Minimum Expectation under the Yanks

[Red Phoenix]

If there is not even the possibility of a take over on the horizon then whats the point staying and watching the team you've built being sold off a piece at a time?!

 

Let's just hope he knows something. If he didn't I'm not sure why he'd stay either.

 

It could be like a Mike Ashley situation as far as some of the staff know, but one that's not being made public. Where the two twats are openly letting Rafa and a few others know that they're trying to find buyers and are even getting into the selling stages with some of them, but the daft bastards just keep dragging it out/messing it up. Eventually though it's got to give if that's the case.

 

Rafa outlasted Parry, now he's possibly just waiting to outlast those two, and all the work he's put in + the potential for something great and long lasting is keeping him at the club, and might do for some time yet.

[AmerScouse]

that texas rangers thing isn't really all its cracked up to be. baseball teams frequently aren't able to sign draft picks because the rules stipulate if you are drafted out of high school and don't sign, you wait 3 years of college and are eligible again.

 

i'm no hicks lover, though i'll admit his previous dealings with his teams had me a bit excited (see spending a load of dosh on players), however his texas rangers TEAM is the model for turning around a team.

 

yes it took a number of years to do, but in baseball, with no salary cap, it is tougher to compete against the richer teams.

 

and all the numpties (read sky type fans) we talk about here are the same in the states as well. now that the team is winning again, their attendance is back up, tv ratings are back up etc. we're the ultimate bandwagon country when it comes to sports, i admit that.

 

all that said he's going to bleed us dry to pay for us and the stadium

[Moo]

This year I still expect us to finish in the top 4, challenging for the league would be nice but not really expected.

However afrter this year, we'll be in serious danger of not qualifying for the CL if these two clowns remain at the club.

I just hope they realise there's more clubs coming to the fore now and decide to get out before the going gets even tougher. If we miss out on the CL, their 'profits' will nosedive.

[Captain]

all that said he's going to bleed us dry to pay for us and the stadium

 

There will never be a new stadium under the current owners. And you can take that to the bank.

[coop]

There is a post on the first page saying how Rafa has spent £40m this season.

 

This is the problem that many people you will talk to in the pub when you try and explain how the yanks are bad for the club.

 

Statements regards them buying us Torres and Mascherano plus this summer like its been said buying Johnson and Aquallini.

 

The problem is like its already been posted Aquallini cost £5m initially whilst the last i heard we have so far paid fuck all for Johnson because the money Portsmouth owe us for Crouch has been used as the first payment for Johnson.

 

In 6 months time when the refinance comes back around are RBS going to ask for another £60m and if so where will the owners get the money from this time considering it seems Alonso and the other transfers have paid for this demand from RBS.

 

Mascherano would be the favourite to go as he is rumoured to have wanted to leave in the summer so a £30m bid from Barcelona means thats half the payment there.

 

As a business model without the new stadium it does not make sense to own us, at least not in the short term but as long as the owners can keep selling players to ease the payments then they know they can continue to be in charge whilst they wait for the economy to pick up and for someone to bid the amount they require.

 

This season we should have been taking the next step and becoming the champions of England again even without Alonso but the fact that the money has not been re-invested in the squad has had a knock on effect throughout the whole club.

 

You only have to go back to Gerrard and Carra both making statements that they were looking forward to the new arrivals and going one step further.

[RedKnight]

Minimum expectations are what they've always been for this club, they may have robbed some of the cash summer but the squad has been formed over five years.

[Dougie Do'ins]

What about the Keane money?

Good point that John. Just how much money did we lose on the Keane fiasco ? £5m+ easily. Or do we not count losses when were talking about transfer budgets ?

[Captain]

I think Coop is spot on. If the transfer window shuts without any new players in for us that pretty much confirms it.

 

The sad part is that it means we stand still while some of those close behind us grow stronger. The mancs have actually gotten weaker imho, but then again they're champions three seasons running. I guess that dampens their anxiety.

[Anubis]

Good to see everything as expected.

[sir roger]

Good point that John. Just how much money did we lose on the Keane fiasco ? £5m+ easily. Or do we not count losses when were talking about transfer budgets ?

 

Keane's turned out to be a disastrous signing but you can't have it both ways financially.

 

If the £20m spent was part of his budget for last year , then surely the £12m or so received back in January must be part of this summer's budget.

[Dougie Do'ins]

Keane's turned out to be a disastrous signing but you can't have it both ways financially.

 

If the £20m spent was part of his budget for last year , then surely the £12m or so received back in January must be part of this summer's budget.

Thats fair enough SR but a loss is a loss and it all comes out of the same bank account. The shortfall will have to be made up from somewhere. Someone or something else will always suffer because of a financial loss.

[zico]

Top 4 is what I pray for, because if we miss out on the CL I am afraid to think of what can happen.

[stringvest]

We finished 2nd, suggesting that the squad we had wasn't good enough. We then lost three of our better players. We needed to use that £40 million to replace the players we lost, that's without improving upon areas of the squad that were already weak. We needed that money and then some, Rafa had managed to acquire that money and then some, before Gillett and Hicks took large parts of it back.

