So with that in mind I’ve managed to dig out some more for us all to ponder as I continue analysing a transfer window which could have been so much better.
In that last article I plucked out random stats associated by numbers to the transfer window just gone. I said that I’d probably miss something that somebody really wanted to know and that if I had all they had to do was ask and I’d see if I could sort something out for them.
Well one of the questions that was asked was about our spending on transfers and how it stacks up to other clubs and what they have done over the summer and so on. Don’t say I never do anything for you Charlie Prince and Craig Chisholm because here, as requested, are the nuts of what each club has done, what they’ve spent, what they’ve made followed by what they’ve really spent – the net spend if you take the value of what they’ve sold off of the value of the players that they have brought in.
In alphabetical order, here goes.
| Team | Bought (£) | Sold (£) | Balance (£) +/– |
| Arsenal | 56,000,000 | 79,000,000 | -23,000,000 |
| Aston Villa | 17,000,000 | 40,000,000 | -23,000,000 |
| Blackburn | 13,000,000 | 18,000,000 | -5,000,000 |
| Bolton | 7,000,000 | 7,000,000 | 0 |
| Chelsea | 77,500,000 | 19,500,000 | 58,000,000 |
| Everton | 0 | 12,500,000 | -12,500,000 |
| Fulham | 17,000,000 | 1,270,000 | 15,630,000 |
| Liverpool | 63,000,000 | 24,000,000 | 39,000,000 |
| Manchester City | 78,000,000 | 25,300,000 | 54,700,000 |
| Manchester United | 51,300,000 | 9,800,000 | 41,500,000 |
| Newcastle | 13,200,000 | 12,600,000 | 600,000 |
| Norwich | 10,400,000 | 500,000 | 9,900,000 |
| QPR | 12,000,000 | 1,000,000 | 11,000,000 |
| Stoke City | 22,000,000 | 1,000,000 | 21,000,000 |
| Sunderland | 27,450,000 | 27,000,000 | 450,000 |
| Swansea | 9,250,000 | 80,000 | 9,170,000 |
| Tottenham | 6,000,000 | 30,500,000 | -24,500,000 |
| West Brom | 4,500,000 | 7,000,000 | -2,500,000 |
| Wigan | 7,000,000 | 11,500,000 | -4,500,000 |
| Wolves | 11,400,000 | 1,000,000 | 10,400,000 |
These figures are compiled using the values given by Sky Sports. Where a fee is undisclosed I’ve had to do some digging to find out what the rumoured fee is. Generally speaking you can find out what the perceived fee is so I’ve used that as the benchmark. As an example, Yohan Cabaye’s fee was undisclosed although it’s reported that he cost around £4.5 million which is what I’ve used. I’ve also discounted the pennies and have only (only!) gone to the nearest £10,000 when calculating transfers. There have been some “SuperMac” type transfers for odd fees although in fairness it’s only been the little known players who have moved onto lower league teams that I’ve had that problem with.
So what can we see from this? Well first off I guess we should start with our own team. The phrase “no capital outlay” is pretty much being demonstrated by us. There is absolutely no need for this to have been the case but nonetheless it’s what Hinge & Bracket upstairs have decided to do. I just wish they’d have told Alan Pardew what they were planning to do as, once again, the decisions of the board have left him in a tricky position as he picks himself up from the floor after having the rug pulled from underneath him.
The total spend for us is £600,000 which is measly in fairness. A shame really when you consider that a cool £20 million outlay combined with the hard nosed approach of the board would have been enough to get us into top ten, maybe even Europa League, contention.
It’s not the worst though. Seven teams made a profit this window, one spent nothing and another one spent less than us in total. That makes us 11th in the net spending tables by my reckoning.
Teams in that top bracket have just done what they always do and spent a fortune, but it’s the teams at our level that I’m interested in. Wolves have spent a bit on two players but it’s Fulham and Stoke who are the biggest spenders in our bracket. Of course it’s worth bearing in mind that their figures are distorted by the signings of £10 million plus players but at the end of the day they have spent the money.
I’ll be perfectly honest. When I was putting this table together I felt that we’d be somewhere near the bottom. I’d be willing to bet that if you were asked the question posed in the title that you’d assume pretty much the same, correct? It surprises me that we aren’t in fairness.
So there you go. Something to digest perhaps? I know it doesn’t justify our blatant lack of ambition, but in a strange way it makes me feel better knowing that other teams have spent less than us. I didn’t think it was possible but apparently it is.
