GMT 3:52 Tuesday, December 5, 2000
Newcastle slams £20m pricetag on Dyer

By Linus Koh

(Mirror Sports) - NEWCASTLE have placed an astronomical pounds 20 million price tag on their brilliant England youngster Kieron Dyer, as Leeds show interest.

Elland Road boss David O'Leary has another pounds 12m to invest after his pounds 18m purchase of Rio Ferdinand, and Dyer may now prove to be out of his league.

Only if Leeds can pull off a remarkable result here in Rome to give them hope of reaching the knockout stages of the Champions League would the Elland Road coffers be boosted sufficiently.

There is plenty of interest in Italy in Dyer, after his England performance in Turin last month.

Juventus and AC Milan have made their interest known and Juve, in particular, are considering whether to tempt Newcastle with an offer in excess of pounds 20m.

Although Dyer has irritated Newcastle with his off-the-field problems, the player has been a revelation since he was bought for pounds 6m from Ipswich by Ruud Gullit.

Leeds generated pounds 8m by going through to the second phase of the Champions League.

But there would be a pounds 20m windfall awaiting them if they progress to the knockout stages, enough to consider upping their interest in Dyer, which stands at no more than pounds 12m.

-- Anonymous, December 05, 2000

Answers

Hmmmm, well if someone offered 20 mn for YKD would you take it??? mmm difficult question.

-- Anonymous, December 05, 2000

Here we go again. What hope have we of ever getting anywhere with the attitude that we're here just to supply 'bigger' clubs with players.

If it's just a try-on by the Mirror, it should be treated with the contempt it deserves, but it's up to the club to change the perception of these batsards.

Is this a forlorn hope on my part ? On past performance, of course it is.

-- Anonymous, December 05, 2000

Sorry Mr Ridsdale, I'll get you a bandage, bites can easily become infected.

-- Anonymous, December 05, 2000

If we lose dyer then we may aswell flog nobby the two of them are incredible , ive never seen such great interplay at top speed.

-- Anonymous, December 05, 2000

Make that two bandages Softie I've just done the same thing.

-- Anonymous, December 05, 2000

But consistency has to be the key word. Against Southampton last year they were awesome and a couple of times this season they've linked well but that's about it. 20 million ? (and I know it's paper talk), but I'd take it like that. It wasn't 2 minutes ago that we said he needed a stint in the stiffs to buck his ideas up.

-- Anonymous, December 05, 2000

We should be going to leeds and BUYING players not thinking about selling to em!! Go and get Lee Hughes , Lee Clark and Festa from the boro.

-- Anonymous, December 05, 2000

20 million is a heck of a lot of money for Dyer. He's not worth it simple. If we were offered it we should take it. This wouldn't be a step back when we were a feeder club this would be a good bit of business. We could buy someone BETTER and have MONEY left to buy other BETTER players.

-- Anonymous, December 05, 2000

WHo can you get BETTER and as young for 20 million?

-- Anonymous, December 05, 2000

You might be able to get someone more consistent. What's age got to do with it. If you can pick up someone whos 25 who's good and consistent and I'm sure we could end up with a good attacking midfielder and a good midfielder or forward for the money. Maybe neither would be better than Dyer, but as a team we would be better.

-- Anonymous, December 05, 2000

Owen Morrison for about 2.5 million, younger, more determined and he's got a brilliant left foot, something I'm afraid Dyer hasn't but we need more.

-- Anonymous, December 05, 2000

well, it's Andy Cole all over again isn't it? If it happens, i won't be on the steps at SJP. I'll congratulate the manager for knowing what he's doing.

however, if Rio Ferndinand is worth 18m. Dyer's worth 25m easily and we shouldn' take a penny less. He's more established in the England set up for starters.

-- Anonymous, December 05, 2000

Bobby Zamora of brighton is apparently better than sheaerer was at 19. Get him for 200,000 maybe

-- Anonymous, December 05, 2000

£20 million pounds Senor - certainly.

