Davies to Stoke?

[saintwarwick]

just about every paper has been guilty of takeover BS

 

I think you'll find the Mail champions our course more often than other papers, other tabloids post the rumours long after the Mail. No co-incidence also that the Mail seems to favour Lowe.

[Saints67]

I really do hope so as personally we could lose most of the others mentioned on high wages but always thought the team would be built around Davies.

Not only for his play but for his character and determination. Maybe its money or maybe its he himself wants to go back to the premier for one year.

On the other hand you might just be right as there is no official confirmation.

Then again no one wants Bradley even on a gimme because of his wages.

Lets hope and pray MS stays sound or its bring on the young uns.

 

Amen brother

[DT]

this is a really stupid decision. rupert, you are a fool.

[BlakeySFC]

Still think it was stupid to give him player of the season.

 

Stern John should've got it, he kept us up not Andrew "injured for half the season" Davies.

[Wes Tender]

If the rumour is correct, then my attitude is that we might as well just give up any chance of staying in this division. We have already got rid of many other players who had a bit of quality about them and are down to the bare bones in that respect. Andrew Davies was one of the players that we should slap a huge price on and tell other clubs that he isn't for sale unless we get way over the top for him. Provided that Killer can keep fit, the partnership between him and Davies is what might just make the difference for us when we are playing youngsters in front of them and are short at full back. At the moment, devoid of any real proven quality apart from John and arguably one or two others, Davies is the only player who could be deemed to be of Premiership quality. We would be stark raving bonkers to weaken our defence still further at this time by letting him go.

 

But with Lowe in charge again, nothing would surprise me, frankly.

[ottery st mary]

Amen brother

 

Are there no more Paul Mariners up there in Chorley we could use?

 

Saw him play a few times at Argyle when I was a serviceman based there

and even in his trial period in the reserves thought he had it and was not surprised to see him return then go off to Ipswich.

[dubai_phil]

If the rumour is correct, then my attitude is that we might as well just give up any chance of staying in this division. We have already got rid of many other players who had a bit of quality about them and are down to the bare bones in that respect. Andrew Davies was one of the players that we should slap a huge price on and tell other clubs that he isn't for sale unless we get way over the top for him. Provided that Killer can keep fit, the partnership between him and Davies is what might just make the difference for us when we are playing youngsters in front of them and are short at full back. At the moment, devoid of any real proven quality apart from John and arguably one or two others, Davies is the only player who could be deemed to be of Premiership quality. We would be stark raving bonkers to weaken our defence still further at this time by letting him go.

 

But with Lowe in charge again, nothing would surprise me, frankly.

 

1.5million is I agree stark raving bonkers. With so few quality players available at the moment on the market this figure hurts, but is also the only hope I have that it could just be speculation.

If it was a figure nearer 4 or 5 mil that digs us out the cr*p financially and gives us room to bring in some more experienced players I could accept it but this is wrong and is not good

 

Basically it only just covers Euell's & BWP's salaries for the year

[saintkiptanui]

Still think it was stupid to give him player of the season.

 

Stern John should've got it, he kept us up not Andrew "injured for half the season" Davies.

very true.

[krissyboy31]

Still think it was stupid to give him player of the season.

 

Stern John should've got it, he kept us up not Andrew "injured for half the season" Davies.

 

John's goals kept us up but AD was our best player by a country mile.

[Saints67]

Are there no more Paul Mariners up there in Chorley we could use?

 

Saw him play a few times at Argyle when I was a serviceman based there

and even in his trial period in the reserves thought he had it and was not surprised to see him return then go off to Ipswich.

 

Sadly no the best player up here at our level (IMHO) is Simon Whaley who's at PNE but bumped into him in Chorley and he's a bit chavvy! Talented though.

 

Fish-head then? Or Ex-crab?

[ottery st mary]

Sadly no the best player up here at our level (IMHO) is Simon Whaley who's at PNE but bumped into him in Chorley and he's a bit chavvy! Talented though.

 

Fish-head then? Or Ex-crab?

 

Club swinger and always thought Whaley was good. But if true very surprised about Davies and can only mean we have no money.

[Wes Tender]

1.5million is I agree stark raving bonkers. With so few quality players available at the moment on the market this figure hurts, but is also the only hope I have that it could just be speculation.

