Why are we (fans) so eager to ‘cash in’ on new players already?

[Mr Sifter]

I’ve read it a few times on here, and seen the likes of TIMS and ALIR talk about it on Twitter. “Enjoy them while they’re here, they won’t be here long” and “at the end of the season we should be looking at £3 million for Beni”. 
 

Dunno if it’s a younger mans thinking, but this 45 year old is fed up reading it. When did we become like this? Willing to accept our best players will be off within months of joining? Christ, Devlin and Beni have played ONE game together and there are folk oot there in cyber space discussing how much we can get for them “when” they leave ffs!!

 

I’d rather enjoy watching them, and hope that they could become pivotal in us building a side that can achieve things. WE own the club, we aren’t in serious debt, and we don’t need to create this narritive that our best should be sold off ASAP. 

Maybe it’s just me, but what’s the point of hoping and dreaming of achieving things when many around you only want to talk about how much money we can bring in? It’s not the balance sheets that made me fall in love with Hearts…it’s the thought of having a successful team on the park that pulled me in as a bairn. I hope and pray that I never ever become one of these punters that immediately thinks pound signs when I see a decent player in maroon 🙄 We want to be a successful club…do any other successful clubs automatically think about transferring players out as soon as they’ve arrived? If the club is looking to progress, maybe we as a fan base should too?

Edited September 28, 2021 by Mr Sifter

[jbee647]

8 minutes ago, Mr Sifter said:

I’ve read it a few times on here, and seen the likes of TIMS and ALIR talk about it on Twitter. “Enjoy them while they’re here, they won’t be here long” and “at the end of the season we should be looking at £3 million for Beni”. 
 

Dunno if it’s a younger mans thinking, but this 45 year old is fed up reading it. When did we become like this? Willing to accept our best players will be off within months of joining? Christ, Devlin and Beni have played ONE game together and there are folk oot there in cyber space discussing how much we can get for them “when” they leave ffs!!

 

I’d rather enjoy watching them, and hope that they could become pivotal in us building a side that can achieve things. WE own the club, we aren’t in serious debt, and we don’t need to create this narritive that our best should be sold off ASAP. 

Maybe it’s just me, but what’s the point of hoping and dreaming of achieving things when many around you only want to talk about how much money we can bring in? It’s not the balance sheets that made me fall in love with Hearts…it’s the thought of having a successful team on the park that pulled me in as a bairn. I hope and pray that I never ever become one of these punters that immediately thinks pound signs when I see a decent player in maroon 🙄

It’s the Football Manager generation, buying and selling at the click of a mouse

we should be building and maintaining a team

we should not be selling any of our players until a better player is in place to replace them, and only then sell them on our terms.

Until those blocks are in place, then what’s the point of bringing in these good players only to sell them months later, we will only be back where we were 18 months ago in double quick time

 

 

 

 

 

[Vlad Magic]

5 minutes ago, Mr Sifter said:

I’ve read it a few times on here, and seen the likes of TIMS and ALIR talk about it on Twitter. “Enjoy them while they’re here, they won’t be here long” and “at the end of the season we should be looking at £3 million for Beni”. 
 

Dunno if it’s a younger mans thinking, but this 45 year old is fed up reading it. When did we become like this? Willing to accept our best players will be off within months of joining? Christ, Devlin and Beni have played ONE game together and there are folk oot there in cyber space discussing how much we can get for them “when” they leave ffs!!

 

I’d rather enjoy watching them, and hope that they could become pivotal in us building a side that can achieve things. WE own the club, we aren’t in serious debt, and we don’t need to create this narritive that our best should be sold off ASAP. 

Maybe it’s just me, but what’s the point of hoping and dreaming of achieving things when many around you only want to talk about how much money we can bring in? It’s not the balance sheets that made me fall in love with Hearts…it’s the thought of having a successful team on the park that pulled me in as a bairn. I hope and pray that I never ever become one of these punters that immediately thinks pound signs when I see a decent player in maroon 🙄

Like many discussions and points of debate on here not “everybody” wants a particular thing to happen. Only some do.

