[Albion] Where is Alexis going? (Liverpool - for an undisclosed fee...)

[Weststander]

Definitely, absolute madam though.

Sitting watching West Ham, she taps on the window to be let in, her cat flap is literally 5 yards away…….


Yes I got up, unlocked the door and let her in (sigh)

How do your two get on?

They quite like each other, but don’t cuddle up. Very loving to us, from 10 weeks old all they’ve ever known is affection and our hotel.

 

[Bodian]

Yep and not just the PL look at PSG in France (9 of last 11 league title), Bayern Munich in Germany (11 of last 11 league titles) and Celtic in Scotland (10 of last 11 league titles).

Man City are staring to dominate in a similar way with only other oil or state owned clubs likely to break the monopoly. All very depressing when you think how amazing a genuinely competitive league could be. It is very frustrating when you consider how well ran the Albion are we will realistically never compete for a league title.

Wasn't too long ago we were saying we would never realistically be competing for Europe, and not a lifetime ago we were saying that the Premier League looked unlikely!

 

[AZ Gull]

Ok, if we’re being pedantic, they have the same salary cap, and the same share of (league negotiated) merchandise, licensing, and TV contracts, regardless of individual team performance. It’s much more equal than the PL

This doesn't look very equal to me (MLB):-

In case the numbers aren't easily read, the 2023 total payroll in Major League Baseball goes from less than $60m to $345m.

 

[Sid and the Sharknados]

This doesn't look very equal to me (MLB):-

View attachment 161939

In case the numbers aren't easily read, the 2023 total payroll in Major League Baseball goes from less than $60m to $345m.

I'm not going to deny laziness on my part in asking this question rather than looking it up, but is the correlation between wage bill and end of season results as strong in Baseball (or other American sports) as it is in football?

 

[dangull]

I get that but it's still frustating. Even the top 2 in Spain maybe struggling to keep up with the EPL.
I'm actually okay if a break away super league happens at some point. It would make clubs that are like Brighton who have performed brilliantly on and off the pitch can actually win things and not be plundered by the super rich clubs who haven't.

 

[AZ Gull]

I'm not going to deny laziness on my part in asking this question rather than looking it up, but is the correlation between wage bill and end of season results as strong in Baseball (or other American sports) as it is in football?

Largely, yes. For instance, the bottom team in that MLB listing, the Oakland Athletics, currently have a record of 14 - 50 (14 wins, 50 defeats) and are on course for a historically shit season.

Very satisfyingly, though, a lot of the teams with the top payrolls are currently underperforming. My team (the Arizona Diamondbacks) head the NL West, just above the evil Dodgers and also ahead of the San Diego Padres, who both have payrolls more than $100m higher.

I would agree, though, that the draft system (where the crappiest teams each year get the earlier draft picks) does go some way to ensuring that the upcoming talent does get spread around more evenly.

 

[BadFish]

How can you say they have a greater probability of winning something next year? They have similar chances to us. They only just finished above us this year. You are guessing at what they might achieve, it is a gamble.

I admire your optimistic outlook but you must realise you are quite, quite mad.

 

[BadFish]

This thread is brilliant. A couple of posters deciding the lowest price quoted is correct and refusing to accept any alternative to their conviction that suddenly Tony Bloom has become a soft touch and we are doomed to sell of all our players cheap.

One poster bravely battling both the prevailing idea, and the numbers and logic that somehow after a couple of great seasons we are up there with Liverpool.

Then a few posters discussing and
posting pictures of their cats.

Brilliant. Well done all.

 

[Sid and the Sharknados]

This thread is brilliant. A couple of posters deciding the lowest price quoted is correct and refusing to accept any alternative to their conviction that suddenly Tony Bloom has become a soft touch and we are doomed to sell of all our players cheap.

One poster bravely battling both the prevailing idea, and the numbers and logic that somehow after a couple of great seasons we are up there with Liverpool.

Then a few posters discussing and
posting pictures of their cats.

Brilliant. Well done all.

We need more cat photos.
I like cats.

 

[B-right-on]

this is a copy and paste line from an email discussion I had today with someone quite senior at the club "I’ve not seen a number out there yet that properly or accurately reflects any of our transfer deal structures in any way."

Oi Bozza, come on. Please don't let FACTS get in the way of NSC hysteria on how SHIT this club is run by selling our players at half their value.