If it was a figure nearer 4 or 5 mil that digs us out the cr*p financially and gives us room to bring in some more experienced players I could accept it but this is wrong and is not good

 

Basically it only just covers Euell's & BWP's salaries for the year

 

I couldn't agree more and hope that you are right that it is only paper talk. Just think what a signal it would send out to all the other clubs that we are prepared to sell a player of his quality for such a paltry sum. Everybody must know by now that we are deep in the sh*t, but doing something like this will send out a message loud and clear that anybody and everybody is up for grabs. There are probably several clubs just waiting to see how the youngsters fare before offering us derisory amounts for them, knowing the lure of deserting this particular sinking ship for the Premiership will be enough to entice them in January. It can't do much for the egos of those more experienced players knowing that just because they earn an amount commensurate with their abilities, but more than a certain figure that we are deemed not able to afford, that therefore they are not wanted here.

[Long Shot]

Not surprised at this news - Lowe thinks, reasonably or not, that the kids are going to do a job for us. That is Plan A. There is no Plan B. Lets hope Rupert knows what he is doing.

[Long Shot]

I couldn't agree more and hope that you are right that it is only paper talk. Just think what a signal it would send out to all the other clubs that we are prepared to sell a player of his quality for such a paltry sum. Everybody must know by now that we are deep in the sh*t, but doing something like this will send out a message loud and clear that anybody and everybody is up for grabs. There are probably several clubs just waiting to see how the youngsters fare before offering us derisory amounts for them, knowing the lure of deserting this particular sinking ship for the Premiership will be enough to entice them in January. It can't do much for the egos of those more experienced players knowing that just because they earn an amount commensurate with their abilities, but more than a certain figure that we are deemed not able to afford, that therefore they are not wanted here.

 

Thats the trouble with playing youngsters.... once they show promise someone like Spurs come calling and they end up a Tottenham reserve.

[Wes Tender]

Still think it was stupid to give him player of the season.

 

Stern John should've got it, he kept us up not Andrew "injured for half the season" Davies.

 

This is such a short-sighted view. John's goals might well have kept us up whilst Davies was injured, but this does not acknowledge at all that having Davies absent through injury meant that we were weakened defensively and therefore drawn closer to the drop as a consequence.

 

Why were we relegated from the Premiership? Because we didn't score enough goals, or because Killer was out for most of that season and there were also injuries to Claus too?

[Big John]

A shame if it does happen, I feel that he is not only a great natural defender, but also fits the bill regarding taking the youngsters under his wing and helping them to develop. Would leave a massive hole, as Svensson did.

 

This could be the 'sweetener' though?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/606/A39282465

[Wes Tender]

A shame if it does happen, I feel that he is not only a great natural defender, but also fits the bill regarding taking the youngsters under his wing and helping them to develop. Would leave a massive hole, as Svensson did.

 

This could be the 'sweetener' though?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/606/A39282465

 

Big deal! Why don't we save even more money and get somebody out of the conference. I'm sure there are some big lads there who were player of the year for their teams.

[Saints67]

A shame if it does happen, I feel that he is not only a great natural defender, but also fits the bill regarding taking the youngsters under his wing and helping them to develop. Would leave a massive hole, as Svensson did.

 

This could be the 'sweetener' though?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/606/A39282465

 

Hmmm 'plater' of the season? Sounds more like a job for the catering staff.

[musesaint]

This news doesnt surprise me in the slightest. As I said earlier, no-one is safe from being sold. Lowe will accept any bid for any player he deems reasonable.

 

I wonder if Davies "recovery from injury" has been taking longer than expected for a reason.........

 

The reaactions on here are fascinating, and take one of three forms:

 

1. Told-you-sos

2. People who up till now who were basically saying "In Lowe We Trust", who have simply forgotten the nature of the man over the past 2 years but have now had a rude re-awakening

3. The bizarrest of the lot considering Killer's fragile situation, that claim "We dont need Andrew Davies anyway", just to toe the party line...

 

Whichever, I hope some of you have woken up to the fact that Division 1 football next season is a real prospect. But never mind, as long as the books balance for 5minutes this season, eh ????????????

 

 

If this is true any lingering doubts about what an utter t*at Lowe is will have evapourated.....FFS!