 

What then sometimes happens is it is assumed a majority or in some cases the whole Hearts support is behind that particular (in this case the sale of the players mentioned) discussion.

 

For example take the discussion of a move to a purpose built stadium away from Tynie? There will certainly be some that want that to happen and others that don’t.

 

It would be wrong to assume that all supporters want to move right? Even if there were threads on here and suggestions it would be a possibility?

 

I guess my point is without polling the whole support, which is nae on impossible on here, before starting a thread on any given subject, it’s wrong to assume the whole support are for or against it.

 

With regard to your specific post I do not want to sell any of our best players so soon after joining the club. I would expect our management team have the collective experience to maximise any sell on value further down the line. 
 

Players aren’t produced to the exact same mould on a production line. They are all individuals with differing goals, ambitions and private lives. Who is to say one players has his head turned by an offer where as another falls in love with the club, the support and the city and wants to stay here forever?

 

They must be dealt with on a case by case basis which is exactly what I would expect happens within our club.

[Mr Sifter]

5 minutes ago, jbee647 said:

It’s the Football Manager generation, buying and selling at the click of a mouse

we should be building and maintaining a team

we should not be selling any of our players until a better player is in place to replace them, and only then sell them on our terms.

Until those blocks are in place, then what’s the point of bringing in these good players only to sell them months later, we will only be back where we were 18 months ago in double quick time

 

 

 

 

 

 

Agree 100% jbee. Perhaps you've hit on something with this 'Football Manager' generation. It has to be a younger generational thing. The subject of potential transfer fees never comes up between myself and mates, but we are all roughly the same age. So can we assume a group of Hearts mates that are all in their 20's must sit around and discuss how much we can make out of new signings? if thats the case...how ****ing depressing?!!

[Mr Sifter]

2 minutes ago, Vlad Magic said:

Like many discussions and points of debate on here not “everybody” wants a particular thing to happen. Only some do.

 

What then sometimes happens is it is assumed a majority or in some cases the whole Hearts support is behind that particular (in this case the sale of the players mentioned) discussion.

 

For example take the discussion of a move to a purpose built stadium away from Tynie? There will certainly be some that want that to happen and others that don’t.

 

It would be wrong to assume that all supporters want to move right? Even if there were threads on here and suggestions it would be a possibility?

 

I guess my point is without polling the whole support, which is nae on impossible on here, before starting a thread on any given subject, it’s wrong to assume the whole support are for or against it.

 

With regard to your specific post I do not want to sell any of our best players so soon after joining the club. I would expect our management team have the collective experience to maximise any sell on value further down the line. 
 

Players aren’t produced to the exact same mould on a production line. They are all individuals with differing goals, ambitions and private lives. Who is to say one players has his head turned by an offer where as another falls in love with the club, the support and the city and wants to stay here forever?

 

They must be dealt with on a case by case basis which is exactly what I would expect happens within our club.

 

A good post which I agree with Vlad. But Christ, it scunners me to read some of these opinions where we seem to just accept that these guys will be gone in a few months. The craziest thing is, its not the media or fans of other clubs that are discussing it, its our OWN support that are creating this narrative!!!

[Ribble]

I get the point of the OP however it’s not necessarily a defeatist attitude, we’ve assembled a good squad whilst only forking out a sub 6 figures amount for Devlin, can you blame people for wondering how good a players or players our new recruitment team could bring in with 3-5 million to spend?

[TexasAndy]

I think the key for me is having players like Beni and Devlin on 3+ years contracts.   Speculation of where they go in future is just....speculation.  If another club comes in with a huge bid for either player in the next transfer window or in summer then club would consider it and decide accordingly.   There is zero pressure on the club or these players for at least 18 months when thoughts have to turn to extensions or sale.    For now we shouldn't really be talking about this as they are just in the door.  