 

[Brovion]

It is far from a perfect system either. But the way the pay is structured does make it more competitive than the premier league where the top 6 win regardless. The premier league seems to not be about being the best club with the best team but instead about being the richest club with the richest owner. It is mind boggling that fans of those clubs can get some sort of pleasure out of simply knowing they won as they bought the best stuff.
It's like me saying I am the best Nascar driver as I bought the fastest car made by another team and made sure the other drivers all had rusting bangers.

Now you've got it. Yes, ignoring every other factor and looking at it purely in terms of results from last season, moving from a team that finished sixth (and reached a Cup semi-final) to a team that finished fifth (and didn't) seems a sideways move. At best a sideways move. But that is only one tiny metric, and the sad reality is you can't ignore all the other factors. In the end money talks. We're happy and extremely proud to punch above our weight, but until we're owned by a combination of the Chinese government, Saudi Arabia, and a group of organised crime syndicates, we will never constantly challenge the likes of Liverpool.

 

[Icy Gull]

Could we possibly strike a deal for Fabio Carvalho from Liverpool, he will drop down the pecking order further with the arrival of Alexis and we may need to beef up our midfield. Young, hungry and talented, the ideal RDZ player?

 

[brighton_tom]

Could we possibly strike a deal for Fabio Carvalho from Liverpool, he will drop down the pecking order further with the arrival of Alexis and we may need to beef up our midfield. Young, hungry and talented, the ideal RDZ player?

I was reading they’re fine with a loan, but the player wants first team football no matter whether it’s loan or permanent. Subsequently I was thinking could we see a few more loans that usual this summer to cope with the need for an expanded European squad but keep the cost down.

 

[JetsetJimbo]

This thread is brilliant. A couple of posters deciding the lowest price quoted is correct and refusing to accept any alternative to their conviction that suddenly Tony Bloom has become a soft touch and we are doomed to sell of all our players cheap.

One poster bravely battling both the prevailing idea, and the numbers and logic that somehow after a couple of great seasons we are up there with Liverpool.

Then a few posters discussing and
posting pictures of their cats.

Brilliant. Well done all.

Wait, I missed the cat pics, is it too late for me to join in? This is Geri, and yes, she's judging you.

 

[Neville's Breakfast]

I get that but it's still frustating. Even the top 2 in Spain maybe struggling to keep up with the EPL.
I'm actually okay if a break away super league happens at some point. It would make clubs that are like Brighton who have performed brilliantly on and off the pitch can actually win things and not be plundered by the super rich clubs who haven't.

I thought their plan was to continue to play in domestic leagues as well as ESL ? They would just change the rules to build larger squads, to win everything, and plunder clubs like Brighton even more. The only solution is to throw them out of the PL so that other clubs in their areas inherit their suppprt. I think that would happen as English football fans value local rivalries and history more than they do playing teams from far flung parts of Europe. BHA have the novelty value of Europa League next season. That will wear off pretty quickly I reckon.

 

[BadFish]

Wait, I missed the cat pics, is it too late for me to join in? This is Geri, and yes, she's judging you.View attachment 161955

She looks angry, did you tell her that Liverpool signed Mac Allister for 35mil?

 

[Neville's Breakfast]

It is far from a perfect system either. But the way the pay is structured does make it more competitive than the premier league where the top 6 win regardless. The premier league seems to not be about being the best club with the best team but instead about being the richest club with the richest owner. It is mind boggling that fans of those clubs can get some sort of pleasure out of simply knowing they won as they bought the best stuff.
It's like me saying I am the best Nascar driver as I bought the fastest car made by another team and made sure the other drivers all had rusting bangers.

Indeed. And it’s true all the way down the pyramid, to the base of the lowest non league. Money is the biggest determinant of league position and well off people frequently by their local club and propel them up a few divisions. That’s why the experience of supporting a completely potless club and stealing a 1-0 away win (and actually being in the ground to witness it) is still the best feeling in football. Fans of ‘the big clubs’ don’t understand and increasingly, new generations of Albion fans over the past 15 years also do not understand.

 

[The Antikythera Mechanism]

We need more cat photos.
I like cats.

We need more cat photos.
I like cats.

Meet Artie

 

[brighton_tom]

The Argus saying “they have been told” the MacAllister deal totals £55m with the add ons. They also quote Ole.com which is a massive Argentina based sports publication which says the deal is worth €60m (roughly £51.5m).

 

[JamesAndTheGiantHead]

Babs and Nigel, pretending they’ve been run over for attention.