João Félix

[HalfTimePost]

18 hours ago, PaulMcGrath_5 said:

 

Thank God

[duke313]

1 minute ago, Pongo Waring said:

Do Benfica normally pay out big wages to sign someone like Felix?

They were paying Di Maria 185,000 per week last season

[Jas10]

7 minutes ago, Pongo Waring said:

Do Benfica normally pay out big wages to sign someone like Felix?

They payed Di Maria a decent wedge iirc

[Jas10]

6 minutes ago, CVByrne said:

I think his salary was in the 300-400 range before his contract extension. I think what they did was agreed a 50% pay cut from 2024 in exchange for 2 extra years in his contract so the total value he was due didn't change.

This would help him find a move or a loan whilst keeping his insurance of his contract incase of a terrible injury or something similar. 

So I think his salary now is around the 200k mark which is why Atletico are focused on a sale as they feel they can get a fee above his remaining book value and a club can get close to meeting his wage demands. 

Wow, not what I’ve read but… who really knows. That’s mental, not seen those figures before.

Seems to be a lot of confusion and contradictory reports/articles.

Could we manage 150-160k pw with goal/assist/appearance bonuses?

 

[Vive_La_Villa]

7 minutes ago, Jas10 said:

Wow, not what I’ve read but… who really knows. That’s mental, not seen those figures before.

Seems to be a lot of confusion and contradictory reports/articles.

Could we manage 150-160k pw with goal/assist/appearance bonuses?

 

I think you need to let it go mate. It's just not happening. 

[TRO]

2 hours ago, Jas10 said:

 

I think we have had our "eye balls" there for some time.....its the deal, thats the tricky bit.

[PaulC]

2 hours ago, TRO said:

A loan with an option to buy…..is the only condition in my view.

Why did he ever go to A Madrid, knowing the type of football they and their manager is renowned for, and gets a surprise, when he gets there….not a good sign for a cute player to make.

I get particularly frustrated with comments like genius, when he can only do it in flashes, and spends much of the time, trying to emulate that genius…..in music they call them one hit wonders….I want a Lennon or McCartney.

If we want any notion of success, consistency has to be right up there, with the priorities…..flashy, fly-by -nights, won’t take us there.

I think many fans have had their heads turned by his momentary, exquisite abilities, but that now and again, is no he help on a cold, wet Wednesday night in the North east, where only consistently committed operators, survive.

Talent is wonderful, don’t get me wrong, but it has to accompanied, by other factors to be worthwhile….in this case, it’s uncertain.

Some might say the Beatles were better collectively than individually.  Some might have  said we should never have signed Paul Mcgrath but look how that turned out. If Emery wants him that's good enough for me. 

[PaulC]

2 hours ago, TRO said:

A loan with an option to buy…..is the only condition in my view.

Why did he ever go to A Madrid, knowing the type of football they and their manager is renowned for, and gets a surprise, when he gets there….not a good sign for a cute player to make.

I get particularly frustrated with comments like genius, when he can only do it in flashes, and spends much of the time, trying to emulate that genius…..in music they call them one hit wonders….I want a Lennon or McCartney.

If we want any notion of success, consistency has to be right up there, with the priorities…..flashy, fly-by -nights, won’t take us there.

I think many fans have had their heads turned by his momentary, exquisite abilities, but that now and again, is no he help on a cold, wet Wednesday night in the North east, where only consistently committed operators, survive.

Talent is wonderful, don’t get me wrong, but it has to accompanied, by other factors to be worthwhile….in this case, it’s uncertain.

Some might say the Beatles were better collectively than individually.  Some might have  said we should never have signed Paul Mcgrath but look how that turned out. If Emery wants him that's good enough for me. 

[TRO]

11 minutes ago, Jas10 said:

Wow, not what I’ve read but… who really knows. That’s mental, not seen those figures before.

Seems to be a lot of confusion and contradictory reports/articles.

Could we manage 150-160k pw with goal/assist/appearance bonuses?

 

I asked Ron Atkinson once "can we pay strikers, on goals scored".....he said they would never sign for us, on that basis.

14 minutes ago, Jas10 said:

Wow, not what I’ve read but… who really knows. That’s mental, not seen those figures before.

Seems to be a lot of confusion and contradictory reports/articles.

Could we manage 150-160k pw with goal/assist/appearance bonuses?

 

 

[TRO]

5 minutes ago, PaulC said:

Some might say the Beatles were better collectively than individually.  Some might have  said we should never have signed Paul Mcgrath but look how that turned out. If Emery wants him that's good enough for me. 

yeah....it can happen.....and then we get Ross McCormack, Jhon Duran to a degree....Neale Cooper, remember him, big reputation and flop.....Phil was one of the most mercurial talents, around, but no consistency, or physicality.

It's a gamble.....and big money, is a big risk, under such circumstances.

If it come off to our advantage....happy days.

[TRO]

9 minutes ago, PaulC said:

Some might say the Beatles were better collectively than individually.  Some might have  said we should never have signed Paul Mcgrath but look how that turned out. If Emery wants him that's good enough for me. 

My point was, they was not " one hit wonders" or put simply, inconsistent.

