Mirror: Meet Tommy Forecast, the £20million non-league goalkeeper

[Saint-Armstrong]

http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/mike-walters-meets-tommy-forecast-2257918

 

For context, I'm listening to BBC Essex and Chelmsford are currently losing 3-0 to Hayes and Yeading, who they beat 6-2 last season.

 

Forecast is "all over the shop" apparently.

[Matthew Le God]

Very strange logic used in that article's headline.

[Glasgow_Saint]

Embarrasing for us.

[trousers]

Embarrasing for us.

 

Very much so. I'm staying in tonight now.

[Matthew Le God]

Embarrasing for us.

 

That chain of events ultimately led to the Liebherr takeover, so does it really matter now?

[Glasgow_Saint]

That chain of events ultimately led to the Liebherr takeover, so does it really matter now?

 

Missing out on £20m last week meant that Markus took over SFC in 2009?

[Matthew Le God]

Missing out on £20m last week meant that Markus took over SFC in 2009?

 

No, Saints financial mess in 2008 and cashing in on the Bale clause early to drag it into 2009 was part of the chain of events that led to Liebherr taking over.

[trousers]

£5 on offer to the first person who can see where this thread is heading

[Glasgow_Saint]

£5 on offer to the first person who can see where this thread is heading

 

You posting this pic again?

 

[Alain Perrin]

I think it's a bit sad that people feel the need to rail against Forecast.

 

Like the vast majority of players he wasn't good enough for the big leagues. Players can show promise and then drop away for so many reasons (attitude, physical development, skill development, luck etc.).

 

Forecast wasn't good enough, fine, but does he need it rammed down his throat by cyber warriors who probably struggle to understand the off side rule?

[Giordano]

I started this thread on this subject last week or even the week before. The Mirror reporter must have thought it sounded worth a story. Shame i don't get paid by the word isn't it.Get your stories by reading fan forums. Quite straightforward job really. I always wanted to be a journo when i was younger. Now i just write the words for them and they publish it in their own or their journals name. Next week i shall tell a different and unusual story, and lets see if its in the red tops thereafter...

[Cabrone]

Bale for Forecast

 

Has there ever been as big a gap between the quality of the players in a deal?

 

Shearer for Speedie had nothing on this one.

 

Nice one Rupes.

 

[Made in Southampton]

I'm in the camp that thinks if we hadn't of cashed in on the Bale sell on clause we may not have a club to support so what's done is done and we move on with a, lets face it, better situation than what we were in when we sold Bale in the first place.

[The Kraken]

I think it's a bit sad that people feel the need to rail against Forecast.

 

Like the vast majority of players he wasn't good enough for the big leagues. Players can show promise and then drop away for so many reasons (attitude, physical development, skill development, luck etc.).

 

Forecast wasn't good enough, fine, but does he need it rammed down his throat by cyber warriors who probably struggle to understand the off side rule?

A lot of the criticism/obsession he gets on here comes from others' jealousy. Jealousy from people that an average footballer got the chance of a lifetime that they never did, and seemed like a bit of a rotter to boot.

[Turkish]

A lot of the criticism/obsession he gets on here comes from others' jealousy. Jealousy from people that an average footballer got the chance of a lifetime that they never did, and seemed like a bit of a rotter to boot.

 

Bitter, jealous, obsessed messes who can't handle the fact that a bloke who despite being no better than non league level is still infinitely better than then at football got the chance to have an career in the game. Whilst they rest their fat guts uncomfortably behind the lap tops thinking about who they might sign next on Football Manager tommy was living the dream, good on the lad, people are stealing a living in every industry, why should football be any different because bitter helmets who inhabit a mongboard are eaten up with Jealousy about it.

[The Kraken]

Pretty much that :lol:

[Saint Without a Halo]

I started this thread on this subject last week or even the week before. The Mirror reporter must have thought it sounded worth a story. Shame i don't get paid by the word isn't it.Get your stories by reading fan forums. Quite straightforward job really. I always wanted to be a journo when i was younger. Now i just write the words for them and they publish it in their own or their journals name. Next week i shall tell a different and unusual story, and lets see if its in the red tops thereafter...

 

You should have had a 25% sell on clause!

[Lallana's Left Peg]

Forecast comes off very well in that article.

 

Giving him a 5 year contract though

[CB Fry]

Bale for Forecast

 

Has there ever been as big a gap between the quality of the players in a deal?

 

Shearer for Speedie had nothing on this one.

 

Nice one Rupes.

 

 

Except, of course, we didn't swap Bale for Forecast.

[John Boy Saint]

Levy must have been splitting his sides when the ink dried on that deal, when he heard we had given him a 5 year contract he was probably rolling about on he floor.

 

He was a great example of the way we use to acquire second choice players and big em up as the next great thing, Tommy was "sold" to us fans as the golden answer to our goalkeeping for the next few years, but he became the leading beacon of disappointing players in the dark old days.

