[Zinman]

I think people need to remember that it takes 2 willing clubs to make a transfer. One thing I've taken from this window is the lack of quality players making a kove, particularly strikers. Igalo for 20 million - not worth it in my opinion. Hogan for 15m? Might come off but a big risk. Who else moved tgat we would have wanted? I don't see any point in spending over the odds for someone we don't really want - better to actually wait for the summer and make a real effort to get players who can improve the team.
Complain if we have the same squad next September

[Stairs]

Marc Wilson feels his loan chance at Albion will put the spark back into his football following his switch from Bournemouth.

The 29-year-old Republic of Ireland defender is at The Hawthorns for the remainder of the season and determined to seize this fresh opportunity under a man he knows so well – Tony Pulis.

“I’ve had my best times as a footballer under Tony and I’ve got nothing but respect for the man. It’s absolutely no surprise to me seeing Albion doing so well. I’ve been watching them on the TV and they have really impressed me. They are playing some great stuff and look like a team going places. Tony has always got the best out of me and I am genuinely thrilled to get this chance under his charge again.” says Wilson who was first recruited by Albion’s Head Coach during his Stoke City stint.

Knutsford-based Wilson, a 25-times capped player who was disappointed to miss the European Championships alongside Jonny Evans and James McClean through injury, admits personal reasons have influenced his eagerness to return to the Midlands.

Our new No.12 says “I’ve got to admit that I have been in the doldrums for the last 18 months. There have been personal reasons in living so far away from a young family which have not helped me. Coming to Albion suits me perfectly. I believe I can be of use to the Club because I feel one of my strengths is being able to play in a number of positions across the back or in midfield.

“My aim is to do enough over the period of the loan to hopefully convince Albion to make a deal permanent. It feels great to be here and I feel like I’ve got my spark back.”

These are good words and potentially we have someone who is keen to put hard work in and revive his career - I am happy to applaud him and give him the chance - after all there are enough players out there who really just don't give a fig!

[4evaabaggie]

Well said stairs ..... a lot of players just want the big bucks and don't care if they play or not. We often forget that footballers are human too and have families and issues that can effect their work. I have been to work when outside stresses have effected my performance and I wasn't being watched by thousands (hundreds at the custard bowl) of people.

[BaggieSteve]

Baggiesteve, we all share the frustration but this is not like buying a car that they want to sell, you are trying to buy a decent assest that they want to keep, more often than not you won't get the player .... it's difficult.

I'm sure you're right,4eva. I'm just having a disappointed moment

[Salopbaggie]

While probably like everyone I am AGAIN totally left flat by yet another window, but it is what it is and we have get on with it, as will TP and the current squad.

The question I asked is, "are we looking in the right places and for the right players?"

TP seems to only be interested in players with proven Premiership quality and in a way that is understandable, however in the "real world", do the Premiership quality players, who would greatly improve our squad, fit our budget and would be willing to move to Bilston (sorry Bilston) even exist?

Of course we can pick up the occasional Darren Fletcher, but even that type of player is only going to last a year or two, so while they would bridge a gap they are not exactly the foundation for a sustainable, solid squad which you need before starting to create the masterpiece which is going to even get close to challenging the top 6.

Hence my question are we looking in the right places and for the right player?

Is our position really that different to the late 70's? We assembled a title challenging (almost winning) team, which comparatively in today market would not have cost that much when it was assembled.  A more recent comparison would be the signings of Dan Ashworth, when a lot of his signings where accompanied by a chorus from the fans of WHO???

Remember, Mulumbu, Yacob, Olsson, GMac and others,  Ok I had heard of Forster and yes there was the odd player who did not work out or was just useless.
Back then it was a case of "lets get out and look", these days it seems more a case of just two categories of player that are even being looked at,  those getting close to retirement or those that can't even get on the bench at their current club and it appears that we can't even get to much joy from those categories either.

Before people say "We are making offers for good players" yes we are, but if I offer you 60% of the value of something and you know you can get 95 to 100% of your price (unless the offer is from China when you may get 300% of the real value) you are going to tell me where to go.  

