[Albion] Paul Barber: The Transfer Window

[Birdie Boy]

Very Strange analogy. By that example you could argue that at the 11th hour they realised they werent going to get a striker so chose a goalie instead. Which is what they did..

Not really, the goalie was a totally separate issue and part of the project. They said right from the start of the window they want three goalies, they got them.

Give me an analogy from a normal day to day job where you can be given a deadline, the deadline is final and you can be turned over at the last minute. What happens to that project, does it get left 6 months and you start again?All projects have a deadline but you always allow for slippage, you cannot do this in football due to the deadline cannot been moved (significantly). You could always make your own deadline of 16th August, giving 15 days slippage but as already explained you cannot always make deals early as the selling club is holding out for more offers.
Can a roofer put a roof on early cause he wants to? No, he needs the walls and rafters put in first.

Edit: they got the goalie early in the day not in the 11th hour.

 

[clapham_gull]

I do find these analogies with "normal work" quite hilarious. HOW MORE MIDDLE CLASS CAN OUR FANS BE.

I'm fully expecting some gap analysis next.

Two fisherman go out to sea with the instruction of catching two fish each. One fails but the other comes back with three,

The "project manager" berates the fishless fisherman for lack of planning, misunderstanding the dependencies and failing produce his "deliverables".

He turns to the other and asks "so what can he learn from you" ?

He replies - "**** those fishing boats and nets, I went down to Tesco, ,slapped £100 million down at the till and they threw one in for free".

 

[Bry Nylon]

Give me an analogy from a normal day to day job where you can be given a deadline, the deadline is final and you can be turned over at the last minute. What happens to that project, does it get left 6 months and you start again?All projects have a deadline but you always allow for slippage, you cannot do this in football due to the deadline cannot been moved (significantly). You could always make your own deadline of 16th August, giving 15 days slippage but as already explained you cannot always make deals early as the selling club is holding out for more offers.
Can a roofer put a roof on early cause he wants to? No, he needs the walls and rafters put in first.

I don't believe any parallels can be made between the Transfer Window system and conventional business projects.

For me, it is far more like a cross between high-stakes poker and a beauty contest.

Whilst our owner is one of the shrewdest poker players in the business, unfortunately there are plenty more attractive clubs in the PL for prospective players in demand.

 

[Birdie Boy]

I don't believe any parallels can be made between the Transfer Window system and conventional business projects.

For me, it is far more like a cross between high-stakes poker and a beauty contest.

Whilst our owner is one of the shrewdest poker players in the business, unfortunately there are plenty more attractive clubs in the PL for prospective players in demand.

That's my point, there is no similar job. I think it may have gone something like this though..