[CB Fry]

Tommy was "sold" to us fans as the golden answer to our goalkeeping for the next few years

 

Are you sure about this?

 

Or is it just part of the frothing-at-the-mouth myth-making and bile that surrounds a kid goalkeeper who turned out to be not quite good enough?

[Turkish]

There has been a lot of spectacular horsesh*t written over the years and the ever growing snowball of it shows no sign of slowing down. The mongboard version is f orecast was part of the bale deal - even claim on here we swapped him for Bale, utter bulls*it, he signed for us the year after Bale left for an undisclosed fee so common these days,no suggestion we cashed in our Bale selling on fee at this stage even if we did bale was hardly setting the world on fire at that time, of only Lowe had had his crystal ball put and known that 5 years later Bale would become the worlds most expensive player. On that note also fair play to spurs for helping us out, they didn't have to do it, again would they have known how good Bale would become? At one point they were even prepared to sell him, undoubtedly for much less than they paid us for him.

 

He was a 21 year old goalkeeper who had made Spursbench several times and was a star player for their academy, given how much some of you bang on about our academy players then surely on paper this looks the perfect signing for a skint championship club to take a punt on. It didnt work out but its not the only young player signed by a club that hasnt. Still don't let that detract from the bullsh*t and rewriting of history when it comes to this player. Another Mongboard myth invented by our football manager geniuses which is based on what they imagine happened not what did.

Edited 8 September, 2013 by Turkish

[SaintRichmond]

I think it's a bit sad that people feel the need to rail against Forecast.

 

Like the vast majority of players he wasn't good enough for the big leagues. Players can show promise and then drop away for so many reasons (attitude, physical development, skill development, luck etc.).

 

Forecast wasn't good enough, fine, but does he need it rammed down his throat by cyber warriors who probably struggle to understand the off side rule?

 

 

Yes, but the crucial point you are missing is ............. He's proving he's not good enough for the "small" leagues either.

[Turkish]

Yes, but the crucial point you are missing is ............. He's proving he's not good enough for the "small" leagues either.

 

The only player to have started out at a top flight club and ended up playing none league, right?

 

We've never had an academy player that we've sold on who has gone down the same route.

[Give it to Ron]

The only player to have started out at a top flight club and ended up playing none league, right?

 

We've never had an academy player that we've sold on who has gone down the same route.

 

Have you ever watched him Turkish....you would of thought the same as me...after 10 minutes you could see he was bloody useless. I saw him about 5 times after that and he got worse everytime.

Having said all that it wasn't his fault that deal was struck, I am also of the opinion Bale may not have been sold for so much had there been that 20% clause in existence still.

Forecast has been seen out acting like billy big ****** thats what grates a few on here.

[Badger]

Lowe accepted Forecast as part of an early settlement in renegotiating the Bale deal that might have netted us a fortune (now estimated at £20m).

 

This from the same Rupert who is said to have hired Nick Leeson at Barings Bank.

 

Which is His Rupertship's finest moment ?

[Saint Without a Halo]

Lowe accepted Forecast as part of an early settlement in renegotiating the Bale deal that might have netted us a fortune (now estimated at £20m).

 

This from the same Rupert who is said to have hired Nick Leeson at Barings Bank.

 

Which is His Rupertship's finest moment ?

 

 

When you are under threat of going into administration you sell anything with value! Nothing new there! We did the same on Walcott too!Hopefully we still have an active clause on AOC.

[Ewell]

Embarrasing for us.

 

Up there with Ali Dia but we all know how badly we were mismanaged in those dark days. This situation would have never happened under the current regime.

[Weston Saint]

The club were sinking financially. They approached Spurs to see if they could renegotiate the add on deal as real cash. At that stage Bale was not even featuring regularly in the Spurs line up. At the time it was a good deal. Forecast was merely a make weight, nothing more. How do I know? Because I have spoken to one of the Saints Directors of that time.

[Glasgow_Saint]

Up there with Ali Dia but we all know how badly we were mismanaged in those dark days. This situation would have never happened under the current regime.

 

Agreed mate. Times have changed thank the lord

[Turkish]

Have you ever watched him Turkish....you would of thought the same as me...after 10 minutes you could see he was bloody useless. I saw him about 5 times after that and he got worse everytime.

Having said all that it wasn't his fault that deal was struck, I am also of the opinion Bale may not have been sold for so much had there been that 20% clause in existence still.

Forecast has been seen out acting like billy big ****** thats what grates a few on here.

 

He may have been rubbish but it wasn't his fault that we signed him on a five year deal and on paper signing a 21 year old keeper who had been a young star and made spurs bench in the premier league might well have been seen a a gamble worth taking for a club that was in th mess we were in. The fact of the matter it people are making things up about forecast that simply aren't true.