Morgan Schneiderlin is a prime example, as if we were even going to come close to getting him for £12 million, even if we had doubled our bid, we would only just be matching the sale price, then we have to convince the player that they would be better off in West Bromwich than Liverpool (towns).

So my conclusion from this is that if we retain the current recruitment method, nothing can change regardless of who is in charge.

Bottom line is, if you can't pay the money then you can't have the goods.

That is not a moan that the club will not spend money, it is a moan that the clubs budget and expectations of the "name" of the player they want, do not match!!

I deliberately use the word "name" because it appears to me that this is what the club is looking at these days, rather than getting out and looking far and wide to find the players who have the ability and the quality, but maybe do not have the name.

Ashworth proved that this model works, indeed it was held up as an example of the way to do things in the modern era and although we may not like it, China is showing that the money is no longer in getting people through the turnstiles. Their entire business model is geared to tv and mass audience, so the size of your ground is getting more and more irrelevant year on year.  

The money these days comes from tv and if your business model does not fit this programme, you will not survive. You will have one of two choices, either you go out and spend the big bucks and bring in the names which demand tv viewer figures or you build a dam good team of unknowns, who can get there on merit and the consequences are extra revenue which means you can then attract the names.  

While a blend of the two is desirable, to my eyes we are concentrating to hard on the names instead of firstly building a solid squad which has a little longevity to it and work from there.

So my number one transfer target and I could justify speeding whatever the asking price is: Dan Ashworth - speciality bringing them in from the left field. (Just a touch tongue in cheek)

In my mind, it is only a matter of time until the world super league is set up, which will of course take the vast majority of the money and tv rights with it and we will either get back to real football or just maybe, be one of those clubs invited to participate in the super league, well let's face it, it would not be very "super" without the Baggies.

---

Well said stairs ..... a lot of players just want the big bucks and don't care if they play or not. We often forget that footballers are human too and have families and issues that can effect their work. I have been to work when outside stresses have effected my performance and I wasn't being watched by thousands (hundreds at the custard bowl) of people.

Yeh 4eva, but the consequences of you ******* up at work, would be far more serious then one of these guys messing up on the pitch...... and don't think you are not being watched by millions, no pressure there then .

[drewks]

While probably like everyone I am AGAIN totally left flat by yet another window, but it is what it is and we have get on with it, as will TP and the current squad.
The question I asked is, "are we looking in the right places and for the right players?"

TP seems to only be interested in players with proven Premiership quality and in a way that is understandable, however in the "real world", do the Premiership quality players, who would greatly improve our squad, fit our budget and would be willing to move to Bilston (sorry Bilston) even exist?

Of course we can pick up the occasional Darren Fletcher, but even that type of player is only going to last a year or two, so while they would bridge a gap they are not exactly the foundation for a sustainable, solid squad which you need before starting to create the masterpiece which is going to even get close to challenging the top 6.  Hence my question are we looking in the right places and for the right player?

Is our position really that different to the late 70's when we assembled a title challenging (almost winning) team, which comparatively in today market would not have cost that much, when it was assembled.  A more recent comparison would be the signings of Dan Ashworth, when a lot of his signings where accompanied by a chorus from the fans of WHO???

Remember, Mulumbu, Yacob, Olsson, GMac and others,  Ok I had heard of Forster and yes there was the odd player who did not work out or was just useless.
Back then it was a case of "lets get out and look", these days it seems more a case of just two categories of player that are even being looked at,  those getting close to retirement or those that can't even get on the bench at their current club and it appears that we can't even get to much joy from those categories either.

Before people say "We are making offers for good players" yes we are, but it I offer you 60% of the value of something and you know you can get 95 to 100% of your price (unless the offer is from China when you may get 300% of the real value) you are going to tell me where to go.  

Morgan Schneiderlin is a prime example, as if we were even going to come close to getting him for £12 million, even if we had doubled our bid, we would only just be matching the sale price, then we have to convince the player that they would be better off in West Bromwich than Liverpool (towns).

So my conclusion from this is that if we retain the current recruitment method, nothing can change regardless of who is in charge.