Farmer(trainer): Mr butcher, I have some prime beef that I think you could make some good money out of before you slam the door shut and go on holiday in 31 days.
Mr butcher(manager):great idea, I will put it in my window to be hung out to dry.
20 days later, Mr Bloom and Barber (restauranter/accountant) notice the prime beef in the window and offer €5m/kg. Mr butcher thinks about this and realised if he let's it age another 11 days, he could get more money, so tells the owner/accountant that it is not for sale.
11 days later at 23:55pm, the restauranter/accountant offer €10m/kg which the butcher is delighted with. Whilst the restauranter/accountant inspect the marbling for any defects, the shop phone rings.
Mr butcher: hi, Mr Jordan, yes I have some prime rib for sale but it is €15m/kg. You will have it, great.
Mr butcher tells the restauranter/accountant about this new development.
Mr barber: I know you are about to slam the door shut but could we talk about this, it shouldn't take more than 2 hours?
Mr butcher agrees and after an hour of negotiations, they agree on a €25m/kg price. The phone rings again, this time it is Mr farmer, boss, we have an issue with one of our cows, it had a heart defect and we need to put it down. Due to the stress from the heart, the meat is worthless. Mr butcher thinks about this and decided to pull the sale knowing that if his cow gets better in the next 122 days, his prime beef would have dry aged perfectly and should be worth a lot more money, covering any loss from the defect cow.
By this time Mr bloom and Mr barber are starving hungry and know that there is only 1 hour left before all doors on the abattoirs slam shut.
Mr barber: I know of this top top place in north London that has so much prime beef they don't know what to do with it.
Mr bloom: get on the phone now and go up to €28m/kg.
Mr barber agrees a €28m/kg price with Mr Levy.
Me Levy: Mr barber, where do I send this prime beef that I don't want anymore?
Mr barber: down to little old Brighton please.
Mr levy: sorry no can do, there are no decent restaurants in Brighton, they are all in London, Manchester and Madrid. You're not the only tinpot restaurant to try this on, I had one in a little town near Birmingham and another in stoke. I had to tell them both they weren't up to standard. My prime beef can stay here and grace for another 3 years and have a very nice life. The doors of all abattoirs are now firmly shut.
Next day.
Mr Winstanley: I have found some prime beef in Sweden that had only been hung out to dry for 19 days, we should be able to get him cheap and he would fit in nicely with the other under 23 day aged prime beefs. The only problem is that we cannot have it for another 121 days when the abattoirs doors creak open.
Mr barber: get on to it Paul. In the meantime, I will draft an email to North Steak Chathouse, letting our customers know that there will be an exciting addition to our menu (squad) in the new year. This should appease them nicely. Mr bloom, could you proof read my email before I send it, as I don't want any spelling mistakes which will not look professional?
Mr bloom: no problem, in fact, I have been thinking of hiring a communications expert and some of our customers could be ideal. [MENTION=33374]Audax[/MENTION] is probably too busy with other social media work, [MENTION=1416]Ernest[/MENTION] would probably write the menu in capitals with lots of spelling mistakes but [MENTION=21064]easy[/MENTION]10 could probably do the job. I will arrange a meet down the pub for you to chat with the customers and see if any fancy the job.
Mr barber: great, thanks boss. Well done everyone, a good job all round.

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

That's my point, there is no similar job. I think it may have gone something like this though..

Farmer(trainer): Mr butcher, I have some prime beef that I think you could make some good money out of before you slam the door shut and go on holiday in 31 days.
Mr butcher(manager):great idea, I will put it in my window to be hung out to dry.
20 days later, Mr Bloom and Barber (restauranter/accountant) notice the prime beef in the window and offer €5m/kg. Mr butcher thinks about this and realised if he let's it age another 11 days, he could get more money, so tells the owner/accountant that it is not for sale.
11 days later at 23:55pm, the restauranter/accountant offer €10m/kg which the butcher is delighted with. Whilst the restauranter/accountant inspect the marbling for any defects, the shop phone rings.
Mr butcher: hi, Mr Jordan, yes I have some prime rib for sale but it is €15m/kg. You will have it, great.
Mr butcher tells the restauranter/accountant about this new development.
Mr barber: I know you are about to slam the door shut but could we talk about this, it shouldn't take more than 2 hours?
Mr butcher agrees and after an hour of negotiations, they agree on a €25m/kg price. The phone rings again, this time it is Mr farmer, boss, we have an issue with one of our cows, it had a heart defect and we need to put it down. Due to the stress from the heart, the meat is worthless. Mr butcher thinks about this and decided to pull the sale knowing that if his cow gets better in the next 122 days, his prime beef would have dry aged perfectly and should be worth a lot more money, covering any loss from the defect cow.
By this time Mr bloom and Mr barber are starving hungry and know that there is only 1 hour left before all doors on the abattoirs slam shut.
Mr barber: I know of this top top place in north London that has so much prime beef they don't know what to do with it.
Mr bloom: get on the phone now and go up to €28m/kg.
Mr barber agrees a €28m/kg price with Mr Levy.
Me Levy: Mr barber, where do I send this prime beef that I don't want anymore?
Mr barber: down to little old Brighton please.
Mr levy: sorry no can do, there are no decent restaurants in Brighton, they are all in London, Manchester and Madrid. You're not the only tinpot restaurant to try this on, I had one in a little town near Birmingham and another in stoke. I had to tell them both they weren't up to standard. My prime beef can stay here and grace for another 3 years and have a very nice life. The doors of all abattoirs are now firmly shut.
Next day.
Mr Winstanley: I have found some prime beef in Sweden that had only been hung out to dry for 19 days, we should be able to get him cheap and he would fit in nicely with the other under 23 day aged prime beefs. The only problem is that we cannot have it for another 121 days when the abattoirs doors creak open.
Mr barber: get on to it Paul. In the meantime, I will draft an email to North Steak Chathouse, letting our customers know that there will be an exciting addition to our menu (squad) in the new year. This should appease them nicely. Mr bloom, could you proof read my email before I send it, as I don't want any spelling mistakes which will not look professional?
Mr bloom: no problem, in fact, I have been thinking of hiring a communications expert and some of our customers could be ideal. [MENTION=33374]Audax[/MENTION] is probably too busy with other social media work, [MENTION=1416]Ernest[/MENTION] would probably write the menu in capitals with lots of spelling mistakes but [MENTION=21064]easy[/MENTION]10 could probably do the job. I will arrange a meet down the pub for you to chat with the customers and see if any fancy the job.
Mr barber: great, thanks boss. Well done everyone, a good job all round.