Will that be gift-wrapped?

-- Anonymous, December 05, 2000

I can see this happening quite easily when the transfer windows open (wasn't it last weekend) in Spain and Italy.

Anything like £20 million for a player who frustrates the fans sometimes with his on the field antics and frustrates Bobby and the board sometimes with his off the field antics. We could be a much better team with £15 mill of new players and that is the only way Bobby is going to get that sort of money.

I'd only sell him for more than £15 million. I'd only also sell him abroad.

-- Anonymous, December 05, 2000

EVERY player has his price.

It is for Bobby to decide if 20m is enough, and if he can spend the 20m better than keeping Dyer, then he should sell. To date at Newcastle Bobby's buying record has not been good or bad really. The jury is still out on so many buys. Younger players he bought have still to develop, older players have been injured.

The sale of Cole was followed by purchases of Ginola, Ferdinand & Barton - not bad business in a football sense at all. Looking further back, the sale of Suddick in the 60's was the sale of a local hero, equivalent to selling Beardsley at the height of his powers. St Joe Harvey bought 3 players with the (massive!) 65K fee and those players kept us in the top division. The three were Elliot, Shalalala McNamee and Tommy Robson as I vaguely recall all of whom did a brilliant job.

Don't get hung up on the idea of us as a "selling club". If the price is right and we can do better with the money then SELL. If not then don't. It's a football decision and calls on the skills of YBR to the max.

-- Anonymous, December 05, 2000

Everyone seem to be missing a very important question here. If we do get an offer for Dyer in excess of 18Mllion, and we do sell him, what assurances do we have that the money will be made available to purchase new players?

The board might just bank it all in or just make a small sum available all in the quest of balancing the books, of course. And if that happens, what then, we lose the only England international we have, a talented if sometimes mischievous young man in exchange for cash that might never be forthcoming or just enough to buy another under performing player from abroad?

-- Anonymous, December 05, 2000

>>The board might just bank it all in or just make a small sum available all in the quest of balancing the books, of course. And if that happens, what then, we lose the only England international we have, a talented if sometimes mischievous young man in exchange for cash that might never be forthcoming or just enough to buy another under performing player from abroad? <<

Hmmmm Paul Gascoigne circa 1988. Have we come full-circle?

-- Anonymous, December 05, 2000

At the moment we have a load of buys we're not yet sure about, from money that was (mostly) 'made available' rather than from a controversial sale.

I'd begin to wonder though, if these guys had come in on the strength of the sale of, say, Shearer, which seems to be the sort of thing we're on about here.

Ok, Shearer's a proven player and Dyer isn't, but I'd rather we persevered with Dyer for a while longer than take a chance by cashing in on him and maybe ending up no better off.

When all's said and done, we did actually buy the likes of Marcellino etc, they didn't offer their services and were taken against our better judgement, so from that point of view, we appear not be much good at picking up bargains. 20-20 hindsight ain't no consolation AFAIC.

-- Anonymous, December 05, 2000

I seem to recall the Gazza cash went towards rebuilding the Milburn Stand, or was it the Beardsley cash and the Leazes Stand ??

On the simple basis that we've run out of Stands to build, I think this is less of a concern now than in those dim and distant days.

Even me, the fabled Board Hater, feels quite sure the Board fully realise that serious money is needed to rebuild the team and would make any funds secured from the sale of a current player to the Manager to replace him.

-- Anonymous, December 05, 2000

I think we COULD be better off without him. If the money was used wisely . If we could get Robbie keane and £5 million for a new defender, then we would be a lot better off.

