David Bentley

[Catch22]

I do not think there has been any substantial change in our budget.

 

As always, the dominant feature of budgets is wages not fees.

Yet because they are reported annually as opposed to a single grossed-up number, people seem to regularly forget this.

 

ie/ The Chavs effetively signed Mongo for £42m yesterday.

That is comfortably the world record fee for a defender.

 

After we agreed the budget, 2 things happened which we couldn't have predicted:

i) The UK announced an absurd income tax rise.

ii) Citeh & RM entered the market with no budgetary constraint.

 

This pushed up the cost of all top-quality players, but especially for other UK clubs.

 

All our players agents immediatedly trooped in & demanded extra money to stay.

 

Dealing with Gerrard & Torres took up all the extra budget.

We couldn't deal with Xabi so he left: (Matching his 5-year deal at RM would have cost us about £40m)

 

Exactly the same thing has happned at the Mancs & Arse, who are both weaker than last year with budgets transfering to the players who have stayed.

[Hermes]

We couldn't deal with Xabi so he left: (Matching his 5-year deal at RM would have cost us about £40m)

 

 

Where have you got that from? the highest wage I've seen for him at Real is £80,000-a-week (£20m over 5 years).

[Lucky Pierre]

ie/ The Chavs effetively signed Mongo for £42m yesterday.

That is comfortably the world record fee for a defender.

How? Counting Wages, look at Rio. £29M and a 5 year 70k-ish deal at first?

[silverlining]

I do not think there has been any substantial change in our budget.

 

As always, the dominant feature of budgets is wages not fees.

Yet because they are reported annually as opposed to a single grossed-up number, people seem to regularly forget this.

 

ie/ The Chavs effetively signed Mongo for £42m yesterday.

That is comfortably the world record fee for a defender.

 

After we agreed the budget, 2 things happened which we couldn't have predicted:

i) The UK announced an absurd income tax rise.

ii) Citeh & RM entered the market with no budgetary constraint.

 

This pushed up the cost of all top-quality players, but especially for other UK clubs.

 

All our players agents immediatedly trooped in & demanded extra money to stay.

 

Dealing with Gerrard & Torres took up all the extra budget.

We couldn't deal with Xabi so he left: (Matching his 5-year deal at RM would have cost us about £40m)

 

Exactly the same thing has happned at the Mancs & Arse, who are both weaker than last year with budgets transfering to the players who have stayed.

 

Oh excellent.

 

Now we can "wages spend" variable to "net spend" when we are discussing how much/ little Benitez has spent every year.

[RedinSweden]

Oh excellent.

 

Now we can "wages spend" variable to "net spend" when we are discussing how much/ little Benitez has spent every year.

 

It's a welcome change. If i was having my penis cut off with a knife, i would probably welcome a change to an axe.

[Markmywords]

Can't understand how we're not in for him. Our squad is crying out for a player like him, who would at the very least paper over the cracks in our squad.

 

Meanwhile he's off to Man City to be their 564th winger.

 

I hate to agree with someone of such apparent toolage but what you say is true - he'd improve our squad. He was fantastic when he played every week for (a shit team like) blackburn, who's to say he couldn't hit these heights again?

[Catch22]

Where have you got that from? the highest wage I've seen for him at Real is £80,000-a-week (£20m over 5 years).

 

 

It was in the Guradian on 5th August

 

I posted this that day

http://www.liverpoolway.co.uk/forum/ff-football-forum/81994-do-you-blame-xabi-wanting-join-real-madrid-3.html

 

"Xabi was on £80k/wk here or £40k/wk after tax or £2.08m/year after tax

 

According to today's Guardian he is being paid £3.8m/year after tax.

 

He has therefore received an 82.6% pay rise."

 

£3.8m/year after tax is £7.75m/year in the UK.

 

On a 5-year deal that is just under £39m & there will be automatic raises in there as well.

 

 

Even Pennant is getting the equivalent of £80k/wk at Zaragoza!

(He has the foreigner tax deal which doesn't apply to Xabi)

 

 

Our budget has gone into extra unexpected wages for the superstars.

 

Modern fucking football.........

[Catch22]

Oh excellent.

 

Now we can "wages spend" variable to "net spend" when we are discussing how much/ little Benitez has spent every year.

 

 

Yes, if we want to be accurate about it.

 

It dwarfs other expenditure & luckily it is also accurate (all be it with a time lag) as if you fuck around with your PAYE data, people go to jail (see Piggott,L)

 

It is not what a football site should be about, but it does explain over 90% of the variation in final League position (see Kuper's latest book)

 

It unfortunately underlies every major story of our summer (from Xabi leaving to where the budget has gone) so without it we end up with half-truths & pantomine soap operas......

[Torvald Utne]

I prefer stories about wedding guests and child birth.

[silverlining]

Yes, if we want to be accurate about it.

