[Albion] Paul Barber: The Transfer Window

[doogie004]

A gamble is a conscious desicion. This wasn't. It is just bad luck, not a gamble.

We've been needing a striker for 3.5 months waiting till the last day and scrambling around expecting Jansen to join while away on international duty stinks of desparation

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[Triggaaar]

Pretty embarrassing some of the comments by so called Albion fans.

With the size of fanbase we have there will be plenty of fools, trolls, jokers, muppets, etc etc. There will always be some really stupid comments. Don't worry about them.

 

[drew]

We've been needing a striker for 3.5 months waiting till the last day and scrambling around expecting Jansen to join while away on international duty stinks of desparation

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But the window isn't open for 3.5 months. Seems you assume that club were doing nothing until the last few minutes of the window.

 

[Husty]

[MENTION=12486]Husty[/MENTION] is a total and utter cretin.

Look who is talking.

 

[dazzer6666]

We've been needing a striker for 3.5 months waiting till the last day and scrambling around expecting Jansen to join while away on international duty stinks of desparation

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Desperation at the end caused by a series of unfortunate and frankly unlikely events/circumstances...........but still a failure to do what was needed.

 

[c0lz]

We've been needing a striker for 3.5 months waiting till the last day and scrambling around expecting Jansen to join while away on international duty stinks of desparation

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And according to the Argus. He did not fit manager Chris Hughton's criteria for the type of striker he wanted as precisely as Andone, but the signing by Spurs of Fernando Llorente from Swansea sparked Janssen's availability.

 

[rocker959]

Some of you simply don't deserve this great club of ours. You're a total embarrassment.

Exactly right .

 

[doogie004]

But the window isn't open for 3.5 months. Seems you assume that club were doing nothing until the last few minutes of the window.

Well only having one fit striker is unacceptable in this division . Out of interest what three teams do u think we will finish above ?


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[Not Andy Naylor]

Let's be honest, a small number of people - certainly in single figures - know what went on in the transfer window and why we didn't land the players we wanted.

To suggest that the recruitment department didn't work hard enough is the accusation I find hardest to take seriously. As anyone in business can tell you, you won't succeed if you don't work hard, but hard work by itself guarantees nothing. In any deal there has to be a willingness on all sides to make it happen, and football transfers involve more more competing elements than most. Sometimes clubs don't want to sell, agents want more and more money, deals depend on other deals that don't happen, and players don't want to come. This is just the Albion doing it the hard way as usual. Let's enjoy watching Chris H overcoming the latest obstacle.

 

[Guinness Boy]

But the window isn't open for 3.5 months.

Groß was signed on 19 May. The window closed at the end of August. So you're technically correct by 4 days IF we go off our first surprising signing, but if you round up to half months you're wrong.

Considering we're discussing a long period, rather than a tiny one, you might as well have not bothered posting that at all. 3 months and 12 days is enough to get 2 strikers in. I've delivered complex software releases in less time. And I'm lazily using the Groß signing as a start point because it's late.

 

[perseus]

Did the pundits say something disparaging?

Or is it the bookies? https://www.justbookies.com/premier...IWP1gIVSjPTCh1oxw4OEAAYASAAEgIc2fD_BwE#stayup

Which strikers did we miss out on?

I'm glad we did not buy a lump that does not know where the goal is!

 

[portlock seagull]

I think Paul will know this adapted advice with regards to NSC's more vociferous critics. Is everyone entitled to their opinion? Perhaps - but that doesn't mean he needs to pay the slightest bit of attention. Two things disqualify some fans from being listened to:

1. Lack of Standing. When you walk up to an artist and tell her you don't like her painting style, you should probably be ignored. If you've never purchased expensive original art, don't own a gallery and don't write an influential column in ArtNews, then by all means, you must be ignored. If you're working in Accounts Payable and you hate the company's new logo, the people who created it should and must ignore your opinion. It just doesn't matter to anyone but you.

2. No Credibility. An opinion needs to be based on experience and expertise. People with a history of bad judgment, people who are quick to jump to conclusions or believe in unicorns or who have limited experience--these people are entitled to opinions, but he doesn't need to hear them. They've disqualified themselves because the method they use for forming opinions about how the market works is suspect. The scientific method works, and if fans are willing to suspend it at will and just go with their angry gut, he doesn't need to listen to these.

 

[Munkfish]

Righhhhttt.

So, what part of we worked hard on probably our #1 target - Andone - agreed a very complex and expensive deal (likely to have been c€20m) - only for Deportivo to reneg on the deal at the 11th hour forcing us to aim for someone who hit the brief (fast, young enough to have resale value and of international calibre) but was ultimately above our station don't you understand?