Apologies for the rather crude table. Those who have a background in scripting and coding html will probably tell me it’s shyte, but I don’t have a background in scripting or coding so I’ve just kept it simple enough for me to deal with.
Make what you want of these stats, but before people pipe up with comments like “what a load of ****” or some other really valuable contribution to the discussion, just remember I was asked to do this so if you have any issues with it direct it to Charlie Prince and Craig Chilsholm 😛
Comments welcome 🙂
so simmo is unhappy at the club…………..mite as well go before tavernier and raylor knock you off your perch danny boy!(QPR mite take you on)……
john(Quote)
Hadn’t realised Chelsea have spent almost as much as City this window! Blimey!
I’d take City’s recent signings over Chelski’s, any day…
blip(Quote)
As I’m sure many will point out (and I think rightly so), the picture is a lot different if you tack £35m on to our outgoings. If you factor that in, we’re dead last in money spent. And realistically, fans would have been happy with spending half that, which would still have allowed Ashley to pay back some of the debt.
Charlie Prince(Quote)
If we had completed the two signings on dealine day it would have seen our net spending probably around 14-15m ( presuming we got ridgewell for 3-4m) so really hinged on those two deals. if those had come off we would have all said successful transfer window, shame really.
Jack(Quote)
whats the scoop on simpson – did he put in a transfer request ?
stevep(Quote)
McNallyMirror Brian McNally
@
@NUFCblogcouk Fascinating reading and well worth a peek for #nufc fans and all those who like a good Stat Attack. bit.ly/o4oyRb
1 hour ago
Read by the stars 😉
toonsy(Quote)
Yeah thats surprising, but it shows that the teams at our ‘level’ realise that they can easily push on into the next ‘level’. Just a tiny bit of ambition, thats all it needs.
NorthernPaul(Quote)
You might be getting the call from the Fleet street big boys offering you a job soon Toonsy, fancy being a football journalist??
Halftimebovril(Quote)
at a quick glance, it seems you’ve included the January sales of clubs like Sunderland but not Newcastle.
If you had been consistent in your figures, it would paint a FAR bleaker picture of our net spend…
The Insider(Quote)
niced one toonsy and very interesting. it must have taken some time so i thank you so much for this table. what can i digest from this table?? well.. looking at the ones who have made money in the window.. **** and spurs were and still are stronger than us so. Villa same sort of level along with everton, balckburn, wigan and west brom to me look odds on for bottom three. i think we will be between 9th and 14th this season. All this will change of course when we sell a big name in january to give ashley his belated xmas present. Thanks again toonsy.
craig chisholm(Quote)
stevep ,reports that simpson doesnt want to be at club wants a better contract blah blah blah ,the truth is he is not preforming and tavernier is going to be his understudy(tav will shine this season and he knows it!!!!)ashley wants young players lower contracts. hense all the upset from various scources and blogs….well i wish simmo all the best cos at times he has done well for, us not bothered if he goes.
john(Quote)
Interesting data. It clearly shows that investment is the name of the game.
The top investors will most likely occupy the top spots in the prem at the end of the season. They will also enjoy further revenue from European football.
Toonie(Quote)
Both really great articles, Toonsy.
Lacedaemonian(Quote)
It’s pretty pointless doing this for one transfer window. It only tells half a story, and a skewed one at that.
Michael Laudrup(Quote)
Hahsahahahahahahahahahahahahahaahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!! ffs, here come the first of the bull **** one liners…
Mike Ashley and Newcastle managing director Derek Llambias have promised Alan Pardew that he will be given funds in the January transfer window to buy the striker the club failed to get this time around, according to the Northern Echo.
craig chisholm(Quote)
The Insider – Nope. These are all deals from the summer window only.
If I had included winter ones then Sunderland would be well in the red due to the sale of Darren Bent.
Sales: Sunderland – Jordan Henderson (Liverpool, £20m), Steed Malbranque (St Etienne, undisclosed- – rumours of a £2.5m fee), Nathan Luscombe (Hartlepool, free), Michael Kay (Tranmere, free). Anton Ferdinand (QPR, £4.5m).
I believe that makes 27 million?
Perhaps you should take more than a quick glance?
Never doubt my figures 😛
toonsy(Quote)
Craig….do they mean the one that signed for someone else or one of the other 350 we were after 🙄
richietoon(Quote)
Wow, that is a bloody lot of money.
