Joe Mason and Lewis Grabban

[Finchley Seagull]

But do you think either of them would hold their own in the premier league?

Potentially it's 2 more to offload if we go up.

I would be surprised if Grabban did. Mason more likely. I think there are two key points though. Firstly, who would have thought that Holt, Lambert etc would have made it in the Premier League. Neither of them were obvious Premier League quality. Secondly, if they get us up, for the alleged cost of £1 million, then with the money we would get for going up to the Premier League, it would be worth it even if they don't make it.

 

[Justice]

Seriously you are embarassing .

Says you with 6 fingers and a wonky eye.

 

[One Teddy Maybank]

I would be surprised if Grabban did. Mason more likely. I think there are two key points though. Firstly, who would have thought that Holt, Lambert etc would have made it in the Premier League. Neither of them were obvious Premier League quality. Secondly, if they get us up, for the alleged cost of £1 million, then with the money we would get for going up to the Premier League, it would be worth it even if they don't make it.

Fair enough, good arguments. Worked for Palace with Dobbie I suppose.

Personally, I would prefer someone like Fryatt or a keen youngster. I half hoped we might have had a look at Villareal's reserves after the runaround they gave us.

 

[Finchley Seagull]

Fair enough, good arguments. Worked for Palace with Dobbie I suppose.

Personally, I would prefer someone like Fryatt or a keen youngster. I half hoped we might have had a look at Villareal's reserves after the runaround they gave us.

Can't really argue with that either. Fryatt would be a decent option. Looked good for Sheffield Wednesday earlier in the season. I think there are a number of options as well as Grabban and Mason and some may be overseas.

In terms of Dobbie, I wouldn't necessarily want us to go on their chaotic route of the summer and sign so many players that some have to be allowed to leave. However, they've made significant money so whatever they paid for him is pretty insignificant.

Looks like an interesting few weeks anyway. Next few weeks will have a major impact on our season with the transfer window open, three tough away games and an FA Cup match.

 

[portslade seagull]

Seriously you are embarassing .

No we are not talking about your crowds

 

[Raleigh Chopper]

When he returns to Plymouth he sometimes goes to my local with his mates I have seen him a couple of times in there if I see him again soon I will have a word in his ear.
He made his first start for Cardiff against us we won 3-1 I think and he has played in the same team as Craig Conway.

 

[Lady Whistledown]

Back to the original subject, Grabban has had half a season in the Championship & has scored a few goals, but nothing spectacular.

Am I the only one who thinks a £1.1m minimum fee for that is ludicrous?

 

[Finchley Seagull]

Back to the original subject, Grabban has had half a season in the Championship & has scored a few goals, but nothing spectacular.

Am I the only one who thinks a £1.1m minimum fee for that is ludicrous?

Depends how you look at it. We just got £750K for Barnes, who was out of contract in the summer and has scored less goals this season than Grabban. £1 million these days is nothing for a striker (which is ridiculous but true).

 

[stevejoneslegend]

So in answer to a couple of things that have been said on here… Ok, whilst I agree, and have said before, BHA are a bigger club than we could probably ever be… Your catchment is bigger, you have more 'history' than us of being in the higher divisions, and yes you do have a great new ground that would be at home in the Prem Lg… But, why does that stop 'any' club strive for similar success…

AFCB are a club in transition… We have spent 'forever' in the lower leagues without a pot to piss in… We have been one of these 'selling clubs' as was described earlier on this thread for as long as I can remember… We now have one of the best young managers in the country… a very wealthy owner (and no I don't know where his money has come from, but do half the fans of teams that have wealthy owners), a great, young side (including Grabban) and are looking to establish ourselves as a Championship side… I don't look at us as 'getting relegated sooner rather than later'… more so I look at us comfortably staying up and looking to push on next season…