 

Benitez believes the replacements we did bring in means that we've improved in two of those three areas though. He thinks, for our team at least, that:

 

Johnson > Arbeloa

Aquilani > Alonso

 

and - who knows? - perhaps even

N'Gog > Keane

there must be some reason he sold him when he did.

 

So, while I accept that in adding to the squad, we've been let down badly, I think Benitez is happy with the replacements he has.

 

Also, we may have finished 2nd because the tactics for the first half of the season weren't good enough, not because the squad wasn't good enough.

 

Utd spent far less than they recouped, so we could argue that their relative strength has been impacted far more severely than ours.

 

We've been done over, but that doesn't excuse any major shortcomings that may arise this year.

[Dirk]

Benitez believes the replacements we did bring in means that we've improved in two of those three areas though. He thinks, for our team at least, that:

 

Johnson > Arbeloa

Aquilani > Alonso

 

and - who knows? - perhaps even

N'Gog > Keane

there must be some reason he sold him when he did.

 

So, while I accept that in adding to the squad, we've been let down badly, I think Benitez is happy with the replacements he has.

 

You forgot Kyrgiakos and N'Gog is shit. I believe we need to improve upon the following players:

 

Kuyt, Lucas and, as good as Benayoun has been I still think we need another left sided player because Babel is wank. We're going to be hoping that far too many variables fall the way we want them to. We have to hope injury prone players stay fit, we need to ensure players like Aquilani and Kyrgiakos settle in, in order to mount a realistic challenge this season. Our squad isn't good enough to win the league and it's because of money. Benitez has never been in control of a squad that cost more than any of Ferguson's since he's been here.

[stringvest]

You forgot Kyrgiakos and N'Gog is shit. I believe we need to improve upon the following players:

 

Kuyt, Lucas and, as good as Benayoun has been I still think we need another left sided player, because Babel is wank. We're going to be hoping that far too many variables fall the way we want them to. We have to hope injury prone players stay fit, we need to ensure players like Aquilani and Kyrgiakos settle in, in order to mount a realistic challenge this season. Our squad isn't good enough to win the league and it's because of money. Benitez has never been in control of a squad that cost more than any of Ferguson's since he's been here.

 

Bnitez would have had more money to spend over the years had he not squandered it on amassing an enormous and enormously talent-poor playing staff, while indulging in a huge and damaging grudge match against somebody liked, respected, and with a unarguable track record in managing the academy.

 

It's not all everyone else's fault.

[The Party Boy]

Looking back I can't believe we wasted 20 million on that useless little prick Keane when we could have got Arshavin for half that.

[Dirk]

Bnitez would have had more money to spend over the years had he not squandered it on amassing an enormous and enormously talent-poor playing staff, while indulging in a huge and damaging grudge match against somebody liked, respected, and with a unarguable track record in managing the academy.

 

Other than hearsay, what clear evidence do you have of a grudge match? We know they didn't get on but a grudge match is taking it a bit too far, there's no evidence of that. None at all. It's no coincidence that when he had larger amounts of money he started to consistently purchase players of a better calibre. As for your last point, it is arguable, he didn't have control of the academy until a few months ago. We'll leave it at, though, agree to disagree.

[Whelan]

Bnitez would have had more money to spend over the years had he not squandered it on amassing an enormous and enormously talent-poor playing staff, while indulging in a huge and damaging grudge match against somebody liked, respected, and with a unarguable track record in managing the academy.

 

It's not all everyone else's fault.

 

I presume you a talking about Heighway? If so, he also fell out with Houllier, so maybe he isn't as innocent as we are all led to believe.

 

We are still good enough to win this league, had Ronaldo missed as many matches as Torres United would have struggled to get 80 points, if we get a full season out of Torres and Gerrard we will be okay. The big 'if' is Aquilani.

[Unrighteous]

Looking back I can't believe we wasted 20 million on that useless little prick Keane when we could have got Arshavin for half that.

 

Could have had Arshavin for LESS. Let's be honest.

[The Party Boy]

I thought he went to Arsenal for 10 mill? Still the point stands.

[stringvest]

Other than hearsay, what clear evidence do you have of a grudge match? We know they didn't get on but a grudge match is taking it a bit too far, there's no evidence of that. None at all. It's no coincidence that when he had larger amounts of money he started to consistently purchase players of a better calibre. As for your last point, it is arguable, he didn't have control of the academy until a few months ago. We'll leave it at, though, agree to disagree.

 

I haven't spoken to either of the protagonists, but I know a man who has. JC alludes to it in his autobiography as well.

[Unrighteous]

I thought he went to Arsenal for 10 mill? Still the point stands.

 

My bad, Party boy... For some reason I thought you said "For that" not "half that"

[The Party Boy]

I'm sure I remember him whoring himself to every decent club in europe last summer. Arshavin's perfect for our system too, can play wide and central.

[Unrighteous]

I'm sure I remember him whoring himself to every decent club in europe last summer. Arshavin's perfect for our system too, can play wide and central.

 

Yup.

[Kevin D]

I don't expect anything except for them to die and for it to be a very cheap funeral.