How much would it cost to prise an under contract Roberts away from Notts?
300k?
How much would it cost to prise an under contract Roberts away from Notts?
300k?
I really am starting to dislike Cheaterfurlough.
With the National League being so competitive with only one automatic promotion place it would be madness to sell our players to rivals in this league - no matter the cost.
For me it’s clearly an unsettling tactic, so we should carry on as we are and use it as extra motivation to kick on and knock them off the top spot.
The only club in the National League that could genuinely meet Cal's asking price and pay him the kind of wages that would make a transfer worth his while are Wrexham. If we accepted a big bid from them and he wanted to go, then it would be understandable, but I suspect Chesterfield already over-reached themselves to get Tshimanga and will either have to sell him on or suffer the financial consequences sooner or later. If they shelled out the sort of money it would take to sign Roberts, they would be really mortgaging their future. As you say, it's likely to be either a PR stunt or a sign of desperation.
As per Swale’s post I would hope it was made clear to all the players that if any NL club came in for any of them they would be told to get f00ked in no uncertain terms.
Apart from this, is it me or are local media determined to unsettle our players in a way they would never do with Forest?
Okay yes, if Chessie combined the Chelsea cup money and sold Tshimanga, then they would have enough money to make a tempting bid and give Cal a sufficient wage rise that might be attractive to him in the short-term, but both of those are one-off incomes, not sustainable long-term funds like Wrexham have got with their benefactors.
If Chesterfield really did want to go down that route and pay us silly money, I'd probably say take it, because that would increase our own buying power and we've shown we can recruit well through Football Radar. I still think it would be a bad move for the player though, because unlike Wrexham who will undoubtedly climb the leagues in the next few seasons, Chesterfield haven't got the funding to sustain a long-term improvement.
If he wants to move, Roberts should be looking either for an immediate leap up to League One, or to a club like Wrexham whose potential for fast growth is obvious. Chesterfield and Hartlepool haven't got that type of potential. If they're the best offers he gets, he might as well sit tight and wait for bigger fish to come along.
I think it's important to remember that the fact Notts can be picky over who we sell our better players to, and for what price, is a very underrated aspect of our present owners being in charge. The fact that they have demonstrated sufficient means to finance Notts for several years now, as well as having built a reputation (at least in my eyes) for rational, objective and sustainable decision making means we can tell Chesterfield to shove it if we want to, and credibly mean it.
When you consider some of the fire sales that have gone on at Meadow Lane in the past, and the entirely unsustainable approaches from frankly all of the owners post-trust, it it is something we should appreciate more.
Last edited by SlockyNCFC; 05-01-2022 at 09:17 PM.
I don’t look at how the media treat Forest. The local press are merely keeping us informed of what’s what. I don’t think the rumours regarding Cal or Wootton are false. You only have to look at local (Pompey and Chesterfield) papers with regards to both players. The players aren’t blind or deaf and I would suggest both are being kept abreast of any bids or interest by the club and their own agents.
Let’s take it as a positive that the first time in a very long time we have players that are good enough to go up through the leagues and are generating interest. Hopefully it’s something we have to get used to as it becomes loner regular.
Personally I think all the players are happy at Notts and will be happy with what the club decides. Which then makes players being unsettled a mute point.