[A_A wehatethehibs]

Yeah money already ruined the sport a long time ago. It’s gone from a sport of the working class spirit, to the sport dominated by the wealthy elite thats all about money. So that’s what’s spawned this generation who celebrate selling a player for a few quid as if you’ve won a trophy. I hate it as well. It’s the worst aspect of the sport. Clubs like ours have great difficulty producing successful teams or periods in their history anymore, you might get 1 good season but longer success can only be bought, and we have an obligation to a player to sell him if he’s got the chance to go and make his money for his family. It’s a fatal flaw at the heart of the game. The good players aren’t spread all round the clubs, they are instead concentrated at the top clubs leaving the lesser players everywhere else.
 

You want to teach a child about the gap between rich and poor, look no further than football. And don’t kid him on that it’s fair, it’s not fair. The playing field is not level. 

[Selkirkhmfc1874]

Don't think anybody trying to sell players it's more about point finally looks like we've signed players who are massive assets and if / when they do leave we'll get our reward financially 

[Mr Rabbit]

43 minutes ago, Mr Sifter said:

I’ve read it a few times on here, and seen the likes of TIMS and ALIR talk about it on Twitter. “Enjoy them while they’re here, they won’t be here long” and “at the end of the season we should be looking at £3 million for Beni”. 
 

Dunno if it’s a younger mans thinking, but this 45 year old is fed up reading it. When did we become like this? Willing to accept our best players will be off within months of joining? Christ, Devlin and Beni have played ONE game together and there are folk oot there in cyber space discussing how much we can get for them “when” they leave ffs!!

 

I’d rather enjoy watching them, and hope that they could become pivotal in us building a side that can achieve things. WE own the club, we aren’t in serious debt, and we don’t need to create this narritive that our best should be sold off ASAP. 

Maybe it’s just me, but what’s the point of hoping and dreaming of achieving things when many around you only want to talk about how much money we can bring in? It’s not the balance sheets that made me fall in love with Hearts…it’s the thought of having a successful team on the park that pulled me in as a bairn. I hope and pray that I never ever become one of these punters that immediately thinks pound signs when I see a decent player in maroon 🙄 We want to be a successful club…do any other successful clubs automatically think about transferring players out as soon as they’ve arrived? If the club is looking to progress, maybe we as a fan base should too?

Tbf that line has also been said by the club, pretty sure Savage and Neilson have both said enjoy Beni while he’s here.

 

I agree with what you’re saying and my preference would always be to keep our best players and add to them so we become increasingly more competitive. However as a football club we’ve been quite poor in recent years receiving transfer fees for our best players. Unfortunately a lot of our players have openly admitted they’re looking to play at a higher level and I’d rather receive a good transfer to reinvest than lose from free.

[EIEIO]

It's partly a generational thing but, I think it is also a result of us receiving paltry transfer fees for our better players recently eg Callum Patterson. I'd hope no one is sold before the summer transfer window, if at all. However,  as @Ribblepointed out what could our recruitment team do with some spending money from a big transfer fee?

[nopasaran]

Excellent post Sifter, this has been my opinion for many years. 

[Beni]

As a wise Scotsman once said 

"Ye canna change the laws o' physics Captain".

Outstanding players will move to where they're best rewarded, that's not defeatist, it's just the financial reality.

 

[1953]

Clubs are under pressure these days to get the best value from their assets. Unfortunately that usually means accepting a decent offer if it comes along rather than wait until the end of a contract and get nowt. I would rather see this team stay together for as long as possible and win us something but the reality is that everyone has his price and everyone is replaceable. It's really just a question of when and how much but I agree with the OP that we, the fans, should be enjoying the football for as long as possible and not even thinking about selling them at this point.

[Bazzas right boot]

Agree, 

When I see a new player my first thought isn't - we might get x £ for them, it's I hope we get more good players and build a team. 

