Frank's cousin

Old school ex footballers - like Harry - seem to thig there is a virtue in NOT worrying about money - that's for chairman - so they see a plucky young maanger whealer dealing in puttting a scratch side together and doing ...OK... which tehy applaud. The fact that he should be playing kids and NOT spening ANY money given teh outstanding level of debt is lost on them. Dont think its so much a moral question for them as they lack the intelligence or charcater to actually think the moral question is relevent.... its why so many in football still have sympathy for their plight - maybe someone should point out to them that how would they feel had they handed over 80% of tehir wealth to some property business in Spain for it to go bust and lose their money... only for the builders invilved to spring up elsewhere undr a different name and do the same thing again - would they have sympathy then? Doubt it

As I understood it the 15mil is agreed - but that Bologna want 15 mil NET, and at present the way the deal is structured is sainst offereing 15 mil gross means Bologna only get around 12.75 mil net - thats what seemed to being hinted at - I thing the 'bank guarrantee thing' is a smokescreen for hagling over an additional 2.25 mil Euros.... but that is my opinion based on rumour and speculation - By FACT I menat no common ground - whether on fee or how its paid is irrelevent - there is currently no comon ground, but that does not mean they wont possibly find some eventually .... feck some of you are fast (edit)

Aye bigger richer clubs - shock horror - if a player we are after prefers the likes of Wigan or West Brom, then fair enough it might suggest we have a problem, but players preferring Champions league clubs, top 7/8 is fricken normal, not some great mistery or cock up....

Right so, you are in effect saying that Buttner prefereed Man U to Saints - well er, perhaps thats just the way things are - given the global size of that club? Jrod preferred us to Burnley - face facts there is a pecking order and right now we are the new boys in the prem - to current players the 27 years means feck all - all that matters is that in most folks eyes we are bottom 8 - so the to even get players like Ramirez and Buttner to consider coming here is a positive thing. I really dont get what your issue is - you act/speak like we should be able to compete with the top 6 or even top 10 after being back in the prem for 5 mins - suggesting the club is fecking things up without a shread of evidence... if you have a issue with NC fair enough thats your choice, but at least explain what your issue is, because frankly if its concerns over his transfer dealings you must be ignorant of how these things work. We have donw what most would consider the hard part with someone like Ramirez - convince teh player that this is a good move. OK there is a chance he is lying to to try and trigger a bigger move to a bigger club, but if that is the case then that's down to him and his greed, bnot Saints cocking up. The only FACT we know on all this and after 92 pages of this thread (apart from a few good comedy moments) is that at present no common ground on fee has been reached and that although they are still a distance away, discussions may be on going - it may still happen, it may not and BOTH clubs are sticking to their guns which is a good thing. I suspect as the deadline draws nearer a compromise may be reached, if not - well thats teh way it goes with things more often than not. I also suspect that if Bologna are in a financial mess, then its in their intersets to drag this out to near the dealine - if allows them to demonstrate to fans they are playing hard ball, yet if he is then sold, its too late to replace him and the cash can be used to deal with their financial problems... just a thought. Chill out FFS and either accept that until we are top 6 some players are always going to use us as a marker for a bigger move, or at least spell out your issue with NC, as to suggest he has a problem with transfers is ludicrous in the extreme and suggest a complete ignorance of the process and our position in the pecking order

...all quiet on the gaston front today then?

WTF? Jeez - not quite sure what teh feck this has to do with sunloungers.....

... If you go on holiday in places where there are not enough sunloungers to go round, or are desperate to get one in a special spot... get up early and bag it. dont fricken blame those who do get up early to bag it - getting up early to bag it seems to be the way the organized go about achieveing their albeit slightly sad aim - alternatively go somewhere were there are enough sunloungers to go round... surely? Blaming others for doing what we cant be arsed to do oursleves seems to be a very 'British' steryotype

We hold all the power whilst we stick to our policy, whether we get him or not - if we break with our policy we in effect give up our power....

That Journo's not whining, he's publicising and he is totally right, his job is to tell people what they hear and pass on the information. But they do have to make a decision, do they simply 'pass-on' what they hear, or do they filter out the dross and only print evidence backed information? Do they want accurate well informed readers or just volume of readers desperate for gossip? Whilst I am all for 'responsible journalism' as although as they say they 'reflect' public opinion' - they also have a major influence upon it - at the end of the day each of us has to make up their own mind as to whether its BS or trustworthy. Blaming bull s hitters for inaccurate information is no real excuse if you have no idea on teh credibilty of the source - we need to take some fricken responsibilty for what we believe in what we read/hear.