Haven’t followed the transfer of the other teams. Have any of the mid-table clubs bought any great names / potentially great players? Also, who the heck did Chelsea spend that much money on?
hydeous(Quote)
The net income for the year is probably going to be more telling. It looks to me like there will be a considerable net profit for Ashley. In addition to taking in far more than he has spent on players this year ie. including the Carroll money, he has again greatly reduced the wage bill also making the club much more attractive for a sale. If we stay up (which I think is almost a certainty barring horrific numbers of injuries) hopefully Ashley could put the club up for sale again as early as next year.
GeordieTwo(Quote)
I think we had exhausted all options long before yesterday. Some of the names getting bandied about were laughable. 90% of those players are far worse than what we have got already. Only Ruiz had me excited but i doubted the credibility of that rumour instantly tbh.
Lacedaemonian(Quote)
Laudrup@14… strange comment mate…baring in mind that it paints a very clear picture of the last window and is not at all confussing. if its a pointless thread then it means you have made an even more pointless comment does it not?
craig chisholm(Quote)
Its not about the money,
Lets hope our team can pull us all the way till newyears and then re-build to push further….
Max-T-million(Quote)
proves nobody wants to play 4 a puppet like pardew not to mention get better money elsewhere, ashley is gambling on us going down again . well if we do i dont think it will be as easy getting up again, our squad will be alot weaker to start with. how long before HBA wants out??? i dont think him or cabaye will be around much longer the way things are going, instead of adding good quality he is selling it or lieing to fans again . 8 months to get a number 9 and still we wait. jokers !!!
jam(Quote)
do u really think will rebuild and kick on if we do ok til jan???? no way pedro!! did that last season and he sold in jan without replacing STILL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
jam(Quote)
I’d like to see the impact on cashflow of the wages. Net increase/decrease in wage bill against annual turnover.
GO TOONSY GO!!!
Shearers Receeding Hairline(Quote)
SRH – Haha. In fairness it would be hard to do that without an awful lot if guess work considering last years account aren’t even out yet.
toonsy(Quote)
I also think people forget about the signing of Ben Arfa. Had we signed him in the last minute of the transfer window people would have been removing their tongues from bus windows with excitement. We also signed Ba who was one of the top strikers in the Premier League from January. How many goals did he score compared to others in the league in the same period?
Lacedaemonian(Quote)
Hydeous I guess it depends on who you consider to be a mid-table club. Stoke brought in Crouch, Jerome and Palacios, Sunderland got Bendtner on loan as well as all the earlier signings, Everton lost Arteta, Yakubu, and Beckford but brought in a couple of foreign players on loan (look to be in trouble to me), Aston Villa brought in Jenas, Hutton and Zog of course, QPR got Wright-Phillips and Barton and Ferdinand from S’land (don’t think they are mid-table quite yet), Bolton brought in N’gog and Kakuta, and Fulham got Ruiz of course. To me Stoke look stronger than they were, Everton weaker, Aston Villa stronger, and Bolton and Fulham slightly stronger unless Ruiz settles in very quickly. Not a complete list by any means but it looks like some teams really improved. To me the bottom five would be Swansea, Norwich, Blackburn, Wigan, and 1 from Wolves, Wigan, West Brom and possible Everton!
GeordieTwo(Quote)
We are by far the worst because you didnt take into account the -£35 MILLION from the last window that had no time to be spent?
james(Quote)
Who are these mythical number nines people keep bleating on aboot?
Lacedaemonian(Quote)
Tottenham were in a worse state than us a few years ago, they brought in Redknapp, owner showed faith toward him, a bit of ambition, then champions league, anything can be done in football if you put your mind to it.
Louis Tiplady(Quote)
How many of the other clubs had pledged to pump back in a massive unforeseen win fall over the course of the summer?
I know everyone’s said that already, but it’s pretty fundamental to the bigger picture.
boater(Quote)
Spurs have had one good season. They were never going to qualify for the Champions League regularly (or perhaps anytime soon).