-- Anonymous, December 05, 2000

Money is colouring people's judgement. If money could buy whoever we wanted, it would be different. But if a player is unavailable or doesn't want to join, no amount of money would make him, and it's this latter problem that is IMO more significant than any 'loosening of purse strings'. It's a circular argument - transfer costs are so high because there just aren't enough high calibre players around. But because of this dirth, it doesn't make sense to try and make a fast buck by selling a player, unless we have an equal or better replacement lined up. And the fact that the outgoing player commands ahigh transfer price tends to suggest that there aren't equivalent replacements readily available. Hmm..not very well put, but hopefully vaguely intelligible..

-- Anonymous, December 05, 2000

Not guilty yer honner, but bold off. I hope !

-- Anonymous, December 05, 2000

Talking about the business aspect PB - YKD is a classic demonstration of how big money can be spent wisely on developing young English talent, and a handsome return made if and when the Club decides to sell.

-- Anonymous, December 05, 2000

That's fair enough Clarky, but my main point is that Dyer's proved nowt yet. Our approach to this sort of thing should be the same as Newton Heath's - get shot of him only on our terms ie when it no longer looks like he'll be of any use to us, or there isn't room for him because we have too many players at least as good to do his job.

I can't see that we're that well off at the moment, so I think it would be a mistake to get rid of him yet purely because it looks like a bliddy good business deal. I don't think we'll ever get anywhere as a football club with that approach.

-- Anonymous, December 05, 2000

PB,

Ifthis story is true, then I would argue that NUFC are taking an entirely pragmatic stance, and accepting that every player has his price - and £20 million is their assessment of YKD's market value.
One could argue with the price, but not IMO the logic.

I guess you're saying you wouldn't sell him at ANY price - but do you really mean that? How about £30 million, or £40 million?

-- Anonymous, December 05, 2000

If Bobby Robson rates Solano and Gavilan highly enough he can let Dyer go. If he wants to keep Dyer he must still want to play him in that free role which I so dislike.

I'd like to see him sold for the right money and decent use of the money being made to balance the team by signing a decent left winger.

-- Anonymous, December 05, 2000

IF Rio Ferdinand is £18m then Dyer is certainly £20m+. I must say, he had me thinking on Saturday, he must look around him as we struggled against a team that any ambitious team should be hammering & think what am I doing here?

-- Anonymous, December 05, 2000

That might be his problem Dave LF - he might be fed up to the back teeth playing in a poor team, that is not really progressing, and one who's Manager has no money with which to improve it.
The Radio Metro commentators at one point said that YKD looked disgusted with his team-mates. The Sunday Times also commented that the Toon players were arguing amongst themselves and waving fngers at each other in the first half mayhem.
Mhmmm.

-- Anonymous, December 05, 2000

It has occurred to me that Dyer might have fulfilled his potential a bit better had he been playing in a consistently good side. In fact, has he stayed at Ipswich. However, my two Villa mates mailed me today and said that Dyer was streets ahead of anything else on the pitch.

-- Anonymous, December 05, 2000

Barton fell out with Given after he got himself caught in posession but that wasn't the problem. Cordone was terrible, we had nothing on the left, Lee & Speed were static. Only the centre halfs, Dyer & Acuna looked the part.

It was apparent Dyer only trusted Nobby or Speed with the ball, otherwise he clearly felt it would be a waste giving it to Cordone.

-- Anonymous, December 05, 2000

Right - the answer is clearly to keep Dyer, Solano and Caldwell and sell the rest. £20 million OK?

-- Anonymous, December 05, 2000

Howway Clarky, even I'm not daft enough to look a gift horse in the gob. I don't disagree that every player has his price, what worries me is getting shot of a player purely on cash terms rather than good of the team terms, when there is absolutely no certainty that the replacement(s) will be better or even as good. If our recent past history in this area had been anything other than questionable at best, I might not be as worried about grabbing the money and running.

If we persevere with Dyer for a while longer he may realise his potential and even end up being valued at 30 or 40 mill. Whether or not we'd want to sell then is another argument.

