get key signings (such as Foster) of the quality we need because of our not unusual games of brinkmanship, then questions should rightly be asked IMO.

[Astle1968]

It's easy to go for anyone - who you actually sign is all that counts. Some people have been happy with Bosmans on the basis that money is being concentrated on key signings. I think there's a difference between paying what you can afford and trying to squeeze every last penny out of a deal even if it risks losing out on the player. If we don't get key signings (such as Foster) of the quality we need because of our not unusual games of brinkmanship, then questions should rightly be asked IMO.

My point is we lost out because 2 bigger clubs came in, not because we were not prepared to pay what the players wanted. In this siuation I really dont understand how the club can win. We either go for established PL players like Given and Freidel in this case, who we know will improve us but will 9 times out of 10 have clubs slightly above us (Stoke, Fulham, Bolton etc) trying to sign them as well. Or we sign an 'unknown' (Odemwingie) gamble and hope it comes off.

As for the Foster comment, I completely agree that if we lose out on a player that is obtainable to us because we are not prepared to pay money that is both within our budget and offers value for money then questions should rightly be asked, espeically as the club seem to have identified him as our number one target in that position. However it seems these questions are already being asked, with blame being dished out to certain individuals at the club on the basis that we havnt finalised the deal just a few days after our first official interest was noted

[baggieboyjop]

This is exactly how the Leeds situation started. They wanted to spend a bit more to play champions league football.

Completely agree with you here mate, people need to look a bit more long term and i know thats what we always end up saying here at the albion but its true. If you look back to our first premier league season and the squad we had then and the squad we have now then its a vast improvement and every time we have come back up it has been a slight improvement which for me shows that the plan is working and we are slowly but surely becoming a good side. And then if we survive this season then it will be our first time we have spent 3 consecutive seasons in the premier league which again shows we are slowly building up to be a solid premiere league side.

But as for foster, i like everyone else would love to see him down the albion and hope we get it done soon so that we avoid the disappointment of losing out on him but we have to remember that he is a highly rated keeper al over the country so a lot of teams are probably keeping tabs on him, so if a bigger team came in and offered a higher fee and better wages and he went there then i'd say to try not to get too down, we didnt lose him because we've messed around, we will have lost him purely because he got a better offer which for a team of our size isnt something we should be getting annoyed over imo

[leeiswba]

People need to understand that teams like Fulham and Stoke have very very rich owners who pump their money into the club and we dont. Just be patient I dont care if it takes till 12th August to sign Foster if he is playing on the 14th against Yanited

[smethwickw]

This is exactly how the Leeds situation started. They wanted to spend a bit more to play champions league football.

Spending an extra £1m say on your top target isn't like 'Doing a Leeds'. The Leeds quote comes out every year which is ridiculous comparison to us going that 'extra mile'. They spent huge amounts on fees and wages. We are probably haggling over £500K of wages with Blues.

[leeiswba]

Spending an extra £1m say on your top target isn't like 'Doing a Leeds'. The Leeds quote comes out every year which is ridiculous comparison to us going that 'extra mile'. They spent huge amounts on fees and wages. We are probably haggling over £500K of wages with Blues.

And that could be the 500k needed for another player Roy wants. Then means it is only 500k we do it again and that is how it starts mate. Just be patient with it, to me if Roy really wans him I think we will get him when Blues realise no one else will bid for him.

[Mike]

A lot rests on this deal.  I'm all for him been very carefull, even if it does costs us the odd player, as overall he gets great value for the club.  This situation is different though.  JP should immediately pay the couple of hundred thousand pounds that we seem to be fighting over.  Securing a key position and keeping our manager satisfied is worth conceding a few hundred thousand for.  If it were over say a back up player, such as, Ridgewell or a Ridgewell, i would fully understand.  However, it appears that we are fighting over a couple of hundred thousand over a player/position that will prove critical to our season and ultimately our future.   

[WorcsWBA]

My point is we lost out because 2 bigger clubs came in, not because we were not prepared to pay what the players wanted.

We don't know that though do we because, presumably, it never reached the stage where we got to discuss personal terms with the players?

[Astle1968]

We dont know what the 'problem' is with the Foster deal but that doesn't seem to have stopped people making up scenarios that the club are not doing enough. In truth none of us can honestly say we know exactly what is going on behind the scenes. From what I read I perosnally think we made a serious attempt to sign both players, and the reasons for them not joining us were not due to finances, lack of ambition, lack of effort, or anything the club could have done in the situation.

IF the Foster deal doesn't come off then as it stands I would be very critical of the club as it seems for £500k or so more we could have the player we really want. However if we sign him on our terms and save the £500k I will again congratulate JP on a job well done. However the key here is IF, can people just wait and see what happens in the next few weeks before we berate people for not doing things when you yourself have said none of us truly know what is going on behind the scenes.

[VVVAlbion]

We missed out to Stoke on Carew's wages - how much did that manage to save us?

