[Albion] The Albion transfers that never happened.

[Beanstalk]

Stephen Ward

Such a weird cock up from the club. Oddly, I bumped into him at Villa away on the final day of the Championship season. He was glowing about the club, he'd come to the game as a fan and his son was in full Albion kit with Ward on the back. Amazing that we were able to leave such a mark in such a short amount of time.

 

[Beanstalk]

Alex Pritchard must be the most recent example. Bullet dodged methinks.

Jonathan Calleri is far more recent.

STILL technically playing for Deportivo Maldonado and still "yet to make an appearance"....

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

On a more positive note, one transfer which thankfully didn't happen was Calde to Southampton. It seemed very much on the cards at one point and Poyet even said that he wouldn't play for us again. Thankfully, as with a number of things, Poyet was wrong.

Calde to Southampton was the one that first sprung to me too. Instead he stayed, achieved Albion sainthood, and scored with his face

 

[hans kraay fan club]

Bear with me on this but I awoke this morning thinking about the late Tony Millard.

Was sorting some stuff out last night and found a flyer for the first ever Gulls Eye Dinner at Chapmans in early 1989, we even had a bomb scare, rumoured to be a 'tired and emotional' Greg Stanley from the bar of the Blue Peter in Angmering.

Millard spoke that night, as did Vinners and John Lees, all very interesting, but Tony's especially as he touched upon two potential transfers which didn't go through in the 1979/80 season and highlighted the emerging fractious relationship between Mike Bamber and Alan Mullery.

Mullers wanted what were back then minimal funds to sign two players, Mullery and his scouting team had watched both a number of times and felt they were both exactly what Albion needed to establish themselves as something more than relegation fodder in the top flight.

The first was a young midfielder from Bolton Wanderers named Peter Reid, the second a young striker from Newport County, John Aldridge.

Despite not watching them himself, Bamber effectively stated "they weren't all that" and scuppered the deals by refusing to release the funds.

Within a decade both players would start in World Cup Quarter Finals.

Any others spring to mind?

In terms of players that we CHOSE not to sign (as opposed to the likes of Van Dijk and Nunez), there’s obviously your examples of Reid and Aldridge, plus Wright and Keane. The other one I remember around the same time was Trevor Steven.

I can add a little to back up the Aldridge one. He even definitely trained with us for a bit. In the tunnel area, of the Goldstone, there were a series of cheaply framed photos of the players. One featured a group of 10 or so, running up a hill in pre-season training (probably in Hove Park). Aldridge was clearly identifiable in that group.

 

[Lenny Rider]

I seem to recall we were looking at Derek Hales when he flopped at Derby in the early part of the 77/78 season.

 

[Billy the Fish]

I remember being gutted when Lorenzo Pinamonte went to Brentford.

I wonder if we'd got him would we have still signed Bobby Z on loan from Bristol Rovers.

 

[Giraffe]

I may be wrong, as I was a foolish teenager at the time (rather than a foolish oldie), but I seem to recall that Chris Catlin tried to tempt Kevin Keegan to come to us when he chose to retire. The logic being he was local (Hampshire) and it would be a good place to have a season or two. I believe he was quoted as saying that if anyone could have convinced him not to hang up his boots it was Chris Catlin but it felt wrong not to end his days at Newcastle.

Have I imagined/dreamt this whole thing?

 

[Don Tmatter]

In Mullers’s 1st spell it was reported we were attempting to bring in Rainer Bonhof (German international of the 70’s)

 

[GT49er]

Denis Law at Huddersfield.

 

[Dick Knights Mumm]

Now, this is ground breaking mind - so, you might want to sit down:

*Draws breath...

Dramatic pause.

I was present, as a 13 year old (or thereabouts), at Hartlepool vs Brighton when Valur Gislason (he of Arsenal at the time, ahem) played for us on loan (obviously), and I managed to get into the players lounge after the game as my dad worked with the then Hartlepool club doctor ... anyway, and here’s the crux: I remember overhearing two senior members of the Albion board (who were both present that afternoon) having a chat re wanting to sign Gislason permanently, which we were keen to do - to which one of, or perchance the most senior (for it was he) quipped: “we couldn’t ‘afjord’ him mate...”