Yes we average just under 10k attendances at the mo, but as I mentioned a while back, the folk of Bournemouth have been treated very badly by some at the club, over the years, and it will take time for them to come back… We have doubles our attendances this year, despite some poor performances... We took around 30k to Wembley and Cardiff on the 2 occasions we have been there… The support is out there, it is just tapping back into it… The ground holds 12k only, yet we don't own it so no point in redeveloping it too much… I am positive that talks of buying back and redeveloping are ongoing, as are possibly talks of moving away and sticking the Vs up to the landlord that won't sell, as as has been stated, no-one can really sustain this level of football on 11/12k attendances… I agree, we're not a big club… but we could be… time will tell… Just look at where Reading, Hull, Wigan, Blackpool were before they got new grounds and a bit of money?

Getting back to the OP, a lot of our players, and new signings, have all come out saying that have been sold on the vision of the club and that is what they have signed for… How long that vision will take who knows, but maybe, just maybe, Grabban is also sold on that vision, and doesn't think moving to Brighton, in the same division, is where he should be going… He signed a new contract recently, so I'd be surprised that such a low release clause was put in, but if it was, then again… time will tell…

 

[Lady Whistledown]

That depends on whether you think a £1.1m release clause is "low" for a player with half a decent season at this level in his entire career, after floating round the lower leagues relatively unsuccessfully until last season.

I'm not saying he's crap, far from it, and it appears he's still relatively young, but nonetheless, I'll be deeply underwhelmed if we ended up handing over a million quid to you for him.

Then again I suppose you have sold on quite a few reasonable strikers go in recent years, so maybe they just look quite average to the outsider but end up going on to better things.

 

[Seagull on the wing]

The Argus are now running the story:

http://www.theargus.co.uk/sport/109...n_in_hunt_to_grab_Bournemouth_ace/?ref=twtrec

See what they did there....Albion set to GRAB(BAN) Bournemouth ace...

 

[West Hoathly Seagull]

So, for our AFCB contributor, what happens with the rest of Dorset? Do you not draw much support from there, or is the county full of Man U, Chelsea, etc, fans? Having family friends down there, it seems quite a prosperous county, though full of weekending Londoners. And what about Poole? Is it one of those places that gets great support for its non-league club or do the Cherries draw a fair bit of support there? Poole Town are best known of course as the club Swindon signed Charlie Austin from.

Our club never used to make much effort to tap potential support in the far flung parts of Sussex - the north east of the county used to be Charlton territory, with some support for other London clubs. Now, with the help of the now retired stadium manager and thanks largely to one guy's efforts, a village previously best known as the home of Rudyard Kipling sends two coachloads of fans down to each home game, they have an active supporters' group, and there are groups from all parts of the county. Do you think that will happen with the Cherries?

As for Lewis Grabban, yes he was quite good against us, so we shall just wait and see what happens. He could be a useful addition alongside Mason if we get him, depending on what happens with Ulloa - I hope his poor performance on Saturday was down to his not being match fit. The player that really rankles with me is Steve Cook. Sure, he wasn't a regular in our side, he wanted first team football and you offered him a good opportunity, but he would be just the solution for our ageing defence, which we will have to replace over the next season or so.

 

[Billy the Fish]

Getting back to the OP, a lot of our players, and new signings, have all come out saying that have been sold on the vision of the club and that is what they have signed for… How long that vision will take who knows, but maybe, just maybe, Grabban is also sold on that vision, and doesn't think moving to Brighton, in the same division, is where he should be going…

That's all PR bollocks. Offer to increase their wages and throw in a signing on fee and they'll leave. That's not a dig at AFCB, it's the same for every club.

I've got no idea what your wage structure is like so mabye we can't offer him more money and we're all wasting our time discussing it

 

[stevejoneslegend]

So, for our AFCB contributor, what happens with the rest of Dorset? Do you not draw much support from there, or is the county full of Man U, Chelsea, etc, fans? Having family friends down there, it seems quite a prosperous county, though full of weekending Londoners. And what about Poole? Is it one of those places that gets great support for its non-league club or do the Cherries draw a fair bit of support there? Poole Town are best known of course as the club Swindon signed Charlie Austin from.

