Wolves line up ambitious £20m Andre Gray deal

[Rams4Justice]

Wolves are going all out to sign Burnley striker Andre Gray for £20m, they have already brought in the likes of Ruben Neves & Diego Jota this summer and are ready to go all out again, to bring Andre to Molienux for the upcoming campaign starter against Middlesbrough.

http://the72.co.uk/88565/wolves-ponder-big-striker-bid/

The EFL is now showing signs of clubs in lower devisions spending Premier League prices to achieve targets in getting out of this tough devision and playing in the top league that is the Barclays Premier League.

Splashing the cash doesn't always get you to achieve your targets but if it's spend wisely and you have a good recruitment policy, then you could just of bought yourself a ticket to the big leagues.

Time will tell if Wolves will be at the top end of the table come the end of the season but they are showing signs already that they are a major force to be reckoned with this season under their new manager Nuno Esperito Santo.

[Manofpride]

Great player on his day but £20million??? Crazy money!

[Rams4Justice]

Is for the Championship...

[ramAnag]

Great player on his day but £20million??? Crazy money!

Sign of the times I'm afraid. Proven at both Premiership and Championship level, unlike our two expensive outgoings, in his prime and a Wolverhampton lad too I believe. 'Crazy money' indeed, but wouldn't be surprised to see it happen...Wolves are rich and ambitious and if it goes ahead I'd expect prices of other targets to rocket.
Assuming Burnley can replace him they don't half do some good business. A case of 'watch and learn' at Derby I'm afraid.

[Rams4Justice]

£20m is ambitious but outrageous for just one player especially in the Championship.

[ramAnag]

Just checked, rejected by Wolves at 13...fought for a place through the lower leagues...earned a reputation with a goal virtually every other game at Luton...repeated that effort at Brentford...and not so far off the same stat at Burnley. Not just a brilliant example of what a 'hungry' player can achieve but finding and identifying such players in the lower leagues - like Brentford - is something we have to start doing at Derby imo.

[roger_ramjet]

The 35th best team in England (based on latest tables) lashing out £ 20 million for a player. Complete ****ing madness. I remember Wolves going bust at least twice during my lifetime but, along comes a sugar daddy and they join the inflation cycle.

An interesting sugar daddy though - one that owns Thomas Cook, Club Med and Cirque de Soleil, amongst others - very much chinoiserie nouveau riche whose chairman has survived allegations/investigations of fraud and all sorts in his home country (another regular feature of this new breed of owner)..

It seems that no club will be able to succeed without billionaire owners now - or at least they will not be able to compete for decent players. Sadly Mel is not in this category and he will soon be seen as a poor owner in money terms as well as, some may say, management style terms.

But there is a bigger picture here - I saw something on Sky over the weekend that showed that Manchester City's defence cost a collective £ 267 million - including Vincent Kompany who was a bargain at £ 6 million. And Guardiola has said he wants another centre back for this season, so that will make it £ 300 million. Their salaries? No clue but enormous I am sure. Comparative paupers like our owner cannot hope to compete other than by developing our own talent through the Academy.

FFP? Dont make me laugh - both Manchester clubs have spent over 150 million this preseason and still want more. I have to admire Tottenham for having banked over 50 million this year and kept out of the market - but I am sure that will not be the case by August 31. The mooted Neymar deal based on an almost 200 million contract buy out clause will set another benchmark that economically cannot make sense, notwithstanding image rights sales and replica kit etc.

Where will it lead? I suspect within 10 years the lower 2 English leagues will end up as semi pro; the championship could end up as farm clubs to premier teams - effectively the premier teams reserves tied to their parent. There will be those that point to Leicester's success as evidence that there is still a level playing field, but who here would put £ 1 on anyone outside last year's top 6 winning this year? Already that Leicester performance seems like a full stop on an era.

All of which leads me to the conclusion that I dont want the Rams to get promotion to that elite. Much as we whinge about the Derby way not working, we at least go into the season with something to look forward too - some people even have optimism and hope for top 6. What do Watford fans have to look forward to preseason? Avoiding relegation and perhaps getting a lucky draw and cup run. Or Bournemouth, or Burnley etc etc. All they look forward to is avoidance of a negative, rather than achieving a positive.

Rant over

[Andy_Faber]

The problem with that RR is that if a club deliberately 'settles' for mid table mediocrity it doesn't take too big a slip to suddenly be in Spud U Like League 5 North - look at Coventry, look at Luton, look at wolves in years gone by, even look at us. We only avoided relegation by 16 points last year. Also, from the POV of the next generation of fans, I wold rather let them see us lose 2-0 at home to Man U or Chelsea than Barnsley of Bolton

[ramAnag]

Much as I loath the way money is dominating all things to do with football at the moment, I don't quite follow your argument Rog.
At least the likes of Watford, Bournemouth and Burnley can look forward to the possibility of upsetting the 'rich kids' and it was only the season before last that totally unfancied Leicester beat the lot of them.
We are potentially at least as big as Leicester and bigger than Watford or Bournemouth, but you only seem to see us starting the season looking forward to the possibility of something you don't actually want anyway.
P.S. Like the new avatar...sure Bloomer will approve.

[roger_ramjet]

...and since Leicester did what they did, 15 months ago, the price for an OK premiership player has tripled, making a repeat of a Leicester scenario even more remote. Only the big market teams have the resources to meet the new transfer prices - Leicester are a small market player with minimal support outside the east midlands to sell product in and so cannot generate enough revenue to sustain a "Big 6" like investment strategy where 100m seems to be a minimum entry requirement.

Yes I see us looking forward (collectively) to promotion since I am sure the majority on here still think promotion would be good. The fact that personally I see no point is not reflective of the entire fan base I am sure! So I do feel like a Burnley fan in the sense that I have no optimism or aspirations for the season except to beat Notts Spinney. As championship clubs we only exist by virtue of the largesse of the premiership TV deal and trickle down revenue, or by nurturing and selling on youngsters to premiership clubs.

Anyway as far as I am concerned its still the cricket season until mid September