It just got worse ... Bobby to Posh?

[Southampton Gull]

I wouldn't count on that if Bill Phillips is doing the negotiations...............

[Richinns]

Why have we accepted the first bid? Surely we reject it knowing they will come back with a higher one? That is the way the game is played so why do we just roll over at the first offer?

[Southampton Gull]

Rich, this hasn't just come about, Peterborough have been sounding him out for a while now. There's nothing to say that we didn't refuse the first bid but we aren't known for being tough negotiators are we?

[Richinns]

Rich, this hasn't just come about, Peterborough have been sounding him out for a while now. There's nothing to say that we didn't refuse the first bid but we aren't known for being tough negotiators are we?

Any ideas what the region of the bid is in Dave? I know we have to be a selling club but I am very worried we do not seem to be getting anywhere near a good enough price for our assets.

Also worried that if Ling is losing all the quality for little reward (some here before he came and some he has brought in) then the Gills job will become a lot more attractive to him if offered.

[Dave]

One of my lads friends family are Peterbrough fans, they often watch Torquay aswell, he told me back in January Peterbrough were going to move on Joe Lewis, and they were watching Bobby.O amongst a couple of other keepers, he seems well up on all things posh, so this no suprise to me.

And all of us gulls fans really have to stop acting like a bunch of hurt drama queens, who says we accepted Peterbrough's first bid, who says we are about to sell Bobby for peanuts, lets wait to see what the fee is, if he signs for them, and in the mean time dry up the tears,it's getting embarrasing.Fans of other club do read this site.

[Southampton Gull]

I don't know mate, I just hope we've grown a pair and got a good deal.

I'd accept less in terms of a fee if we got a good sell-on but I won't hold my breath.

[Richinns]

One of my lads friends family are Peterbrough fans, they often watch Torquay aswell, he told me back in January Peterbrough were going to move on Joe Lewis, and they were watching Bobby.O amongst a couple of other keepers, he seems well up on all things posh, so this no suprise to me.

And all of us gulls fans really have to stop acting like a bunch of hurt drama queens, who says we accepted Peterbrough's first bid, who says we are about to sell Bobby for peanuts, lets wait to see what the fee is, if he signs for them, and in the mean time dry up the tears,it's getting embarrasing.Fans of other club do read this site.

So you think £175k is good price for O'Kane then? Going by this a yard stick there is every right to be concerned that we also will not be getting a fair price for Bobby and we have every right to discuss these concerns. Fans of the other clubs might read this site but I would also hope employees of the club do.

[Kernowgull]

I still would like to know where 175k figure has come from. Not disputing it, it seems on here to be widely accepted, but has it been put officially anywhere? All Ive seen is Ling say it meets our valuation.

[Dave]

No, I dont think £175k for Eunan is in any way right , agreed us fans do have the right to discuss our concerns, and I have already posted that as a fan I don't see £175k as right, however their is a big difference between discussing concerns and endless moaning and groaning, and bitching like a bunch of big girls .

I am also very well aware that thanks to Roberts and co our club was dieing on it's feet, in fact we may well be FC.Torquay by now playing in the piss pot soUthern league divsion Z, if it was not for our current board of directors, who were the ones who put their money right where their mouths are, they have over the last 5 years re-built the clubs infastructure from the bottom up, and helped bring about 5 years of constant on the field relative succsess, and what thanks do they get, crowds of 2800 when we were in for automatic promotion, maybe, just maybe if our fans got of their backsides and came to the matchs, our board would not have to sell our prized assets so cheap, as remeber they still have to pay back Thea Bristow, and how on earth does any one thing Martin Ling is really going to take our team any further forward with out money, he did an immense job last season, but he is not Mary Poppins , he could not have kept us up their with out a slice of luck.

I am not wishing to come across as insulting to my fellow gulls fans I know many members on here personaly, however we really do not know the full facts do we, and right now its gone way past just discussing concerns , we as fans can be annoyed, but unless we start getting behind and giving our club the real support it needs, throught he gates, then get used to more and more of our best young players being sold.

And another point every club is a selling club, even Man.u.

[ferrarilover]

I still would like to know where 175k figure has come from. Not disputing it, it seems on here to be widely accepted, but has it been put officially anywhere? All Ive seen is Ling say it meets our valuation.

Some among our membership just know these things. Don't ask how, just accept that if Magical Trevor (not his real same) says it's £175,000, then this is the case.

Matt.