 

I find it very strange that after a few weeks into the season fans seem genuinely excited about selling a play forr x £million. 

 

Same with the youth set up, lots of comments about how we need to develope youth to sell on, not too many folk say that we need good players to make us better. 

 

Very strange, especially when players have just walked in the door. 

 

 

 

[Musemic]

27 minutes ago, Mr Rabbit said:

Tbf that line has also been said by the club, pretty sure Savage and Neilson have both said enjoy Beni while he’s here.

 

I agree with what you’re saying and my preference would always be to keep our best players and add to them so we become increasingly more competitive. However as a football club we’ve been quite poor in recent years receiving transfer fees for our best players. Unfortunately a lot of our players have openly admitted they’re looking to play at a higher level and I’d rather receive a good transfer to reinvest than lose from free.

I'm sure Beni himself told Neilson he would "make us a fortune"

 

 

[davemclaren]

32 minutes ago, Selkirkhmfc1874 said:

Don't think anybody trying to sell players it's more about point finally looks like we've signed players who are massive assets and if / when they do leave we'll get our reward financially 

Good post. If today’s rules and economics had been around in the 50s/60s then we would have likely won one league cup, if we were lucky. 

[Bull's-eye]

As long as the investment in the squad continues in the way we're seeing and what was on show on Saturday then I'll be quite happy to see a revolving door.

 

If we want to have aspirations and continue to grow its the only way forward anyway.

 

Enjoy what your watching now is my advice.

[Mr Rabbit]

4 minutes ago, Musemic said:

I'm sure Beni himself told Neilson he would "make us a fortune"

 

 

Yeah which I like. I think that self confidence makes him as good as he is. 
 

Ultimately as much as our fans will always see hearts as the number one that won’t be the case for players, even the ones who are supposedly fans. I agree it’s strange about fans touting our players for millions but in the case of Beni anyway I think there will be a lot of interest if he keeps consistently playing at the level he is.

[davemclaren]

4 minutes ago, Mr Rabbit said:

Yeah which I like. I think that self confidence makes him as good as he is. 
 

Ultimately as much as our fans will always see hearts as the number one that won’t be the case for players, even the ones who are supposedly fans. I agree it’s strange about fans touting our players for millions but in the case of Beni anyway I think there will be a lot of interest if he keeps consistently playing at the level he is.

He’s on a 3 year deal. I’d like to think we can keep him for at least two years. Of course his form might dip, or he might get a bad injury, but he looks brilliant so far. 

[BigAlim]

We’ve had several bad seasons in a row

 

for me I’m not concerned about if our better are so good that they get sold in the summer. I just want us to have a memorable season for a change 

[Mr Rabbit]

5 minutes ago, davemclaren said:

He’s on a 3 year deal. I’d like to think we can keep him for at least two years. Of course his form might dip, or he might get a bad injury, but he looks brilliant so far. 

Agreed however the main thing to do is getting him on a longer contract that if the time does come we’re in a stronger position to either knock back or negotiate bids.

[Ribble]

11 minutes ago, Smith's right boot said:

Agree, 

When I see a new player my first thought isn't - we might get x £ for them, it's I hope we get more good players and build a team. 

 

I find it very strange that after a few weeks into the season fans seem genuinely excited about selling a play forr x £million. 

 

Same with the youth set up, lots of comments about how we need to develope youth to sell on, not too many folk say that we need good players to make us better. 

 

Very strange, especially when players have just walked in the door. 

 

 

 

 

Sometimes people do both, enjoy having a very good player whilst also realising that the player could have a bigger long term benefit for club by being sold at a huge profit.