This all reminds me of the Cemetery scene in Peter Jackson's cult comedy Zombie flick Brain dead. Can see NC now as a vicar jumping on the toombstone with large spade in hand, decapitating the bologna presidente with the immortal words 'I kick arse for the Lord'

er getting 10-15mil over 3-4 years at current interest rates , thats if you can find a bank willing to lend you the cash is not going to be easy or wise... better to spread it out based on your revenue and timing of thje income.... avoid debt!

Sorry egg - every club would look to 'spread the payments' It means you can buy 3-4 players rather than blowing it all on one and having to wait 12 months for another - especially if you are not selling major assets to cover the cost -we would be stupid to pay it all up front - having said that, I think a FIFA ruling that mandated up front payments in full would actually be a good thing though - we would see an overall fall in transfer fees and clubs potentially being less stupid... unless you are skates that is as they ignore all rules anyway

But these kind of transfers and players aint just about what they add on the pitch but off it as well - commercially, profile of the club etc... guess they just look at the cost v value and sometimes go for it. Can be a good idea

Probably cant afford to pay him off.. oh wait, they could just defer it... until...never, lke the last cVA I suppose

Sorry FF dont agree - all that has happened since we were last in teh prem is Twitter and instant rumour has just fired the imagination - I believe many a transfer/club gioes through thsi but we have been out this level of spotlight for some time and alot has changed since we broke all records on 'Delap'. The only reason folk are tired of it all after only 5 days is because we have seen about 200 tweets all with opposite messaging, subtle hints based on no real facts. We are just not used to our transfers being subject to this level of scrutiny or interest. Lets be honest we did what most would consider the hardest part, convince the player he should come here. The fact that it appears (and this is all speculation) that Bologna recognise that if Lowly saints will pay 15 mil someone else may pay more is part of the game now - we play it, but we play it on our terms and I think that is fair enough. Its risky enough at 15 mil for a player who looks great, but may not settle in England or the prem as others have failed before him. I for one am glad we set our stall out, our valuation of the player and level of risk and are sticking to our guns on this. So your questioning of our modus operandi doe snot really fit with a fair view of the ongoing 'saga'...

Just about sums it up!

But messageboard etiquette is clear on this - its not the quality of your posts but the count that ...er counts Not saying quality is not good Charlie and Clarky mind

Are you saying I is not a genius? They need to get Uncle Avram back in - seems hes an expert at r'elieving the fat in the pipe'

Given that the PP income+ gate is in theory already spoken for for wages and football creditors.... is there anything to prevent Chinney from defeeering what payments he can, waiting until the next PPs turn up and then doing a runner with the lot? leaving them with creditors a 3rd time in 4 years? You know part of mewould feel sorry for them if that happened - only an incy wincytiny end of one hhair mind, the rest of me would be incontinent through laughter - given the complete lack of shame or integrity Appy nor fans are showing with this need for more players.... ... not sure what the legals are, but if Chinney agrees a CVA with with all teh gullable creditors and bungs them 500k its over... he then could rightly cliam teh business ows him 18 mil but he'll settle for 8 mil - and take it now - then when the deferred compromise agreements are due, the accounts are bare and they go into admin.... could this be the plan?

The only fact we know for sure is as CBF said - the deal is never dead until he signs for someone else.

You are a mad fecker - but I love you;)