I think it's success, or the lack of, that colours the attitude of other clubs. The more successful a club is, the more likely they'll be a buying club rather than a selling club. I don't think the fate of Dyer would have been a debating point if we had a history of winning everything in sight.

-- Anonymous, December 06, 2000

Gut feeling alone tells me that Dyer wouldn't agree to an extension of his contract with us in 2 years' time. Every thing he does gets reported, he doesn't have fast forwards to cover his lack of stomach in goal-scoring situations, we don't have the amazing midfielders capable of both winning the ball and passing it and getting forward in support to cover for his lack of guts when it gets physical. All we're left with is a player who runs a lot and will take on his man if he has a full half a pitch to run into (Everton, Spurs and Liverpool) but won't take his share of knocks.

At the moment everyone else is still sure he is a great player in prospect, but when we have 12 months left on his contract and he clearly doesn't want to play for us we'll be lucky to get 7mil for him. At the moment it's a seller's market, but that will change over the next 18 months.

Sell sell sell. We need quick forwards to get ahead of him and we haven't got any money. At least if we sell him we can get another forward and a left winger and play with a balanced side and not have to keep twisting the formation to accommodate a man who is reluctant to either shoot or tackle and lives in this bizarre limbo world where he doesn't seem to do anything other than act as a static link between the defensive midfielders and the non-existent attacking midfielder.

-- Anonymous, December 06, 2000

Softie, have we not got any money? I am rapidly coming to the conclusion that we have got money but being a plc (like Villa and Spurs - see the spending pattern emerging?), we can't take a risk on buying a £6-£10 million asset to have the value written off our balance sheet. Other (non-PLC) clubs can take the risk. Have changed on Dyer - smacks of flogging Pedro, Gazza and Waddle to me. In the current transfer climate, we wouldn't spend the money anyway.

-- Anonymous, December 06, 2000

>>>>>we can't take a risk on buying a £6-£10 million asset to have the value written off our balance sheet. Other (non-PLC) clubs can take the risk

I'd have agreed with this reasoning up until Leeds signed Rio for a record fee.

-- Anonymous, December 06, 2000

Manure have reportedly had a £23 million offer for Novotny of Bayer Laverkusen turned down, but Arsenal have apparently had a higher offer turned down. Doesn't seem to be too much transfer uncertainty around at the moment! What do these clubs know that we don't apart from the fact that they'll be in the Champions League next year.

-- Anonymous, December 06, 2000

Dougal,
Check out the NUFC plc financial statements - the Company lost £19 million pounds last year and is £70 million in debt (or is it £90 million?).
The Board WILL undoubtedly find a few million for BR to buy Pablo Paz and U.T. Cobley, but we are unable to compete for the signatures of the likes of Pavel Nedved, TAF etc. These are the sort of players needed to transform us from inconsistent PL strugglers into a team that is truly competitive. That sort of brass just isn't there, irrespective of EU transfer policy.
Without serious dosh, the only way forward is a long-term rebuilding policy based on bargain-priced youngsters and home-grown talent (ie the Peter Reid philosophy) which might take 5-7 years, at best.

PB,

"If we persevere with Dyer for a while longer he may realise his potential and even end up being valued at 30 or 40 mill".
In the real world you don't get two chances, and management have to make difficult choices today. I would assess the chances of YKD being ultimately worth £30-40 million at about 50/1, and the chances of him wanting to be away "to a Club that will give him a realistic chance of winning trophies", at the end of his current contract in two years time at about 3/1.
Taking all that, and his present rate of development into consideration, I'd take £20 million now, and seek to spend the lot on just two players who could make a real difference.

-- Anonymous, December 06, 2000

Possibly Clarky but we also have about the biggest matchday turnover in the PL (STs more expensive than at OT) and if the club want to keep it that way, they have to splash the cash, it's as simple as that. It's partly the vibes we give off by selling players all the time. Of all the players bought in the pasrt three or four years, how many are actually still there. From Gullit's time we only have Domi and Dyer who everyone would apparently sell. Have we thought about the message this pattern sends out to other players?