I'm as guilty as the next fan at being initially disappointed with the way things turned out on deadline day but yours and others over simplification of a transfer window - throw enough shit at the wall in the hope that some of it sticks (and can play up front) beggars belief.

If you're REALLY that wazzed off with things vote with your feet and don't come to the games but don't expect to be welcomed back should, god forbid, CH and the squad become competitive and there's a risk you might start enjoying it rather than being hypercritical and bloody fickle.

Oh Shut up ****ing Melt. People can be unhappy that they failed. If i were to deliver a project at work but failed to deliver a key deliverable id be ****ed and have some answering to do. No matter how hard i worked or excuses i made. What the club needed to do and deliver wasnt achieved as for not going to games that isnt an option but im pretty sure i can air my views on the internet as well as people who go around licking the clubs arse.

Why would i stop going to games? Ive been to every game this season and have tickets for all upcoming games, so sadly for you as ever i will be there offering my support, having a laugh with my mates and getting behind the team. The difference is i would have been pissed off years ago to.

 

[CP 0 3 BHA]

God, I wish people would calm down.

Granted, it's a big step up but we came into this division with four squad members who scored double figures for us last season, and several of the new signings are high calibre offensive players who scored a number of goals last season for their previous clubs.

The end of world may indeed be nigh - but it's not because BHA didn't land a new out-and-out striker.

 

[Guinness Boy]

Did the pundits say something disparaging?

Or is it the bookies? https://www.justbookies.com/premier...IWP1gIVSjPTCh1oxw4OEAAYASAAEgIc2fD_BwE#stayup

Which strikers did we miss out on?

I'm glad we did not buy a lump that does not know where the goal is!

Andy's still up. Praise the Lord.

I'd say we missed out on Dwamena, Janssen and Andone.

 

[tip top]

HUGE own goal by our Paul unfortunately.

His time is very much limited.

 

[kalinski]

I think we should all feel lucky that we support a club where the Chairman and CEO are willing to address issues raised by fans so quickly. First we had Tony Bloom's open letter and now Paul Barber's detailed answering of lots of the questions people on here have posted. I'm sure some on here will still complain and take issue with what has been said but I hope most of us will just draw a line under this saga now and get on with supporting the players we have got. #Together

This

 

[clapham_gull]

I think that's an excellent "response".

Whether I disagree or agree is irrelevant, the fact the CEO is quite happy to enter the debate on here is frankly remarkable in the Premier League.

If you have a pop at individuals they have a right of reply.

I think the club get a bit too worried about criticism though. Need to sit back, take a deep breath and relax.

They aren't Blackburn.

 

[dangull]

Brighton was the 8th largest spending club in Europe in the window, so there was a lot of time and effort put in.

Obviously, most of us would have signed the elusive striker, rather than 1 or 2 of the new players.

 

[Megazone]

I've just received a note from Paul Barber concerning the transfer window, and he was happy for it to be shared on NSC.

(My addition, this Bleacher Report video showing deadline day at Sheffield United is an interesting watch for those of on the outside: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/...line-day-access-all-areas-at-sheffield-united)

The transfer window has, as ever, sparked a lot of debate on social media – some of it constructive and interesting; some of it, naïve and, in places, unjustifiably spiteful. Not surprisingly, and such is the way of the world these days, hardly any of the (largely anonymous) criticism directed at the club on social media has made its way to us directly in the form of emails or letters…

Nevertheless, our supporters do have every right to express their reasonable opinions. The game is full of opinions. It’s what makes our sport as popular as it is. But personal attacks on our people (least of all, our chairman), or attempts to scapegoat individuals through social media, are totally unnecessary and will never be acceptable to us, not least as we go out of our way to fully engage with our fans at all times.

As we’ve tried to explain, transfer windows are complex and dynamic. Things can change dramatically in a month, a week, a day – or, even, in an hour. Therefore, the tactics to meet transfer window objectives must always evolve as the window goes on. But even this doesn’t guarantee every target will be landed – and the club, as well as supporters, may end up disappointed (we are) and frustrated (we were).

We don’t publicise our transfer targets. We don’t comment on media speculation (unless we believe we have no choice but to do so). And only a very tiny group of people inside the club – usually no more than 4 - are aware of our specific priorities at any one time. Our approach is designed to minimise leaks, which can often compromise the club’s position, and give us the best possible chance of doing our business discreetly and professionally.

