January 2009 Transfer thread

I agree, it does suck, I liked Jimmy despite some erratic play at times. But big picture, this isn't the end of the world by any means. Spend the money wisely and move on.

 

re: Bullard Leaves Fulham

Aw, crap.

When I heard about this on the radio yesterday, I was driving home and I let out about 30 F***s in loud and quick succession.

I am not pleased about this transfer in the football sense. He will be missed on our offense, as it stands now. I hope Woy has an ace up his sleeve with this Delph kid, because as Dawg says, I see us as short an LM as it stands now -- Gera does not fill me with confidence right now.

In the business sense... I can see both sides point and Jimmy knows he isn't getting any younger. If I had his knee I'm sure I'd have done the same thing.

Thanks for all you did Jimmy, especially the Villa game and the Wink, now I hope your team finishes below us.

 

Yep. Dempsey is the only player who has played well enough to replace Bullard on the attack - unfortunately, he's already in the starting lineup. We'll need Davies or Gera to step up too.

 

Hodgson on Bullard's departure

I am trying not to have a knee jerk reaction to this transfer. I had hoped the window would pass with nobody leaving the club but that is not going to happen. I really think Jimmy must have been pushing hard for a transfer if someone was willing to meet his contract demands.

In asking the question of why on $5 million pounds? If Roy is to be believed, and I have no reason not to believe him, the demand for Jimmy was not that high.

I am firmly in agreement with Mike that meeting Jimmy's contract demands did not make good business sense. Jimmy is a good player and has done good things for the club but he has not been the most reliable or consistent player. Danny Murphy has already make 17 more appearances for the club than Jimmy. I know Jimmy will be missed and I do not believe the team is better without him but in the end I think the club did what it had to do based on Jimmy's demands.

 

Yeah, so as it stands now, is this our best XI?

------------------------------Schwarzer------------------------

---PantsHowler----Hughes----Hangman----KonchHowler----

---Davies---------Murphy-------------Dempsey--------Gera--

------------------------AJ-------------Bobby Z---------------------

 

Transfer fees. We wouldn't have received close to £5m if we waited. Think about it like a baseball team trading a good player - the more time they have left on their contract, the more value they get back in return.

 

Far more reasoned discussion on here than on the offal.. as usual.

Yet as I posted on there.. I'm on BOTH sides. And I think 5M is as much as the market would bear for him. If Roy and MAF had matched wage offer and waited he might have brought even less at the offseason.

Good ROI for Fulham, and good for JB's future which may see an end to his career at any time.

 

BC. Yep, that's the line-up I would go with. I think Dempsey will really shine in the middle; he's good on the ball and has got a good eye for dangerous passes.

 

That's an important point. I never fully understood why JB's (agent's) were so insistent on pushing this new contract through with 2 years (or 18 months as it is now) left on his remaining one. Both sides must have had some health concerns, and Jimmy wanted to make sure he got the guaranteed money.

 

That analogy doesn't work because Hull negotiated a new contract with him anyway. They could negotiate the same contract with him in July.

I see no reason why we couldn't have gotten £5m (or more) for Jimmy in the summer.

 

And anyway, I think it's better to sell key players in the Summer (even if it's for less) so that you have more time to replace them and you don't upset the chemistry of a team that is top half of the table right now.

 

Nick how can you be sure Jimmy didn't force Fulham's hand? Just because he didn't pull a Bellamy does not mean Jimmy or his representatives did not make it clear that he was through at Fulham without a contract extension. Jimmy missed all of our January matches but I will not be the least bit surprised if he suits up for the first match he is available for Hull. Maybe he was really injured and maybe he was forcing the clubs hand in the transfer market but none of really know one way or the other. Roy seems like an honest man and I am willing to believe he did not want Jimmy to leave and yet he is gone anyway. Players force things to happen in the transfer market and perhaps Jimmy forced his way out the door for a better contract. If he did at least he did it with class.

 

It's not quite as dramatic of an effect as it is in baseball, but we have less incentive to sell with more time left on his contract. If he's only guaranteed to be ours for another year, and we knew we couldn't re-sign him, then we would be more desperate to sell rather than lose him on a Bosman.

 

Interesting perspective from Jon Carter over at the Soccernet transfer blog:

...And I'm still slamming my head on my desk over the nominal fee.

