Disagree, when I was thinking about ''the fee'' and when the news broke out we were backing away because of ''the fee'' 120m was pretty much in the range of what I was considering and still consider as unattainable for us if we want to do anything else other than just sign Bellingham this summer.
Like I said before, this doesn't excuse the fiasco of waiting for him, feeding the fans this ''we're waiting for Jude'' thing for two years instead of investing in the midfield the way we should've, but yeah paying 120M for one player only and expecting us to turn around and get an extra 2 midfielders and a quality center back all in the same summer is a pipe dream. That's like what, upwards of 350m in that market? You can't constantly criticize them for being stingy owners and then tell you're surprised they aren't doing that.
Now they've put the pressure on themselves to deliver. Summer ends and we signed a minimum of three midfielders and a quality center-back or two midfielders, a quality center-back and a right-back or its failure and people will get even more riled up than they are right now and I'll be part of those who will be unhappy. I'm okay when you justify to me not doing or doing something because you have ''a plan'', but when it turns out that in fact there was no plan at all and that you've been feeding me bullshit through journalists you drip-feed info to then I'm just as insulted as the next guy.
This whole Bellingham thing is a fiasco not because we are ultimately not getting him, I couldn't care less. Its a fiasco because two months into this season it had become clear that we've ended up with nothing. On the one side, we haven't rejuvenated our midfield like we should've in the last two summers and let the situation spiral out of control and on the other hand, no Bellingham because now we can't afford to get him and still do the mandatory midfield rebuild we have to do as a result of our genius ''we're waiting for Jude plan''. The Bellingham outcome was clear because the fee v. what we can expect to spend in a summer never made sense for us unless it was a summer dedicated to Bellingham in which we'd only buy him and that's it. By November it was clear we couldn't afford that because we need much more than just 1 midfielder.
I don't go at FSG very often, but one thing I believe in is to buy when you're in a position of power. You don't have to break the bank every summer, but if you spend the big bucks when you need to (once every two or three summers or so) and in between you keep supplementing the squad with smart acquisitions then you should be good. That's exactly what we didn't do. Now its no CL, an exhausted squad and we're going into a summer where we need to do an awful lot all while making next to no mistakes if we hope to bounce back next season.
Edit: this also reminds me that we still have no clarity as to what is happening with the DOF position. No info as to when exactly the current one is leaving. No info as to if have an new on lined up, no nothing. It's a continuation of the uncharacteristic chaos that has been creeping into the club in the last year and half or so. Combine this with the fact that, like I said, its a very important summer that is ahead of us and there is cause for concern. They might have it all under control behind the scene, but from where we stand, based on the info (or lack of) we have it surely doesn't look that way.
I do think this is all staged (conspiracy) in order not to spend.
1) got the fans waiting for the right player while refraining from spending meanwhile, which is valid.
2) then when the player becomes available, they declare that it's too expensive. Don't give me this sh*te. They are acquisition and sales professionals. Don't tell me they know nothing about valuing a player. They do know the price for Bellingham. You get to keep your money again!
3) all of a sudden you say that you need three players for malfunctioning positions.
Either they do not know what they're doing or they know full well how to satisfy the media and fans with a script that will not spend money. I'd love to see how the acquisition of three players unfold.
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