*Official* English Football Season 2007-08

[roseboy64]

Wes Brown wants 50 grand a week from Manure, ffs

He's effectively their second choice Right-back, he's played a lot of games this season, but thats only because that **** Nevilles been injured.

Mercenaries not limited to the foreign contingent, apparently, in the obscenely rich Premiership

How does that make him a mercenary? Isn't that usually used for players who just joined the club? Been at Man Utd his whole career. Looking at it, that's 2.6 mil a year. Only a little over what I'd pay him.

 

[cpr]

Only been here for so long because last time he tried the 'I want more money or i'm off' we were short of defenders so caved in. He's a back up player who's got a history of holding the club to ransom. Be happy to see him go tbh. Simpson may be a total pillock, but he's a promising footballer

 

[The Sean]

How does that make him a mercenary? Isn't that usually used for players who just joined the club? Been at Man Utd his whole career. Looking at it, that's 2.6 mil a year. Only a little over what I'd pay him.

Well to be fair he's being offered £40k per week - just over £2m per year. I'm not trying to slag him but I reckon that's his worth at best, and he has delusions of his own ability and importance if he thinks he should be on much more than that.

 

[Matteh]

But he's an England player and everything now!

Naah, the guy's always been fairly average, in relative terms, at Man Utd.

 

[sledger]

I tell you what is, in your words, ignorant: Not knowing that United don't make any money from shirt sales. Nike own the global rights and profit from United shirt sales. It doesnt matter how many United shirts are sold in Asia, United don't see any profit from it. If your next argument is that Park and Dong (how did this get onto Dong btw?) was Nikes brainchild and they financed it and told Alex to buy these players so they could make money then why would we go along with that? and then think how many shirt they would need to sell to recover £8 million in transfer fees, £1 million extra in agent fees and, in the case of Dong, 3 years wages while he was in Belgium. The answer will be about 2 million shirts just to break even in the Asian market flooded with knock-offs where 90% of all replica shirt sales are fake. Thats more knock-offs than Dell-Boy Trotters 3 wheeled van can carry in month of Sundays.

Unfortunately that is frankly incorrect. Regardless of the amount of shirts sold the signature of Dong always was going to make lots of money for Man Utd completely irrespective of this. For example, Dong signing for Man Utd increases amount of merchandise sold (which would obviously include replica shirts, but also endless, scarfs, mugs, posters, etc... etc....), more hits from china to the UTD website, which would thus also increase merchandise sales, the increase in the fan base would mean more Utd fans in asia....and increased fan base = more income through merchandise/tickets/membership. To suggest Park Ji Sung was signed purely because through the desire to make more money is perhaps also innacurate, it is obvious that he is a very useable player, the fact that he is from asia I imagine was a big factor, but not the only one, the same cannot be said of Dong Fangzhuo. Whether Man Utd are making profit through the shirt sales is debateable, whether they are making money through other means as a result of him being on the roster is not questionable in the slightest.

 

[sledger]

Well to be fair he's being offered £40k per week - just over £2m per year. I'm not trying to slag him but I reckon that's his worth at best, and he has delusions of his own ability and importance if he thinks he should be on much more than that.

would have thought he made enough appearing in the tango adverts tbh.

 

[sledger]

So, yes, I believe he was signed for football reasons but of course the chance to lift United's profile in China would have been a bonus

That statement is the complete opposite of the truth i'm afraid.

That is insulting.

tbh that doesnt really matter, its the truth.

 

[Loony BoB]

Even if United didn't get a direct penny out of shirt sales, anyone with half a business brain will know that you don't get paid millions upon millions for shirt rights when the shirts don't sell. If Dong sells shirts, the number of shirts sold as a whole increases, and thus the value of the shirt rights as well as the value of the sponsorship rights skyrockets. This means more money in the long run.

I don't know where the hell you got the £8million transfer fee from, let alone the others. Looking at Wikipedia, the transfer fee is £500,000 with the possibility of reaching £3,500,000 based on appearances. Has he appeared in many competitive matches in the years since? No, no he has not.

 

[The Sean]

It's the United curse - any transfer fee we pay that has an initial fee with add-ons defined by appearances and success is always publicised by the media as the maximum possible fee, which the public then latches onto. Or if we have an undisclosed fee with various estimates, the media always logs it as the highest one. It makes us look like bigger spenders in the transfer market, see?

The London media rarely does the same thing to Arsenal though, funnily enough.

 

[sledger]

It's the United curse - any transfer fee we pay that has an initial fee with add-ons defined by appearances and success is always publicised by the media as the maximum possible fee, which the public then latches onto. Or if we have an undisclosed fee with various estimates, the media always logs it as the highest one. It makes us look like bigger spenders in the transfer market, see?

The London media rarely does the same thing to Arsenal though, funnily enough.

With the recent pubication of record breaking profits that may well be set to change. But then again in fairness, Arsenals transfer fees are usually made public, and they are usually a great deal less on a whole than any other of the big clubs.

 

[The Sean]

With the recent pubication of record breaking profits that may well be set to change. But then again in fairness, Arsenals transfer fees are usually made public, and they are usually a great deal less on a whole than any other of the big clubs.