Inevitably, this does mean supporters' knowledge or understanding of what did or didn’t actually happen, could or couldn’t happen - or why something did or didn’t happen isn’t always right. In fact, in many cases - and quite understandably – supporters’ perceptions are very often way wide of the mark. This is the same at many clubs, not just ours.

So, to try to help our supporters digest this past transfer window, as usual I’ll be addressing the transfer window in my programmes notes on Saturday. However, as I’m aware that NSC seems to attract the most vociferous of views, I thought it night be useful for me to let you have my answers to the key questions posed in advance of the weekend. I’ve covered as many points as I can.

- this transfer window was more over-heated and more challenging than most of us had previously experienced. We were very well prepared but every club, even the biggest, was a little taken back.

- asking prices, and player and agent demands were very high. No surprise here either but it’s impossible to anticipate every nuance. Publicly, we will always try to manage expectations as we go.

- as with all previous transfer windows, speculation in this one was rife. Much of it nonsense. Like all clubs, we’ve been criticised for not signing players we didn’t bid for and were not even on our radar!

- it’s a complete myth that the best transfer business is always done early; if transfers can be done early in the window, they will be. If transfers are not done early, there’s usually a very good reason.

- equally, it’s a myth that transfers late in the window are “panic buys” or the player must have been “low on our list”; it can be the complete opposite: sometimes transfers just take all the time available.

- the recruitment team – scouts, analysts, coaches, our manager – looked at thousands of players in the past year or more; relatively few strikers are ever available and even fewer matched our specific brief.

- it’s no secret that we were looking for a striker different to what we have; we were not the only club looking for this type of player and, unsurprisingly, those clubs that have them wanted to keep them!

- despite all of this, and missing out on that additional striker, we still secured the overwhelming majority of our transfer window targets - and we have strengthened our squad in a number of key areas.

- most, if not all, clubs miss out on at least one target, sometimes many targets, in every transfer window. This one was no different. There will always be a multitude of reasons for such misses.

- a “miss” doesn’t have to mean a flawed strategy, poor negotiation tactics, a failure to meet demands, or that someone is to blame; mostly, it’s just about “circumstances" – often out of the club’s control.

- we didn’t lose out on players because we couldn’t, or wouldn’t, meet a particular transfer fee or a wage demand; neither did we break our wage structure to secure the players we did bring in.

- nevertheless, and regardless of ambition - ours is to stay in the Premier League - we always have a responsibility to run the club prudently and sensibly for the chairman and for the benefit of future generations.

- finances aside, failed medicals are rare – we had 2; players being recalled to their club at the point of signing for another because of an injury/issue affecting a team mate are even more unusual – again, we had 2.

- these issues don’t mean our scouting or due diligence was flawed; quite the opposite. Our medical staff were excellent in detecting unforeseen issues. We’re spending millions of pounds. We won't take risks.

- occasionally in a transfer window, different options become available due to totally unforeseen circumstances – sometimes very late on; such opportunities need careful but very quick evaluation.

- often, such is the recruitment team’s detailed preparation for any given transfer window, we’ve already done our homework on such players so we can make fast decisions on whether they are of interest.

- if they are of interest to us, we will always seek to agree a deal with the club and agent, on behalf of the player, then consider them alongside other options; however, it can still be down to the player’s choice.

- when a player decides not to join a club, it’s often about him wanting to stay with the club he’s at, rather than snubbing the club courting him; the two things are very different, albeit we know the net result is the same.

- it’s very rarely possible to fully complete one deal before starting work on another; in every window, it’s usually necessary - and desirable - to keep moving on a number of targets simultaneously.

- when we talk about “optimum timing” for a transfer, it’s not just about getting the player at the right price. It’s about a wide range of factors all coming together to make a deal possible at a given moment.

- and, no, we didn’t miss out on a loan striker because we signed a loan GK; we took a conscious decision to take an excellent loan GK when the opportunity arose.

- as with every transfer window, we will replay, review, discuss and debate all of our decisions and our tactics; as with previous windows, we will look to see what we can do better next time. There’s always room.

- right now, we have an excellent group of very talented and committed players, backed by a great manager and staff; they will need and, I believe, they deserve the support of all our fans.

- we are just 3 games in to the most exciting and challenging league season in the club’s history. It will be tough, very tough, so above all else, we need the club’s strong sense of “togetherness” to, once again, rise up!

I hope this note will help to answer at least the majority of the various queries, questions, views and criticisms expressed by supporters.

Mistakes like that just prove how lazy Paul Barber really is. Not even bothering to proof read a really important message to us fans.