Nathan Ferguson?

Footballers are privileged but you have to bear in mind that this is it for them. They have 10-14 years of earnings and after that, probably nothing.

In making his decision, he would have had thoughts and people in his ear saying “what if you get a career injury” - he did and taking the money route was the best decision he will have ever made. I would have made the same decision and I suspect a lot of people on here would have too.

Fellows is a good kid and he’s chosen to take a route where he gets game time and development before probably going to the premier league and earning more money. If he gets injured like Ferguson, it’s the worst decision he could have made.

In terms of having him back; yes in a heartbeat. Football is a business and if we have an outside chance of getting him fit and back to the same level, we would have one of the best defenders in the league for very little money. As long as the deals low risk financially it’s a no brainer.

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Originally Posted by baggieal

Your view and you are right if it was chasing money short term. Take Fellows he’s a consistent starter and absolutely proved himself in a tough championship league. Proving yourself at a young age is different from unproven but with talent. Fellows is worth over 10 million now and most likely will make it not just short term but long term.

Unbelievable you have brought up colour as I was merely pointing out three black players and yes greed is everywhere! Fellows though ( Mr/He/They/It ) will go on to great things and deservedly so!

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I didn’t bring up colour Al - you did …….again.

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Originally Posted by baggiematt

Footballers are privileged but you have to bear in mind that this is it for them. They have 10-14 years of earnings and after that, probably nothing.

In making his decision, he would have had thoughts and people in his ear saying “what if you get a career injury” - he did and taking the money route was the best decision he will have ever made. I would have made the same decision and I suspect a lot of people on here would have too.

Fellows is a good kid and he’s chosen to take a route where he gets game time and development before probably going to the premier league and earning more money. If he gets injured like Ferguson, it’s the worst decision he could have made.

In terms of having him back; yes in a heartbeat. Football is a business and if we have an outside chance of getting him fit and back to the same level, we would have one of the best defenders in the league for very little money. As long as the deals low risk financially it’s a no brainer.

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Football is a business but not heard of many crocked players having a pay per game type of contract. If that was the case ( and I like him ) we would have vastly reduced Bartley’s salary but doubtful that would happen. That said - I am glad Bartley has signed again regardless!

Whilst we have a duty of care - do we look to offload Dike once fit or gamble he does not break down again? As football is a business so far he’s been a waste of money albeit he’s been unfortunate but still a waste of money!

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Originally Posted by baggieal

Football is a business but not heard of many crocked players having a pay per game type of contract. If that was the case ( and I like him ) we would have vastly reduced Bartley’s salary but doubtful that would happen. That said - I am glad Bartley has signed again regardless!

Whilst we have a duty of care - do we look to offload Dike once fit or gamble he does not break down again? As football is a business so far he’s been a waste of money albeit he’s been unfortunate but still a waste of money!

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What club would buy Dike with his injury record? We’re stuck with him or he goes out on loan.

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Originally Posted by Albionic68

No. He was a centre back who was better in both fullback positions than Townsend and Furlong than when he was with us. He'd have probably made a better centre forward than Weimann too.

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Not what I’ve read and not what I remember.

No brainer if its free and the wages are right, and if its pay as you play then it will be.

Will be great cover for Furlong.

If Furlong was to get injured now, I have no idea who would play right back.

Also provides him with a bit of competition, which is no bad thing.

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Originally Posted by mickd1961

All of those players made the right decision financially.

Easy for us who are better off say rather than to appreciate what backgrounds these lads might consider me from and what family pressures they’re under.

Traditionally, we don’t play kids anyway so it’s been a no brainer for them.

Earn fk all at Albion or go to a big club on maybe £5k a week.

Total no brainer if you’re from a deprived background.

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100% agree.

I would love to play for the Albion, but if I was a 17 year old kid at our academy and another club came in and offered me 10x, 15x or 20x what I was earning I'd move in a heartbeat - even if that was to Villa. Especially if they had a chance to set me up for life. Ferguson, Izzy Brown, Morgan Rogers all made moves that set them up financially for life, and I don't blame them at all.

