Bascombe

[Leo No.8]

If we sign Torres, practically doubling our record transfer fee there are going to be some red faces around amongst the happy ones.

 

One of the reddest will be Chris Bascombes - he'll have lost some serious credibility after all the doom and gloom articles, unless he was under orders from the club to make it look like we had less money than we really did (which seems unlikely but is possible).

 

Wonder what his first article on his return will be? I'll look forward to that, it'll be interesting to see what line he takes.

[JimmyF]

To be fair to him his constant stance was Rafa wasnt been told how much he had to spend which caused uncertainty.

 

Secondly lets see once we get Torres tied up the other players we sign, will they have more funds to improve the team to this level. Signs look promising but you never know

[beejay]

If we sign Torres, practically doubling our record transfer fee there are going to be some red faces around amongst the happy ones.

 

One of the reddest will be Chris Bascombes - he'll have lost some serious credibility after all the doom and gloom articles, unless he was under orders from the club to make it look like we had less money than we really did (which seems unlikely but is possible).

 

Wonder what his first article on his return will be? I'll look forward to that, it'll be interesting to see what line he takes.

 

But do you think he was told to tow a certain line by the club in order for teams to know we're not loaded!

[johngibo YPC]

I think he can backtrack fairly easily

something like 'pressure form Rafa finally made G&H release funds'

[Benitez]

But do you think he was told to tow a certain line by the club in order for teams to know we're not loaded!

 

 

I doubt people are that thick.

 

Teams selling to all the big clubs know that there is money there, and more so when clubs get bought. It wouldn't matter if a tabloid journo stated over and over that Liverpool where skint, they are hardly going to go 'oh it must be true then'.

[Guest fowler11]

anyone know when he is back from holiday?

[Mondavi]

If we sign Torres, practically doubling our record transfer fee there are going to be some red faces around amongst the happy ones.

 

One of the reddest will be Chris Bascombes - he'll have lost some serious credibility after all the doom and gloom articles, unless he was under orders from the club to make it look like we had less money than we really did (which seems unlikely but is possible).

 

Wonder what his first article on his return will be? I'll look forward to that, it'll be interesting to see what line he takes.

 

In all honesty, with regards to Bascombe, I'd be amazed if he wasn't fed stuff to fan the flames of discontent. The mass media had been speculating about anythign up to 100 million as our gross transfer budget for the summer, and that just can't help negotiations. I've been convinced from the outset that bascombe was (knowingly or not), playing down our available budget to assist the club in getting the best deals possible.

 

The club will know that many nationals pick up on stories in the locals as being worthy, informed speculation, and if you were in the shoes of our officials would you not do the same ?

 

I just wish the impatient nutters on various websites and phone-in's were capable of considering this possibility.

[anny road]

no comment

[Leo No.8]

I'd like to add that I don't mind Bascombe in general - but he was quite strong in the line he took over the new owners which will be why I'll be interested to see how he approaches things on his return.

 

And I do actually think it's possible he may have been trying to help the club under orders or not, in which case I take my hat off to him - but f*ck me even if that was the case he's helped make this a horrible summer up to now.

 

And Jimmy - fair point on seeing who else we sign, but I think regardless this is a big, big statement of intent by the club and it's new ownership.

Edited June 29, 2007 by Leo No.8

[Herbie von Smalls]

who cares, really? he's just another journo with an opinion. sometimes he's right, sometimes he's wrong. i've yet to encounter an unimpeachable source in the press.

[Billy Dane]

He'll go down the road of how G&H caved in to media presuure and the possibility of Madrid moving for Rafa blah balh blah

[IgPig]

It appears to me that there was a degree of uncertainty over what sort of money was available to Rafa, and that Bascombe was being used by Rafa to communicate this.

 

Looks like whatever issues were up in the air are now sorted though, given the apparent bid for Torres.

 

I don't think he loses credibility particularly. His main source is Rafa, and a lot of what he writes is going to reflect that.

[Cobs]

who cares, really? he's just another journo with an opinion. sometimes he's right, sometimes he's wrong. i've yet to encounter an unimpeachable source in the press.

exactly

[Stevie H]

who cares, really? he's just another journo with an opinion. sometimes he's right, sometimes he's wrong. i've yet to encounter an unimpeachable source in the press.

there's no such thing. and even if there were a journalist who was so well-connected at a club that they were privy to every going on, they couldn't report them anyway as they'd be ex-communicated.

