[Albion] Should we start paying our best players better salaries in order to compete with the best?

[Mustafa II]

 

[The Wizard]

Even if we payed Caicedo 200k p/w he’d still want to leave if Real Madrid come in for him.

 

[WATFORD zero]

Where's the option for 'we should continue to be increasing our salaries in line with our staged development plan'

 

[Icy Gull]

Nope

 

[Springal]

The problem is signing a new deal with us for more money makes it more difficult for them to leave so they’ll be reluctant to do so.

More money / longer contracts up front- or big release clauses would be better

 

[Sid and the Sharknados]

The problem is signing a new deal with us for more money makes it more difficult for them to leave so they’ll be reluctant to do so.

More money / longer contracts up front- or big release clauses would be better

What does slapping a big release clause on a player achieve?
It just puts a maximum value on the them, it doesn't stop the player wanting to leave or us selling them for less.

 

[Springal]

What does slapping a big release clause on a player achieve?
It just puts a maximum value on the them, it doesn't stop the player wanting to leave or us selling them for less.

cuts out low ball bids, the player knows where he stands

 

[Justice]

No, I always want a football club to support.

 

[portlock seagull]

No, the Championship is a bloody good League…as Everton about to find out

 

[Seagull27]

I think it's short-sighted to assume that just paying players more would mean we keep them.

Take Moises for example - I'm sure he wouldn't complain about the extra money, but even if we paid him the same amount, the big 6 would be more attractive. These are the teams he's grown up watching, who can offer regular European football.

Changing our wage structure that significantly puts our club at risk, and we could end up following the same route of Portsmouth. Lunacy to think we should do that, we need to be sustainable.

 

[chickens]

We’ve all seen the results of reaching for the next rung up without being able to afford failure, it’s horrific. Let’s keep well away from that please.

 

[junior]

No. Isn't that what Portsmouth did?

 

[Sid and the Sharknados]

cuts out low ball bids, the player knows where he stands

I don't doubt that the club makes it quite clear to the players where they stand anyway.
And there's still nothing to stop a club bidding below the release clause if they think we'd be willing to sell.
It just stops other clubs pushing each other to offer more than we'd actually be wiling to sell for.

 

[GingerBeerMan]

Where's the option for 'we should continue to be increasing our salaries in line with our staged development plan'

This is the correct answer. We pay more now than when we were promoted. IIRC 50k was about our top earner, and if reports are to be believed 80-90k is about the top earner now.

If we were to become a fixture in Europe I wouldn't be opposed to a few key players earning £100k+. The issue comes when you slap every new signing on £125k/week as standard which clubs like Everton and Villa seem to do.

 

[A1X]

Loads of clubs got to our position and started offering obscene wages. It didn’t end well for any of them.

 

[BN41Albion]

Not much point at the moment - our players will (understandably) still want to sign for a club challenging for trophies if given the opportunity

 

[MattBackHome]

Is this the Friday drinking thread?

 

[Mustafa II]

Are we not in genuine contention for Europe at the moment chaps?

...at what point should we try to push on to the next level?

 

[Springal]

I don't doubt that the club makes it quite clear to the players where they stand anyway.
And there's still nothing to stop a club bidding below the release clause if they think we'd be willing to sell.
It just stops other clubs pushing each other to offer more than we'd actually be wiling to sell for.

So do you think Caciedo knows how much we’d sell him for ?

On the one hand we accuse Arsenal of low balling us - on the other we say the club are water tight and would never out a valuation on a player

 

[Sid and the Sharknados]

So do you think Caciedo knows how much we’d sell him for ?

On the one hand we accuse Arsenal of low balling us - on the other we say the club are water tight and would never out a valuation on a player

Not exactly, but I'm sure the players have some idea of how the club value them, and whether we'd be willing to sell in a given window.
What we as fans accuse other clubs of, really makes no difference to how the club does its business.