-- Anonymous, December 06, 2000

Jonno - Leeds are raking it in in the Champion's League. As are Man United and Arsenal. They also get higher proportions of the SKY money. Villa, Spurs and the Toon aren't even in Europe. Chelsea bought Hasselbaink on the back of their CL cash from last year.

-- Anonymous, December 06, 2000

Speculate to accumulate is what we need to do It allmost worked for keegan. The PLC have to understand if things dont improve we are never going to make the money.

-- Anonymous, December 06, 2000

I might just as well save my breath typing finger.

-- Anonymous, December 06, 2000

Clarky, we hear you but the club can't expect to fill a ground year in year out unless there is tangible progress and a bit of stardust added. There aren't that many fans who will put up with a poor first team in the knowledge that we are nurturing first class youths who will come good in 2005.

-- Anonymous, December 06, 2000

So, what are the alternatives then Dougal? The thread title proposes one - the possible sale of arguably the Club's most saleable current asset for a sum of money that should finance a couple of top-class additions. However, people don't like that because it says we're a selling Club with all the bad vibes associated with that tag from the past. Understandable, but maybe beggars can't be chosers.

You say you hear me, but the problem is most people don't want to hear the realities of life. As in other aspects of everyday life, they prefer to live in the comfort zone and complain.

NUFC is a public company, that has over-stretched itself financially, and simply doesn't have £20 million to give to it's Manager to spend. So, it either sells one asset to buy others, or it spends 5-7 years rebuilding from the bottom. This is a very simple equation, and it's no good burying our heads in the sand and hoping reality will become suspended.

BTW, I happend to believe, the majority of supporters would understand the need for a period of rebuilding if it were properly explained to them - including the fact that there is presently no alternative available to the Club to raise the kind of finance needed to spend massively in the market.

-- Anonymous, December 06, 2000

The club must get somewhere in the region of approx 19 Million / yr from season ticket sales alone. Add to that cup matches shop revenue etc and we will pay off debts pretty quickly so get rid of cack players commanding good salary's and let them go for a cheap price, just get them off the wage bill.

-- Anonymous, December 06, 2000

Just to add a bit of spice to this one.

Here, is a list of the top 20 in descending order, with their turnover for the 1998-99 season in brackets.

1. Man Utd (£110.9million) 2. Bayern Munich (£83.5million) 3. Real Madrid (£76.1million) 4. Chelsea (£59.1million) 5. Juventus (£58.5million) 6. Barcelona (£55.7million) 7. AC Milan (£54.1million) 8. Lazio (£50million) 9. Inter Milan (£49.1million) 10. Arsenal (£48.6million) 11. Liverpool (£45.3million) 12. Newcastle Utd (£44.7million) 13. Parma (£44.4million) 14. Borussia Dortmund (£43.9million) 15. Tottenham (£42.6million) 16. AS Roma (£39.4million) 17. Leeds Utd (£37million) 18. Rangers (£36.5million) 19. Aston Villa (£34.9million) 20. Celtic (£33.8million)

-- Anonymous, December 06, 2000

Clarky
I can't argue with most of the points you've made, but what undermines the common sense of your argument, IMO, is in the last line of your posting. I don't think we have anybody at the club who's any better at selecting 'two players who could make a real difference' than are any of us.

Once that uncertainty is introduced, common sense goes out of the window and it just becomes a similar gamble to hanging on to Dyer and hoping for the best. In my view it's a bit 'better the devil you know'.

Even if we did get only two years out of him, provided it goes the way I would hope, (which seems to be the main difference between our points of view - I seem to be a bit more optimistic as to Dyer's progress), we still could do a decent bit of business.

In all of this, I'm assuming it'll dawn on Dyer that it's down to him. If it looks like he's a perpetual idiot, then definitely cash in, but I'd hate to see us go off half cocked, which on past history, couldn't be ruled out. I think basically we're just arguing about timing.