 

Looks to be.

Don't be so rough on the two outside backs. They both had a bad game on the same day. It'll happen. We're still 4th best in the league in goals conceded.

Or else we'll put Chris Baird at RB and the Knightmare in at CB :twisted:


Still not pleased about the 5 Mil. SHould have been 7-8.

 

Perhaps, but isn't he under contract? Refusing to play would be a violation of such and if I were running a club, I wouldn't cave to a player who did that. Refuse to sell and eventually he would play. He would only decrease his value and hurt his career by not playing. If you had a contract with a company, decided you wanted more money, and refused to work until you got it, the company would NOT give you what you wanted. They would stop paying you and legally force you to fulfill your contract. Why should football teams be any different?

What you're saying might be true. But I'm just frustrated by a system which seems not to afford a way for small teams to hang onto their best players, regardless of the players' contract status.

Look, I love Roy as much as the any Fulham fan. He's probably being honest about all this. I'm sure he wanted to keep Jimmy. I'm sure he felt he had no other option than to sell Jimmy. I'm sure Jimmy was being a hardass about his contract. But the point is they sold (arguably) their best player for, I think, a small fee, in the middle of the season when everything feels like it's moving in the right direction. This is a major check to that positive momentum and no one can convince me otherwise.

In selling Jimmy now, the club...

...loses a team leader, the most popular player among the fans, a popular player in the locker room, and as I said, arguably its best player.
...upsets the chemistry of a team that has been playing quite well.
...has less time to replace him.
...kicks its fans in the teeth.

I'm not attacking anyone here or at the club. I'm just very, very bummed out. And yes, I'm pissed at Jimmy.

 

He - or his agent - must have created an impasse - that is the only thing that makes sense.

I know that many dont agree - but I am afraid - very afraid - for the plight of Fulham for the remainder of the season. But time will tell.

As a BTW - I really doubt that you will see Demps in the center. Roy has shown - over and over again - that he doesnt have confidence in Demps. I think you will see Davies in the center with Demps going to the left.

Unless he really believes that Etuhu can do the job of course.

 

In keeping Jimmy once he approached with renegotiate request, the club...

...loses a team leader, the most popular player among the fans, a popular player in the locker room, and as I said, arguably its best player.

- if club refuses to force contract terms, the rest of the players are wondering if they should also reopen terms. Become sullen and resentful. Human nature.

- if club forces terms and refuses to deal, Bullard's once-positive influence changes. Becomes sullen and resentful. Human nature.

-thus-
...upsets the chemistry of a team that has been playing quite well.
arguable:
...has less time to replace him.
- maybe not. Isnt it a 'down market'?
arguable:
...kicks its fans in the teeth.

- but not as much as if they had decided to muddle through, in either option. And the locker room went south as a result.

I dont see the problem understanding this... it's like you guys dont follow any other pro sports. someone wants more money you let em go. If you dont, everyone else on the team wants more money.

This is one reason why MAF is on record wanting a salary cap. Not that it would apply to Fulham but because it would help raise player awareness of limited wage resources.

 

Very upset, but glad in hindsight that I held off on buying that Bullard shirt.

Anyways, call me amatuer but I think that this opens the door for Andreason to show his stuff. On paper he seems to be one of the most talented guys on the squad - I have no idea why he can't get on the pitch, my uneducated guess is a feud with Roy, but with Seol gone and Bouazza on loan, we are very thin at the mid. I just don't see Gera getting it done consistently.

 

Wait, what? If they had refused to give in to his demands the other players would have tried to reopen their contract terms? How? How does refusing to cave in to pressure encourage other players to apply pressure? If anything, selling him encourages other players to do the same thing. They see what Jimmy did, see that he got his transfer, see that he got his wages, wouldn't that encourage them?

To your other points. maybe yes. Maybe Jimmy's positive influence goes away.......but as it is, they've lost that anyway AND lost a key player.

And it's not arguable that they have less time to replace him. There is a week left in the transfer period. They have a week to replace him and half a season to get a new player acclimated. If they sold him in the summer, they'd have a month to replace him and a whole preseason/season to get a new player acclimated.

And I think it is a kick in the teeth to the fans. I'm a fan and my teeth feel kicked. Maybe not everyone feels that way, but I'm sure I'm not alone.