Joel Randall (to Peterborough)

[Red Devon]

Finally, and nothing at all to do with this thread, does anybody have any idea what was being lifted over the wall into SJP this morning around 10 o' clock. It certainly took a substantial HIAB to move it.

Possibly Matt Tayor’s War Chest being moved in

 

[tonykellowfan]

To give an example when Grimes was with us he was on £250 a week. He went to Swansea on £10k a week.

We simply cannot compete on wages.

 

[STURTZ]

Not too worried about players that are signed up, be nice to keep them and being in league 1 would be a factor in doing so, but if they go we can expect a decent fee providing we don't let them just run down their contract as some players have chosen. It's outstanding young players like Sonny Cox and Harry Lee that we need to convince that staying with us is in their own interest. We've made great headway in developing groups of players rather than individuals, it must be attractive to youngsters to think they can progress their careers whilst not deserting friends and players they have worked with for many years already rather than becoming a nameless face in a herd of prospective youth, basically an intensive football farm.

Pound signs are temptation in action but how can we convince the youth that it's far better to learn in a loving environment?

 

[Ian Tarr]

We've made great headway in developing groups of players rather than individuals, it must be attractive to youngsters to think they can progress their careers whilst not deserting friends and players they have worked with for many years already rather than becoming a nameless face in a herd of prospective youth, basically an intensive football farm.

This for me is the most exciting development. Looking at the way the U18s and U16s are progressing, there seems to be a plentiful supply of talent coming through for the next three or four years at least.

Everyone loves to see the emergence of an Ollie, Ethan or Matt. Or indeed a Josh or Joel.

But from what I see, there will be several coming through, the best of whom will undoubtedly get stolen for less than we would like. But there will be others who are "only" L1 or L2 players in the making, who are more likely to stay with us to progress their careers. And it's quite clear to me that these groups engender a great team spirit, something that will stand us in very good stead as they emerge into the first team squad.

The future is as bright as it has ever been, IMHO.

 

[STURTZ]

Yes, this is how I would love things to move forward, teams developed from under16 levels through to full league teams. Care is needed to get the right players in from the start and older more experienced players will always be needed to add stability and continue the players education as much as anything else. Finanically, emotionally and in order to genuinely fulfill our aspirations as a community club this would be a great way forward. We are at the centre of a large area of untapped footballing talent and could thrive with more investment into our own local youth.

 

[JJ red&white]

Interesting to hear that we have rejected several bids from Charlton for Joel in the region of £300k.

 

[STURTZ]

Interesting to hear that we have rejected several bids from Charlton for Joel in the region of £300k.

Good news or not? Time will tell.

Worry is that we are so used to receiving millions we might overvalue our players now. Glad to keep him though.

 

[JCWhoosh]

Good news or not? Time will tell.

Worry is that we are so used to receiving millions we might overvalue our players now. Glad to keep him though.

Selling him would make no sense. We would need to recruit to replace. It's good that we have a pedigree of young talent and money in the bank to be on the front foot for once rather than having to sell to keep afloat

 

[Snakebite]

I think it’s a good thing, we’re in a position currently where the club can stick more to its guns on player value than ever before.

Sure we’ll still need to sell players, such is the financial model of the club, but we’re in a much stronger position to open negotiations and not desperate for the cash right now.

In times gone by I imagine we’d have snapped Charlton’s hand off for that kind of money. Hell, a decade ago would anyone have predicted we’d be selling players for millions and turning down bids for players of several hundred thousand?!

 

[Red Bill]

I feel that we maybe over valuing Joel a bit based on half a season in L2. A £1M price tag is probably too rich for L1, and at the moment he's still a punt for a championship club, so they will also no doubt be worried about shelling out that much.
What we are seeing here though is the flipside of the argument against announcing transfer fees. The argument for this is usually that if other clubs no how much money we've got it weakens our hand when buying, but in this case as a selling club, other clubs knowing we've got a bit of cash in our back pockets, will help us fend off stupid bids and make it far more likely that a player's true value will be arrived at.