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A transfer committee and then the owner deciding is not a bad thing. Players have greater longevity than managers and coaches and why shouldn't the bloke who is investing millions into the club have a say about squad size and question whether or not we need yet another right back when we can't score goals (for example). I'd qualify this by saying this is not a defence of Tan just owners of a football club. Billionaires don't become so by winning the lottery and the level of corruption in football is ginormous.
The problem is that we have no continuity of style or ethos running through the club and no director of football/recruitment with any semi-permanence.
I also don't get the Academy signings. We seem to sign 3-4 rejects (aged 19-21) for similar status clubs every year that prove to be a total waste of time. Denham is the only one who is offering to be a long term player (and he came from Man Utd with some pedigree). Benjamin and Antwi were tidy players, but are never going to be 1st teamers. These two are nowhere near the same level of King and Denham. Conte and Leahy this season blocked the pathway for Caleb Hughes, one of the most talented kids to come out of the U18's over recent years. He did have some injuries, but when fit he didn't see much game time.
Ouch!
Although i'd take some of those quotes with a pinch of salt given the need to throw Malky under the bus and praising Ole transfer deals. TransferMarket has it as 8.7m in and 3.5m out so with all other fee's, agents cut etc I suppose it could be closer to 8.5m than 5m.
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Agree on this, the signings of Antwi and Conte seem particularly bizarre. Antwi is 21 and deemed not good enough by Blackpool, Conte is 20 and wasn't good enough for QPR. Benjamin to me is a signing that makes more sense. He was 18 when he signed and has some pedigree by coming from Fulham (who have a good academy)
What's particularly strange is that we bring in other clubs' youngsters, who are often older and look worse or no better than our own, and give them more opportunities than u21 players we've developed!
I thought Antwi got better as the season went on and the notion of him playing for the first team did not seem daft at times. However, you're right to mention his age and I agree completely with you and Adrian Alston's point about the sort of signings we make for the under 21 team.
My, very long, take on the situation at City.
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Agree, but then he is not as good as Eli King and will not be as good as Joel Colwill or Owen Prichard (who may end up as a right back. The point is that he and the others were totally pointless signings; used up financial resources, not potential 1st team players and blocked the progress more talented, younger home produced players (which in turn hinders local academy recruitment).
I can't but help that at best they were agent sweetners, and at worst - well it does not need to be said ...
I've always thought that what galvanized the club under initially Hammam's 'ownership' 22 yrs ago was the general sense of excitement. Things were happening, players and manager and coaches all seemed to be caught up in it. We, the fans felt the club had finally awoken after nearly 30 years of dejection. It's not just results, it's whether there's expectation, hope, and a board that recognizes that it's crucial to keep their [fickle] supporters on board.
It's the 'treading water' bit with me - Tan et al just going through the motions. Choo and Dalman have no real affinity to the club, nor has Tan now, they seem almost embarrassed by it. The Sala accident has been a personal tragedy and a business one, but the club can't move on until it's resolved. at the moment I think Tan sees this as his over-riding project, not the club, and whilst would wish the club to be a Championship club when he sells, it probably doesn't bother him as much as cutting costs.
I’d definitely agree you were on to something if it were not for the Sala case. We’ve seen one or two examples of what Tan is like when he thinks he’s been wronged over the last thirteen years - he’s like a dog with a bone. The words”in it for the long haul” were used to describe the club’s attitude to the Sala case by someone who was at the meeting Mehmet Dalman had with the supporters’ groups after the Huddersfield match and that just sounded right to me.
I asked about why City needed £13 million cash (as reported in that Wales Online article) because it occurred to me that must be about what is owed to Nantes now if you add the interest we seem to be liable for, but I just don’t see that being the reason Tan is selling Kortrijk and I’d be amazed if anyone would be willing to buy us while the Sala situation remains unresolved.
I think this is the most salient fact around what is currently going on. The club's worth is almost impossible to estimate with the Sala litigation ongoing. There is a potential liability running into probably GBP 15-20M given the interest etc. Then there is the potential upside if Tan wins the case against Nantes which might run up to GBP 100M. It seems to me Tan's orders are to do just sufficient to keep the club viable while the various legal cases are ongoing. What that seems to mean is doing just (as Tan sees it) enough to try to keep it in the Championship.
Your theory sounds right to me. It could very well be Tan is playing the litigation roulette game in the hope of receiving a swift £100 million. Cardiff City's fortunes appear further down his list of priorities. One hopes if he wins we'll see the back of him fairly quickly.
If Tan seriously thinks hes going to be awarded 10p let alone £100m he must be seriously bonkers.
What a feckin joke.