[Richinns]

I still would like to know where 175k figure has come from. Not disputing it, it seems on here to be widely accepted, but has it been put officially anywhere? All Ive seen is Ling say it meets our valuation.

Herald quote it as that (whether they got it from here in unknown!)

[nicktufc]

They have met our valuation as that is the clause put in his contract. We cannot reject that offer, as it would be illegal to do so, therefore that is the vaulation that we decided would be fair for both Eunan and TUFC when we got him to sign a new contract. If we have negotiated with Eunan that £500,000 was his release, he may have not signed a new deal, and we'd be talking about a panel of F.A idiots deciding which side of £30k we'd be getting for an out of contract Eunan O'Kane.

It's disappointing because we'd all love to get more for him, and he probably deserves a bigger transfer fee. This was the deal we did with the devil, and the deal we must do with the red devils now

[Brez60gull]

It's the same old rantings from lasy year at this stage with people moaning about players leaving for this and that, and look how that turned out none of us saw that season coming and that included getting in a new manager and assistant as well.
Lingy stated when he took over that it would be at least 3 years before he would have the right players here that he wanted. None of us want to see our best players leave, Bobby O has been an inspiration and what a find by Lingy, EOK IMO has been average this season he started it excellent but was a passenger for a lot of the games in the second half of the season and after the Plymouth game it was down hill.

Mark has had the offer on the table for sometime now so either sign or sell. Whatever happens in the coming days and weeks I have the faith in Mr Ling and his staff to put a very good squad of players together with whatever funds are made available to him and who knows we could still be an outside bet for at least the playoffs for a third season in a row or even better.

[royalgull]

I would have no problem with Olejnik leaving to go to Peterborough on principle. They are a decent club (these days) and are in the CHampionship with ambitious plans. In fact i'd say it's a pretty perfect club to join where Bobby would be first choice, 2 leagues higher but not immediate pressure to be amazing. What i mean by that if he went somewhere like Leeds or Bolton there would be immediate expectation that he has to be the finished article because they want promotion. By going to Peterborough he'd join a decent club that are establishing themselves at that level who don't have ideas above their station.

Where I have a problem is I have ZERO faith or confidence in our board to command a decent fee for him. In their minds it's 1991 and £100,000 is extortionate money for a player. Olejnik right now for me we couldn't replace him for a like for like in terms of quality for anything less than a minimum £400,000. There is absolutely no way our board would haggle for a fee close to that number. In fact if we got £100k I'd be surprised.

Regarding Eunan people say well he wouldn't have signed a contract without that fee release clause. Fair enough, don't offer him one then. I seriously don't think him in his last year of contract and this minimum fee would or should actually differ in terms of his worth if someone tried to buy him. I am actually slightly disappointed in Eunan as well because he was a nobody when Buckle took him from Ireland. He knows the financial situation at this club and a fair fee for him could really set us up in the long term. I feel disappointed that we couldn't say to him 'Look Eunan we think you're one of the best players in the league, we're happy for you to move on if we get a fair fee for you and we'll put this clause in but we'd like it to be £3-400,000 where we get a fair deal and you get your move to a club that really wants you'.

With the fee set this low jokers like Crawley can step in take him and we get ripped off. Don't think it's the right move for all parties but when does that actually matter. Money talks ultimately and our club must be in a truly bad way that we'd let such a bright talent go for so little.

I guarantee the next time O'Kane and Olejnik move on it'll be for 3 or 4 times the amounts we sell them for. I could understand moving on the likes of Zebroski, Kee, Wroe for small fees. At best these lads will only ever play in LEague 1 and they have no long term value and are easily replaceable. These 2 lads are special players that could go to the top 2 divisions in this country without a shadow of doubt if they are looked after properly. To let the pair go for £500k or less we have just completely shafted ourselves. Our board truly has the financial sense of northern rock.

[Dave]

Was rushing to go out when I wrote my last reply, so just to add a few things.

Their is a massive difference between us and Crawley for a start, they are not abigger club, but do have serious cash, therefore they can afford to slap high prices tags on their players, we can't as stated our gates are truely pathetic.

And the same applies to alot of clubs who are in or were in our division last season, Swindo , Shrewsbury, Bristol Rovers and Plymouth to name a few who were getting gates well over 5000, even Northampton spent most of the season in the bottom 2 were getting 4000 plus gates, and the very reason these clubs can afford to name whatever price they want for their players, and we can't.

The picture is easy and straight, our board can not continue to run this club on forking magic beans can they, thats the whole reason why we or sometimes forced to sell our players at a slightly lower price, don't take a brain surgoen to work out.