[Tipton Baggie]

Cant see us signing Long and Foster by tonight maybe in the week.

[baggie_1]

we cant officially sign anyone on sundays can we? thought the paper work had to faxed off and processed and wont be done till monday. not sure.

[Mooncat]

Talking to a mate of mine last night who says apparently a lot of the Blues deals are for a LOT less they thay have been rep[orted as there hasn't been the interest in the players they thought there would be.
Roger Johnson has been reported as £7m but the apparently the actual deal is nearer £4m with no add ons. Not sure on his source but might be why we're not just stumping up the asking price, and getting this close to the start of the season no one else has yet made a move for him so we could be forcing Blues hand for a cheaper deal

[Sussex-Baggie]

we cant officially sign anyone on sundays can we? thought the paper work had to faxed off and processed and wont be done till monday. not sure.

I'm sure other clubs have confirmed the signing of certain players on Sunday's in the past, so I guess it is just a case of how close either of the signings we have been linked with are to completion.

I suspect that if we really wanted to push a deal through today, we probably could. However, I don't think we are that desperate to do so at this stage of the transfer window, so I would be surprised if anything happens today.

I get the impression now that the Ben Foster deal may be closer to completion than either club is letting on, because it seems strange that a player was not even available to travel with the squad to a local friendly match due to a throat infection. It is not something that genuinely leaves you house-bound unless it is incredibly bad, so I wouldn't be at all surprised if we were holding talks with Foster yesterday afternoon.

I just hope we don't miss out on him now, as he is clearly our number one target and we certainly appear to be in pole position to sign him.

[B_H_Baggie]

When fees are often listed as undisclosed it leaves them open to scrutiny like that whether it is right or wrong.

[DudleyBaggieFan]

Talking to a mate of mine last night who says apparently a lot of the Blues deals are for a LOT less they thay have been rep[orted as there hasn't been the interest in the players they thought there would be.
Roger Johnson has been reported as £7m but the apparently the actual deal is nearer £4m with no add ons. Not sure on his source but might be why we're not just stumping up the asking price, and getting this close to the start of the season no one else has yet made a move for him so we could be forcing Blues hand for a cheaper deal

was reported to be 6.8 on blues OS

[LiamTheBaggie]

Foster has suffered with a throat infection before, I seem to remember him pulling out the England squad some time ago so let's no presume he's straight away been talking with the club. Unless it's been confirmed! Sorry to be the party pooper, but I won't let the emotions run over. I'll be delighted if we manage to pull it off but until then it's about being patient. Deals like this will normally take time. Let's hope all of this is true and we can pull this deal off.

[tipton baggie 80]

Foster has suffered with a throat infection before, I seem to remember him pulling out the England squad some time ago so let's no presume he's straight away been talking with the club. Unless it's been confirmed! Sorry to be the party pooper, but I won't let the emotions run over. I'll be delighted if we manage to pull it off but until then it's about being patient. Deals like this will normally take time. Let's hope all of this is true and we can pull him off.

I, like most of us, would be happy to have him at the club, but i think this is going a step too far! 

[DudleyBaggieFan]

I, like most of us, would be happy to have him at the club, but i think this is going a step too far! 

I was thinking the same

[baggieboyjop]

Foster has suffered with a throat infection before, I seem to remember him pulling out the England squad some time ago so let's no presume he's straight away been talking with the club. Unless it's been confirmed! Sorry to be the party pooper, but I won't let the emotions run over. I'll be delighted if we manage to pull it off but until then it's about being patient. Deals like this will normally take time. Let's hope all of this is true and we can pull this deal off.

Im with you there liam. We need to keep our feet on the ground until its a done deal imo as he may well have a better offer as he is a really good keeper. However us we do get him i'd be delighted as it would be a real improvement on scotty

[Zebidee]

Why is it a step too far?
It is only Birmingham he's at.. If he's not too good for them, then he's not too good for us

[Quakes Fan]

Sexual innuendo, Zeb.

[B_H_Baggie]

Interesting to see the comments from the Albion and Blues sides in the Brum Mail regarding Foster in their articles this morning.


Gregg Evans: Negotiations to bring Foster in are well advanced with Blues. It is thought an initial £1 million loan fee is close to being agreed with a view to a £4 million permanent move.