 

Lets take Beni, he continues to play as he has and gets POTY in the SPL this season, an EPL club looks at him and see's an Everton prospect that has moved to the SPL for first team football and excelled, we then get say £4m for him. Yes he'll be a huge loss however I have confidence that our recruitment team are already looking for his replacement which with £4m in the bank should be easier to do and not only because of the money but because players and agents will have taken notice of what happened with Beni making us a more attractive proposition 

[GavK1012]

OP needs to chill and get in the real world....RN himself has already stated on record in a post match interview I watched that scouts are watching Beni...every single club barring a handful in the world are sellers, there are always bigger boys that can get their hands on assets if there is a desire, end of. Beni himself said upon signing he would make us money. If somebody wants him enough and pay what the club deem acceptable, he will be away soon enough. Tic and Sevco are feeder clubs for England, after cherry picking in Scotland themself at times. 

 

We have made very little under this regime re player sales, Hickey and Sow, that's it!!! Shocking tbh.

 

If that changes, means our recruitment is now favourable and others see a pathway if they sign and do well for us. 

[Bazzas right boot]

5 minutes ago, Ribble said:

 

Sometimes people do both, enjoy having a very good player whilst also realising that the player could have a bigger long term benefit for club by being sold at a huge profit.

 

Lets take Beni, he continues to play as he has and gets POTY in the SPL this season, an EPL club looks at him and see's an Everton prospect that has moved to the SPL for first team football and excelled, we then get say £4m for him. Yes he'll be a huge loss however I have confidence that our recruitment team are already looking for his replacement which with £4m in the bank should be easier to do and not only because of the money but because players and agents will have taken notice of what happened with Beni making us a more attractive proposition 

 

 

100%. 

Agreed. 

[Skippy Doodle]

3 hours ago, Mr Sifter said:

I’ve read it a few times on here, and seen the likes of TIMS and ALIR talk about it on Twitter. “Enjoy them while they’re here, they won’t be here long” and “at the end of the season we should be looking at £3 million for Beni”. 
 

Dunno if it’s a younger mans thinking, but this 45 year old is fed up reading it. When did we become like this? Willing to accept our best players will be off within months of joining? Christ, Devlin and Beni have played ONE game together and there are folk oot there in cyber space discussing how much we can get for them “when” they leave ffs!!

 

I’d rather enjoy watching them, and hope that they could become pivotal in us building a side that can achieve things. WE own the club, we aren’t in serious debt, and we don’t need to create this narritive that our best should be sold off ASAP. 

Maybe it’s just me, but what’s the point of hoping and dreaming of achieving things when many around you only want to talk about how much money we can bring in? It’s not the balance sheets that made me fall in love with Hearts…it’s the thought of having a successful team on the park that pulled me in as a bairn. I hope and pray that I never ever become one of these punters that immediately thinks pound signs when I see a decent player in maroon 🙄 We want to be a successful club…do any other successful clubs automatically think about transferring players out as soon as they’ve arrived? If the club is looking to progress, maybe we as a fan base should too?

Wow what a reaction to one comment I made in response to people online not valuing the player correctly IMO. I guess all the positive noises I make about the current team take a back seat to that one comment to allow some to make sweeping generalisations about fans (I’m closer to your age than the 20 somethings 😉)

 

Why don’t you take your own advice and use “cyber space” to rightly credit the club at the moment and refrain from bitching about your own fans 😘

 

[kingantti1874]

We should only agree to sell these players if guaranteed to receive a sum which will materially improve the club and the first team. 
 

otherwise, let’s focus on building a team around them becuase they are the best I’ve seen for a very long time 

[boag1874]

End of the day if we want to really grow we need to get good fees for our best players. We can’t compete financially with England so any exceptional players we get will naturally be off unless they’re old (CG) or an injury risk (JS). It’s the way it is for clubs like us now. 
 

I don’t think anyone wants to lose our best players but if they do well for us, maybe even get us into Europe or win a trophy then in the Summer a bigger team came in for one or both of them and we made a good profit we’d hardly be complaining. I’d much rather that than they coast their last season knowing a moves coming run their contract down and we get nout as has happened constantly to us for the last few years. 
 

Luckily we actually have a good recruitment team for a change now so hopefully they continue to identify players of that class and they want to come here & do well to earn a big money move themselves.