 

Why isnt Mayuka coming in for the same stick? Here we have a player who cost £3m, will undoubtedly be paid very handsomely, was billed as the 85th best player in the world not long ago. apart from 20 minute in October has been utter gash, so far down the pecking order and away from the first team we've loaned him out for a season. Why it give him the same treatment, make up a few stories about him and give him some hilarious nickname like Missuka?has he not been equally as Poor a signing if not worse than a 21 year old rookie who had never played a first team game?

Edited 8 September, 2013 by Turkish

[cellone]

^^^^^

 

^^^^

[Batman]

the obsession for Pulis and Forecast was way OTT at times

[Turkish]

the obsession for Pulis and Forecast was way OTT at times

 

It was just plain weird.

[Batman]

It was just plain weird.

 

I went to my first game in 1985 as a 5 year old

since then, the number of appalling players we have had has been incredible. why are those two some sort of exception

 

IMO, Benali was a terrible player. A real liability at times and would never have been a prem player in a million years had he not been at saints.

got sent off loads. but due to us being, generally crap whilst he was here, he got plenty of game time and 'tried hard' and people call him a legend

 

the list of terrible players paid for by us could be endless. pulis and forecast are just another two to that list

Edited 8 September, 2013 by Batman
im not 133

[Turkish]

I went to my first game in 1885 as a 5 year old

since then, the number of appalling players we have had has been incredible. why are those two some sort of exception

 

IMO, Benali was a terrible player. A real liability at times and would never have been a prem player in a million years had he not been at saints.

got sent off loads. but due to us being, generally crap whilst he was here, he got plenty of game time and 'tried hard' and people call him a legend

 

the list of terrible players paid for by us could be endless. pulis and forecast are just another two to that list

 

I had no idea you were 133 Jamie!!

[The Kraken]

I went to my first game in 1885 as a 5 year old

Never had you down for being that old, TDD.

[Batman]

Never had you down for being that old, TDD.

 

wayhey.

[Glasgow_Saint]

Never had you down for being that old, TDD.

 

Explains how he got to 40,000 forum posts

[John Boy Saint]

Are you sure about this?

 

Or is it just part of the frothing-at-the-mouth myth-making and bile that surrounds a kid goalkeeper who turned out to be not quite good enough?

We had a raft of players in our more recent past who most of us had never heard of, yet the spin when they signed and were introduced to us by the club was that Saints had been in a tussle with a few clubs both here and abroad, that we had heard of, to nail them down. From memory that chap nicknamed the Torpedo was massively bigged up yet sank without a trace. Tommy was bigged up in the same way, probably in an effort to divert the fact that we had cashed in any onwards rights we had to the future of Bale. He was talked up by the media department as a blinding spot of business, probably also to deflect attention away from the very dark clouds looming on the near horizon, and to qualify this "great" bit of trade handed him a 5 year contract: you certainly don't get them unless the player is considered as pure dynamite.

 

We will never know what went on behind closed doors, unfortunately Tommy became the negative focus and reminder of a dark period in our history. Any frothing at the mouth is more directed at the deal makers for Saints who took on a player who not only failed in the lower divisions, but also at non league too when sent out on loan, someone must have had doubts: but as has been mentioned already - Ali Dia!

[Turkish]

We had a raft of players in our more recent past who most of us had never heard of, yet the spin when they signed and were introduced to us by the club was that Saints had been in a tussle with a few clubs both here and abroad, that we had heard of, to nail them down. From memory that chap nicknamed the Torpedo was massively bigged up yet sank without a trace. Tommy was bigged up in the same way, probably in an effort to divert the fact that we had cashed in any onwards rights we had to the future of Bale. He was talked up by the media department as a blinding spot of business, probably also to deflect attention away from the very dark clouds looming on the near horizon, and to qualify this "great" bit of trade handed him a 5 year contract: you certainly don't get them unless the player is considered as pure dynamite.

 

We will never know what went on behind closed doors, unfortunately Tommy became the negative focus and reminder of a dark period in our history. Any frothing at the mouth is more directed at the deal makers for Saints who took on a player who not only failed in the lower divisions, but also at non league too when sent out on loan, someone must have had doubts: but as has been mentioned already - Ali Dia!

 

Because that never happens now does it. I seem to remember De Ridder, Forren and Lee being hailed as massive coups for us and having beaten off a host of top clubs to secure their signing.

[scotty]

Because that never happens now does it. I seem to remember De Ridder, Forren and Lee being hailed as massive coups for us and having beaten off a host of top clubs to secure their signing.

 

I don't remember anyone on here saying anything much about De Ridder or Forren, other than they'd never heard of them, just a couple of massive threads full of speculation. Lee was mainly hailed as our entry point into the Asian tv marketplace where the money is, iirc.