Bottom line is, if you can't pay the money then you can't have the goods.

That is not a moan that the club will not spend money, it is a moan that the clubs budget and expectations of the "name" of the player they want, do not match!!

I deliberately use the word "name" because it appears to me that this is what the club is looking at these days, rather than getting out and looking far and wide to find the players who have the ability and the quality, but maybe do not have the name.

Ashworth proved that this model works, indeed it was held up as an example of the way to do things in the modern era and although we may not like it China is showing that, the money is no longer in getting people through the turnstiles as their entire business model is geared to tv and mass audience, so the size of your ground is getting more and more irrelevant year on year.  

The money these days comes from tv and if your business model does not fit this programme, you will not survive, as you have one of two choices, either you go out and spend the big bucks and bring in the names which demand tv viewer figures or you build a dam good team of unknowns, who can get there on merit and the consequences are extra revenue which means you can then attract the names.  

While a blend of the two is desirable, to my eyes we are concentrating to hard on the names instead of firstly building a solid squad which has a little longevity to it and work from there.
So my number one transfer target and I could justify speeding whatever the asking price is: Dan Ashworth - speciality bringing them in from the left field.

In my mind, it is only a matter of time until the world super league is set up, which will of course take the vast majority of the money and tv rights with it and we will either get back to real football or just maybe, be one of those clubs invited to participate in the super league, well let's face it, it would not be very "super" without the Baggies.

---

Well said stairs ..... a lot of players just want the big bucks and don't care if they play or not. We often forget that footballers are human too and have families and issues that can effect their work. I have been to work when outside stresses have effected my performance and I wasn't being watched by thousands (hundreds at the custard bowl) of people.

Yeh 4eva, but the consequences of you ******* at work, would be far more serious then one of these guys messing up on the pitch...... and don't think you are not being watched by millions, no pressure there then .

Interesting post Salop, and the main point about the TYPE of scouting we were doing under DA as compared to now, can't be ignored. I said in a post during this last window that the best purchase for us for, say, £10m, would be DA; how can you put a price on that sort of ability? Priceless!!

Leicester proved last year that there are other ways than just spending large bucks to build a successful team. We DO seem to have gone backwards in the way that we're not now turning out good exciting Premiership footballers from 'rough diamonds', so to speak. I'd rather we spend good money on getting the scouting and recruitment processes right than on big ego (sorry, NAME) players who may have little to prove and even less loyalty & motivation. Maybe that's where the money IS going to be spent!!
As you say, a mix of proven professionals and 'unknowns' would be ideal.

[4evaabaggie]

Salop, your right, due to the job I was doing if I messed up it would have been international news, fortunately I am now retired and that kind of pressure is off ...... but the pressure of missing a goal ....... wow I can only imagine.

[Dingle-Dingle]

Oh Dear.......

West Brom boss Tony Pulis insists that top scorer Salomon Rondon, 27, has been unsettled by personal problems rather than a big-money bid from China. (Daily Mirror)

DD

[Worldclassalbion]

Oh Dear.......

West Brom boss Tony Pulis insists that top scorer Salomon Rondon, 27, has been unsettled by personal problems rather than a big-money bid from China. (Daily Mirror)

DD    

Oh no!! This will alert that Massive club Sjoke City. Champions league candidates, just ask Fatman Saddo

[Beefy 1965]

Before people say "We are making offers for good players" yes we are, but it I offer you 60% of the value of something and you know you can get 95 to 100%

I see where you are coming from ,
But we offered £8 Million for Fonte which was accepted and we offered more wages than West Ham 65K a week,
So by that logic we should have 100% got him ?

I say i know where you're coming from but just pointing out sometimes we meet the asking price and still get Gazumped by simply the bright lights of London,

I beginning to dislike WestHam so much
They even waited till a bid for Snodgrass was accepted from Burnley,
Then you know what happened next ?

---

Bloody hell dogged a £20 Million bullet here !!!!!!!

"Bournemouth striker Callum Wilson has been ruled out for the remainder of the season with cruciate ligament damage. He had been subject to transfer rumours in January, with West Brom said to be tracking him. "