You need to be short and snappy on here. No one will read this.

 

[Goldstone1976]

That's my point, there is no similar job. I think it may have gone something like this though..

Farmer(trainer): Mr butcher, I have some prime beef that I think you could make some good money out of before you slam the door shut and go on holiday in 31 days.
Mr butcher(manager):great idea, I will put it in my window to be hung out to dry.
20 days later, Mr Bloom and Barber (restauranter/accountant) notice the prime beef in the window and offer €5m/kg. Mr butcher thinks about this and realised if he let's it age another 11 days, he could get more money, so tells the owner/accountant that it is not for sale.
11 days later at 23:55pm, the restauranter/accountant offer €10m/kg which the butcher is delighted with. Whilst the restauranter/accountant inspect the marbling for any defects, the shop phone rings.
Mr butcher: hi, Mr Jordan, yes I have some prime rib for sale but it is €15m/kg. You will have it, great.
Mr butcher tells the restauranter/accountant about this new development.
Mr barber: I know you are about to slam the door shut but could we talk about this, it shouldn't take more than 2 hours?
Mr butcher agrees and after an hour of negotiations, they agree on a €25m/kg price. The phone rings again, this time it is Mr farmer, boss, we have an issue with one of our cows, it had a heart defect and we need to put it down. Due to the stress from the heart, the meat is worthless. Mr butcher thinks about this and decided to pull the sale knowing that if his cow gets better in the next 122 days, his prime beef would have dry aged perfectly and should be worth a lot more money, covering any loss from the defect cow.
By this time Mr bloom and Mr barber are starving hungry and know that there is only 1 hour left before all doors on the abattoirs slam shut.
Mr barber: I know of this top top place in north London that has so much prime beef they don't know what to do with it.
Mr bloom: get on the phone now and go up to €28m/kg.
Mr barber agrees a €28m/kg price with Mr Levy.
Me Levy: Mr barber, where do I send this prime beef that I don't want anymore?
Mr barber: down to little old Brighton please.
Mr levy: sorry no can do, there are no decent restaurants in Brighton, they are all in London, Manchester and Madrid. You're not the only tinpot restaurant to try this on, I had one in a little town near Birmingham and another in stoke. I had to tell them both they weren't up to standard. My prime beef can stay here and grace for another 3 years and have a very nice life. The doors of all abattoirs are now firmly shut.
Next day.
Mr Winstanley: I have found some prime beef in Sweden that had only been hung out to dry for 19 days, we should be able to get him cheap and he would fit in nicely with the other under 23 day aged prime beefs. The only problem is that we cannot have it for another 121 days when the abattoirs doors creak open.
Mr barber: get on to it Paul. In the meantime, I will draft an email to North Steak Chathouse, letting our customers know that there will be an exciting addition to our menu (squad) in the new year. This should appease them nicely. Mr bloom, could you proof read my email before I send it, as I don't want any spelling mistakes which will not look professional?
Mr bloom: no problem, in fact, I have been thinking of hiring a communications expert and some of our customers could be ideal. [MENTION=33374]Audax[/MENTION] is probably too busy with other social media work, [MENTION=1416]Ernest[/MENTION] would probably write the menu in capitals with lots of spelling mistakes but [MENTION=21064]easy[/MENTION]10 could probably do the job. I will arrange a meet down the pub for you to chat with the customers and see if any fancy the job.
Mr barber: great, thanks boss. Well done everyone, a good job all round.

