Ashley Barnes, The Latest: Ashley Barnes Signs for Burnley *Confirmation*

[Simster]

As for our 'ramshackled' ground, do football fans these days really bother about what material their seat is going to be? Or if there's a toilet attendant dishing out free sprays of aftershave?

Welcome to our forum. I think Barnes is a great signing for you, and I don't think most people begrudge him moving to Burnley if you are paying significantly more than we were offering.

However, I'll take issue with this - people clearly DO bother about decent facilities in this day age, and rightly so given the price of tickets. If you're paying £25-40 for a Championship match, you don't expect crumbling terraces, rickety wooden seats and shite toilet facilities. The proof is not so much our attendances as our season ticket holder count. We have 23,000 of them. They simply wouldn't commit to big sums of money in that number if we played at an old school ground that had seen better days.

Broadly speaking, I'd say our gates have been comparable to yours down the years ever since I started watching the club regularly in the early 80s - dipping to 4-5,000 when in the doldrums (you in the mid 80s, us in the late 90s) with gates around 9-10,000 during a routine league one season. But since the Amex got built, well it's chalk and cheese now isn't it?

 

[keaton]

I don't have a problem with Ashley Barnes being sold.It's better to have players you can sell than players you can't.

What I don't understand is how a club that has only 2 fit strikers & 1 of them has only played a handful of games since August comes to the decision to sell 1 of them.the 1 that has lead the line for the last 3 months on his own,the 1 the team has relied on for the last 3 months.[/QUOTE

Because if they didn't sell him now he would have left for nothing in 6 months. Simple really.

It's not that simple is though is it. We swapped £400k-£750k for our only fit striker who'd done the job for us for three months. It's a gamble, I (and others) don't agree a worthwhile one.
He could of course chosen to sign a contract with us before the end of the season or re-sign for us depending on us offering more money/longer contract/making him feel more valued

 

[Billy the Fish]

Some of the comments on this thread (mainly Bwian's) are typical comments of shiny new stadium supporters, trying to pick holes in another club who has signed one of their players.

I think the Burnley fans just need to ignore those type of comments because it's not the view of the majority on here. Burnley is a proper football town with a proper history and i think the majority realise that.
I doubt most footballers give a shit about a shiny new stadium at this level, they just want to get paid what they think they're worth and feel wanted. Length of contract is a massive issue as well for players outside the prem because it keeps them going should they get a long term or career ending injury.

Personally I think we should've just paid him what he wanted as I doubt he was requesting anything outrageous.

 

[El Presidente]

Welcome to our forum. I think Barnes is a great signing for you, and I don't think most people begrudge him moving to Burnley if you are paying significantly more than we were offering.

However, I'll take issue with this - people clearly DO bother about decent facilities in this day age, and rightly so given the price of tickets. If you're paying £25-40 for a Championship match, you don't expect crumbling terraces, rickety wooden seats and shite toilet facilities. The proof is not so much our attendances as our season ticket holder count. We have 23,000 of them. They simply wouldn't commit to big sums of money in that number if we played at an old school ground that had seen better days.

Broadly speaking, I'd say our gates have been comparable to yours down the years ever since I started watching the club regularly in the early 80s - dipping to 4-5,000 when in the doldrums (you in the mid 80s, us in the late 90s) with gates around 9-10,000 during a routine league one season. But since the Amex got built, well it's chalk and cheese now isn't it?

Agree with you, although some old school fans (such as myself and Pretty Pink Fairy) aren't arsed about facilities so long as there is somewhere to stand (ideally) or sit, we are probably in a minority.

I still don't think any of us know what the Albion hardcore support is. Attendances have exceeded expectations, and credit for this has to go to TB for the Amex (it still makes my heart beat faster every time I see it), and the progressive pricing structure for STH's.

If we finish 12th-16th for a couple of seasons then expect a significant fall off in renewals. How much is anyone's guess though.

 

[Simster]

Agree with you, although some old school fans (such as myself and Pretty Pink Fairy) aren't arsed about facilities so long as there is somewhere to stand (ideally) or sit, we are probably in a minority.

I still don't think any of us know what the Albion hardcore support is. Attendances have exceeded expectations, and credit for this has to go to TB for the Amex (it still makes my heart beat faster every time I see it), and the progressive pricing structure for STH's.

If we finish 12th-16th for a couple of seasons then expect a significant fall off in renewals. How much is anyone's guess though.

Clearly, I don't care that much either. Well actually I do when I've got fidgety kids with me with less of an interest in the game, but when I'm with mates I don't care. Perhaps the kids are more important, as they are the next generation of fans? And when all is said and done, I do LOVE the Amex and what it offers.

Obviously poor performance will be reflected at the gate, but I think people will be surprised at how little the fall off will end up being. If prices are deemed reasonable and people don't feel they are being fleeced, I think lots will keep coming back. I expected a drop off after the first season, but instead season ticket numbers have continued to climb.