Our club never used to make much effort to tap potential support in the far flung parts of Sussex - the north east of the county used to be Charlton territory, with some support for other London clubs. Now, with the help of the now retired stadium manager and thanks largely to one guy's efforts, a village previously best known as the home of Rudyard Kipling sends two coachloads of fans down to each home game, they have an active supporters' group, and there are groups from all parts of the county. Do you think that will happen with the Cherries?

Bournemouth is as close to Hampshire as we can be (used to be in Hampshire and still play in the Hampshire cup)… A lot of folk in and around Bournemouth support 'them' down the M27… But you are pretty much right in your speculation… A lot of folk that live around Bournemouth, have moved into the area, probably for retirement reasons (no jokes please), so no real allegiance to AFCB. We also have an ever growing Uni which brings a lot of young folk in, but only a small percentage actually come to DC… Start moving west and you have Weymouth Town, Dorchester and then Yeovil Town, with not a lot of built up areas in between… Bournemouth and Poole are pretty much the only 'decent sized' towns in the whole of Dorset…

Staying up this year and dipping into the transfer market will do us the World of good in attracting some folk back… Fans will come to see higher quality football… The departure of Eddie Mitchell (you must of heard about him) has helped bring some fans back as well…

Still no 'official' word on anything re Grabban…

 

[Seagull over Canaryland]

That's all PR bollocks. Offer to increase their wages and throw in a signing on fee and they'll leave. That's not a dig at AFCB, it's the same for every club.

We've just sold Barnes to a rival club in Burnley and NSC has been debating 'why' for the last week or so. He is prepared to put his young family through the upheaval of moving 275 miles and isn't guaranteed a starting place (well until Ings moves on), so it is mainly about money.

But we managed to buy Buckley and CMS from other Championship clubs - when we were newly promoted from League 1 - yet they might easily have aimed higher. Clearly we offered them a decent package with the right money but also prospects of playing decent footie under a big name coach in a new stadium.

We also attracted ex-Prem players like Kuzschak, Bridge, Upson, Crofts - plus don't forget Vicente, a superstar in La Liga. Money is a factor but it must also be about being at a an ambitious Club too.

 

[blue'n'white]

So in answer to a couple of things that have been said on here… Ok, whilst I agree, and have said before, BHA are a bigger club than we could probably ever be… Your catchment is bigger, you have more 'history' than us of being in the higher divisions, and yes you do have a great new ground that would be at home in the Prem Lg… But, why does that stop 'any' club strive for similar success…

AFCB are a club in transition… We have spent 'forever' in the lower leagues without a pot to piss in… We have been one of these 'selling clubs' as was described earlier on this thread for as long as I can remember… We now have one of the best young managers in the country… a very wealthy owner (and no I don't know where his money has come from, but do half the fans of teams that have wealthy owners), a great, young side (including Grabban) and are looking to establish ourselves as a Championship side… I don't look at us as 'getting relegated sooner rather than later'… more so I look at us comfortably staying up and looking to push on next season…

Yes we average just under 10k attendances at the mo, but as I mentioned a while back, the folk of Bournemouth have been treated very badly by some at the club, over the years, and it will take time for them to come back… We have doubles our attendances this year, despite some poor performances... We took around 30k to Wembley and Cardiff on the 2 occasions we have been there… The support is out there, it is just tapping back into it… The ground holds 12k only, yet we don't own it so no point in redeveloping it too much… I am positive that talks of buying back and redeveloping are ongoing, as are possibly talks of moving away and sticking the Vs up to the landlord that won't sell, as as has been stated, no-one can really sustain this level of football on 11/12k attendances… I agree, we're not a big club… but we could be… time will tell… Just look at where Reading, Hull, Wigan, Blackpool were before they got new grounds and a bit of money?