Lacedaemonian(Quote)
Big money spenders are at the top or bottom of the table. Only Fulham spent any money in the mid table, and tbh will be watching Ruiz to see if I’m jealous or not.
also shows how many teams are reducing their playing budget eg spurs & villa. Still think we will be near the top of the group of clubs just below the top 6.
comment yesterday that premiership were swapping mediocrity around yesterday. My favourite one liner was that Villa thought they had bought a world class full back only to discover that it was Hutton dressed as Lahm
Premandup(Quote)
Louis @31 in all fairness Tottenham have spent a huge amount of money under Redknapp to get into the top 6. Our owner will not do that under any circumstances. He is either going to run the club as a profit making business or he is going to sell to get his money back. He has already demonstrated that over and over again in the last few years. I’m going to try to enjoy the football instead of being so frustrated about the owner from now on. The team has definitely improved and actually is very good to watch now. Should be even more so with Santon in and Ben Arfa fit again. All the best.
GeordieTwo(Quote)
could wear a number 2 for my liking but a good striker has not been signed , 1 thing atracted ashley and pardew to ba, he cost nowt or next to nowt, and he is not a good striker anyway , if thats all we get after promises of a decent striker well keep hoping ba is gona get 15 or more goals because i very much doubt hel see double figures
jam(Quote)
They are clearly operating from a set of financial rules, presumably set-up internally and which will be included in the documentation for any future potential buyers of the club. They seemed to be attempting to do striker deals one at a time from a list, only moving down to the next one when the one above fell through. Presumably, the logic in that is to avoid ending-up with two new strikers when they only wanted one. The alternative would be to back out of a deal at the last minute which would detract from the club’s reputation in the transfer market.
These financial rules are all well and good but it is not what other clubs do. In particular other clubs pay over the odds for players when they are able to. We would never have got £35m for Carroll if Liverpool had not received £50m for Torres. Both figures were way over the top of sensible values. Liverpool treated the Torres money as an easily earned bonus which they could afford to blow on the player they wanted.
Our £35m for Carroll should have been treated, at least in part, as a bonus. This should have been added to the market valuation for a player we wanted to make sure we got him.
We might be operating to sound business principles but that is not going to buy us a higher league position.
Mykinda Toon(Quote)
James – That was from last window. This is purely this summers deals
toonsy(Quote)
Craig Chisholm @ 21
No, it doesn’t. In order for me to point out that it’s pointless, I have to make a post. Unless this place is full of mindreaders.
It’s like taking a random portion of the season out, making a table out of it and classing it as a meaningful league table. It doesn’t tell the full story.
What if teams have made say a MASSIVE surplus in the previous transfer window or a massive deficit? This is after all a thread about transfer finances, and finances run through accounting years, not just the summer. I could be even more pedantic and say it should be split over clubs financial years, as that as the basis upon which decisions are (allegedly) made.
Michael Laudrup(Quote)
I reckon Ba will score double figures this season
and will outscore Carroll (not that Carroll was just about the goals). Yesterday was embarrassing with people devastated that we hadn’t signed a list of garbage players.
Lacedaemonian(Quote)
That’s right Mykinda Toon @37. The limited spending will prevent us from rising rapidly up the table so we won’t be matching Tottenham over the last few seasons. Only if we get great performances out of everyone including Ba and Best will we be able to squeak into the Europa league. Again in fairness we will have to give Ba and Best at least half a season to see what they can do. If each has 6-8 goals by Christmas we might be in the top 10. If not we might be anywhere down to about 14th or 15th. Also Ben Arfa may give us quite a lift when he returns as well. I think Ashley and Llambias are in fact counting on that.
GeordieTwo(Quote)
Where would you draw the line, Michael?
Lacedaemonian(Quote)
toonsy… if we cast our minds back about a year there was that mega quote from ashley that caused many a heated debate on the blog… he said ‘ there will be no more cash outlay and all money for player purchases will be generated from the club itself’ of some **** like that. do you recall? many of us , myself included said that meant sell one to buy one and he would not spend another penny on the club or players ever again… many argued the other way and tried to say it meant some other waffle.
These figures clearly show, along with last summer, that he is indeed not going to spend a single penny ever ever and if we want a striker in january without a doubt we will sell a big name first..this is a given, i am sure everyone can now see that he meant exactly what he said… what he said and how my brain took it on board was ‘ you lot can fuk off as i have had enough of nufc, i will not give your fukers one red cent ever again and i will also recoup my initial outlay’. that is what he said and that is exactly what he is doing.
craig chisholm(Quote)
Lacedaemonian@ 42
Technically I suppose it should be 1st August to 31st July, as that is the clubs financial accounting year.
