Fees.

Would be different if it looked like the club was outspending its income or heading toward financial disaster, but the TV money and the trophy money are doing the heavy lifting here.
 
It is absolutely legitimate to question transfer fees. The club operates as a business, and has all the usual operating and financing issues of any business. We might not be shareholders in the business, but as supporters we are stakeholders. There is not an infinite source of capital. Investing large sums on a particular asset means that there is less available to invest in other assets. If we can question the players we sign then we can certainly question the price paid.
 
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Homar said:
It is absolutely legitimate to question transfer fees. The club operates as a business, and has all the usual operating and financing issues of any business. We might not be shareholders in the business, but as supporters we are stakeholders. There is not an infinite source of capital. Investing large sums on a particular asset means that there is less available to invest on other assets. If we can question the players we sign then we can certainly question the price paid.
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Perfectly put.
 
Homar said:
It is absolutely legitimate to question transfer fees. The club operates as a business, and has all the usual operating and financing issues of any business. We might not be shareholders in the business, but as supporters we are stakeholders. There is not an infinite source of capital. Investing large sums on a particular asset means that there is less available to invest on other assets. If we can question the players we sign then we can certainly question the price paid.
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How do you or anyone else on this forum know what a player is worth to the club?

You have a valid point in there somewhere but the reality is that none of us have a single clue why we pay what we do for any player. People say shit like "oh he's not a £50m player" but what exactly are they basing that on other than what he does on the pitch? It's an oversimplification of a very complex deal.

However, I do think it's perfectly reasonable to question value for money in comparison to other similar players or when we allocate 90% of our summer transfer budget on a single player when some of that money could go towards strengthening other positions.

But, yeah, I do find it tedious when someone has watched a handful of games on TV and decides what a player's transfer fee should be.
 
Homar said:
It is absolutely legitimate to question transfer fees. The club operates as a business, and has all the usual operating and financing issues of any business. We might not be shareholders in the business, but as supporters we are stakeholders. There is not an infinite source of capital. Investing large sums on a particular asset means that there is less available to invest on other assets. If we can question the players we sign then we can certainly question the price paid.
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Not only transfer fees, but total outlay for a player. A player who has a lower transfer fee, but higher agent fees and wages could cost you a lot more. I'm sure the club looks how much total they are willing to spend on a player in total and not just transfer fees.
 
Larry Stranger said:
Not only transfer fees, but total outlay for a player. A player who has a lower transfer fee, but higher agent fees and wages could cost you a lot more. I'm sure the club looks how much total they are willing to spend on a player in total and not just transfer fees.
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Of course they do - it would be crazy not to.
I also think they don't baulk at paying agents fees, because at the end of the day they don't care where the money is going, as long as it's within the budget they've set for the whole deal
 
Bill said:
i'm sick to the back teeth of people complaining about the fees we might spend on a player .

for goodness sake ITS NOT YOUR MONEY .

i trust our club.
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I’m sick of people saying “it’s not your money” I’m guessing posters are aware of that fact and have an opinion on how available funds should be spent.

If we take this brain dead argument to is logical conclusion there would very little to comment on.

Its nothing to do with trust. Every time Pep picks a line up you don’t like do you say you trust the club?

If City have a budget of £100 million to either buy one striker or two midfielders at £50 million each and opt for the first option some posters might say I’d prefer to pay £50 million for the two midfielders. What's wrong with that? By all means say you think City are correct. But to simply yell ”it’s not your money” so don’t have an opinion….just idiotic.

Or try this one…£52 million is a great deal for Haaland it’s the deal of the Century. We could sell him for triple that in a few years. You reply…” shut the fuck up you aren’t making the saving!”
 
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A few points
Firstly the transfer fee is only part of the expense and it is the overall cost of the player that is most relevant to the club of which the transfer fee is only a portion and not a fixed proportion.
Secondly just as I believe the club are better at judging the ability of a player and how they will fit into the squad I believe the club are also far better at judging the market and the transfer fee they should find acceptable in the market and knowing what the alternatives are.
Having said that I don't think the transfer fee is of no interest and is not a stupid point of discussion.
Although we undoubtedly have a higher budget than most it is still not unlimited and what we pay on one player cannot be used on another if it is wasted and does not contribute to the team, so the fee is important.
Most of us also indulge in a bit of Schadenfreude when it comes to opposing teams fees , who is not secretly a bit pleased that Pogba and Sanchez cost Utd so much money? Do we really thing overpaying for players does not open us up for a bit of ridicule?

I don't get worked up about transfer fees one way or another but they are definitely of interest and can often only be truly judged retrospectively. I would have said at the time Walker was more over priced than Mendy when considering age potential and my perception of their ability. I would now say I was completely wrong.
 
Homar said:
It is absolutely legitimate to question transfer fees. The club operates as a business, and has all the usual operating and financing issues of any business. We might not be shareholders in the business, but as supporters we are stakeholders. There is not an infinite source of capital. Investing large sums on a particular asset means that there is less available to invest on other assets. If we can question the players we sign then we can certainly question the price paid.
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We have overpaid too many times, now it's time for clever moves. If we are going to pay 50-60M£ for Phillips it's not a clever move. If we will be overspending, especially for average players, our general perception will not change. It's absolutely legitimate to question transfer fees, I agree.
 
Tugay One Cup said:
How do you or anyone else on this forum know what a player is worth to the club?

You have a valid point in there somewhere but the reality is that none of us have a single clue why we pay what we do for any player. People say shit like "oh he's not a £50m player" but what exactly are they basing that on other than what he does on the pitch? It's an oversimplification of a very complex deal.

However, I do think it's perfectly reasonable to question value for money in comparison to other similar players or when we allocate 90% of our summer transfer budget on a single player when some of that money could go towards strengthening other positions.

But, yeah, I do find it tedious when someone has watched a handful of games on TV and decides what a player's transfer fee should be.
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It’s all relative and it’s all opinions. The club makes a judgment and so can everyone else.

I don’t know what sparked this thread and so this is not a response to anything in particular other than the fact that it is entirely reasonable to question transfer fees.
 
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I don’t question fees anymore because I trust the board and Pep implicitly to:
1. Find good value
2. Not spend our way into financial oblivion

For as long as those two things apply, I couldn’t care less what the numbers look like to be honest.
 
Personally I think its the difference between cost and value
City may have spent as much as anyone but would get all of that back on resale, I can't think of a single player who would resale at less than we paid, except Mendy. Think of having six years of Raz or Jesus and then still selling at a profit.
Across the road however they would be hard pushed to get the square root of fuck all for that crock of shite. No value there, money down the sinkhole again and again
 
mj1991 said:
We have overpaid too many times, now it's time for clever moves. If we are going to pay 50-60M£ for Phillips it's not a clever move. If we will be overspending, especially for average players, our general perception will not change. It's absolutely legitimate to question transfer fees, I agree.
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I don’t think we have got better value than most clubs
 
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