 

It dwarfs other expenditure & luckily it is also accurate (all be it with a time lag) as if you fuck around with your PAYE data, people go to jail (see Piggott,L)

 

It is not what a football site should be about, but it does explain over 90% of the variation in final League position (see Kuper's latest book)

 

It unfortunately underlies every major story of our summer (from Xabi leaving to where the budget has gone) so without it we end up with half-truths & pantomine soap operas......

 

I'd love to see a pantomime soap opera. Maybe Brookside?

 

Imagine Christopher Biggins as Barry Grant. And some bird off the X-factor as that lesbian.

 

He's behind you! (under the patio)

 

He's a wife-beating alcoholic

Oh no he isn't!

Oh yes he is!

 

Boss

[rebel23]

 

Our budget has gone into extra unexpected wages for the superstars.

 

Modern fucking football.........

 

we are 5th in wages in the league.

 

the reason we're not spending anything is because the banks want £60m from the club and that's where our transfer budget is going this year and next year and for the foreseeable future. There will be no net investment in the squad or on players until the banks have been paid or until G&H clear off. until then, unless we sell players the likes of Stoke and Sunderland will spend more than us.

 

There will also be the issue of players contracts expiring and running out and no replacements coming in, due to the massive distrust between the owners and manager who won't sell a player because he doesn't know if the owners will let him have the money and naturally contacts will expire of players who dont want to be here

 

the club will go backwards that much is obvious and Benitez will probably quit sooner or later

[Antynwa]

Cheese is the number one cause of my migraines.

 

That is until I read Catch22's wages argument :(

[Joe Le Taxi]

Bentley on his way to the medical...

 

 

 

That's why his contract took so long to sign, G&H were offering a Mercedes.

 

Repped these 2.

 

City said they won't sign him on either a permanent deal or loan.

[Catch22]

we are 5th in wages in the league.

 

the reason we're not spending anything is because the banks want £60m from the club and that's where our transfer budget is going this year and next year and for the foreseeable future. There will be no net investment in the squad or on players until the banks have been paid or until G&H clear off. until then, unless we sell players the likes of Stoke and Sunderland will spend more than us.

 

There will also be the issue of players contracts expiring and running out and no replacements coming in, due to the massive distrust between the owners and manager who won't sell a player because he doesn't know if the owners will let him have the money and naturally contacts will expire of players who dont want to be here

 

the club will go backwards that much is obvious and Benitez will probably quit sooner or later

 

I don't disagree with you about the real dangers we face whilst competing in a stadium whcih generates £60m less pa than Arse or the Mancs.

& That is because the owners are crap.

 

But there was net investment this summer: It just went into Torres & Gerrard's bank account & to HMTreasury as opposed to Atletico Madrid or Valencia.

 

The recpients are different but the budget is the same.

 

The Mancs have LBO Yanks like us whilst the Arse have a prudent board which built the Emirates.

They both have acted exactly the same as us this summer.

[Kevin D]

Are you sure that we're 5th in that mythical wage league? Given the highlighted wage increased, not to mention Johnson who you'd imagine will earn a lot more than Arbeloa, and that Arsenal have dispensed with two of their highest earners, I'd think that we've climbed above them.

 

With regards to Bentley - it would be madness on so many levels I really wouldn't know where to begin.

[Catch22]

Are you sure that we're 5th in that mythical wage league? Given the highlighted wage increased, not to mention Johnson who you'd imagine will earn a lot more than Arbeloa, and that Arsenal have dispensed with two of their highest earners, I'd think that we've climbed above them.

 

With regards to Bentley - it would be madness on so many levels I really wouldn't know where to begin.

 

Yes that is indeed possible.

 

I think we are still behind but it is well within the margin of error.

 

I have us both 4th/5th which, rather magically, is the PL positions i think we will both be scrapping over at season's end.

[Kevin D]

Nice to see your optimism hasn't been dampened by our poor start.

[Chocoholic]

The guy on sky sports news outside Spurs' training ground just said there's a Bentley + money deal for Petrov. That's more like it.

[Chinandeler Bong]

Meanwhile, Rafael Benitez may have nothing in the coffers, but Rory Smith has now sent Liverpool fans into afternoon overdrive with this one: "Rumours abounding among agents that Liverpool could yet pull something out of the bag with a loan swoop - it's deadline day, everything's a swoop - for David Bentley

 

Transfer deadline day: live - Telegraph

[NickConklin]

I know its a twat of a station but Talksport says Bently has signed for us on loan till the end of the season. Dont shoot the messenger!!!

[Red Phoenix]

I know its a twat of a station but Talksport says Bently has signed for us on loan till the end of the season. Dont shoot the messenger!!!

 

What was the last one talksport had about a week or so ago? It had people wound up and believing it, turned out to be total shite.

[silverlining]

The Bentley to Liverpool rumour is now doing the rounds in several newsrooms, with talk that he turned down City (or was it the other way around) when he heard Benitez was interested.

 

Hmmm.

[Duff Man]

At least we'll have someone who can take a corner.

[Thants]

Bentley was quite good once.

[JMARKH]

I can't imagine Spurs helping us out with a loan deal.