[Albion] Paul Barber: The Transfer Window

[fosters headband]

What do you want - some sobbing emojis, for him to tell us he sat up all night head in hands screaming "what have we done?", for him to tell us he feels he has let us all down and he begs forgiveness? Albion fans are so bloody needy. He's told us his side, we didn't get a striker - it's bloody annoying but this post mortem is going to last longer than the transfer window.

As an Albion fan I was happy with Tony Blooms statement I really didn't need Barbers digs at fans AGAIN.

 

[Official Old Man]

I'm a fan of the club. I think we have the best chairman, ceo, board, manager and team.
On Saturday I will give 110% supporting them all and hope they give 110%.
But regardless of all that, someone screwed up getting in a striker and non of that answers that question.

 

[Baldseagull]

Exactly this.

I have a lot of time for Paul's interaction with the fans, but i have first hand experience of his backing of short term staff ahead of long term customers.

He really needs to listen to feedback more and be less rigid, if he wants a stronger backing from the fans.

I think an employee at the club has the right to expect to be defended by the CEO if abuse is coming at them. Do you think you can call the new barman in your local a **** and expect to be backed by the landlord because you have drunk there for years?

 

[Weststander]

I accept PBs arguments, and i'm not saying they are going to finish any higher than us, but how come Huddersfield seem not to have had these problems? Either they signed who they wanted or they managed to keep failures under wraps very well. Evidently we have things to learn from them

Like just getting on in filling the critical position early, instead of being a slave to the cluster spreadsheet.

 

[Brovion]

Get behind the club and team

Normally I hate these happy-clappy 'just support the team ffs' posts, but in this instance I think you're bang on. It's over, the window has shut, nothing can be done, the cards have been dealt, the 'moving finger having writ' and all that. Everything has been said and all the moaning and finger-pointing in the world isn't going to change the situation - and that applies to you too Mr Barber.. Let's just move on and make sure we do our part by supporting the players we have.

 

[Deadly Danson]

As an Albion fan I was happy with Tony Blooms statement I really didn't need Barbers digs at fans AGAIN.

So there's fans who think he should have said nothing and fans who think he should have said more and with more empathy. Shows that he can't win.

 

[Weststander]

We needed two more strikers, one could have been on a par with what we have to boost the numbers and give us options. History is being rewritten here suggesting that we only targeted the one. I am pretty sure CH said they were after two as soon as last season finished. The fact that we were apparently willing to sell Hemed if we got our marquee signing suggests we were only ever going to end up with gaining one and losing one come the end of the window. That would still have left us with just the three.

Currently we have two strikers who are very alike and one who spends large swathes of every season injured.

If this all sounds like reasonable planning to you who that's fine, it looks like a cock up to me.

This.

A rewriting by some of our spring and summer to suggest that one new forward would have been enough all along.

 

[dadams2k11]

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.

I gave up reading after the glaring spelling mistake, night or might*?

How much is he paid : whistle:

*I take it [MENTION=6886]Bozza[/MENTION] copied/pasted.

 

[sams dad]

Paul Barber is a bellend.

And you are a ****

 

[Baldseagull]

I accept PBs arguments, and i'm not saying they are going to finish any higher than us, but how come Huddersfield seem not to have had these problems? Either they signed who they wanted or they managed to keep failures under wraps very well. Evidently we have things to learn from them

Did they manage to sign someone we were after though? If they did then you may have a point. The only two I am aware of that went to others were Abraham and Niasse, Abrahams agent whacked a £1 million bonus into the deal, Swansea would pay it we would not. Niasse we only wanted on loan, Palace were prepared to buy.
So you can use those examples if you like, but I think Swansea were mugs and deserve to have a nice big welcome fee attached to every loan they get in future.

 

[perseus]

Nothing worse than lashing out £10 milion plus for a Dutch international striker who doesn't score goals in the Premier League. And I was not referring to Janssen.

I could only think of one striker and his wages would have been prohibitive. What strikers?

Looks like we might have missed the Slovakian goal scorer, but he was a midfielder. It remains to be seen if the unknown Huddersfield forwards they signed are any good?

 

[Larry]

Paul Barber is a first class TOSSER and l for one would love to see him sacked.

 

[kevtherev]

The club have screw up big time. And the very fact the chairman is writing open letters and Barber feels compelled to write a 500 page report on the subject, just highlights it. We've had months and months to get strikers in and we ain't got 1 fit striker in squad now. And to think people are suggesting putting our number 1 prized defender up front, just proves even further what a balls up it is. We are in the premier league ffs, not Conference South. Even suggesting putting Dunk up top is laughable at this level. But that's the reality of the situation we find ourselves in....anyway Keep the faith and keep paying the top prices to view no strikers....Just the most important area of the pitch.

 

[Is it PotG?]

Paul Barber is a first class TOSSER and l for one would love to see him sacked.

 

[Birdie Boy]

View attachment 88957

That reminded me of this; https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sou...IIJDAA&usg=AFQjCNF34beh58NqrfVOGZlo76uKj4KSUQ

Is that Barber in the hole?[emoji2]

Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk

 

[fosters headband]

So there's fans who think he should have said nothing and fans who think he should have said more and with more empathy. Shows that he can't win.

Well this fan is very happy to hear from the organ grinder and what the monkey had to say was of no significance to me. Bloom never seems to feel the need to have a dig at fans unlike Barber. Probably because Tony is a fan understands their frustration more than the paid employee does.

 

[Commander]

The worst of the personal attacks will most likely have been sent anonymously, and privately, direct to the club.

Really?

I’m aware that NSC seems to attract the most vociferous of views

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

Seems to suggest otherwise.

 

[Ernest]

Wonder if Barber will address the transfer window plans now it looks like there isn't a fit striker in the squad

 

[Lower West Stander]

Well this fan is very happy to hear from the organ grinder and what the monkey had to say was of no significance to me. Bloom never seems to feel the need to have a dig at fans unlike Barber. Probably because Tony is a fan understands their frustration more than the paid employee does.

Yep - exactly as I see it.

And £500k pa is a lot of pay to receive for not signing a striker. Perhaps Barber had to write the same diatribe to TB?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[AmexRuislip]

We are still newcomers in this PL, still learning from the last transfer window and will have more experience when the next one appears.
This sums it up for me IMO.

- 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.