True ****ing story.

Mic drop, exit stage left.

*high fives perplexed theatre staff, gets into Nova boot circa ‘98 and crashes straight into a lamp post. Sits head in hands crying.

The rest is history.

Bullet dodged or just nonsensical banter? Or was he another ‘legend’ who got away... the paths we tread hmmmm

Sins, omissions, such regrets.

True sliding doors moment. And you were there. Respect.

 

[Dick Swiveller]

Ashley Westwood from Wednesday in 2002. Offered a deal but refused to train on Christmas Day to play at Norwich on Boxing Day. Dodged a bullet as he went downhill after that. He went to Northampton but missed the start of their season injured. What their fans don't know is that he was injured falling off a golf cart.

 

[Lenny Rider]

Denis Law at Huddersfield.

Good call, I'd forgotten that one, less than £10,000 I understand. How long would he have been down here though?


Interestingly would he have made the short trip to London, either Chelsea or Spurs, rather than Manchester?

 

[sparkie]

The "better known for tennis" Gurin Ivanisevic.

 

[Hugo Rune]

Post # 14 and nobody yet mentioned the longest running transfer rumour in the history of NSC.

I give you,


Jonathon Calleri



#holdthenerve

This is by far and away, the best missed signing we have ever made!

For why I hear you cry?

The experience of being shunned by that guy gave our recruitment team the experience to sign the wonderful Mac Allister (the rightful heir to Messi’s Argentina No.10 shirt) and beat off the likes of Man Utd, Chelsea and AC Milan to the profoundly promising ‘add a zero if he’d been Brazilian’ Caicedo.

I haven’t even mentioned the wonderment that is Lil’ Billy Arse!

 

[Joey Jo Jo Jr. Shabadoo]

Lewis Grabban, if I recall correctly we’d agreed a fee with Bournemouth and he was due to sign but in the end signed a new contract with Bournemouth. There was a feeling we’d been played to get him a bigger deal with them.

 

[Kosh]

True sliding doors moment. And you were there. Respect.

‘Tis true - it’s my one genuine ‘in the know’ moment...!

 

[Gwylan]

Mullers wanted what were back then minimal funds to sign two players, Mullery and his scouting team had watched both a number of times and felt they were both exactly what Albion needed to establish themselves as something more than relegation fodder in the top flight.

The first was a young midfielder from Bolton Wanderers named Peter Reid, the second a young striker from Newport County, John Aldridge.

Not doubting the veracity of this story but I'm not sure that a team with minimal funds would be seriously interested in Reid (not in 78/79 anyway). He made his debut in 1974 and was pretty much an ever present in the seasons after that. I remember going to the Bolton match in March 78 and he was the opposition player to watch out for (and indeed, he ran the game for them). Bolton won the league that year, with Reid the standout player.

It just doesn't ring true: why would a second division team (which Brighton were in 78/79), strapped for cash, look to be buying a star player from a first division one?

 

[Blue3]

Michael Owen

 

[Shirty]

Jonathan Calleri is far more recent.

STILL technically playing for Deportivo Maldonado and still "yet to make an appearance"....

Not according to NSC:

JC: 2015 - https://www.northstandchat.com/showthread.php?326099-Jonathan-Calleri&highlight=callieri
AP: 2016 - https://www.northstandchat.com/showthread.php?341172-Alex-Pritchard&highlight=pritchard

I still have JC filed mentally as "potential signing" anyway

 

[Bald Gull]

Ray Houghton who went on to play for Liverpool and Ireland in the 1994 World cup.

We tried to sign him from Fulham but would not pay a signing-on fee!

I may be mis-remembering this but I think it was this transfer was the beginning of the end of the Chris Cattlin era. I think he'd said to the Board that he pretty much guaranteed promotion back to the top flight if we signed Houghton but it didn't come off and he was pretty p*ssed off about it - given the relatively small amount of money. Wasn't it £35k or something?