 

And as for the Forecast thing, I tend to agree with John Boy. It detracted attention from the loss of Bale and our general situation, publicity wise. Can't blame him for sitting on his 5-year deal and trousering the cash.

[CB Fry]

We had a raft of players in our more recent past who most of us had never heard of, yet the spin when they signed and were introduced to us by the club was that Saints had been in a tussle with a few clubs both here and abroad, that we had heard of, to nail them down. From memory that chap nicknamed the Torpedo was massively bigged up yet sank without a trace. Tommy was bigged up in the same way, probably in an effort to divert the fact that we had cashed in any onwards rights we had to the future of Bale. He was talked up by the media department as a blinding spot of business, probably also to deflect attention away from the very dark clouds looming on the near horizon, and to qualify this "great" bit of trade handed him a 5 year contract: you certainly don't get them unless the player is considered as pure dynamite.

 

We will never know what went on behind closed doors, unfortunately Tommy became the negative focus and reminder of a dark period in our history. Any frothing at the mouth is more directed at the deal makers for Saints who took on a player who not only failed in the lower divisions, but also at non league too when sent out on loan, someone must have had doubts: but as has been mentioned already - Ali Dia!

 

Sorry this all just exists in your head. Total fantasy.

 

Forecast was no more "bigged up" than any player we have ever signed ever. Lee Holmes was the next Robben FFS. Forren was going to play against Everton the following day. Gazzaniga? Hyped up. Mayuka? Mark Paul? Perry Groves? Lee Todd? Ramires? Any player under any regime ever. Hyped up.

 

And it was Tommy who said other clubs were interested in him, not the evil Saints media machine.

 

Keep frothing over Tommy Forecast. Keep frothing.

[melmacian_saint]

People should also remember that Kelvin, whilst appreciated, wasn't seen as a keeper that would feature in our change of fortunes and we were struggling to find a competitor. A guy from Spurs with promise looking to get some decent game time was a more than reasonable option to accept in the middle of a successful negotiation for some much needed real cash for a club that couldn't really spend any serious money on the football league's finest keepers.

 

Maybe Spurs also had a rebuy clause on Forecast, so we weren't really mugged as someone else thought he might come good later on. Not that anyone will care to investigate that, as it's this kind of "you're so stupid" stories that the sour life losers that crowd the media like.

[mcjwills]

If it was not for the cashing in on Bale we would all have been supporting AFC Southampton , Bournemouth or God forbid P*rtsmouth now as the chances are we would have gone out of business. Not Tommys fault, if I was in his position I would have trousered the cash and stayed put until the end of my contract. He has set himself up for life.

[ottery st mary]

Goalkeeping coach said NO...did the man on the throne listen...NO

 

Contacts to the GK coach confirmed ..not risk the gamble...

 

Spurs wanted rid....something had happened to Tommy in the previous two seasons...maybe confidence or night clubs..

 

Our heirachy were warned NOT to touch and take Jimmy Greaves or Alan Gilzean as GK prospects instead:rolleyes:

 

Some have said after 10 mins of Tommy warming up...not looking like a GK:scared:

 

My daughter saw him try to catch a ball and laughed......

 

I saw him walking and thought there was a problem:mcinnes:

 

 

A little bit like watching Ali Dia run out onto the hallowed turf at the Dell and thinking...this does not look right..

 

Tommy is not a GK.........and I believe will struggle at Chelmsford:uhoh:

[The9]

I'd just like to state for once and for all that there was NEVER a sell on clause in the original deal when Saints sold Bale in the first place. All we cashed in on were possible future appearances and goals.

[cellone]

I'd just like to state for once and for all that there was NEVER a sell on clause in the original deal when Saints sold Bale in the first place. All we cashed in on were possible future appearances and goals.

 

Gossip ruiner. Go and clean your elephant box.

[The Kraken]

I'd just like to state for once and for all that there was NEVER a sell on clause in the original deal when Saints sold Bale in the first place. All we cashed in on were possible future appearances and goals.

 

So this part of the article in the OP is incorrect?

Five years ago, Forecast was a supplement in the deal when Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy bought out ­Southampton’s 25 per cent sell-on clause on a promising young left-back called Gareth Bale.

[Minty]

Turks is spot on so little need for me to add anything. When I was covering the Academy for the Echo, I watched and interviewed numerous youngsters who got to the fringes of the first team or moved to other teams with some promise, but who then disappeared out of football altogether, far quicker than Forecast. It happens. It's not embarrassing, it's just football. You'd think some people would learn that after years watching the game, but it seems not... Couple that with an apparent need to lay blame and to have a scapegoat... well, it can be a bit silly can't it?

 

You know what, as much as I've always thought that his 'mongboard' title was a bit OTT, it's subjects like this that actually make me wonder if he's been right all along. We do have some real mongs as fans, who revel in overreacting.