[Andy_Porter]

1.5m is no way near enough. Danny ****tu who is like 5 years older than Davies cost 2.25m, just a ridiculous deal if it's true.

[saintkiptanui]

his favourite song is "it's raining men" fact.

[NickG]

how much did we pay?

[NickG]

seen one old report saying around £1m, he has not really done much to justify big increase in fee so can't see us getting much more

[Minty]

1 - Nothing is confirmed yet so lets not go overboard too soon.

2 - I'd be absolutely gutted to lose Davies but to say it's suicide, or will guarantee relegation is just silly. Be concerned by all means... I would be... but lets not pretend that anything is a certainty as a result.

3 - While it's not a nice choice to make, if the choice had to be made between keeping the club afloat, or keeping a player whose wages might result in us going into Administration, then reluctantly I'd have to choose the former. Until the accounts are published we won't know quite how deep our financial poop is, but it is a very real possibility that we need to sell him to help the club survive.

[Andy_Porter]

seen one old report saying around £1m, he has not really done much to justify big increase in fee so can't see us getting much more

 

What? of course he has. He was quite easily our best player last season in his 23 games for us.

 

The fee we paid for shouldn't really have any relevance in regards to how much we get for him anyway.

[saintkiptanui]

1 - Nothing is confirmed yet so lets not go overboard too soon.

2 - I'd be absolutely gutted to lose Davies but to say it's suicide, or will guarantee relegation is just silly. Be concerned by all means... I would be... but lets not pretend that anything is a certainty as a result.

3 - While it's not a nice choice to make, if the choice had to be made between keeping the club afloat, or keeping a player whose wages might result in us going into Administration, then reluctantly I'd have to choose the former. Until the accounts are published we won't know quite how deep our financial poop is, but it is a very real possibility that we need to sell him to help the club survive.

the voice of reason is here and puts it so much better than I ever could, well done extra strong.

[Crab Lungs]

The "Svensson pens new deal" is blatantly in place to neutralise, in some way, the nasty shock some will get when they announce "Davies to Stoke"...

[NickG]

23 decent games in CCC will for player who has already played in premiership will not push his fee up.

 

Not knocking him but if we can get him from premiership side for £1m teams will expect to pay the same to a CCC team desperate for cash -we will do well to better what we paid

[NickG]

worrying thing to me is that he isn't name you would expect to be linked -injured CB with limited first team games.

[SB]

Don't sell the one player that could save us this year.

[The Godfather]

According to the papers this morning we've agreed a fee of 1.5million for Davies with Stoke, disasterous if true.

[John B]

The club is in a really bad state Mr Wilde stated during the week there will be ups and downs.

 

Well this could be a down so we need to support the club and not think relegation and administration is on the horizon.

 

We do have Svennson who I feel is a better leader than Davies.

 

Of course I am not happy but there will be further ups and downs before things get better

[John B]

1 - Nothing is confirmed yet so lets not go overboard too soon.

2 - I'd be absolutely gutted to lose Davies but to say it's suicide, or will guarantee relegation is just silly. Be concerned by all means... I would be... but lets not pretend that anything is a certainty as a result.

3 - While it's not a nice choice to make, if the choice had to be made between keeping the club afloat, or keeping a player whose wages might result in us going into Administration, then reluctantly I'd have to choose the former. Until the accounts are published we won't know quite how deep our financial poop is, but it is a very real possibility that we need to sell him to help the club survive.

 

Yes I agree with you

 

Also if we had managed to sell Rasiak and Saga we would be in a better financial situation.

 

Perhaps we could now loan Baird although his wages will be high

 

I always thought Svennson / Baird is a better combination than Svennson/Davies

 

If Davies is rated at £1.5 million it does not make him world class Baird went for £3 million so I do not see it as a complete disaster

Edited 16 August, 2008 by John B

[The Godfather]

Yes I agree with you

 

Also if we had managed to sell Rasiak and Saga we would be in a better financial situation.

 

Perhaps we could now loan Baird.

 

I always thought Svennson / Baird is a better combination than Svennson/Davies

 

The trouble is Baird is on 23k a week at Fulham, unless the agree to pay the large majority fo his wages we've got no chance. The trouble with only loaning Saga & Rasiak is although its wages of the bill, their is no transfer fee only a small loan fee. So the club have reduced the wage bill but without transfer money, little has changed with regards to having cash in the bank to keep Barclays happy.

