Our New found wealth is not helping us.

[Chippy_boy]

The biggest problem with the new found wealth is the rocketing 'expectations' (which, judging by the 'Hughes out' mob should more accurately be called 'demands to be met immediately or else') that we are now under.
The same thing happened to Chelsea when Abramovich took over..

I seem to remember Ranieri coming under the same flack as MH and lots of people saying give him time. He got the sack and look what happened.

 

[Bigga]

I have to be amused by this notion...

Some of our players have become short term players, as a result of being replaced by... short term players!

So, when the time comes to replace these new 'short term' players with 'world class' players(especially if we don't land many targets in the summer... assuming we're stuck with Hughes), won't we be revisiting the very non-performing team scenario we're having now??

 

[Balti]

I have to be amused by this notion...

Some of our players have become short term players, as a result of being replaced by... short term players!

So, when the time comes to replace these new 'short term' players with 'world class' players(especially if we don't land many targets in the summer... assuming we're stuck with Hughes), won't we be revisiting the very non-performing team scenario we're having now??

I don't think he is replacing them like for like. SWP, Vinny, Zabba, Bridge all improve us. Another 4 like that plus another ADUG Robinho signing and I'd be well happy.

 

[Brucie Bonus]

We can only get there in a series of steps. Not a big bang oh look we are a big CL club full of stars mentality.

We will need the big name manager to get many of the big names - unless Hughes lifts a trophy or gets us Top 6 minimum so that players can see we are genuine CL contenders. Obviously we are way off that.

Like the players Hughes is hardly going to be going at it flat out if he thinks he is going to be replaced in the summer (or tomorrow). The club and the fans therefore need to back him properly and lets see what he can do. He may surprise us and lead us to the promised land.

That means we have to build at a slightly slower pace. Let Hughes sign the Prem League standard players that he knows intimately because he has managed them or watched them playing against his teams. Meanwhile let ADUG pursue the next Robinho or two that will start to impact on big player perception and help attract more CL standard players in the summer.

Then lets see what Hughes has managed to do over the second half of the season and go from there in the summer. Either he and his team have shown that he is worth another season and more cash in the summer, or he has demonstrated that he is not that man, in which case we replace him with Raf/ Jose/ Guss/ Whoever and give them their head in the transfer market and a full summer to get to grips with the squad.

Hughes signings will tell us much this window. If we see more Zabba's and Vinny's then he may yet surprise many. If it's all ex-cronies and sell-by's then his fate is sealed imo.

Do you think there is a two-track transfer policy going on? I've heard people talk about this, quite matter of factly, in the past: Hughes goes for "his" players, ADUG goes for "theirs", which they hand to Hughes to coach(?).

 

[gp10]

We are kidding ourselves if we think we will do better than 10th this season.
The pressure both on and off the field will be huge all season.
I think the new found wealth is working against us right now. If the ADUG are not pressuring Hughes' and his administration to return success immediately, then why should we just throw money at anyone and everyone.
The table is so close at the moment, I would think that few PL clubs will want to trade too much in January anyway for fear of 'rocking the boat' with losing and/or acquiring players.

Let the players and manager ride out this season and hopefully we can prove that we can battle without the dollars.

 

[Bigga]

I have to be amused by this notion...

Some of our players have become short term players, as a result of being replaced by... short term players!

So, when the time comes to replace these new 'short term' players with 'world class' players(especially if we don't land many targets in the summer... assuming we're stuck with Hughes), won't we be revisiting the very non-performing team scenario we're having now??

I don't think he is replacing them like for like. SWP, Vinny, Zabba, Bridge all improve us. Another 4 like that plus another ADUG Robinho signing and I'd be well happy.

Great side step to a simple question. I'm not mentioning good players as you have. I'm asking of Parker, Bellamy, RSC(even though I like the lad). They are clearly short term options.

How are they going to feel come the next stage of re-build, when they're going to be up for sale/ 2nd or 3rd choice options??

Now, I've had to make my point black and white, what happens then, in the given situation?

 

[Balti]

We can only get there in a series of steps. Not a big bang oh look we are a big CL club full of stars mentality.

We will need the big name manager to get many of the big names - unless Hughes lifts a trophy or gets us Top 6 minimum so that players can see we are genuine CL contenders. Obviously we are way off that.

Like the players Hughes is hardly going to be going at it flat out if he thinks he is going to be replaced in the summer (or tomorrow). The club and the fans therefore need to back him properly and lets see what he can do. He may surprise us and lead us to the promised land.