 

[Iggle Piggle]

I've been there too, had no problems. For the match later this month I'll be in the Burnley end with one of their STH, and we will have some banter and a pie or two.

There's idiots at all clubs, we have our share too, and there are places in Brighton I wouldn't want to live or drink.

It's an experience thing this one. I've been to over 50 away grounds and I put Burnley in the bottom 6 of 'Places I am not going back to' I'm in Manchester on the 28th but have no intention of going to the game - I cant' stand the place. For the record, the other 5 are Colchester (the old ground), Port Vale, Luton, Selhurst (staring at a Police horses arse for an hour after we've been beat isn't an experience I wan't to revisit) and Stoke (That away stand is the coldest in the country, I'm convinced)

As someone who lives in the Midlands, I just get a bit fed up with people who say how friendly the North is. I can't say its any better or worse than the South (London excepted which is awful) but there is this myth that everyone still leaves thier doors open and would lend you thier last fiver. Like everywhere, it has it share of good and bad and the orginal post that 'Northerners don't throw anything away' irked me given our history with Archer. Also, Barnes will be on more than 5K a week. I have no facts but Zamora according to Knights book was on 2K a week in League 2 and how long ago was that?

Lastly, I wouldn't disagree that we have our share of idiots - You only have to look at this board for 24 hrs to realise that. Similarly, I grew up in Hollingdean next to a block of flats which had Rick Astley blaring out at full volume 24 hrs a day. Can't say I miss it.

 

[LamieRobertson]

interesting debate over the last few pages

 

[seagullsovergrimsby]

It's not that simple is though is it. We swapped £400k-£750k for our only fit striker who'd done the job for us for three months. It's a gamble, I (and others) don't agree a worthwhile one.
He could of course chosen to sign a contract with us before the end of the season or re-sign for us depending on us offering more money/longer contract/making him feel more valued

Barnesy has chosen what is best for him and his family. I'm glad that Tony Bloom recently installed the "cash in now" app on his phone instead of letting Ash walk away for nothing at the end of June. Imagine the uproar at the end of the season if we miss out on promotion because the budget didn't allow us to bring Conway back on loan and the cash upfront received from Burnley would have covered part of it.

 

[Machiavelli]

http://www.theargus.co.uk/sport/albion/10937315.Barnes__I_didn_t_feel_wanted_so_it_was_best_to_go/

Well done to the Argoose (Naylor?) for getting this.
Two things stood out for me in this:
1. Barnes states that "I've put them [B&HA] where they are today really." Really? This suggests either an inflated ego, or an inability to use words properly.
2. he's utterly inconsistent in this interview about why he left. He indicates that the club offered him a contract in the summer but didn't improve on it subsequently, yet he repeats on a number of occasions that he didn't leave because of money.

 

[British Bulldog]

I found the interview very confusing, It wasn't about money but he felt the contract offer under-valued his contribution and worth to the club?

 

[227 BHA]

http://www.theargus.co.uk/sport/albion/10937315.Barnes__I_didn_t_feel_wanted_so_it_was_best_to_go/

Well done to the Argoose (Naylor?) for getting this.
Two things stood out for me in this:
1. Barnes states that "I've put them [B&HA] where they are today really." Really? This suggests either an inflated ego, or an inability to use words properly.
2. he's utterly inconsistent in this interview about why he left. He indicates that the club offered him a contract in the summer but didn't improve on it subsequently, yet he repeats on a number of occasions that he didn't leave because of money.

I just read that and thought the same!

“But I’ll go away with every happy memory of what I have done for that club. I’ve put them where they are today really"

Really? Thanks for that Ash! I thought Tony Bloom, Gus, Oscar and all the other players had something to do with it?

But I stand corrected!

 

[leigull]

http://www.theargus.co.uk/sport/albion/10937315.Barnes__I_didn_t_feel_wanted_so_it_was_best_to_go/

Well done to the Argoose (Naylor?) for getting this.
Two things stood out for me in this:
1. Barnes states that "I've put them [B&HA] where they are today really." Really? This suggests either an inflated ego, or an inability to use words properly.
2. he's utterly inconsistent in this interview about why he left. He indicates that the club offered him a contract in the summer but didn't improve on it subsequently, yet he repeats on a number of occasions that he didn't leave because of money.

Really hope that's been paraphrased/misquoted, as I really couldn't imagine him saying that exact sentence.

I found the interview very confusing, It wasn't about money but he felt the contract offer under-valued his contribution and worth to the club?

Think it's over length of contract rather than value. Same as Murray

 

[Bold Seagull]

I found the interview very confusing, It wasn't about money but he felt the contract offer under-valued his contribution and worth to the club?