[graka]

for me if roy wants foster and long and there wages are not silly and it will cost us around 12 mill then get them. afterall we would have budgeted for relegation so the extra 30 mill is a bonus.

[Astle1968]

This is the Roy who has one year left on his contract and could likely leave the club at the end of the year? Leaving the new manager with £12m of players he might not want? Hodgson has minimal input to transfers at best. And before he complains (which im not saying he is) he knew exactly what the situation was when he took the job.

Again I cant understand the logic, Roy wants them, they will improve us, lets pay £12m! Is that really the way a football club should be run?

[saml30]

I would be "drunk" as well, if Foster scored against us.

but possible with boaz in goal 

[Greenock Baggie]

Just on SKY that Ipsh!t have signed the Fulham goalkeeper so we need to pull our finger out so we dont lose out on this guy to another team

[Floydy]

Just on SKY that Ipsh!t have signed the Fulham goalkeeper so we need to pull our finger out so we dont lose out on this guy to another team

Ipswich have signed Fulhams 2nd keeper Stockdale - Schwarzer is still their first choice. They will not be in the market for a new no. 1

[JDWest_Brom]

Stockdale has gone to a Championship team on loan. Only because Fulham wanted a 24 hour recall clause which they couldn't have loaning him to a Premiership team.

[Greenock Baggie]

Ipswich have signed Fulhams 2nd keeper Stockdale - Schwarzer is still their first choice. They will not be in the market for a new no. 1

Yes I know its Stockdale but wasnt the rumour that Wenger wanted him as 2bnd string goalie and that if Arsenal didnt get him, they COULD then go for Foster, our main target ??

[B_H_Baggie]

You can't believe all rumours, Stockdale was only ever likely to go to a Championship club on loan for the reason JD said and it has been widely reported for weeks that the lad has been set to sign a new long term deal with Fulham which he has done. As for Arsenal there have been very few rumours about an interest in Foster, nothing at all to substantiate them.

As far as I know we are the only club with a genuine interest in Foster as Hodgson has admitted to talks going on between the two clubs about him.

[graka]

This is the Roy who has one year left on his contract and could likely leave the club at the end of the year? Leaving the new manager with £12m of players he might not want? Hodgson has minimal input to transfers at best. And before he complains (which im not saying he is) he knew exactly what the situation was when he took the job.

Again I cant understand the logic, Roy wants them, they will improve us, lets pay £12m! Is that really the way a football club should be run?

yes. its irrelevant if its on 1 or 7 players but if our current manager thinks this outlay will improve us as a team then its not a lot to spend. on the other hand lets sign no one and pete gets injured. the 12 mill will look a bargain when we go down.

[RedHead_Baggie]

Spending an extra £1m say on your top target isn't like 'Doing a Leeds'. The Leeds quote comes out every year which is ridiculous comparison to us going that 'extra mile'. They spent huge amounts on fees and wages. We are probably haggling over £500K of wages with Blues.

Completley agree. It makes me wonder if Roy has any sort of budget at all this summer.

It sounds to me that unless something is gift wrapped on a plate then the club just don't want to know.

Same situation every single transfer window.....

[Astle1968]

yes. its irrelevant if its on 1 or 7 players but if our current manager thinks this outlay will improve us as a team then its not a lot to spend. on the other hand lets sign no one and pete gets injured. the 12 mill will look a bargain when we go down.

Your living in dreamworld if you honestly think £12m is not a lot for our club to spend on any 2 players, let alone a GK and a support/back up CF.

At no time have I ever said we dont need to buy players or get them, simply we need to get them at a price that is in our range and represents good business for the club. I guarentee you with a attitude like yours with our transfers then at best we would of been like a Southampton for the last 5 years, and at worse out of business.

Name we one club who have spent money as freely as that in the PL era and have not been in to administration (not counting a Stoke, Fulham etc who are all subsided by owners) Only one I can think who comes close is Bolton and thats after 5 or 6 years steady and stable growth in the PL

[WSBaggie]

Your living in dreamworld if you honestly think £12m is not a lot for our club to spend on any 2 players, let alone a GK and a support/back up GK.

At no time have I ever said we dont need to buy players or get them, simply we need to get them at a price that is in our range and represents good business for the club. I guarentee you with a attitude like yours with our transfers then at best we would of been like a Southampton for the last 5 years, and at worse out of business.

Name we one club who have spent money as freely as that in the PL era and have not been in to administration (not counting a Stoke, Fulham etc who are all subsided by owners) Only one I can think who comes close is Bolton and thats after 5 or 6 years steady and stable growth in the PL

Completely agree with this and you could even say Bolton are struggling slightly with finances now.

[Greenock Baggie]

For a club with "so-called" serious aspirations of staying in the Premier league and has actually been in that league for something like 5 out of the last 10 or 11 seasons, 12million on 2 or 3 players is an absolute pittance.

[Astle1968]

We spent around £8m last year (I stand to be corrected) and took a championship side to mid table in the Prem. I dont see why we have to spend £10m £15m £20m for fans to think we want to be competitve in the league