With concerns about the lack of signings and the seeming inability to get rid of players we don't want it strikes me that the transfer market has become something of a no win situation for a club like ours.
We have problems getting the players we want because someone else can always offer more. As the Modric situation has demonstrated even when we get past that hurdle, either by finding a bargain or developing a talent, the sharks start circling. Again others can offer much higher wages. Even if we profit on the transfer fees it`s no way to build a successful team. That takes time, if there is a constant change of playing staff which is outside the club's control any kind of settled squad becomes impossible.
That's half the problem. The other half is getting rid of players you don't want. Some fans seem eager to spend big on dubious talent. But as Keane is now showing, an overpaid player becomes a real problem when he doesn't perform. Anyone who can afford his wages can buy better, anyone who might want him can't match what he's earning and he is entitled to see out his contract then walk as a free agent. The club is left trying to walk a tightrope. You need players who are good enough to move the team on while at the same time you don't want to lock in players on high wages for fear they may turn into future Robbie Keane's.
In the background is the threat that any talent you do sign will quickly become a target for someone with more money. We are between a rock and a hard place. There's no complete answer to this but a few things are obvious. One is that the more of your own talent you can develop the better, you will at least get a few seasons out of them before the sharks move in plus, if necessary, you will be able to move them on fairly easily.
Another is that a strong, workmanlike squad with no superstars is better than a squad with a few real talents and not much else. This is simply because it`s the superstars you can't hold on to if they succeed and who become overpaid dead weight if they fail. Instead focus on developing strength in depth and a team ethic, don't worry about beating the top teams, worry about beating everybody else.
This brings me to the third point, if we could do that we would have a very good chance of regular Champions League football which would automatically improve our chance of signing and keeping quality players. Without a bigger stadium we are trying to punch above our weight, something many fans seem reluctant to admit, if we want to do that we need to recognise the reality of our situation and just how difficult the transfer market is.
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