 

thought people would've learned by now that the media are no source of genuine football inside information.

[Alonso]

anyone know when he is back from holiday?

Is he even on holiday? Wasn't his last piece that awful one that was like a diary of events over the coming year?

[Falconhoof]

who cares, really? he's just another journo with an opinion. sometimes he's right, sometimes he's wrong. i've yet to encounter an unimpeachable source in the press.

 

 

The thing that irritates me is that he's seen as some serious connection to the club. Remember that 3 part series of articles he wrote, including what he perceived as a crisis about the new stadium ? He basically said that we were stuck as we couldn't afford to pay for any upgrades and the existing design would see us fall further and further behind the Mancs. It now looks like he was making it all up.

[Herbie von Smalls]

The thing that irritates me is that he's seen as some serious connection to the club. Remember that 3 part series of articles he wrote, including what he perceived as a crisis about the new stadium ? He basically said that we were stuck as we couldn't afford to pay for any upgrades and the existing design would see us fall further and further behind the Mancs. It now looks like he was making it all up.

maybe people shouldn't give his reporting such great weight. whatever his insight, or whoever's feeding him, there's plenty he and other hacks aren't getting right. hanging on his every word is a futile exercise.

[Leo No.8]

there's no such thing. and even if there were a journalist who was so well-connected at a club that they were privy to every going on, they couldn't report them anyway as they'd be ex-communicated.

 

thought people would've learned by now that the media are no source of genuine football inside information.

 

Absolutely right. This is what I've been saying - people should make their own minds up.

 

For me it just wasn't credible that Gillett and Hicks take over then not give the manager any money to spend even after a successful Champions League campaign.

 

Whatever the press were saying about a £15m transfer budget etc it didn't add up at all.

Edited June 29, 2007 by Leo No.8

[Falconhoof]

maybe people shouldn't give his reporting such great weight. whatever his insight, or whoever's feeding him, there's plenty he and other hacks aren't getting right. hanging on his every word is a futile exercise.

 

Oh I agree, absolutely people should disregard the press. I can't help but be irritated by the credence his (and others) writing is given and the pompous serious articles written on the state of the club.

[drdooom]

I think he can backtrack fairly easily

something like 'pressure form Rafa finally made G&H release funds'

 

'Pressure from Chris Bascombe finally made G&H release funds'

[Rich Gobey]

I for one am enjoying this new, strong-minded Leo No. 8.

 

He's much better than the previous 7 Leos.

[honourablegeorge]

I dunno, Leo - even if you believe the Torres price is the full £27M, the sales of Cisse, Pongolle, Garcia & Bellamy would still push us close to a zero net spend.

 

While to go before any claims are proven one way or the other.

[Benitez]

I dunno, Leo - even if you believe the Torres price is the full £27M, the sales of Cisse, Pongolle, Garcia & Bellamy would still push us close to a zero net spend.

 

While to go before any claims are proven one way or the other.

 

 

but apart from Garcia, those players are players the club want rid of anyway. And Garcia may well want to go home.

 

If it turns out that they gain 20+ mill in fees from players they want to sell, that shouldn't be taken against 'em! The problem in the past was that Rafa was forced into making sales to balance transfers. But this time, that may well not be the case.

 

The fact that Sissoko stayed goes against that theory as well, cos they could easy have sold him and got a very good price, even if Rafa didn't want to sell him.

[Cunny]

I dunno, Leo - even if you believe the Torres price is the full £27M, the sales of Cisse, Pongolle, Garcia & Bellamy would still push us close to a zero net spend.

 

While to go before any claims are proven one way or the other.

 

is correct

which means we'll have money for Tevez!!!

[benno2]

Does nobody think there's a chance that the club deliberately put out misinformation through channels normally accepted as reliable to dampen the expectations of club's we'd like to buy from? We've all seen what happened when Chelsea steamrollered into the transfer market with a big wad of cash. They had to pay a 50% premium for practically all their top targets. Has this been a clever and concerted ruse by the club to avoid such a scenario?

 

The more I write this, the less plausible it seems ...