Foster now has to agree personal terms at Albion as Blues look to get his £1.5 million-a-year wages off the books.



Collin Tattum: Albion are keen on Foster, Blues’ reigning player of the season, and although talks have been held between the clubs, his transfer – either via loan or outright – doesn’t appear to be on the verge of happening, at least at present

[WBAinDEVON]

Interesting to see the comments from the Albion and Blues sides in the Brum Mail regarding Foster in their articles this morning.


Gregg Evans: Negotiations to bring Foster in are well advanced with Blues. It is thought an initial £1 million loan fee is close to being agreed with a view to a £4 million permanent move.

Foster now has to agree personal terms at Albion as Blues look to get his £1.5 million-a-year wages off the books.



Collin Tattum: Albion are keen on Foster, Blues’ reigning player of the season, and although talks have been held between the clubs, his transfer – either via loan or outright – doesn’t appear to be on the verge of happening, at least at present

Thats why i have not purchased a newspaper for 10 years

[bradleysrocket]

Greg Evans isn't usually the Albion reporter but just filling in while chris l is away. Colin Tattum is the regular blues guy though. I'd assume his contacts as the full time blues reporter would be better than a part time baggie. The truth could be neither but somewhere inbetween of course.

[lordbaggie]

Don't think there is that much discrepancy to be honest.

It's not disputed that:

1. the two clubs have held talks/negotiations

2. there is no suggestion that the two clubs are "miles apart" in terms of agreeing a fee

3. Albion have yet to conclude discussions with Foster

My guess is that the clubs have reached broad agreement over fee levels (although there may still be an open question re loan or loan to permanent or permanent and that discussions may have started with the player.

Blues will know that if the Albion deal falls through they are probably stuck with the player for another season at least (which from a playing point of view they will be happy with)

So they will want to downplay talk of his exit and appear reluctant sellers.

For Albion it's more a question of Foster or Green. They have every reason to talk up the Foster transfer as it puts pressure on Green and West Ham who they probably have parallel talks with.

[wbastrollers]

This is classic brinkmanship-who better then JP to go to the edge!!
Lets just hope he doesn't fall off.

JP is banking on no one else coming in - Sunderland don't need a goalie do they?

[phbaggies]

http://www.birminghammail.net/birmingham-sport/birmingham-city-fc/birmingham-city-fc-news/2011/07/25/birmingham-city-hughton-speaks-out-to-calm-down-ben-foster-absence-talk-97319-29112712/

[lordbaggie]

I think if we wanted them both we could get Foster AND Ridgewell (both permanent) right now for an initial payment of £5m.

We might chuck in some add ons based on Prem survival and appearances to take it up to £6m+

[Slimbo]

Do we really want Ben Foster - he is a Barnsley fan scoring against him 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qOiB7LOH3cY

[Wbahunty]

I love that vid! It has everything, the slip at the start, the rubbish control by the first bloke, then a qaulity finish lol and the celebrations! Qaulity

[DudleyBaggieFan]

should we be worried?

http://www.fanatix.com/news/arsenal-ready-to-hijack-west-broms-deal-for-6m-shot-stopper-494/

[8thewolves]

should we be worried?

http://www.fanatix.com/news/arsenal-ready-to-hijack-west-broms-deal-for-6m-shot-stopper-494/

this would just serve us right for penny pinching in my opinion.
Yes we run a tight ship and I agree with that, but this is a deal that we
should be signing off asap instead of trying to squeeze every last penny off the loan
price.
Just sort it out jp 

[tuamigos]

should we be worried?

http://www.fanatix.com/news/arsenal-ready-to-hijack-west-broms-deal-for-6m-shot-stopper-494/

We should if its true

[DaveWBA]

this would just serve us right for penny pinching in my opinion.
Yes we run a tight ship and I agree with that, but this is a deal that we
should be signing off asap instead of trying to squeeze every last penny off the loan
price.
Just sort it out jp 

Calm down, hardly the most reputable of sources.

http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/transfer-news/West-Bromwich-Albion-close-to-loan-deal-for-Ben-Foster-from-Birmingham-to-replace-Scott-Carson-article775599.html

This was from today's Mirror which seems promising, whether its regurgitating old news or whether its a new development remains to be seen.