[A'Villan]

Would be an amazing signing.

[Jas10]

14 minutes ago, Vive_La_Villa said:

I think you need to let it go mate. It's just not happening. 

I‘m not overly fussed, confident we would have alternative targets. But the main thing for me is that if Unai wants him, we should try n get him.

If we can’t, we go for someone else. I’m not too fussy

[Jas10]

12 minutes ago, TRO said:

I think we have had our "eye balls" there for some time.....its the deal, thats the tricky bit.

Let’s see what Monchi can muster… if it doesn’t work for us, we will go for someone else who could be just as good if not better.

[Sam-AVFC]

English football fans still being convinced foreigners struggle to play in slightly colder weather is the weirdest kind of xenophobia-lite ever.

I do wonder if fans in warmer countries perpetuate the myth in reverse when English/German/Eastern European players go there.

If someone was making the point about Saudi Arabia or the Arctic Circle they might have a point, but believing it is a thing for players from mild climates when temperatures vary by a few degrees is absolutely wild to me.

[Jas10]

10 minutes ago, TRO said:

I asked Ron Atkinson once "can we pay strikers, on goals scored".....he said they would never sign for us, on that basis.

 

It’s not unusual, most (top) players have those kind of bonuses anyway.

And let me reiterate, he’s not a striker or CF, he is a 10/SS/CAM. He is there to help the attacking play, not to score all the goals. He doesn’t need a 1 in 2 or 1 in 3 ratio - leave that to Ollie who he would be there to support.

We could do with some extra creativity with the losses of Dougie and Diaby too.

We are a long way away from the Atkinson days too… so much has changed.

[Jas10]

1 hour ago, DakotaVilla said:

I think Emery has literally been sat there salivating at how he would utilize Felix. 

It’s obvious now how we only buy players where we are supremely confident that they are going to perform an extremely specific role in the Team and are able to play the way Unai wants. 

He has been trying to sign this guy from the 1st window he arrived so clearly sees a profile that he thinks he can do wonders with. That’s more than enough to get me extremely excited about this signing. 

For me, this is all that matters here. And why I am fully on board if it happens.

None of us jokers here have the talent ID that King Unai has…

Edited July 24 by Jas10

[Jas10]

39 minutes ago, villabromsgrove said:

In 2019 when Felix became one of the world's most expensive players and also became one of football's highest earners, the seeds of his future career downfall were sown. He had to justify that enormous financial investment or suffer the consequences of being unsellable if he failed to live up to the hype.

Due to either wrong advice from his agent and advisors or being blinded by money and joining the wrong club, he was eventually left floundering in a team that had evolved to play defensive negative football, set up for grinding out 1-0 wins. By the time he fell out with the dour and obstinate Diego Simeone, there was literally nowhere to go because no other club were willing (or able?) to pay the outrageous sums necessary to allow Atletico to sell him. His coach didn't like him and the president of his club questioned his attitude and motivation. It wasn't all Felix's fault, it was a combination of a 19 year old having an enormous financial weight hung around his neck, and a young man's inability to adjust to demands of a coach and a team that demanded physicality and work rate ahead of finesse and fluidity.

Where does he go from here? In my opinion he is at a clear crossroads in his career. He has to accept that his stratospheric wages are crippling his future prospects and be prepared to take a big pay cut to join a club that plays his style of football in order to fit into that club's existing pay structure, or he can accept obscurity as a perpetual loan player while seeing out his current contract with Atletico which expires in the summer of 2029!

If his motivation is still money then future loans or Saudi football might be his only realistic outlets, but for a young man who clearly enjoys a cosmopolitan lifestyle and can play top quality football when fully motivated, that would be a shame.

If Villa were to buy him it should only happen on the basis that both his transfer fee and wages were reasonable enough to allow us to sell him on if he became disenchanted with PL football (and Birmingham) in a couple of years time. He's still only 24, so with the right financial structure he would become more of an asset than a fiscal liability.

Enjoyed that, really well written

Bit like a story

[Demitri_C]

1 hour ago, Kiwivillan said:

Archer no, Rogers more so. Loads of clubs don't stock up on expensive players to stash away in case player x gets injured. You could argue City don't have a striker if Haaland was injured and they'd still keep winning because of their system and team as a whole. Arsenal barely play a regular striker

We will need cover though whether its toney i have no idea. No way would i put rodgers there considering how superb he is in his current position. I doubt unai will go in season with only ollie and archer with such a demanding footballing campaign. In addition ollie being at euros. He has played a lot of football. He is going to need help this year

[PaulC]

14 minutes ago, TRO said:

yeah....it can happen.....and then we get Ross McCormack, Jhon Duran to a degree....Neale Cooper, remember him, big reputation and flop.....Phil was one of the most mercurial talents, around, but no consistency, or physicality.

It's a gamble.....and big money, is a big risk, under such circumstances.

If it come off to our advantage....happy days.

Phil was and showed it at times but he wasn't physically up to it anymore. Felix is 24 and coming into his prime years. Sure Monchi and Emery have done their due diligence on this if they decide to sign him. It's not a kneejerk signing.