If not that, then adding the January and summer windows together each year instead of just taking one window in isolation would be better.
Michael Laudrup(Quote)
I get bored of all the Ashley debates. Do we have a better team than last season? Surely that should be a central debate. I sense that people are not backing our new players because they are somehow tainted by Ashley.
Lacedaemonian(Quote)
@39… this particular thread is about the transfer window JUST GONE and it says it in black and white ..so i think that what is said is very relevant to the window just gone isnt it? i get your point dude but there is no point in us harping on about ancient history too much. we all know what ashley is doing.. he is making money every year now on player sales whilst also reducing the wage bill at every possible chance. that is a given. Its just nice to get a comparison of what we are doing currently compared with the 19 other teams. Or i find it interesting anyway as i too like stats, i think they tell us much.
craig chisholm(Quote)
@45…. i think we have a weaker team at the minute.. why …..they are all untested in the prem, many have dodgy medical issues and our spine has been ripped out and thrown away. Really it has… Harper, Jose, Barton, Nolan and Carroll… all were the back bone and vocal point along with being heroes in our eyes.. Not to mention all were the player committee funny enough….
craig chisholm(Quote)
CC @ 43 Ashley has completely altered the club’s approach to finances. Each year there will be a net positive income from now on. Last year was the break even year. With the wage bill slashed drastically from about 78M per year in 2008 to less than 45M now (would love to see a new estimate), and the staff greatly reduced and a net gain on player transfers, the owner within 4 years has completely altered the financial outlook of the club. The statement that Ashley, Llambias and the board would very rarely comment on club matters was in anticipation of what was to come from the supporters. From now on the club will be a net income earner for Ashley until he sells unless we go down which is very unlikely. Getting into the Europa competition would be icing on the cake for Ashley but clearly he isn’t worried if we don’t, otherwise we would have made a much greater attempt to get a good striker. Much of what was said by Pardew clearly had no basis in fact. He was just saying what the supporters wanted to hear, that we were going to bring a striker in. Sad but true. Now lets get back to supporting the team that we have.
GeordieTwo(Quote)
Craig I dont think anyone can really say that we have a stronger team because no one really knows what the new players will be like, yeah they all have potential but no experience in the prem.
So imo it will be a month or so before we can really say one way or the other
Big Dave(Quote)
@48… i agreee 100% but just need to point out that supporting the team and bending over and taking it up the *** without so much of a whimper is two very different things m8. support the team i do…i will however continue to be equally anti all things ashley until something changes to alter the dynamics.
craig chisholm(Quote)
Big Dave @49 but would you agree that what we have seen so far is promising? And that is with Santon and Ben Arfa still to throw into the mix. My worry is that we have no depth at the back at all with Williamson injured and Kadar not looking promising. That leaves Raylor if Santon takes his place or a re-call of Tavernier and a few in the youth team like Dummett. Is there anyone I have missed? If not what happens if Colo or Saylor get injured?
GeordieTwo(Quote)
Fair enough CC @50, can’t argue with that!
GeordieTwo(Quote)
big dave.. i agree again.. christ, whats wrong , i agree with everyone other than asim and toon chicken these days.
craig chisholm(Quote)
I was probably the most vocal person on here regards the signing of crocked players. I guess I have since buried those worries somewhat. The so called spine of last season were not that impressive in 2011.
Lacedaemonian(Quote)
GeordieTwo yeah mate imo the 1st team looks promising but there is as you say weaknesses Re cover for the defence etc.
Trying to get my head around not getting the striker we have been promised from the start of the year, I think the club are happy enough to go with Best and or Ba as the main ones, and like me I think they are relying on Benny to help out, but I just hope we dont put to much pressure on him
Big Dave(Quote)
Lacedaemonian > The so called spine of last season were not that impressive in 2011.
No harm too ye but if the spine remained intact we would have finished easily in the top 10 so if thats not impressive for a team just back into the prem I dont know what is
Big Dave(Quote)
Dave – the club/Pardew should not have talked about any transfer dealings.
Lacedaemonian(Quote)
Does anyone know what young players who are not named in the 25 man squad earn on average? I am thinking about players like Dummett, Airey, Richardson, Adjei, Inman … I am going to try to put together an estimate of the wage bill just to see where we stand now for that expense. In fact do we still have a full 25 man squad? I count only 22 including Elliot. Or are players such as Gosling (20) and Santon (20) included?
