• The forums will be unavailable for a few hours on Saturday 6th June, when they do return they will initially be in a degraded state with some features missing, but normal posting/reading will be possible. The main website will not be affected by these updates.
    New user registrations are currently disabled.
    Some other features of the forum are also currently disabled.

Tommy Watson ( ...off to Brighton)


BiG said:
We are at a pivotal point, are we not, in our so-called strategy/approach. And Watson epitomises the challenges of it when we get to this point.

Up to now, developing young talent, integrating them into the first team, providing developmental opportunities, and profiting from selling on at a far higher rate than the initial outlay, had apparently enabled steady progress - with the occasional serious glitch along the way.

But perhaps the club is now, or will very soon be, at a turning point where more money has to be spent on players that will have immediate impact and where more experience at a higher level needs to be seeded into the first, around which the younger players can thrive.

Nothing would serve more effectively to break the spirit of a young group of develop players than a soul-sapping season long relegation battle.

So will the formula be tweaked? Will it simply be ratcheted up a notch where the young players are those that are considered more talented or advanced - albeit still not quite ready for a top half premier league side? Will it be replaced?

Watson is an example of what dividends can be obtained from the approach up to now. He’s been developed to a point where we can profit from a transfer to a premier league team. But it’s Brighton. Not Man City or Liverpool or whatever.

The last time we sold on our top young players that were developed through our academy to top (or more higher placed clubs) was when we had to. Henderson and Pickford. Is progress of the strategy of the last few years marked by selling on the talent we’ve developed for much more money to top 6 clubs of to top European clubs?

Or will people with more wisdom and understanding of these things than I, doggedly continue on the same path and try to demonstrate that they were right all along?
Click to expand...

We didnt sell Henderson because we had to tbf. It was good for everyone. We just did nothing with the money
 
Rizla said:
I was saying all day that he was going to come off the bench and get the winner - I don't get much right but just had a feeling. He did really well - played a key part in the first goal as well.

It's a shame he's gone, he could have been good for us. He looks a bit of unit as well, good strength for a kid which you need these days. Wish him well with Brighton and will be interesting to see how he fares in a very talented side.
Click to expand...
He took that as cool as a cucumber- made us £200 f***ing million.
 
Scorer said:
I wonder if there’s a tinge of regret but it’s a sort of perfect story for him as far as this section of his career goes. What a height to leave on.
He’s an excellent prospect and I wish him well, as I did when it was first announced he was leaving.
Click to expand...

It was very probable that, if he hadn’t scored that goal yesterday, and at some future point he’d played at the SoL, he’d have come in for a lot of booing and a great deal of abuse. It’s now more probable that next season if he plays at the SoL for Brighton he’ll be afforded a hero’s welcome.

… until his first misplaced pass or the first time he’s tackled, upon which he’ll get a whole load of stick. And if he scores against us, he’d better leave the stadium in disguise. 😂
 
tony_not_in_london said:
Hindsight is an easy thing

Suppose we’d lost and he had not come on and scored?

He’d be out of contract at Sunderland and not in a good negotiating position with Brighton
Click to expand...
He'd still have 6 months left and Brighton were absolutely desperate to sign him (hence them doing it mid season when he was still playing for us).

Like I said I don't think it's a bad deal for anyone. But now we've gone up, it's a bit of a shame.

We seem to have a few more in the academy coming through though and Mundle is the better player as of now. So we can't complain at 10 million. That's half a le fee
 
Fair play to the club for still having faith in him when he’s already away. To be truthful, when his name came up as sub I said to the bloke next to me , that’s a strange one . He didn’t put a foot wrong.
 
parsonjohn1985 said:
I dont think so as Graham was under O'Neil.

Im pretty sure we used it to sign Vaughan, Gardener, Larsson and Bendtner
Click to expand...
I was joking but just checked

We sold Jordan in 2011

And bought Danny Graham in XL size in 2013

So not a stretch to say we used some of Henderson’s transfer fee to acquire the services of Mr Graham

The XXL version was not bought until 2020 …by which time it is true that any spare Hendo cash would have been snaffled by the Chancers
 
ozz said:
Fair play to the club for still having faith in him when he’s already away. To be truthful, when his name came up as sub I said to the bloke next to me , that’s a strange one . He didn’t put a foot wrong.
Click to expand...
His name isn't even in the matchday programme.
No picture of him for our squad or one of the 50 names in the back of it
 
  • Like
Reactions: ozz
tony_not_in_london said:
I was joking but just checked

We sold Jordan in 2011

And bought Danny Graham in XL size in 2013

So not a stretch to say we used some of Henderson’s transfer fee to acquire the services of Mr Graham

The XXL version was not bought until 2020 …by which time it is true that any spare Hendo cash would have been snaffled by the Chancers
Click to expand...

Its a big stretch. In that summer we signed johnson and fletcher that would have used the last of any money
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top