Maybe thats why Davies is being sold (if true) because very little money has come into the club this summer. The club obviously have a target to reach in terms of their agreement with the bank up until the end of the transfer deadline, thats when we'll see what sort of position we find ourselves in regards of players, and finacncial situation.

[Master Bates]

http://www.stoke.vitalfootball.co.uk/article.asp?a=120461

[John B]

The "Svensson pens new deal" is blatantly in place to neutralise, in some way, the nasty shock some will get when they announce "Davies to Stoke"...

 

I doubt if that is the case Svennson was going to sign sometime now

[lumuah]

http://www.teamtalk.com/football/story/0,16368,1783_3990959,00.html

 

Doesn't add a lot to what we already know

[Amesbury Saint]

I would be disappointed if all we got was £1.5m.

[Faz]

My guess is whether it's for us or scfc, he'll play 2 miss 3. Recklessly brave imo, which also makes him an actionman-like hero to many.

 

He's played a total of 92 league games in 6 years.

 

Would ike to keep him, but it's clear we need cash, and w have plenty of cover. Sadly the high wages of some of the other contenders for sale mean we are stuck.

[CHAPEL END CHARLIE]

The trouble is Baird is on 23k a week at Fulham, unless the agree to pay the large majority fo his wages we've got no chance. The trouble with only loaning Saga & Rasiak is although its wages of the bill, their is no transfer fee only a small loan fee. So the club have reduced the wage bill but without transfer money, little has changed with regards to having cash in the bank to keep Barclays happy.

Maybe thats why Davies is being sold (if true) because very little money has come into the club this summer. The club obviously have a target to reach in terms of their agreement with the bank up until the end of the transfer deadline, thats when we'll see what sort of position we find ourselves in regards of players, and finacncial situation.

 

Agreed .

The club and its creditors must be massively disappointed with the transfer income generated this summer . I'm pretty sure three months ago we would have hoped/expected to receive useful fees for players such as Rasiak , Viafara , Skacel ... etc but in reality all we've had so far is :

 

Peter Crouch 'sell on' payment - £600k

Cedric Baseya development fee - £? (well under £500k I guess)

Youssef Safri transfer fee - reported as £400k but unconfirmed at this time

Undisclosed loan payments for Rasiak , Saganowski and Poke

Early settlement payment for G Bale - £2.5m with the other £2.5m written off ?

 

That lot may add up to something like £5m and we've probably knocked £100k p/w off the wage bill , but if the bank demanded a £7/8m cash injection then you can see why Andrew Davies may be for sell . All said a pretty sorry state of affairs .

Edited 16 August, 2008 by CHAPEL END CHARLIE

[Wes Tender]

My guess is whether it's for us or scfc, he'll play 2 miss 3. Recklessly brave imo, which also makes him an actionman-like hero to many.

 

He's played a total of 92 league games in 6 years.

 

Would ike to keep him, but it's clear we need cash, and w have plenty of cover. Sadly the high wages of some of the other contenders for sale mean we are stuck.

 

We have plenty of cover? Yes a mixture of untried youngsters, journeymen old pros and injury prone players. Unless we are extremely lucky with injuries or suspensions, we will leak like a bloody sieve this season at the back. And one of the few options that might have remedied that situation is up for sale for a paltry £1.5 million.

 

If this comes about, then almost more than anything else in our recent history this will prove that "Never mind the quality, feel the width" Lowe knows everything about balancing the books, but very little about football.

[sidthesquid]

If you want to blame anyone - blame Skacel for starters. Turned down a £1million move to sit on his Rse for ten grand a week. And whoever sanctioned the huge salaries of Thomas, Euell, BWP etc who are worse than valueless because no-one will even take them for free. (Also, sadly, I reckon Davies is another one on premiership wages)

[John B]

We have plenty of cover? Yes a mixture of untried youngsters, journeymen old pros and injury prone players. Unless we are extremely lucky with injuries or suspensions, we will leak like a bloody sieve this season at the back. And one of the few options that might have remedied that situation is up for sale for a paltry £1.5 million.

 

If this comes about, then almost more than anything else in our recent history this will prove that "Never mind the quality, feel the width" Lowe knows everything about balancing the books, but very little about football.