I suspect for football players it's less about the actual amount than how you compare to your team mates. If you know that the rest of the team is on more than you, then I think it's fair to feel undervalued. You could therefore say that this isn't about money, but status within the squad. He might have signed for the exact amount we offered if the rest of his peers were on pretty much the same - therefore in his mind it isn't about money, it's about how his contract compares within that team. I can understand where he might be coming from (my take on it of course....).

 

[brightonrock]

I found the interview very confusing, It wasn't about money but he felt the contract offer under-valued his contribution and worth to the club?

Maybe he means the length of the deal? I.e. if we only offered him 1 or 2 years and he wanted 3 or 4? He could be saying he felt his contribution warranted a longer deal. Plus the wages there will definitely be higher than here, whatever he says. They have parachute payments and he was still on the same contract with us that he signed in league 1. Unless he had a treble your wage after promotion clause, its safe to assume his pay was modest compared to the rest of our squad.

 

[El Presidente]

It's an experience thing this one. I've been to over 50 away grounds and I put Burnley in the bottom 6 of 'Places I am not going back to' I'm in Manchester on the 28th but have no intention of going to the game - I cant' stand the place. For the record, the other 5 are Colchester (the old ground), Port Vale, Luton, Selhurst (staring at a Police horses arse for an hour after we've been beat isn't an experience I wan't to revisit) and Stoke (That away stand is the coldest in the country, I'm convinced)

As someone who lives in the Midlands, I just get a bit fed up with people who say how friendly the North is. I can't say its any better or worse than the South (London excepted which is awful) but there is this myth that everyone still leaves thier doors open and would lend you thier last fiver. Like everywhere, it has it share of good and bad and the orginal post that 'Northerners don't throw anything away' irked me given our history with Archer. Also, Barnes will be on more than 5K a week. I have no facts but Zamora according to Knights book was on 2K a week in League 2 and how long ago was that?

Lastly, I wouldn't disagree that we have our share of idiots - You only have to look at this board for 24 hrs to realise that. Similarly, I grew up in Hollingdean next to a block of flats which had Rick Astley blaring out at full volume 24 hrs a day. Can't say I miss it.

Fair enough, agree with you about Selhurst, Luton and Port Vale. Would add Goodison to that list, purely because of tooled up Scousers the last time we played there, and Lincoln.

 

[Machiavelli]

Maybe he means the length of the deal? I.e. if we only offered him 1 or 2 years and he wanted 3 or 4? He could be saying he felt his contribution warranted a longer deal. Plus the wages there will definitely be higher than here, whatever he says. They have parachute payments and he was still on the same contract with us that he signed in league 1. Unless he had a treble your wage after promotion clause, its safe to assume his pay was modest compared to the rest of our squad.

I'm not entirely convinced by the length of the deal argument because, ultimately, this is also about money. He's 24, if he were 34 then the length of the deal might become decisive between two suitors. As he's 24, if we offered him two years, he can think, I'll still be in my prime by the time the contract ends. There might be more in the status/comparison with the rest of the squad argument, but this raises the question of to what extent players divulge details of their contracts (which will be extremely complex in all likelihood) to team-mates.

 

[Kalimantan Gull]

Interesting article. The player wanted to stay long-term, the manager and his assistant wanted him to stay long-term - under those circumstances he should have stayed, but the board only made one contract offer at the start o fthe season and weren't interested in negotiating further?

 

[marshy68]

It's not that simple is though is it. We swapped £400k-£750k for our only fit striker who'd done the job for us for three months. It's a gamble, I (and others) don't agree a worthwhile one.
He could of course chosen to sign a contract with us before the end of the season or re-sign for us depending on us offering more money/longer contract/making him feel more valued

I dont agree - it seems that Barnes wasnt going to sign the contract on the table to stay with us - therefore we would have lost him in the summer for nothing - the murray example has been trotted out. I think it is sensible to have cashed in for an asset rather than get nothing in 6 months. I would hope that with the cash from barnes and probably Bridcutt, plus any transfer kitty, we will bring in Conway, Mason/Grabban and cover for Crofts. If all of that comes off we will have had a good transfer window.

weird i seem to have quoted and contradicted my own post... which the original quote wasnt - so confusing!

 

[severnside gull]

Think he had made his mind up pre season that our offer (I would guess it was two years) wasnt enough and that he would sit it out and wait for his current deal to run down. The club must have been aware that he was thinking of refreshing his career with a longer term deal as his priority just as he would know we wouldnt deal during the season.

No animosity. He gets what he wants and we cash in on an asset.

 

[Machiavelli]

Interesting article. The player wanted to stay long-term, the manager and his assistant wanted him to stay long-term - under those circumstances he should have stayed, but the board only made one contract offer at the start o fthe season and weren't interested in negotiating further?

It does make you wonder how much Oscar and Nathan really did want him, doesn't it?