[darbolina]

I want him to sign a contract with the only reason being that we might get a few bob for him. Other than that I wouldn't mind never seeing him in an Albion shirt again

[adamw1109]

Seems to be where a lot of people are living nowadays. How anyone could still want him here is beyond me.

Maybe because the club know when inform, he's worth around £20m. Not everyone can score goals in the prem like he has proved he can.

Like others have mentioned though... IF he did sign, it could mean there is more changes happening at the club.

[Fritzl Palace]

Maybe because the club know when inform, he's worth around £20m. Not everyone can score goals in the prem like he has proved he can.

Like others have mentioned though... IF he did sign, it could mean there is more changes happening at the club.

We are talking about three years ago now, when he was somewhat of an unknown and showed that form. No evidence to suggest he will/can ever rediscover it and he certainly won't do it here where he has absolutely no interest in being.

The club would just see the money walking out the door and it's a desperate move from them when ultimately, we have no one else to blame but ourselves if he does go abroad for the minimum compensation. We turned down ridiculous money from Newcastle in January. That was the time to get shot. Waiting until the summer was bad enough, then we turn down another great offer from Stoke. Ridiculous.

[overseas baggie]

We are talking about three years ago now, when he was somewhat of an unknown and showed that form. No evidence to suggest he will/can ever rediscover it and he certainly won't do it here where he has absolutely no interest in being.

The club would just see the money walking out the door and it's a desperate move from them when ultimately, we have no one else to blame but ourselves if he does go abroad for the minimum compensation. We turned down ridiculous money from Newcastle in January. That was the time to get shot. Waiting until the summer was bad enough, then we turn down another great offer from Stoke. Ridiculous.

Do you have any factual knowledge whatsoever that Berahino was prepared to join Newcastle or Stoke even if we had agreed to sell him?  My understanding is that he has no interest in joining Stoke and didn't fancy the risk of Newcastle getting relegated (he was right). 

A club can't sell a player to a club that he doesn't fancy.

[adamw1109]

We are talking about three years ago now, when he was somewhat of an unknown and showed that form. No evidence to suggest he will/can ever rediscover it and he certainly won't do it here where he has absolutely no interest in being.

The club would just see the money walking out the door and it's a desperate move from them when ultimately, we have no one else to blame but ourselves if he does go abroad for the minimum compensation. We turned down ridiculous money from Newcastle in January. That was the time to get shot. Waiting until the summer was bad enough, then we turn down another great offer from Stoke. Ridiculous.

No evidence suggests that any player is going to have another good season but clubs still pay big money for players... it's a gamble clubs will take. ( Any player can have a great season then a poor one the next)

He may not have any interest being here, but i can't see him playing sh*t on purpose... Tactics/formation/training/support (or in his case, boo's) - all have an effect on a players performance on the pitch - its a very vicious circle for a player who has urine*d off fans.

We have no evidence that we turned down ridiculous money from newcastle stoke or any other club for that matter, we only have rumours and hear say.

It's too risky and too much of a gamble to offer him a new contract just so he can't walk away for free, we are then stuck with him for longer ... unless the club want him here and he will be happy to stay, whats the point in even thinking about offering him a contract? .... there is more to it than that and im sure we will find out sooner or later.

[tylerm]

I think our only hope to get a fee for him is if a club is so desperate in January, Sunderland, Newcastle Stoke that they offer us 10 million as a last gamble
Cant see it happening myself and I said all along that we should have taken 20 million in the summer-even with no replacement

[seteefeet]

I think our only hope to get a fee for him is if a club is so desperate in January, Sunderland, Newcastle Stoke that they offer us 10 million as a last gamble
Cant see it happening myself and I said all along that we should have taken 20 million in the summer-even with no replacement

We may be the ones desperate in January, especially if Rondon gets injured. That's why it's such a shame, but too much going against him now:
Out of form, out of favour, a lot of fans turned against him and he is a bell end.

Wherever his future lies and however it pans out, I cannot see it being here.

[ian66]

We are talking about three years ago now, when he was somewhat of an unknown and showed that form. No evidence to suggest he will/can ever rediscover it and he certainly won't do it here where he has absolutely no interest in being.

The club would just see the money walking out the door and it's a desperate move from them when ultimately, we have no one else to blame but ourselves if he does go abroad for the minimum compensation. We turned down ridiculous money from Newcastle in January. That was the time to get shot. Waiting until the summer was bad enough, then we turn down another great offer from Stoke. Ridiculous.

