Christian Purslow

[NoelVilla]

1 minute ago, duke313 said:

What about McGinn, Watkins Konsa, Ramsey, Kamara, Bailey, Cash, Buendia?  They are all 27 or younger, and would have resale value.

Sure but that is a big part of the team. Selling Watkins would probably not pay for an upgrade of Watkins. It's not a good position to be in.

 

[villa4europe]

1 in 1 out does actually make sense, we have a bloated squad with players that gerrard doesn't use (there's a danger of us having an unbalanced squad too but thats another issue)

it's the self-sustained spend what you make that's the issue because we will make next to **** all, it should then also be paired with a push on youth and development which we did have and we were all sold the dream on and then gerrard doesn't use them

as a wider plan I don't necessarily have a problem with what he said but then in the context of what we are all seeing every week it's a huge problem that again leads me to the answer of sack gerrard because if thats the direction the club wants to go thats not a direction he works with

 

[sparrow1988]

21 hours ago, est1874 said:

I'm reading that he told the FCG that the 5 year plan, being about more than just performances on the field and league position, is generally on-target.

Can somebody remind him we're a football club?

Professional football clubs ceased to be “football clubs” a long time ago. It’s all business now. Continuous growth, profit/loss, engagement with stakeholders and other corporate waffle. Results on a football pitch are just a part of it these days. 

[thabucks]

You can read the sell to buy in many ways. I read it as we need to raise our turnover to cover the difference between sales and incomings as this gap will no longer be funded by NSWE.

if we want a new frontline striker then one of Ings or Watkins will need to be sold to create space both in the squad and in the wage bill. Makes sense and not unexpected. 

We also MUST get better at selling players at the right time/value -  cashing in on them at the right moment. Missed that boat with McGinn for example. Also I’ve been told and may be BS that they planned on selling Matty Cash for big bucks but Gerrard put a stop to it… 

[pas5898]

4 minutes ago, thabucks said:

We also MUST get better at selling players at the right time/value -  cashing in on them at the right moment. Missed that boat with McGinn for example. Also I’ve been told and may be BS that they planned on selling Matty Cash for big bucks but Gerrard put a stop to it… 

I was quite content with the strategy being mentioned under DS. Buy young players. As soon as they get to 28/29 look to move on for a profit, or at least get back what you paid. Only exceptions are goalkeeper (33/34) and maybe CB (32).

Seems since Gerrard has come in, we've ripped that plan up. Unless we quickly double our commercial revenue, that's just unsustainable against the big 6 and FFP ensuring they protect their place. 

[The_Steve]

30 minutes ago, thabucks said:

You can read the sell to buy in many ways. I read it as we need to raise our turnover to cover the difference between sales and incomings as this gap will no longer be funded by NSWE.

if we want a new frontline striker then one of Ings or Watkins will need to be sold to create space both in the squad and in the wage bill. Makes sense and not unexpected. 

We also MUST get better at selling players at the right time/value -  cashing in on them at the right moment. Missed that boat with McGinn for example. Also I’ve been told and may be BS that they planned on selling Matty Cash for big bucks but Gerrard put a stop to it… 

Excellent points, echoes a lot of my thinking. It’s too easy and dramatic for some to say “NSWE pulling the plug” etc, when the pragmatic response is, there’s got to be ways to profit off of our squad. It’s been a problem now for well over a decade or more of mismanagement. 

[AndyM3000]

18 hours ago, Made In Aston said:

Purslow's decision to change the clubs strategy of buying younger players with potential, to old ones with no resale value, seems completely moronic given this context. 

I was about to reply to that post saying the same thing before I read this. Requiring us to fund our own transfers purely through player sales while signing 29+ year olds with zero resale value and high wages is up there with some of the dumbest decisions I've heard.

I've not a clue what the club are doing at the moment, it feels like its quickly becoming a mess from top to bottom. From this change in strategy and transfer policy to the manager snapping at the media and stripping our only proper leader of the captaincy and then this week cancelling stadium tours last minute so a bunch of MPs can have a kick about on the pitch.

I have a feeling these owners are pretty far away from the decision making process these days and Purslow is doing what he wants. Gerrard is clearly his man and he will back him until the very end, we may need the owners to pull the trigger on both of them.

 

[Delphouneso]

Purslow seemed pretty shrewd when he first came in but it absolutely seems like he's lost his mind to go all gooey eyed over SG.

It stings as a fan to see ticket prices increase, shirt prices increase, to decide not to subscribe to AVTV and watch our U21s this season because even that has jumped in price. And for all the price increases, are we more entertaining? Are we performing better? As a fan do I feel more engaged with the club than I did before? Am I optimistic about where we're heading? For me the answer to all of those questions is no.

We used to have a policy of improving players and player value - and a coach who wanted to improve players - a policy that seemed a sensible approach to ensuring the future of the club, but now Purslow is seemingly happy to watch his coach bomb those same players out to Turkey or the U21s, pull his club captain's pants down in public, bench his record signing in favour of chucking fortunes at an over the hill has been, and we'll probably lose Doug on a free because he couldn't get a game over a guy massively out of form. All that disruption to be 14th (edit: 16th) in the league and dull as dishwater. Where's Purslow the shrewd business man gone? Where's the man that binned the last manager because we weren't making enough progress?

I've questioned people calling for Purslow to go, he's shown he can be very effective, but thinking about it this morning it's actually pretty crazy the things we've sacrificed in the past 12 months for a guy who won the Scottish league.