 

Mr Lowe is not paid to know about football he is paid to balance the books.

 

Obviously Mr Crouch knows a lot about football but not a lot about balancing the books

[Wes Tender]

If you want to blame anyone - blame Skacel for starters. Turned down a £1million move to sit on his Rse for ten grand a week. And whoever sanctioned the huge salaries of Thomas, Euell, BWP etc who are worse than valueless because no-one will even take them for free. (Also, sadly, I reckon Davies is another one on premiership wages)

 

Why blame Scacel? Would you have done any different if you were him? He is under contract at £10,000 a week or whatever and doesn't want a move where his pay would be halved. Can you really blame him for that? With a bit of luck one of the youngsters will prove to be not good enough or get injured so that we can play him and get a return on his pay. IMO he has more class about him than some of them and is an asset. With a bit of luck Andrew Davies will also turn down a move, but regrettably Stoke can afford his wages.

[Faz]

We have plenty of cover? Yes a mixture of untried youngsters, journeymen old pros and injury prone players. Unless we are extremely lucky with injuries or suspensions, we will leak like a bloody sieve this season at the back. And one of the few options that might have remedied that situation is up for sale for a paltry £1.5 million.

 

If this comes about, then almost more than anything else in our recent history this will prove that "Never mind the quality, feel the width" Lowe knows everything about balancing the books, but very little about football.

 

This is a league full of journeymen pros and untried youngsters. Perry, Svennson, Schniederlin (sp?), Wotton, Thomas, and with Lancashire and possibly Racine in reserve - I would say we are better covered at CB than any other position.

 

It is unpalatable, but if we need the cash, what is your alternative?

[Wes Tender]

Mr Lowe is not paid to know about football he is paid to balance the books.

 

Obviously Mr Crouch knows a lot about football but not a lot about balancing the books

 

It's therefore a shame that their egos don't allow them to either work together, or sell up and go.

[belgrave]

I would bet money on Davies playing more games than Svensson over the next year. For whatever team he ends up playing for.

 

The OS headline should read "Saints sign occasional player to be paid occassionally, whilst knee disintegrates."

 

Equating Svensson with Davies AT THE CURRENT POINT IN THEIR CAREERS is daft. Davies is promising, very good for CCC, and young. Svensson used to be a good player in the premiership five years ago.

 

This is not knocking what Svensson has done, or how good he was, or how nice a guy he is, but this is where we are.

 

If Lowe is thinking about sanctioning the sale of Davies for 1.5m, then, once again, it highlights how little Lowe knows about the "product" of his company.

[Johnny Shearer]

Hmm, it will be sad IF Davies goes as he would have steadied the ship a bit. Plus that is a paltry fee for him.

 

However if it paves the way for Baird to return then that would soften the blow a little - of course thats all gonna happen in make believe land in my head!

[Faz]

If Lowe is thinking about sanctioning the sale of Davies for 1.5m, then, once again, it highlights how little Lowe knows about the "product" of his company.

 

Maybe, or it highlights how desperate we are for cash having been unable to offload Skacel, Thomas, Rasiak, Saga or Davis who were clearly in the shop window.

[alpine_saint]

Agreed .

The club and its creditors must be massively disappointed with the transfer income generated this summer . I'm pretty sure three months ago we would have hoped/expected to receive useful fees for players such as Rasiak , Viafara , Skacel ... etc but in reality all we've had so far is :

 

Peter Crouch 'sell on' payment - £600k

Cedric Baseya development fee - £? (well under £500k I guess)

Youssef Safri transfer fee - reported as £400k but unconfirmed at this time

Undisclosed loan payments for Rasiak , Saganowski and Poke

Early settlement payment for G Bale - £2.5m with the other £2.5m written off ?

 

That lot may add up to something like £5m and we've probably knocked £100k p/w off the wage bill , but if the bank demanded a £7/8m cash injection then you can see why Andrew Davies may be for sell . All said a pretty sorry state of affairs .

 

This a good post, and may have hit the nail on the head.

 

If it is true, this suggests to me further mis-management of Southampton Football Club by Rupert Lowe, since it indicates his much-vaunted business plan presented to the bank was a complete fairy-tale not worth the paper it was written on.............