That's all very interesting, but what has steak got to do with football transfers? Please don't tell me it's an Ali G; I've never understood him either.

 

[Birdie Boy]

You need to be short and snappy on here. No one will read this.

I know, that's what everyone has told barber but I have plenty of time on my hands. I could do a number of short stories..:thumbs up:

 

[Hamilton]

A top response from a top CEO. Only just got around to reading this having been away. Disappointed in our failure to sign a striker, but 100% happy with our management team.


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[Hamilton]

That's my point, there is no similar job. I think it may have gone something like this though..

Farmer(trainer): Mr butcher, I have some prime beef that I think you could make some good money out of before you slam the door shut and go on holiday in 31 days.
Mr butcher(manager):great idea, I will put it in my window to be hung out to dry.
20 days later, Mr Bloom and Barber (restauranter/accountant) notice the prime beef in the window and offer €5m/kg. Mr butcher thinks about this and realised if he let's it age another 11 days, he could get more money, so tells the owner/accountant that it is not for sale.
11 days later at 23:55pm, the restauranter/accountant offer €10m/kg which the butcher is delighted with. Whilst the restauranter/accountant inspect the marbling for any defects, the shop phone rings.
Mr butcher: hi, Mr Jordan, yes I have some prime rib for sale but it is €15m/kg. You will have it, great.
Mr butcher tells the restauranter/accountant about this new development.
Mr barber: I know you are about to slam the door shut but could we talk about this, it shouldn't take more than 2 hours?
Mr butcher agrees and after an hour of negotiations, they agree on a €25m/kg price. The phone rings again, this time it is Mr farmer, boss, we have an issue with one of our cows, it had a heart defect and we need to put it down. Due to the stress from the heart, the meat is worthless. Mr butcher thinks about this and decided to pull the sale knowing that if his cow gets better in the next 122 days, his prime beef would have dry aged perfectly and should be worth a lot more money, covering any loss from the defect cow.
By this time Mr bloom and Mr barber are starving hungry and know that there is only 1 hour left before all doors on the abattoirs slam shut.
Mr barber: I know of this top top place in north London that has so much prime beef they don't know what to do with it.
Mr bloom: get on the phone now and go up to €28m/kg.
Mr barber agrees a €28m/kg price with Mr Levy.
Me Levy: Mr barber, where do I send this prime beef that I don't want anymore?
Mr barber: down to little old Brighton please.
Mr levy: sorry no can do, there are no decent restaurants in Brighton, they are all in London, Manchester and Madrid. You're not the only tinpot restaurant to try this on, I had one in a little town near Birmingham and another in stoke. I had to tell them both they weren't up to standard. My prime beef can stay here and grace for another 3 years and have a very nice life. The doors of all abattoirs are now firmly shut.
Next day.
Mr Winstanley: I have found some prime beef in Sweden that had only been hung out to dry for 19 days, we should be able to get him cheap and he would fit in nicely with the other under 23 day aged prime beefs. The only problem is that we cannot have it for another 121 days when the abattoirs doors creak open.
Mr barber: get on to it Paul. In the meantime, I will draft an email to North Steak Chathouse, letting our customers know that there will be an exciting addition to our menu (squad) in the new year. This should appease them nicely. Mr bloom, could you proof read my email before I send it, as I don't want any spelling mistakes which will not look professional?
Mr bloom: no problem, in fact, I have been thinking of hiring a communications expert and some of our customers could be ideal. [MENTION=33374]Audax[/MENTION] is probably too busy with other social media work, [MENTION=1416]Ernest[/MENTION] would probably write the menu in capitals with lots of spelling mistakes but [MENTION=21064]easy[/MENTION]10 could probably do the job. I will arrange a meet down the pub for you to chat with the customers and see if any fancy the job.
Mr barber: great, thanks boss. Well done everyone, a good job all round.

What if Mr Barber is a vegetarian? Can you write it all again but use a vegetable substitute?


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[Birdie Boy]

What if Mr Barber is a vegetarian? Can you write it all again but use a vegetable substitute?


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Sorry, no can do.

I was attempting to show that comparing football to anything else, with regards transfers, is not possible. I never said I'd get sacked in my job if I don't meet the deadline, plenty of others did. I haven't seen one single scenario from anybody that came out with that crap to their point.

