Hobsons Choice

Thanks! Although that really didn’t make me feel better about our situation.

Could I ask someone who follows American sport about how they managed the big names at the Bucks? I remember someone on here a while ago saying that they were on the ascendance because they kept their best players. I was wondering if there is any precedence there for how they are about to handle this?

Also don’t bids have to be lodged by the Premier League? Bet sky has snouts in there. Someone on here will know if this is the case.

Just to take issue with the first point, we don’t base our ambition on one player, but he is the lynchpin for this phase of development.

Lower league teams who never win anything can’t have a club legend?

I think what makes me angry (assuming it goes ahead) is the timing. If he had left last season I would not be nearly as annoyed. In fact I said at the time that he deserved better and hoped he played at the top level. But he stayed and bought into the project. We then made the great strides we hoped we would make. Project on track, and we could kick on now. We really could. Leaving now is a massive kick in the teeth because the path is right there. Consolidate, improve. We’re a few signings away from something special. But if, and it seems when Jack goes, what do we have that other mid to low level PL sides don’t have? A bunch of money we can’t spend on anything but mid level talent that at best will let us tread water. I’m angry, but I’m not angry with Jack tbh. He’s looking out for himself, as players do. I’m angry at the board for enabling it when we have adequate legal means to stop it.

So we let City show the entire league they can cherry pick our best talent at the expense of the plan we’ve been working on since the championship? We have an opportunity to break into the big time here that we’ve not had for at least two decades. That will end right smart next week if Jack goes.

Just edited last post.

Then what is the point of a player signing a contract? If they turn down the offer, the player literally cannot leave. They should show we have some balls.

Were they already in Europe though?

Who do you think who’s top quality would join us if Grealish goes? Plus if you believe that we’ve been selling our ambition to prospective targets based on him staying, we will have already effectively lied to Buendia to get him here. Wonder if he’s ‘bought into’ our plan now?

It is anticompetitive. In business the only safeguard against anticompetitive behaviour is regulation. Your move FA! (and they will do fa)

It would be good though, you are right.

Yeah. The release clause thing is puzzling though. Nobody seems to know whether or not there is one, and it makes all the difference with respect to club culpability, or if it’s solely down to Jack.

Good luck persuading the top 5 who have all the money and power to give that to lower clubs. Stuff like that has to be implemented at the inception of a competition.

Is it made from ground up orphans?

All of his mates are footballers on 70k per week!

Yeah but if we sell Jack we are proving the media to be 100% correct.

Yeah, but you don’t need a new one each week. And if you get bored and want another you still have the equity in the first. Pretty soon you would have literally everything you want. Then what.

If George Best had been on 200k per week Colombia would be a world superpower by now.

Yeah but he could buy 28 of those jackets A WEEK.

How the **** do you spend £200k a week. The first fortnight would be awesome, but after that it could be 5k for all it mattered.

My wife tells me that all the time.

If you’re married and move on you have to give away half your wealth.

Selling your best player two weeks before the new season, without anyone lined up to replace him, and without the draw to prospective players of European competition is f**king awful business.