Babylon

Steve Walsh says hello

They would be too simple an answer

If it’s an obligation to sign by that date then he was signed by that date and not announced, which just moots your original point.

If you are obligated, why do you need to rush it? If anything it makes more sense to stretch it to the very second of the deal you made as they pay the wages until then. I know you like a moan but come on.

To be fair, if you were expecting that after failing PSR, losing our best player, our manager and being brassic, you can only blame yourself

Up there with the man who is accused of over paying, not only in wages, but in fees for pretty much every signing. Who conversely is also apparently unable to get a single signing over the line.

@Sol thewall Bamba Hope you've got your boots, I told you we might need you.

I was trying, I’m now band from replying to them. So the lunatics are now running the asylum.

This place is diabolical pre season

I feel exactly the same, not up, not down. Just don't really care! The posting will stop the second my clients get back from holiday

I'll clarify that, I think we've got stuck between planning for next season whilst also mildly attempting to try and stay in the league. I don't think we'd be trying for your Zaha, Ayez, Reids if they didn't have one eye on staying up. If we were planning for next season, I think we'd have seen us go for qulity championship proven players. So that's why I think we are stuck in between. We've not signed anything remotely good enough to keep us up, whilst also seeminly not gone for anything that would suggest we're planning for next season. I'd have been far happier with us writing it off this season, and buying young up and coming talent from lower leagues. I don't disagree at all, do not take me playing devils advocate as a sign for me liking or being happy with anyone ate the club. I am not. As I've said times and times and times, Whelan is to blame, Top is to blame and Rudkin is to blame... along with others. The question is to what degree is each of them take the blame. I don't know if Rudkin went to Top and Whelan and said sack Rodgers, and they said we can't we can't afford it. I don't know if Rodgers went to Top and he asked him for backing, so Top told Rudkin to back him for loads of cash. I don't know who said what in the boardroom and protested what decisions etc. I don't know why transfers fail and who is to blame precisely. What we do know is that Whelan and Top are above Rudkin, so it's he's the total bumbling idiot people make him out to be, you'd like to think he'd be removed. The fact he hasn't been, does make me wonder if there is more to it and they all know each of them is accountable for certain things, that then snowball. If Rudkin is to blame, sack him. If he's to blame and you don't, then the whole lot of them can **** off.

I'm well aware of that. But there are three parties invovled here, you can't just do a deal with Zaha until you know what his clubs thoughts are... the notion that it should all be done and dusted before even speaking to his club is fanciful. The evidence isn't coming together, you are just filling in the gaps to bash the club. The fact is nobody knows who said what and when.

Who says they didn't know that? There are other parties here, in Zaha and his agent. Just because he's going to pay more tax doesn't mean we have to cover it. That's part of the discussion, once everyone has put their cards on the table everyone decides if the deal is right for them, currently it's not. You don't know that until it's all disucssed. As I said, you have no idea if we've put a wirtten transfers deal in, all this could have come out in the "discovery" discussions between all parties. The club aren't mind readers, until they've told you their side you don't know.

Yes, but would you expect them to know the intricacies of a single persons tax situation? Then there is knowing the Tax system differs and ALL the implications from that, which would differ person to person.

But it's true though isn't it... I'm not naive enough to know there won't be some discussions with an agent to figure out if an player is interested. But it's somewhat likely that they don't expore the depths of a players personal tax situation prior to even finding out if the other club is interested in doing a deal and whether what they want even makes it viable.

You aren't even meant to speak to the player or his agent prior to getting an agreement from his club. And who is to say that they discosed his personal tax situation at the time, even if you discussed it in advance? Not only that, how to do you know that all the details coming out weren't just that. Part of all the discussions ongoing discussions about the transfer, and that no written offer had even gone in. You don't. It's just another excuse to bash the club, it's just so boring. There are a 100 concrete things they deserve to get moaned at for, we don't need to make them up.

The one we had last summer was ok, the one that got us promoted. Could have done without the money spent on Cannon and Coady with hindsight.

Was that not always on the cards? We all knew the financial issues and how it could potentially impact us. A few other people have illuded to it in another thread, which I didn't think was the right place. But certainly our stratergy for signings is a bit all over the place, we'll never know what impact losing Enzo and bringing in Cooper had on that. If he's said he wants people with premier league experience, it obvously changes the dynamic of what we're looking for considerably. Because good premier league experience is expensive. Which is why you end up scratching around old Palace and Fulham players almost past their use by date. Signing players was always going to be difficult with the financials and with points deduction. Trying to convince a top talent with other options to come here will be a hard task. I always felt a better option would be to target people lower down and ask them to make the step up, far more likely to actually get the transfers done. Plus, if you are buying good championship players, it sets you up if we do get relegated, which obviously we're going to be everyones favourites for. I said it a few weeks ago, we're stuck between wanting to give it a go and staying up, and planning for the next seasons... and we end up doing neither very well. In terms of deflation, Rodgers broke something in me years ago. I've given up and haven't particualrly cared for ages, even last season was meh.

A players personal tax affairs isn't "basic due diligence." Basic due diligence would be whether the player is available and whether the player is willing to come if the right deal can be found. All the other stuff isn't going to come out into you get into the nitty gritty of the deal. The fact it was mooted as a massive loan fee and them paying the wages (remember that, when everyone thought that as unusual) suggests the clubs were trying to find a way to perhaps circumvent the issue. The players agent, the player, Rudkin, our club and the other club aren't tax experts, and would be having to exploy someone to help get around it, if at all possible. "To suggest otherwise without evidence is basic denial". The literal reason given for the delay or it not happening is a tax issue, so how on earth can you suggest there is no evidence, that's what we're all going off.

It's not linked to this player or any other we heard about 3 days ago.

That's conflating two things, though: this signing taking a long time (which it's clearly not) and our inability (whatever the reason) to get players in before the start of the season.

No, it's got nothing to do with it. Us being light on players, doesn't suddenly mean this transfer is taking a long time.

Define quickly. We found out a few days ago, I'm sure the club would rather nobody knew about it.

No no no... you aren't allowed to chain together a few well-considered thoughts here. Please just blame Rudkin for being shit.