UTA.

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[doogie004]

And according to the Argus. He did not fit manager Chris Hughton's criteria for the type of striker he wanted as precisely as Andone, but the signing by Spurs of Fernando Llorente from Swansea sparked Janssen's availability.

Not according to warren aspinal on radio sussex who said panic buy


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[Bold Seagull]

Not according to warren aspinal on radio sussex who said panic buy.

Same difference. Llorente made Janssen available, so anyone in for him on that last day was in a panic because they needed him and he was only on the radar when that happened.

 

[marshy68]

I've just received a note from Paul Barber concerning the transfer window, and he was happy for it to be shared on NSC.

(My addition, this Bleacher Report video showing deadline day at Sheffield United is an interesting watch for those of on the outside: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/...line-day-access-all-areas-at-sheffield-united)

The transfer window has, as ever, sparked a lot of debate on social media – some of it constructive and interesting; some of it, naïve and, in places, unjustifiably spiteful. Not surprisingly, and such is the way of the world these days, hardly any of the (largely anonymous) criticism directed at the club on social media has made its way to us directly in the form of emails or letters…

Nevertheless, our supporters do have every right to express their reasonable opinions. The game is full of opinions. It’s what makes our sport as popular as it is. But personal attacks on our people (least of all, our chairman), or attempts to scapegoat individuals through social media, are totally unnecessary and will never be acceptable to us, not least as we go out of our way to fully engage with our fans at all times.

As we’ve tried to explain, transfer windows are complex and dynamic. Things can change dramatically in a month, a week, a day – or, even, in an hour. Therefore, the tactics to meet transfer window objectives must always evolve as the window goes on. But even this doesn’t guarantee every target will be landed – and the club, as well as supporters, may end up disappointed (we are) and frustrated (we were).

We don’t publicise our transfer targets. We don’t comment on media speculation (unless we believe we have no choice but to do so). And only a very tiny group of people inside the club – usually no more than 4 - are aware of our specific priorities at any one time. Our approach is designed to minimise leaks, which can often compromise the club’s position, and give us the best possible chance of doing our business discreetly and professionally.

Inevitably, this does mean supporters' knowledge or understanding of what did or didn’t actually happen, could or couldn’t happen - or why something did or didn’t happen isn’t always right. In fact, in many cases - and quite understandably – supporters’ perceptions are very often way wide of the mark. This is the same at many clubs, not just ours.

So, to try to help our supporters digest this past transfer window, as usual I’ll be addressing the transfer window in my programmes notes on Saturday. However, as I’m aware that NSC seems to attract the most vociferous of views, I thought it night be useful for me to let you have my answers to the key questions posed in advance of the weekend. I’ve covered as many points as I can.

- this transfer window was more over-heated and more challenging than most of us had previously experienced. We were very well prepared but every club, even the biggest, was a little taken back.

- asking prices, and player and agent demands were very high. No surprise here either but it’s impossible to anticipate every nuance. Publicly, we will always try to manage expectations as we go.

- as with all previous transfer windows, speculation in this one was rife. Much of it nonsense. Like all clubs, we’ve been criticised for not signing players we didn’t bid for and were not even on our radar!

- it’s a complete myth that the best transfer business is always done early; if transfers can be done early in the window, they will be. If transfers are not done early, there’s usually a very good reason.

- equally, it’s a myth that transfers late in the window are “panic buys” or the player must have been “low on our list”; it can be the complete opposite: sometimes transfers just take all the time available.

- the recruitment team – scouts, analysts, coaches, our manager – looked at thousands of players in the past year or more; relatively few strikers are ever available and even fewer matched our specific brief.

- it’s no secret that we were looking for a striker different to what we have; we were not the only club looking for this type of player and, unsurprisingly, those clubs that have them wanted to keep them!

- despite all of this, and missing out on that additional striker, we still secured the overwhelming majority of our transfer window targets - and we have strengthened our squad in a number of key areas.

- most, if not all, clubs miss out on at least one target, sometimes many targets, in every transfer window. This one was no different. There will always be a multitude of reasons for such misses.

- a “miss” doesn’t have to mean a flawed strategy, poor negotiation tactics, a failure to meet demands, or that someone is to blame; mostly, it’s just about “circumstances" – often out of the club’s control.