Why would we have even considered selling to a relegation rival, as Newcastle were last january??

That was never going to happen.

[BoingFlyer]

Why would we have even considered selling to a relegation rival, as Newcastle were last january??

That was never going to happen.

That is one message the board have constantly repeated that he would not be sold to a relegation rival, £20 million loss is a drop in the ocean compared to the cost of relegation.

[caravanc58]

Why would we have even considered selling to a relegation rival, as Newcastle were last january??

That was never going to happen.

but wouldn't we have just bought a replacement with the money received? are the club that insecure to turn down the rumoured £20m for fear of relegation. plus we have Pulis so we will NEVER get relegated.

[KnaveofAlbion]

but wouldn't we have just bought a replacement with the money received? are the club that insecure to turn down the rumoured £20m for fear of relegation. plus we have Pulis so we will NEVER get relegated.

It's a hindsight thing. If in the scenario we had sold Saido to Newcastle and he had hit form, scoring the goals to keep them up and maybe somehow plunge us into trouble, we'd have been lambasted as idiots and rightly it would have gone down as a hideous transfer.

We weren't to know at the time of keeping him he would be essentially useless for the rest of the season. It stands to logical sense that once he knows he's here he knuckles down and tries hard, to impress people and earn his move. I know he's not too smart, but an utter idiot can figure that out. It just didn't work, in part due to Pulis' tactics.

We did the right thing turning down Spurs as they were mugging us off and no matter what happens I'll keep that opinion. In an ideal world we'd have sold him this summer, got in a replacement and everyone could move on.

I bare the lad no ill will and hope he does decently in his future. He won't do well as he's not right in the head obviously, which is a shame given his background. A strong figure who genuinely cared for him, not what they could get from him could have helped Saido out hugely over the past 2 years.

[WBArgo]

It's a hindsight thing. If in the scenario we had sold Saido to Newcastle and he had hit form, scoring the goals to keep them up and maybe somehow plunge us into trouble, we'd have been lambasted as idiots and rightly it would have gone down as a hideous transfer.

We weren't to know at the time of keeping him he would be essentially useless for the rest of the season. It stands to logical sense that once he knows he's here he knuckles down and tries hard, to impress people and earn his move. I know he's not too smart, but an utter idiot can figure that out. It just didn't work, in part due to Pulis' tactics.

We did the right thing turning down Spurs as they were mugging us off and no matter what happens I'll keep that opinion. In an ideal world we'd have sold him this summer, got in a replacement and everyone could move on.

I bare the lad no ill will and hope he does decently in his future. He won't do well as he's not right in the head obviously, which is a shame given his background. A strong figure who genuinely cared for him, not what they could get from him could have helped Saido out hugely over the past 2 years.

I agree with this. It wasn't a mistake telling Spurs to do one, they offered small money in segments - at the time we didn't even have Rondon and it would have been suicidal, especially after Berahino's previous season. £6 million a year or so from Spurs wouldn't have helped us one bit in replacing him.
Then with Newcastle I believe it was all up-front and would have been a genuinely good deal, but you're right - it could have really harmed us. Hindsight is fine but at the time it wasn't so clear. Even last season whilst he was bad, he still scored us quite a few points with his goals (winners against Villa, Sunderland and Palace - as well as a few equalisers I believe).

Then this season it was genuinely baffling why he wasn't sold to Stoke...it may have been less but his stock had dropped and he seems more damaged now.

Anyway on to the here and now, I've held this belief for a while but I just don't think he's good enough anymore. I don't think his attitude is bad right now and has been enthusiastic for a while now, whatever his motives. I just think mentally something has switched off his footballing skills and he's a shadow of his former self for whatever reason, and it will be incredibly hard to get back.
I hope he does come good for his own sanity, but I think sadly in football it rarely happens like this.

[baggiejohn]

I find it difficult to understand why, when we were looking for goals on Saturday against Sunderland, the lad never even got on the pitch.

[Hull Baggie]

I find it difficult to understand why, when we were looking for goals on Saturday against Sunderland, the lad never even got on the pitch.

You've answered your own question.

[darbolina]

You've answered your own question.

I have to agree. Saido had a purple patch which included a few penalties and goals in cup matches against lesser opposition but has shown very little afterwards and has basically declined steadily since that purple patch which seemed to end just after January 2015.