GeordieTwo(Quote)
Who cares!!
Purty pleased on the whole with the window. Just hope Ben Arfa gets fit, and I think we could be quite formidable.
Adam(Quote)
Just read that Rangers have released James Beattie.
You know what we’re going to do, don’t you….
funkyjesus(Quote)
Michael Laudrup @ 14 – I was only asked to do it for this transfer window as a comparison against what other clubs have been doing in this transfer window.
I would have thought this excerpt from the article would have given that away.
“Well one of the questions that was asked was about our spending on transfers and how it stacks up to other clubs and what they have done over the summer and so on.”
Apparently not 😕
toonsy(Quote)
Adam @ 59 who cares ?? probably most Toon Fans
Big Dave(Quote)
Toonsy @ 61 why do you even bother answering to comments like that mate
Big Dave(Quote)
I like the risk the club has taken with Tavernier. Send him out for a loan for a month, get 6 games worth of gametime under his belt and then bring him back for cover. Risky, but it could well work out.
hydeous(Quote)
Dave – Just because I like to answer critical questions, especially when they try and misrepresent what was four hours work for me.
It;s like picking up a bike magazine and complaining that it’s not about toasters 😕
toonsy(Quote)
Big Dave @55 I’m just hoping Ben Arfa gets a good long run without injuries now. He will need that for his confidence. I think he will be worked back into the starting lineup quite slowly, maybe only 10 or 15 minutes for a few games once back, but I think he should love working with Jonas, Marveaux, Cabaye and Obertan in particular in the midfield. A good creative nucleus there I would think. Getting excited just thinking about it.
GeordieTwo(Quote)
Toonsy @ 65 but if thats the comments they make in the 1st place, there isn’t really that much point replying to them because its obvious they dont really grasp or want to know what its all about, dont waste your time mate. go make a cuppa coffee milk no sugar 😉
Big Dave(Quote)
Good post Toonsy, 600,000 net spending, who would have thunk it?
One thing I was thinking about over the last few days is regarding the games we’ve already played. I rkn we’re pretty lucky to have played Arsenal and Fulham once already this season. They’ve strengthened big time since we took those points away from them, and chances are we wouldn’t have those points on the board if we played them say after the window.
QPR next should be interesting, a lot of players coming in for them but will that gel straightaway? Hope that Ba will be well fed by then and ready to snag a goal or two.
Thad(Quote)
GeordieTwo yeah mate the future could be bright
Toonsy anymore word on the signage ??
Big Dave(Quote)
Disappointed your analysis only covers this summer…despite you stating this quite clearly in the article itself.
Toonsy, I was expecting net/gross spend trends for every club for the last 10 years for the period & by each individual year. You could have also used this data to create a model to predict future spend by league or by team but I guess this was too much trouble 😉
witters(Quote)
DAVE toonsy should put half doz sugars in his cuppa,might sweeten him up 🙂
icedog(Quote)
Toonsy, wheres my little icons gone? I`ve got a computer in my office at work, 2xlaptops–1@home, 1@ my holiday lodge and my I phone–all gone.
Have you done an Ash and peddled them? Miss them very much, tear streaming!–
CT(Quote)
Hydeous @64, agree with you, risky but necessary. By all accounts he is playing very well. When the month is over I would bring him back though. Let him play in cup games and fill in when injuries come up or give him time at the end of games probably at RB? Not sure of his preferred position. If Simpson leaves in january window would think Raylor will get his position that is if Santon is fully bedded in at LB? Tavernier’s contract runs out next June. Are we leaving it too late again?
GeordieTwo(Quote)
You and Icedog still got yours–selfish, that`s what it is!!
CT(Quote)
@Michael Laudrup
“It’s pretty pointless doing this for one transfer window. It only tells half a story, and a skewed one at that.”
Doesn’t fit into your world view and therefore you don’t like it would be a better description. So we didn’t sign another striker, well maybe we need one and maybe we don’t. Consider our signing of Shearer for 15m all those years ago, when we could have just brought him up from our youth system. Well what if by not signing a striker there’s an opportunity for Sameobi to come up and establish himself as a first team player? Or would you rather he leave, and come back a few seasons later for 20m?
At the end of the day, it’s not about the money spent, it’s about the quality we have in the squad. And honestly I’d be more excited if Sammy or another one of our young’uns come up and make that place their own.
Thad(Quote)