Great post - and thanks for that. I also think that NC probably struggles a little with the media demands in this country - having been used to Switzerland where business is private, having every rumour, gossip, speculation placed under teh microspcoe and then when no answes are given have BS printed anyway is probably not good for his nerves either. The impression i got form Nige post promotion interview waqss firstly a huge sense of relief that the tension of the run in was over - it was in his tone - and I dare say that NC and NA would have had their ups and downs and possibly to straining point as that pressure built - both are still learning afterall and both had not been in that pressure cooker before. I think they have a strong rleationship and both want the smae thing - I believe that NA WILL be able to achieve what NC wants - but I HOPE that NA willl be abe to achieve what NC wants within NCs timescale - for me that is the key to NA staying long term - and probably what caused a few 'moments' last season - had we done what we all mostly expected and been mid table, there would have been no problem ... but having gotten into such a good position it changed the goal posts - and that added to teh pressure - would Adkins who had not been in that situation before and his players have the ability to see it through? Now we have a different pressure - seems like NC is putting cash up and NA will again have to learn quickly and respond and delivery on this years target - He dleivers he stays, failure, well se, but ultimately if his role this year is to keep us up, maybe get us to 12-14 etc as a target and the money is provided to make that a realistic ambition, then you could argue that if its not achieved, then we may need someone new? Thats what its like in most jobs afterall. I believe they have a huge amount of respect for each other and I also feel that they seem very much aligned in teh approach and style of play we want to see - will be challenges yes, but I think they work well together and are not affraid to show their emotions which can be a good if scary thing.

What creditials do you need to be ITK? I must surly be ITK as I know 100% certain that we know feck all about where this deal REALLY is right now..

We all need to slooooow down a moment - ALL the current reports are rehashes of the same tweets/leaks etc and the only one who is talking publically is the agent - who hja his own agenda - either to try and ensure teh deal goes through or stimulate other parties so he he gets his cut when it happens - NOTHING about the status of negotiations has been confirmed by either SAINTS or Bologna - and I suspect that whatever the situation on/off/close/far away, we will not know anything unless we see NCs or the president of Bologna lips movig in sync with the the audio on a reputable broadcasting channel - and that is unlikely. Whether anyone can point to other deals that go swifty, financed differently, or go slower is irrelevent - come you must know enough by now to know that each is unique and therefore each is normal? Seriously, its a dark art of negotiation. even if its OFF now there is no guarrantee it wont be ON agian tomorrow or teh next day - even if we walk away now, if we dont get something sorted with someone else, and they come back it could be on again - its the way of these things as frustrating as it is. And anyone looking to make mileage out of a 'failure' is being pathetic - there is no 'failure' in these things, no one does anything wrong, and no one is to blame. It will not happen if they can not agree terms and that is normal as well... and we move on. We also have to remember we are a club that is now looking to attract a higher quality of player - players who demand interest from bigger clubs ofetn with more money, so we will be played a few times and the negotiations will be more difficult - caving in now and just meeting anyones demands when it does not work for our budget etc sets a dangerous precedent. Lets all jsut grow sime and enjoy watching what happens?

Now here's a fricken Idea Mikey? can I call you Mikey? You are in L1 - not the prem, L1 is where players go to ON loan to get experience because most L1 clubs lack the fund to have a huge squad so take youngsters on loan and play them now and again - you know because they need to live within their means and avoid debt, bankruptcy etc... So you have a bunch of Brave kids - why not add them to the 1st team squad and you have well over 20 to pick form and no increase in debt or funding required as already on the books... simple, effective, in line with the L1 model etc. Like other L1 sides you may get lucky and a couple of these youngsters may flourish and give you a boost etc. If not, then well you know tough... you have to accept your squad is only of a certain standard mate, a standard already above what you can afford so kind of already cheating other clubs and you want to cheat some more? Have you no shame? If you are the most uncompetitive side in L1 so fricken what? That is how it should be given that you have written of 160 mil of debt and had to sell your best players - so you may well get rlegated - sort of the way a league works you know, worst side goes down - and all that....whats that you say? you should be allowed not to go down because of..... er.... come on..... fricken out with it.... er.... thought so - Because you are crying like f ucking school girls to the media, the FL and your own fans because you have a young squad that might get relegated.... Jeez are you that Fricken stupid that you dont get it? PLAY the feckin kids, see what they can do, everyone else does that when squad is bare and no money in the bank.... and maybe, use whatever cash you save on paying back some of the debts or charites or whatever.... just so you dont miss it - IT IS CALLED INTEGRITY mate, HONESTY etc or are these words too complex and big for you to get in that thick boldy shameless skull.... you lot down there really are a bunch of gormless, shameless t wats of the lowest order the type of rank skanky ones Uncle A used to run tricks with down the industrial estate.... Jeez decent fans down there and there must be some, show some fricken pride and ditch this mess and start over - the football 'community' will be behind you and support you - you know it makes sense. There feel better now thats off my chest