Getting back to the OP, a lot of our players, and new signings, have all come out saying that have been sold on the vision of the club and that is what they have signed for… How long that vision will take who knows, but maybe, just maybe, Grabban is also sold on that vision, and doesn't think moving to Brighton, in the same division, is where he should be going… He signed a new contract recently, so I'd be surprised that such a low release clause was put in, but if it was, then again… time will tell…

I agree with all you say about players "buying into the vision" and i have often argued on here and elsewhere that such and such a player would be far better off staying at the Albion rather than moving on. They'd be guaranteed a place and would be the mainstay of the team etc etc
Sadly it rarely comes true - when agents sniff money out they get their players to sign where it is going to get both them and the agent the most money
Sad but true.
Please don't think I'm having a go at you - Brighton have, for many years, been a "little" club and I believe that we have now achieved our optimum status - whether we could function as a Premier League club I don't know.

 

[Green Cross Code Man]

The player that really rankles with me is Steve Cook. Sure, he wasn't a regular in our side, he wanted first team football and you offered him a good opportunity, but he would be just the solution for our ageing defence, which we will have to replace over the next season or so.

Steve Cooke was offered (and took) a shedload of money from Bournemouth when he left us. I don't blame him for leaving. It's a short career.

 

[Green Cross Code Man]

So in answer to a couple of things that have been said on here… Ok, whilst I agree, and have said before, BHA are a bigger club than we could probably ever be… Your catchment is bigger, you have more 'history' than us of being in the higher divisions, and yes you do have a great new ground that would be at home in the Prem Lg… But, why does that stop 'any' club strive for similar success…

AFCB are a club in transition… We have spent 'forever' in the lower leagues without a pot to piss in… We have been one of these 'selling clubs' as was described earlier on this thread for as long as I can remember… We now have one of the best young managers in the country… a very wealthy owner (and no I don't know where his money has come from, but do half the fans of teams that have wealthy owners), a great, young side (including Grabban) and are looking to establish ourselves as a Championship side… I don't look at us as 'getting relegated sooner rather than later'… more so I look at us comfortably staying up and looking to push on next season…

Yes we average just under 10k attendances at the mo, but as I mentioned a while back, the folk of Bournemouth have been treated very badly by some at the club, over the years, and it will take time for them to come back… We have doubles our attendances this year, despite some poor performances... We took around 30k to Wembley and Cardiff on the 2 occasions we have been there… The support is out there, it is just tapping back into it… The ground holds 12k only, yet we don't own it so no point in redeveloping it too much… I am positive that talks of buying back and redeveloping are ongoing, as are possibly talks of moving away and sticking the Vs up to the landlord that won't sell, as as has been stated, no-one can really sustain this level of football on 11/12k attendances… I agree, we're not a big club… but we could be… time will tell… Just look at where Reading, Hull, Wigan, Blackpool were before they got new grounds and a bit of money?

Getting back to the OP, a lot of our players, and new signings, have all come out saying that have been sold on the vision of the club and that is what they have signed for… How long that vision will take who knows, but maybe, just maybe, Grabban is also sold on that vision, and doesn't think moving to Brighton, in the same division, is where he should be going… He signed a new contract recently, so I'd be surprised that such a low release clause was put in, but if it was, then again… time will tell…

That's a very gracious reply mate. You are a good ambassador for your club, unlike most of the Muppets who deign to come on here from elsewhere.

 

[Lady Whistledown]

Steve Cooke was offered (and took) a shedload of money from Bournemouth when he left us. I don't blame him for leaving. It's a short career.

Cook was the one I'd have preferred not to lose, as he's the one who had potential to go far, whereas Elphick was never in the same class.

But he was about fourth choice at that time, and was offered regular first team football, only one level down, and presumably for a pretty decent wage (Bournemouth are by no means skint, though god knows how they're getting round FFP rules).

Can't blame him for that. Was a sort of one step back, two steps forward sort of move.

 

[Green Cross Code Man]

presumably for a pretty decent wage

Believe you me, he's not going to struggle