05-12-2014, 18:58
Unfortunately I don't think we are anywhere near to the point of being able to turn down any transfer fee that is 2m plus!!! The effect that amount of money can have on our squad is too good a chance to turn down. None of our players are irreplaceable but if we unearth a player from virtually nowhere like Westwood has been, then we should cash in on him while we can.
Fans will accept losing the best players, as long as we get a decent amount for them and the money is put back into the squad, but we have a history of simply letting contracts expire and getting nothing for players we could have commanded a fee for earlier. Teams like Southampton financed their rise up the leagues by selling their best players and then reinvesting in the youth team and senior squad. I am not saying we have a Gareth Bale or Walcott in our squad but we get too attached to good players and keep them past their selling point. Soton sold Walcott after only 21 appearances for them, Bale only made 45 and Oxlade-Chamberlain made 43.
We have to be more ruthless, Westwood is not going to get us to the Prem on his own and Kirkland, while clearly not as good, is still not a bad replacement. But if selling him means we can finance a couple of decent midfielders and a striker, assuming they are upgrades to what we currently have, then I say take the money and lets move on!! We do not have the finances to challenge consistently in this league, we have to sell our better players to achieve this. Of course having a good manager and scouting system is also key but one thing at a time!!!
Fans will accept losing the best players, as long as we get a decent amount for them and the money is put back into the squad, but we have a history of simply letting contracts expire and getting nothing for players we could have commanded a fee for earlier. Teams like Southampton financed their rise up the leagues by selling their best players and then reinvesting in the youth team and senior squad. I am not saying we have a Gareth Bale or Walcott in our squad but we get too attached to good players and keep them past their selling point. Soton sold Walcott after only 21 appearances for them, Bale only made 45 and Oxlade-Chamberlain made 43.
We have to be more ruthless, Westwood is not going to get us to the Prem on his own and Kirkland, while clearly not as good, is still not a bad replacement. But if selling him means we can finance a couple of decent midfielders and a striker, assuming they are upgrades to what we currently have, then I say take the money and lets move on!! We do not have the finances to challenge consistently in this league, we have to sell our better players to achieve this. Of course having a good manager and scouting system is also key but one thing at a time!!!