-- Anonymous, December 06, 2000

Clarky, I normally agree with you but I think you are being very kind on our support. A squad of 40 and hardly a name among them. Enough to fill a 52K ground every fortnight? Building through youth, as I have said before, is the only way to be truly successful, but you do need a bit of glam to keep things rolling over until then. Also, I suspect there'll be more people holding off on STs next year and cherrypicking the big games. The other thing is, not everyone understands corpoarte finance like you do so you may find that some people think it is just the board being tight and start getting restive. Having said that, I doubt anyone is really offering 20 million for him.

-- Anonymous, December 06, 2000

Pit Bill

>>>>In my view it's a bit 'better the devil you know'

Unless we're talking about directors eh PB?

:-)

-- Anonymous, December 06, 2000

I think this thread is worth saving so we can dig it up in a year's time when Dyer requests a transfer and we can't sell him for 5mil as everyone knows we are desperate and we can all hear again about how the board are fools to keep losing money on the transfer market.

Face it: Dyer came here for the money and the only reason he'll remain is if he's offered even more and you can only buy their bodies, not their commitment. They know nothing about loyalty and should be treated with equal disdain. If someone offers you silly money for a player when you are down on your luck then you are an idiot not to sell. A man wearing top hat and tails in the gutter si still sitting in the gutter and would be better off trading them in for a raincoat.

-- Anonymous, December 06, 2000

Softie, it is only about 6 months ago that he was saying he wanted to stay for the whole of his career and become a Newcastle legend. In any event, if we sold now, how many 10mill players would join us at this stage - not in Europe, not going to challenge for anything etc... Besides which, the board did cracking business in getting shot of Duncan Treatment Table's weekly wages and his showing at Everton suggests they were right but was it universally popular move? :O))

-- Anonymous, December 06, 2000

Dietmar Hamann said something similar and then told the German papers that he wanted to join Liverpool....not a transfer request of course, so the greedy tosser got to pick up his severance pay from us.

Likewise David Batty pledged his future to us and signed a 5 year extension to his deal before asking to go to Leeds.

Matt Jansen claims that he would crawl over broken glass to play for us but keeps managing to sign for other clubs.

I don't believe a word that comes out of their mouths. They showed us all how much it matters to them during the derby match.

p.s. Damascus was lovely :-)

-- Anonymous, December 06, 2000

pps

Overpaid, useless, prima-donna, feckless, gutless, greedy little tarts.

-- Anonymous, December 06, 2000

I know what you mean, Softie, which is why I honestly think our youth policy has to be central to the club's future - the loyalty of the players may be a bit more Aaron-Hughesesque. Obviously, players like Bartinho are a bit special in that regard. As is Gary Speed - never hinted at leaving.

-- Anonymous, December 06, 2000

"...I honestly think our youth policy has to be central to the club's future." NOW we're making progress Dougal.

"...not everyone understands corporate finance ... so we may find that some people think it is just the Board being tight and start getting restive". Totally agree - and that is why open communication with the fans is so incredibly important. Unless you tell people the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth - and do so early and often, then the public will simply assume the worst, and criticise you. You must not allow the public/fans to just sit in their 'comfort zone' throwing sh*t - but if you don't talk honestly to them, that is what will happen. Guaranteed.

"I don't think we have anybody at the club who's any better at selecting 'two players who could make a real difference' than are any of us". If that's true PB, then we're are in deeper dood than even I dared to imagine. We have highly paid professionals at the Club like BR, Mick Wadsworth, and Gordon Milne to ensure the Club's money is invested wisely. If they are not capable of doing that then they should all be cleared out, NOW! Seriously, if we really believe what you have stated then we should be getting our banners out and marching up and down Barrack Rd.