No argument there mate, the Gooners do spend less - what I was getting at was the fact that the media seems to make the gap seem even bigger by selective use of transfer numbers. Reyes for example cost 10.5 million up front, potentially rising to a maximum of 17.5 million, but it was the lower fee that was invariably used when talking about Arsenal's spending. Carrick, on the other hand, cost 14 million, potentially rising to a maximum of 18.6 million, yet it is the latter fee that we always read. Rooney is even more extreme - he cost 20 mil, potentially rising to 27 mil - it's amazing though how often he's referred to as a "30 million pound signing" despite the fact that he'll NEVER cost us that much.

 

[sledger]

hmm yeah see what you mean actually, i do remember back at school people coming up to me and saying "reyes was a £17.5m flop! ahahah!", I guess its just the way people phrase things when they want to cast something in a negative light. And liking Man Utd isnt really fashionable unless you are a supporter I suppose...silly really.

 

[roseboy64]

Even if United didn't get a direct penny out of shirt sales, anyone with half a business brain will know that you don't get paid millions upon millions for shirt rights when the shirts don't sell. If Dong sells shirts, the number of shirts sold as a whole increases, and thus the value of the shirt rights as well as the value of the sponsorship rights skyrockets. This means more money in the long run.

I don't know where the hell you got the £8million transfer fee from, let alone the others. Looking at Wikipedia, the transfer fee is £500,000 with the possibility of reaching £3,500,000 based on appearances. Has he appeared in many competitive matches in the years since? No, no he has not.

Think the £8million was about both Dong and Park. Not arguing your first point either just that if Man Utd was to buy a player purely for commercial reasons wouldn't it make sense to get a bigger name? Wasn't a big name at all when he was signed and certainly him having to spend 3 years in Belgium lessened his impact?

 

[roseboy64]

Unfortunately that is frankly incorrect. Regardless of the amount of shirts sold the signature of Dong always was going to make lots of money for Man Utd completely irrespective of this. For example, Dong signing for Man Utd increases amount of merchandise sold (which would obviously include replica shirts, but also endless, scarfs, mugs, posters, etc... etc....), more hits from china to the UTD website, which would thus also increase merchandise sales, the increase in the fan base would mean more Utd fans in asia....and increased fan base = more income through merchandise/tickets/membership. To suggest Park Ji Sung was signed purely because through the desire to make more money is perhaps also innacurate, it is obvious that he is a very useable player, the fact that he is from asia I imagine was a big factor, but not the only one, the same cannot be said of Dong Fangzhuo. Whether Man Utd are making profit through the shirt sales is debateable, whether they are making money through other means as a result of him being on the roster is not questionable in the slightest.

Wouldn't question it. Just most people use the shirt argument.

That statement is the complete opposite of the truth i'm afraid.

tbh that doesnt really matter, its the truth.

Both statements there are wrong IMO. More the first one though as I don't think it's insulting. Pretty sure financial impact facotred into his signing but given he was a very promising player was 60% of the reason with finance the other 40%.Signing a very very cheap player who was Chinese and had no chance to become remotely good would make better sense then if it was just to have an Asian player. Signing a top Chinses player who's well known would sell more merchandise. Fangzhou wasn't too big a name when he was signed AFAIK. Also didn't play in a competitive match for Utd for a few years after that.

 

[Tom Halsey]

Look, Dong was bought for shirt sales, end of story, the facts show that. As sledger said, Park wasn't bought entirely for his shirt sales (though it was still a big reason) but Dong just was.

As for Brown, he can **** off, he is as Mitchell said average by United standards, not bad but not first choice, and £50,000 is an obscene amount of money for a player of his quality.

 

[Loony BoB]

Wasn't a big name at all when he was signed

Go to China, you'll get the point.

 

[Matteh]

Wouldn't question it. Just most people use the shirt argument.

Both statements there are wrong IMO. More the first one though as I don't think it's insulting. Pretty sure financial impact facotred into his signing but given he was a very promising player was 60% of the reason with finance the other 40%.Signing a very very cheap player who was Chinese and had no chance to become remotely good would make better sense then if it was just to have an Asian player. Signing a top Chinses player who's well known would sell more merchandise. Fangzhou wasn't too big a name when he was signed AFAIK. Also didn't play in a competitive match for Utd for a few years after that.

Thing is, would a bigger Chinese name be happy to basically cash in his cheques from Man Utd and then go rot in Belguim? Fan Zhiyi was good enough to actually play in the Premiership but he'd certainly not be good enough to play for Man Utd.
Makes more sense to pick an up and coming player who's getting a few caps, so you can let him rot and say that you're developing him and say he has potential instead of just leaving out some player who people would accuse that they simply weren't good enough to be signed in the first place.

 

[Tom Halsey]

There is a ertain amount of truth to the idea that United spend more than anyone else, but it is part myth too. Up until 1998, I believe we only topped the spending once (annually) IIRC, though obviously more recently SAF (who is not the manager he was IMO, tactically as well) has been more willing to splash the cash. The two most important signings that Ferguson has made (IMO) were both bargains - Schmeichel at £500,000 and Cantona at just over a million.

 

[bugssy]

birmingham down to ten men after 2 mins play, eduardo in all sorts!

 

[BoyBrumby]

That's a bad one, poor lad. Potentially career-ending.

Hope Taylor gets a long, long ban.