And lets not forget, we talk about loyalty but it wouldn't work the other way if their form was to drop or they had bad injuries. We release plenty of young players every year.

It's a short career, they need to make the most of it. And that means financially. I'd rather not have to work again than make 150 career appearances at a lower level and then scramble around to find another trade when I packed up.

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Originally Posted by baggiematt

Footballers are privileged but you have to bear in mind that this is it for them. They have 10-14 years of earnings and after that, probably nothing.

In making his decision, he would have had thoughts and people in his ear saying “what if you get a career injury” - he did and taking the money route was the best decision he will have ever made. I would have made the same decision and I suspect a lot of people on here would have too.

Fellows is a good kid and he’s chosen to take a route where he gets game time and development before probably going to the premier league and earning more money. If he gets injured like Ferguson, it’s the worst decision he could have made.

In terms of having him back; yes in a heartbeat. Football is a business and if we have an outside chance of getting him fit and back to the same level, we would have one of the best defenders in the league for very little money. As long as the deals low risk financially it’s a no brainer.

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This attitude of only got a short earning window so they need to earn it now as when the career is over they need to be set up makes my pi*s come out in lumps. Where did this I need to be able to retire at 38 or whatever suddenly become the norm. If you start work at 18 and work for 10-15 years then get made redundant, you cannot retire on what you have earned. You have to get another job, maybe retrain for something totally different to earn your keep. Footballers used to have to do the same, finish playing football and do something different to pay their way. Thank big chin Jimmy Hill for getting rid of the maximum wage which has eventually led to enabling mediocre players to earn stupid wages. Eg: Adam Reach on supposedly £40,000 a week. Money is what attracts the youth of today into football, not necessarily the love of the game.

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Originally Posted by Grand Wazoo

This attitude of only got a short earning window so they need to earn it now as when the career is over they need to be set up makes my pi*s come out in lumps. Where did this I need to be able to retire at 38 or whatever suddenly become the norm. If you start work at 18 and work for 10-15 years then get made redundant, you cannot retire on what you have earned. You have to get another job, maybe retrain for something totally different to earn your keep. Footballers used to have to do the same, finish playing football and do something different to pay their way. Thank big chin Jimmy Hill for getting rid of the maximum wage which has eventually led to enabling mediocre players to earn stupid wages. Eg: Adam Reach on supposedly £40,000 a week. Money is what attracts the youth of today into football, not necessarily the love of the game.

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Why deny someone the opportunity to earn life changing money. Why can't people retire at 38 if they have earned enough?

Ultimately, these people perform in front of 40-50 thousand fans inside a stadium with millions of people watching on TV. This is the law of supply and demand. This is why Lewis Hamilton, Federer, Tiger Woods etc. have made so much in their careers. You can't compare ordinary working people to exceptional footballers. And you can't compare footballers from years ago to today's players, the commercial aspect of the game is completely different. Don't blame them for making the most of it.

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Originally Posted by boingy

Not what I’ve read and not what I remember.

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Your memory must be terrible Boingy. Here's a reminder. He came through the youth system having made the vast majority of his appearances at centre half.

His first team league debut came as a right back away to Nottingham Forest when Matt Phillips banged in a late winner. I was there and had the pleasure of meeting Romaine Sawyers' mom.

Nathan Ferguson was awarded Player of the Match after being chosen ahead of then new signing Darnell Furlong by then new manager Slaven Bilic.

Shortly after this Conor Townsend got injured and Nathan switched to left back, where as a right footed centre half he then kept left footed left back Conor Townsend out of the side when he returned to fitness.

In the meantime Dara O'Shea, another predominantly right footed centre half from the academy, got the nod over Darnell Furlong at right back. From memory Darnell made 23 starts that season. 22 at right back and 1 at left back.