RoyalBlue Perhaps it's also accurate to say that the Chairman tried very hard not to spend too much money replacing Sidwell. Afterall, he and you both know too well that money talks. Bid enough and your bid will not be turned down, as Hoffenheim recently demonstrated! Maybe Coppell was never given enough money to stand any real chance of a successful bid.
But it's not only about the headline figure of the transfer fee.
Remember Coppell's "all fur coat and no knickers" quip, when he was bemoaning the difficulty in attracting players here.
Let's face it, we have all heard about the little "sweeteners" that get tacked on like loyalty bonuses, signing on fees, image rights, etc etc.
We all know that this is a bullshit vehicle with the sole purpose of lining the pockets of players and their agents alike.
Realistically, I would think that any established Prem player would expect top wages, and all the "jam" they could possibly spread on top of it.
I suspect their demands would be greater when signing for a "smaller" club, because playing for a bigger club carries a degree of career kudos.
I reckon that Dave Whelan could well pay over the odds to get bodies in at Wigan. Our chairman is a different character altogether, and suspect he took the view that footballers are massively overpaid already, and to see some oik wanting to be paid via an offshore investment company probably left him sick to the stomach, as it does me.
[quote="Woodcote Royal"]
moderately talented water carrier who has been largely anonymous since the day he left us
That statement is utterly preposterous. He wasn't signed by fcuking Rochdale. Sidders was considered good enough to be signed (it pains me to write this) by one of the top clubs in the country. He was not a fixture in the first team there, because he was competing for a place with some of the best players in the world. He is now at Aston Villa, another top 6 club, with a long history of silverware.