- we didn’t lose out on players because we couldn’t, or wouldn’t, meet a particular transfer fee or a wage demand; neither did we break our wage structure to secure the players we did bring in.

- nevertheless, and regardless of ambition - ours is to stay in the Premier League - we always have a responsibility to run the club prudently and sensibly for the chairman and for the benefit of future generations.

- finances aside, failed medicals are rare – we had 2; players being recalled to their club at the point of signing for another because of an injury/issue affecting a team mate are even more unusual – again, we had 2.

- these issues don’t mean our scouting or due diligence was flawed; quite the opposite. Our medical staff were excellent in detecting unforeseen issues. We’re spending millions of pounds. We won't take risks.

- occasionally in a transfer window, different options become available due to totally unforeseen circumstances – sometimes very late on; such opportunities need careful but very quick evaluation.

- often, such is the recruitment team’s detailed preparation for any given transfer window, we’ve already done our homework on such players so we can make fast decisions on whether they are of interest.

- if they are of interest to us, we will always seek to agree a deal with the club and agent, on behalf of the player, then consider them alongside other options; however, it can still be down to the player’s choice.

- when a player decides not to join a club, it’s often about him wanting to stay with the club he’s at, rather than snubbing the club courting him; the two things are very different, albeit we know the net result is the same.

- it’s very rarely possible to fully complete one deal before starting work on another; in every window, it’s usually necessary - and desirable - to keep moving on a number of targets simultaneously.

- when we talk about “optimum timing” for a transfer, it’s not just about getting the player at the right price. It’s about a wide range of factors all coming together to make a deal possible at a given moment.

- and, no, we didn’t miss out on a loan striker because we signed a loan GK; we took a conscious decision to take an excellent loan GK when the opportunity arose.

- as with every transfer window, we will replay, review, discuss and debate all of our decisions and our tactics; as with previous windows, we will look to see what we can do better next time. There’s always room.

- right now, we have an excellent group of very talented and committed players, backed by a great manager and staff; they will need and, I believe, they deserve the support of all our fans.

- we are just 3 games in to the most exciting and challenging league season in the club’s history. It will be tough, very tough, so above all else, we need the club’s strong sense of “togetherness” to, once again, rise up!

I hope this note will help to answer at least the majority of the various queries, questions, views and criticisms expressed by supporters.

you had one job to do and 4 months to do it.

 

[Hamilton]

you had one job to do and 4 months to do it.

I think there were probably a number of jobs to get done in the 4 months.

We've failed to get our striker. Everyone agrees this is not good news, but I think there are a number of people on here that would throw the baby out with the bathwater in their attempts to find a culprit.

 

[n1 gull]

you had one job to do and 4 months to do it.

Hey he also fixed the floodlights

 

[Thunder Bolt]

you had one job to do and 4 months to do it.

One job?

 

[doogie004]

I think there were probably a number of jobs to get done in the 4 months.

We've failed to get our striker. Everyone agrees this is not good news, but I think there are a number of people on here that would throw the baby out with the bathwater in their attempts to find a culprit.

There is only one bloom for not paying the going rate


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[Bold Seagull]

Nonsense. He could have been on the radar for ages, scouted and researched. The fact he was not available does not mean we were not interested in him until he was.

Come off it, Janssen wasn't linked with anyone through the whole of the window, then suddenly there are 3 teams in for him late afternoon / evening. He was off everyone's radar until Levi started phoning clubs they could have him for £XXX that afternoon.

 

[Thunder Bolt]

Nonsense. He could have been on the radar for ages, scouted and researched. The fact he was not available does not mean we were not interested in him until he was.

Janssen turned down three clubs, not just Brighton.

 

[Bold Seagull]

Yes. Because not all interest is going to be reported in papers AND he was only available on the last day. If he was not available teams would go after other targets. It is not rocket science to understand.

I'm lost to what you're point is? I would imagine every premier league player has no doubt got some scouting information by every other club. What I assume you are saying is that we would have been aware of his ability etc. I've not said we wouldn't have been, but he was only a potential signing, and therefore on our radar as a signing on that last day. It's not rocket science, but you seem to be making a meal of it.