All this talk of 'big money' signings

[Kahnee]

People are getting obsessed with the size of the price tag around here. "If we don't spend twelvety million on Torres we lack ambition", "we have to spend £95bn on Schenchenko" etc etc

 

What about the players who didn't break the bank? The Rushes, Hansens, Dalglishes? Sami was just a few million, and look what he's done for us. Gerrard and Carra were free.

 

Is price really the only way we now judge if a player is worthy of the first team?

[anny road]

People are getting obsessed with the size of the price tag around here. "If we don't spend twelvety million on Torres we lack ambition", "we have to spend £95bn on Schenchenko" etc etc

 

What about the players who didn't break the bank? The Rushes, Hansens, Dalglishes? Sami was just a few million, and look what he's done for us. Gerrard and Carra were free.

 

Is price really the only way we now judge if a player is worthy of the first team?

 

 

Dalglish was a british record transfer fee at the time

[Stevie H]

Dalglish was a british record transfer fee at the time

 

yeah, well in kahn.

 

bargains under GH were sami, gary mac, babbel.

[Kahnee]

Dalglish was a british record transfer fee at the time

 

But a bargain by today's standards

[Buzz]

yeah, well in kahn.

 

bargains under GH were sami, gary mac, babbel.

I'm sure the Babble deal was originally done under Evans.

[honourablegeorge]

Is price really the only way we now judge if a player is worthy of the first team?

 

 

Our three most expensive signings - Cisse, Heskey, Diouf. There's the three biggest reasons for shopping in the bargain bins you'll ever see.

[D.Boon]

Dalglish was a british record transfer fee at the time

 

 

But apart from that???

[Guest YKI]

Sheva is an ace player but £35 million for a 29 year old is insane. What about a 33 year old Bobby Carlos? Oh, dear.

[monkey puzzle]

I'm sure the Babble deal was originally done under Evans.

 

I'm sure you're wrong

[Tones]

I'm sure the Babble deal was originally done under Evans.

 

Nah he was a GH signing.

[_00_deathscar]

ha ha ha, yeah, i kinda got carried away

 

Just saw that...

[Cooldude]

The Keegans and the Clemences would've been better examples of bargains back in the days

[David Hodgson]

I think you'll find the ones that bang on about big money signings and cry when we miss out on one, tend to be under 16, so it's nothing to be concerned about.

 

Of course they do, because life is just that simple isn't it.

 

Anyone with a brain knows that great teams tend to be comprised of a mixture of bargain basement unearthed gems, and astute expensive high profile signings.

 

It is equally asinine to call only for bargains, as it is to hunger only for the big names.

[Guest Dave B]

Keegan, Hughes, Rush, Souness, Whelan, Sissoko, Hyppia...etc, etc, proves the big money, big name theory to be b******s.

 

That's why clubs like Newcastle and Spurs have underachieved for years.

 

It's about good management - from top to bottom.

Edited May 25, 2006 by Dave B

[Knox_Harrington]

Keegan, Hughes, Rush, Souness, Whelan....etc, etc, proves the big money, big name theory to be b******s.

 

That's why clubs like Newcastle and Spurs have underachieved for years.

 

It's about good management - from top to bottom.

And Rush's finest partner and our finest ever player was a British record signing.

 

Beardsley was a British record signing.

[Guest Dave B]

And Rush's finest partner and our finest ever player was a British record signing.

 

Beardsley was a British record signing.

 

And?

 

The point being not all quality players have to be overhyped and bought for stupid prices.

Edited May 25, 2006 by Dave B

[Guest Anders Honoré]

and not all players are. Some however, can prove to be pivotal signings for a team.

[Knox_Harrington]

And?

 

The point being not all quality players have to be overhyped and bought for stupid prices.

No. The point is:

It is equally asinine to call only for bargains, as it is to hunger only for the big names.

[David Hodgson]

Keegan, Hughes, Rush, Souness, Whelan, Sissoko, Hyppia...etc, etc, proves the big money, big name theory to be b******s.

 

That's why clubs like Newcastle and Spurs have underachieved for years.

 

It's about good management - from top to bottom.

 

 

Souness was a big money signing FWIW, and I don't call 6m on Sissoko hunting in the bargain basement.

 

Dalglish, Barnes, Beardsley, Lawrenson, Johnston, Aldridge, Houghton etc etc were all major money signings, and they prove the 'big name theory' to be far from 'B*llocks'.

 

It's about striking a balance.

[Guest Dave B]

It's about striking a balance.

 

That was what I was hinting at.

 

Of course you're never going to unearth a Rush or Whelan every day of the week, so sometimes you have to pay for top quality when it's available.

Edited May 25, 2006 by Dave B

[Gunga Din]

Sissoko and Essien.

 

compare and contrast.

 

its not about cost, its about quality. Wenger hasnt spent huge but has done ok.

 

Diouf cosy £10m and was gash, Alonso cost £10m and is a superstar.

 

Cheyrou cost over £4mil, about the same as Sissoko.

 

i dont care what players cost, Babbel and Gary Mac were free.

[IgPig]

if gonzalez lives up to the promise he is showing, he might be the next one. £1.2M!

[Boca]

You could argue that Mancs decline started when Ferguson finally got the go ahead to spend big after years of bitching. His first major money signing was Veron, who flopped, and really only horseface could be looked at as a success.

It's easy to spend big on players but the success rate is as hit and miss as buying players for less money.

[Guest baronvonskidmark]

To be honest, I'm not concerned at all about how much players cost. All I want is that Benitez gets the backing he needs for the signings he wants - be they £100,000 or £10 million. That's good enough for me!

[G Richards]

Normally, spending more money means higher quality and less risk of failure. But this theory is littered will exceptions to the rule, as honourable george pointed out with our three most expensive signings (Cisse, Heskey, Diouf).

 

So if we get someone like a Pennant (lowish fee) what's to say he won't do very well for us, while someone with a big price tag (Joaquin) might well flop.

 

It's a judgment thing for the manager. Rafa knows the score. He continually makes furniture analogies about it being the right leg to balance the table, not the most expensive one.

 

The free player we picked up in January looked our most accomplished striker as the season drew near to a close. He was given a new contract and the manager said that he had just saved £10M in the market.