Edited October 9, 2022 by Delphouneso

[Zatman]

26 minutes ago, Delphouneso said:

Purslow seemed pretty shrewd when he first came in but it absolutely seems like he's lost his mind to go all gooey eyed over SG.

It stings as a fan to see ticket prices increase, shirt prices increase, to decide not to subscribe to AVTV and watch our U21s this season because even that has jumped in price. And for all the price increases, are we more entertaining? Are we performing better? As a fan do I feel more engaged with the club than I did before? Am I optimistic about where we're heading? For me the answer to all of those questions is no.

We used to have a policy of improving players and player value - and a coach who wanted to improve players - a policy that seemed a sensible approach to ensuring the future of the club, but now Purslow is seemingly happy to watch his coach bomb those same players out to Turkey or the U21s, pull his club captain's pants down in public, bench his record signing in favour of chucking fortunes at an over the hill has been, and we'll probably lose Doug on a free because he couldn't get a game over a guy massively out of form. All that disruption to be 14th in the league and dull as dishwater. Where's Purslow the shrewd business man gone? Where's the man that binned the last manager because we weren't making enough progress?

I've questioned people calling for Purslow to go, he's shown he can be very effective, but thinking about it this morning it's actually pretty crazy the things we've sacrificed in the past 12 months for a guy who won the Scottish league.

Was Purslow only seen as really shrewd because for the previous decade we were so horribly run?

I think since Grealish left he has been dreadful, his ego was damaged and trying to make up for it. Is absolutely no way Ings was a Smith signing and was a complete panic buy maybe Bailey too but at least is a wide player

 

[Delphouneso]

1 hour ago, Zatman said:

Was Purslow only seen as really shrewd because for the previous decade we were so horribly run?

There's definitely an element of this, and it was certainly nice to see our CEO on tele defending the club and sticking it to the 'big 6' too but I think he's undoubtedly done some good, though it's always hard to decipher exactly what a football CEO is and isn't directly responsible for.

 

1 hour ago, Zatman said:

I think since Grealish left he has been dreadful, his ego was damaged and trying to make up for it. Is absolutely no way Ings was a Smith signing and was a complete panic buy maybe Bailey too but at least is a wide player

Agree with that. The club seemed to get a lot of praise for keeping that deal quiet yet it always seemed obvious the reason for no one knowing anything about it was because it was a last minute panic buy to appease fans after Jack left. I still believe Buendia was signed to play alongside Jack rather than being a replacement too, but that's pure conjecture on my part.

Edited October 9, 2022 by Delphouneso

[Villa_Vids]

That reflects worse on Smith than it does Purslow IMO.

[Zatman]

15 minutes ago, Delphouneso said:

 

Agree with that. The club seemed to get a lot of praise for keeping that deal quiet yet it always seemed obvious the reason for no one knowing anything about it was because it was a last minute panic buy to appease fans after Jack left. I still believe Buendia was signed to play alongside Jack rather than being a replacement too, but that's pure conjecture on my part.

I think Buendia was always planned and was signed just after the season end probably to replace Barkley. Ings and Bailey were signed on the same day Grealish pretty much left plus we also had some poor public bids for Smith Rowe and Ward Prowse turned down

[blandy]

Please use transfer or player threads to chat about transfers or players.

 

[The_Steve]

8 minutes ago, Villa_Vids said:

That reflects worse on Smith than it does Purslow IMO.

Smith didn't rely on Emi during pre-season either - injuries or not, Smith didn't play to his strengths either. He often played on the left, a 10, but not as often as he had success on the right. Yes, the club was always going to sign him, but I don't think either manager has played to his strengths as consistently.

[a m ole]

4 minutes ago, The_Steve said:

Smith didn't rely on Emi during pre-season either - injuries or not, Smith didn't play to his strengths either. He often played on the left, a 10, but not as often as he had success on the right. Yes, the club was always going to sign him, but I don't think either manager has played to his strengths as consistently.

Absolutely - Smith had a lot less opportunity to do so of course.

[Villa_Vids]

6 minutes ago, The_Steve said:

Smith didn't rely on Emi during pre-season either - injuries or not, Smith didn't play to his strengths either. He often played on the left, a 10, but not as often as he had success on the right. Yes, the club was always going to sign him, but I don't think either manager has played to his strengths as consistently.

My point was relating to Ings. It is likely Purslow brought the proposal to Smith about Ings being available. If Smith is not standing his ground then it is on him. I think 70 pc of clubs take Danny Ings when we signed him but Smith needed to stand up for his views more if he didn't want Ings.

[VillaParkAvenue]

The worst thing Purslow’s done is to agree to that recent change in transfer policy as suggested by SG. (”Take the average age up a bit”)

Of course SG wanted to sign experienced players, managers need to show quick results so that’s natural. But the club/board are supposed to think about the future, to hold back and stick with the policy.

[nepal_villan]

Feel Purslow is one of those guys who you've got to take the bad with the good.  Yes, he's a micro manager and muffed it with hiring Gerrard but otherwise clubs been moving in the right direction.  Guess one can argue that the manager appointment (and transfer policy) is far more critical than anything else.

[Zatman]

3 hours ago, nepal_villan said:

Feel Purslow is one of those guys who you've got to take the bad with the good.  Yes, he's a micro manager and muffed it with hiring Gerrard but otherwise clubs been moving in the right direction.  Guess one can argue that the manager appointment (and transfer policy) is far more critical than anything else.

But is he micro managing Gerrard like he did Smith?

[Zatman]

If you dont sack your mate by the weekend then you can leave as well. grow a pair and show you are this shrewd businessman and not some fanboy