I would expect we have more goal threat from Robson Kanu or Leko these days mainly because they'll actually put themselves about the pitch and create space for others.

[cornishbaggie]

I find it difficult to understand why, when we were looking for goals on Saturday against Sunderland, the lad never even got on the pitch.

how do you know "we were looking for goals"?

pulis' teams only look for goals when they are 1,2 down.

[tuamigos]

I find it difficult to understand why, when we were looking for goals on Saturday against Sunderland, the lad never even got on the pitch.

Maybe because he's useless and over rated.

[hardtobeat]

I agree with this. It wasn't a mistake telling Spurs to do one, they offered small money in segments - at the time we didn't even have Rondon and it would have been suicidal, especially after Berahino's previous season. £6 million a year or so from Spurs wouldn't have helped us one bit in replacing him.
Then with Newcastle I believe it was all up-front and would have been a genuinely good deal, but you're right - it could have really harmed us. Hindsight is fine but at the time it wasn't so clear. Even last season whilst he was bad, he still scored us quite a few points with his goals (winners against Villa, Sunderland and Palace - as well as a few equalisers I believe).

Then this season it was genuinely baffling why he wasn't sold to Stoke...it may have been less but his stock had dropped and he seems more damaged now.

Anyway on to the here and now, I've held this belief for a while but I just don't think he's good enough anymore. I don't think his attitude is bad right now and has been enthusiastic for a while now, whatever his motives. I just think mentally something has switched off his footballing skills and he's a shadow of his former self for whatever reason, and it will be incredibly hard to get back.
I hope he does come good for his own sanity, but I think sadly in football it rarely happens like this.

Surely the biggest mistake was turning the Newcastle offer down,we had just beaten them, were looking relatively safe and to get that money in January when traditionally teams dont spend as much would have been a bonus we could have banked towards the summer kitty while filling the squad hole with a loan

[ian66]

I have to agree. Saido had a purple patch which included a few penalties and goals in cup matches against lesser opposition but has shown very little afterwards and has basically declined steadily since that purple patch which seemed to end just after January 2015.

I would expect we have more goal threat from Robson Kanu or Leko these days mainly because they'll actually put themselves about the pitch and create space for others.

I'm not a Pulis basher but, didn't Tony walk into our club then?

[darbolina]

I'm not a Pulis basher but, didn't Tony walk into our club then?

Berahino looked at his best with a five man midfield and Sessengnon behind him.   Pulis set us up differently which I think contributed to Berahino being used less as the main striker and playing on the shoulder of the opposition centre backs which is probably his best position.  This contributed to his loss of form but I'd still say 70 or 80% of his loss of form was down to him and his (big) head believing he was better than us which meant he stopped doing the basics well - like working for the team.
 
Does beg the question why the club continued to hold onto Berahino after receiving these bids , especially the summer just gone - for a player who didn't fit into the current manager's plans?

It's all a bit mad really

[smethwickw]

I think one of the biggest reasons that he is still here is down to the fact we couldn't find / attract a replacement. The club pretty much admitted that. Had Sakho signed then maybe a different story. Embarrassing really.

[ian66]

Berahino looked at his best with a five man midfield and Sessengnon behind him.   Pulis set us up differently which I think contributed to Berahino being used less as the main striker and playing on the shoulder of the opposition centre backs which is probably his best position.  This contributed to his loss of form but I'd still say 70 or 80% of his loss of form was down to him and his (big) head believing he was better than us which meant he stopped doing the basics well - like working for the team.
 
Does beg the question why the club continued to hold onto Berahino after receiving these bids , especially the summer just gone - for a player who didn't fit into the current manager's plans?

It's all a bit mad really

Couldn't agree more.

[tuamigos]

Lets hope this is true.

http://news.ladbrokes.com/football/premier-league/stoke-bound-to-revive-interest-in-depreciating-west-brom-striker.html

I think we've held onto him too long now.

[boinging_along]

I think one of the biggest reasons that he is still here is down to the fact we couldn't find / attract a replacement. The club pretty much admitted that. Had Sakho signed then maybe a different story. Embarrassing really.

For what we're getting out him at the moment, I'd have been an acceptable replacement.  Hell, a house brick would be just as useful and would cost marginally less wages.

[Jimbo Baggy]

He hasn't looked interested playing for us for a year, sod him off, dragged the club through the dirt as well.