Icy Gull
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[Albion] Virgil van Dijk for £3 Million! (and why we didn't sign him)
- Thread starter stewart_weir
- Start date
Easy 10
Brain dead MUG SHEEP
I think I'm right in saying that Gus and Wayne Bridge shared the same agent, so that might well have been a major factor in getting him down here. Bridge was on circa £100k a week at the time, of which BHA picked up only £10k a week of, so it was a superb deal for us. And despite my early reservations over bringing him in, he was immense.
Easy 10
Brain dead MUG SHEEP
Plus the various player bonuses just for playing in the Champions League are, apparently, absolutely astronomical. There was no way we were ever going to land VvD with that in the equation.
I'll hazard a guess The Burker probably did the talent spotting, but that doesn't fit with anyone's version of history.
You too have listened to Crouchy today?
Dirk Lehmann's Python
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David Gonzales, Christian Baz, Arisemendi, Battipiedi, Chris Holroyd...
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Semantics, maybe I should have said recognise rather than spot
I mean Gus himself could have been clearer - eg "our Euro scouts discovered him and I even went to Holland to watch him" - but, well, that wouldn't be Gus would it?
In fact, he didn't mention the club's bids, either.
Just implied that he's a genius talent-spotter and that the club let him down...
Icy Gull
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Most of those were flyers before Bloom took over weren’t they
Oh and Calderon and turning a thug into a great player at the level, as well as introducing a style that blew away League One
Easy 10
Brain dead MUG SHEEP
Yep, I'm about halfway through. Good stuff innit, I love the insights on that pod.
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We signed Matt Upson on a free instead fwiw
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Shirty
Daring to Zlatan
My recollection is that we had pretty much agreed a deal to sign him, but his club wanted to keep him until the end of the season as they were in a relegation fight. We wanted him immediately so the deal never got over the line.
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And swapping CMS for Glenn Murray...
Abdul Razak, Gai Assulin, Gonzala Reyes...
Pretty mixed bag really.
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Icy Gull
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Fair enough, I hadn’t seen anymore than the thread starters comment.
Yep, I'm about halfway through. Good stuff innit, I love the insights on that pod.
I don't think the Celtic players filled their boots with win bonuses, that campaign.
Icy Gull
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Poyet’s ego getting in the way with the laid back GM I suggest
But his overall record was good with players imo
Barnes too, although he wasn’t really good enough for us I accept
I’d forgotten about Matt Upson too
**** me - Bruno too, how could I have forgotten that gem and legend
If it wasn’t Gus who spotted all those players, we should get back whoever it was back. They did a much better job than the current incumbents are doing.
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But my god that was some performance.
Easy 10
Brain dead MUG SHEEP
From what he was saying, all you had to do was be in the squad. Even the players named on the subs bench are coining it the same as those who start the match. Six games of that and you'll have landed a nice fat wedge from UEFA on top of your club contract.