That means we have to build at a slightly slower pace. Let Hughes sign the Prem League standard players that he knows intimately because he has managed them or watched them playing against his teams. Meanwhile let ADUG pursue the next Robinho or two that will start to impact on big player perception and help attract more CL standard players in the summer.

Then lets see what Hughes has managed to do over the second half of the season and go from there in the summer. Either he and his team have shown that he is worth another season and more cash in the summer, or he has demonstrated that he is not that man, in which case we replace him with Raf/ Jose/ Guss/ Whoever and give them their head in the transfer market and a full summer to get to grips with the squad.

Hughes signings will tell us much this window. If we see more Zabba's and Vinny's then he may yet surprise many. If it's all ex-cronies and sell-by's then his fate is sealed imo.

Do you think there is a two-track transfer policy going on? I've heard people talk about this, quite matter of factly, in the past: Hughes goes for "his" players, ADUG goes for "theirs", which they hand to Hughes to coach(?).

Seems that way to me Brucie. Hughes probably doesn't have the experience, contacts or even the knowledge when it comes to the CL level mega-stars that cost stratospheric amounts of money and are involved in highly complex contracts involving agents, merchandising rights, consortium ownership etc etc.

I'm only guessing but I would imagine that there are basically 3 lists:

1/ MH's list of players that he wants based on those that he knows or has seen
2/ The agents list of openly available players that might be available to MCFC
3/ The players that ADUG want to boost the profile of the 'brand' that aren't publically available

Clearly he'll be aware of 1&2. I would guess that MH and probably Cookey too only become aware of those in category 3 when ADUG get a sniff that a deal might be done. And then of course MH has final approval! ;-)

The difference between the deals that are done by the different roles of Sales and Business Development people in a commercial environment. Different deals requiring different skills, knowledge and experience. Oh and contacts.

 

[PistonBlue]

We ARE gonna get ripped off, simply because of our position. We have lots of cash and we NEED TO BUY. Therefore clubs know if they hold out long enough and we are desperate enough, the price can be driven up. This will continue to be the case until we can carry genuine clout from a football point of view, rather than purely financial. Basically we need to be in CL to carry real bargaining power.

We will probably end up paying £18M + for RSC, over the top maybe but if he does the business then what does the price matter?

 

[gp10]

We ARE gonna get ripped off, simply because of our position. We have lots of cash and we NEED TO BUY. Therefore clubs know if they hold out long enough and we are desperate enough, the price can be driven up. This will continue to be the case until we can carry genuine clout from a football point of view, rather than purely financial. Basically we need to be in CL to carry real bargaining power.

We will probably end up paying £18M + for RSC, over the top maybe but if he does the business then what does the price matter?

It's only money after all, and we've got shitloads ;)

 

[JohnMaddocksAxe]

How can the money mean that our players think they have no future here and are all getting replaced when the bulk of the targets consist of average Prem players like Scott Parker and Bellamey?

Why would players like Dunne, Richards, Hart, etc and a team full of players like Robinho, Ireland, SWP, Kompany, Zabletta feel so threatened by the arrival of these types of players that they decide they are just going to play shit and throw their reputations and careers away?

It doesn't work like that. I suspect it doesn't even work like that for the likes of Ball and Vassell, players who have spent lrge chunks of their careers under the knowledge that they might be on the list to be shipped out of their clubs. They haven't just chucked the towel in before. Why now?

Elano and Hammann I might believe but only if they have personal problems with the manager.

Oh, and as for rocketing expectations. My expectations go no further than mid table and a couple of cup wins.

Is that too much to ask?

Perhaps it is cos Hughes has failed to get anywhere near it so far.

The new found wealth is helping one person. Mark Hughes.

If it wasn't for that he wouldn't have people banging on about giving him the chance to buy all these players in the transfer window to solve the shit he has got us into. What other manager gets to spend £100m on top of a previous £80m to get them out of the shit results they have been responsible for. I should think he for one is very grateful for the cash.

so our recent decline is attributed to what if the reason is not that the players are not good enough ??

The management that hasn't been good enough to harness the talent within the squad and/or produce an environment and atmosphere condusive to winning football matches.

Just like it was when Paul Ince, Sammy Lee and Chris Hutchings fecked their respective six months up and fortunes were turned around by Alladyce, Megson and Bruce.