-- Anonymous, December 06, 2000

Touche, Jonno. Hypocrisy is the name of the game, except I loathe Shepherd, so I can't be detached in discussions that involve him. With Dyer, I can take a reasonably considered point of view.

-- Anonymous, December 06, 2000

Clarky
I'm prompted by what's happened in the past 4 or 5 years. I'd like nowt better than for Bobby to prove me well and truly wrong by coming up with the two, or whatever, players we need, however he pays for them.

You must admit, though, that even some of his signings are still keeping us guessing, but that's fair enough. In an ideal world they'd come here and immediately things would be sorted but even I'm not so naive as to believe it would be like that. (Although it nearly was under KK).

I think constant comings and goings aren't going to make for a settled atmosphere, and I think that's probably what we need more than anything for at least the rest of this season.

-- Anonymous, December 06, 2000

Ideally we should have any new signings in by the transfer deadline and then spend the rest of the season making them 'click' before getting a good pre-season under their belts and taking the Premiership by storm!

The players who we have bought this year like Acuna, Bassedas and Cordone will take at least another couple of months before they really should be performing to their potential. We may see glimpses until then but to try and expect them to settle in this early is wrong.

-- Anonymous, December 06, 2000

funny isn't it how if we get a good resultwe're all on here eulogising about Aaron Hughes or Steve Caldwell or giving the young 'uns a chance, but after a bad result, we're always 'We must sign world class players - two defenders and a striker at least'....

-- Anonymous, December 07, 2000

Great debate folks, but am I the only one who doesn't think we'd get £20M for LKD right now??

-- Anonymous, December 07, 2000

18 Mill for Ferdi Jr. ? Maybe 20 for Dyer ain't that daft.

But I agree, Screach, I think we would be pushed to get anywhere near that.

-- Anonymous, December 07, 2000

"you're a funny lot you Mags, you love Warren Barton but are not sure about Keiron Dyer...hmmm". From a Makem at work...

-- Anonymous, December 07, 2000

Dougal, I wish you'd stop talking to that mackem from work.....he's pissing me off and I'm tempted to come round and twat the fucker....

-- Anonymous, December 07, 2000

I have to admit I'm bewildered at why people are even contemplating selling Dyer, and being so negative about the prospects of him extending his contract. If we give up on players so easily, it's no surprise that they give up on us...it's not as if he's been a failure of Collymore proportions, or anything near, it's just that we probably feel he hasn't yet fully realised his potential.

-- Anonymous, December 07, 2000

What can I do, Gav? These comments are mixed with work stuff so I have to read them and then I get upset and need to seek comfort from you lot..

-- Anonymous, December 07, 2000

Dougal

>>>>From a Makem at work...

I bet that's worth a lot of points in your I-Spy Book ... ;-)

-- Anonymous, December 07, 2000

Windy,

I'm certainly not giving up on YKD just yet. The only point I've been trying to make is that every player has their price.
If, as reported, Leeds are planning to offer us £11 million I'd tell them to 'stick it where the sun don't shine'. However if, as also reported, Juventus offered us £20 million I'd say "and will that be gift-wrapped, sir?" - for the reasons already outlined.
I'd then look to spend the £20 million on the two top-class players that would make us a better team than we are right now.

I have a theory that Leeds are buying up top English prospects because they know they're in such short supply that it's bloody good business, and that they can hardly go wrong. In that regard, they'd be trying to buy YKD below his market value.

-- Anonymous, December 07, 2000

If we still think a player has more to offer, we shouldn't be selling regardless of the price
a) because if they fulfill that promise, the price will inevitably increase, and
b) more importantly we want these players playing for us at their peak.
If we just sell players off because the money's seems too good to turn down, we'll always be a mediocre team.

-- Anonymous, December 07, 2000

There, there pet, tell your granda

Right, Doug, there's your cuddle, now stop snivelling or we'll bray yer and yer'll really have summat to snivel about. :-)))))))))))))))

-- Anonymous, December 07, 2000