[boag1874]

2 hours ago, Ribble said:

 

Sometimes people do both, enjoy having a very good player whilst also realising that the player could have a bigger long term benefit for club by being sold at a huge profit.

 

Lets take Beni, he continues to play as he has and gets POTY in the SPL this season, an EPL club looks at him and see's an Everton prospect that has moved to the SPL for first team football and excelled, we then get say £4m for him. Yes he'll be a huge loss however I have confidence that our recruitment team are already looking for his replacement which with £4m in the bank should be easier to do and not only because of the money but because players and agents will have taken notice of what happened with Beni making us a more attractive proposition 

Well put

[Dia Liom]

One of (many!) problems at the club for as long as I've been alive (barring a spell in the early Romanov era) has been our inability to get good fees for good players.  Djoum, Paterson, Walker, in recent times.  There are many more.  We look to be, for the first time in my lifetime, a well-run club from top to bottom.  This season it looks like it's paying off on the pitch and if we can maintain good form, and keep recruiting well, we should be in a position that, when our best players leave, they are replaced by similar quality, and we get a good fee.  That is key to being a successful club!  Hence, some fans care about the fees we get.

 

Don't worry, cups and having a good team will always be the things fans care most about, not transfer fees.

[Broxburn Jambo]

I understand that we are a selling club, I only want two things 

 

Proper value for any player we sell

 

Not to sell to the old firm

[Hectormasson]

4 hours ago, jbee647 said:

It’s the Football Manager generation, buying and selling at the click of a mouse

we should be building and maintaining a team

we should not be selling any of our players until a better player is in place to replace them, and only then sell them on our terms.

Until those blocks are in place, then what’s the point of bringing in these good players only to sell them months later, we will only be back where we were 18 months ago in double quick time

 

 

 

 

 

Try and keep all our players here long time , our important ones most importantly, look after them   and if they eventually want more money   try and  agree to something,  we got to keep our best players, to keep fans happy, and to keep up a challenge "   no point in having a half decent season , to be fighting the drop   next again season, we got to be challenging year in year out,

[Jambo61]

3 hours ago, TexasAndy said:

I think the key for me is having players like Beni and Devlin on 3+ years contracts.   Speculation of where they go in future is just....speculation.  If another club comes in with a huge bid for either player in the next transfer window or in summer then club would consider it and decide accordingly.   There is zero pressure on the club or these players for at least 18 months when thoughts have to turn to extensions or sale.    For now we shouldn't really be talking about this as they are just in the door.  

Remember there might be a £number in the contract!!!

[jimbojambo]

I heard Thierry Henry last night mentioning Eduard will take time to settle in a faster and more competitive league so explains why Premiership teams only look at young prospects that they can develop in their academies. Only championship teams will be interested and a few of them have cash worries so as Hibs and Rangers have discovered it is stupid sitting waiting on and even encouraging bids. Hopefully we have them for many years and we enjoy some good times. 

[Riccarton3]

Look who I've signed. He's so good you best enjoy him while he's here. I'd prefer not to hear it. The player hears it too and immediately has the impression the club is s stepping stone. I don't think coaches can sometimes help themselves.

[Lone Striker]

Its a reasonable question to ask, @Mr Sifter.    If our academy was producing a Callum Paterson every couple of years (the mythical conveyor belt) then we'd be getting the best of both worlds - star youngster does well for us for a few years, then attracts attention from big clubs down south and (hopefully) we get a big fee for him. Meanwhile the next star youngster is waiting in the wings to take his place.

 

However that seldom  happens anywhere.

 

All ambitious talented young players want to keep climbing the football ladder to win things and earn bigger money. It looks like  we've decided to set ourselves up as a "stepping stone" club, with Joe and his crew tasked with identifying young players from anywhere who have that talent and ambition.   We've been hopeless at that since  the early Vlad years (Rudi).  

 

  Getting Beni & Cammy on 3 year contracts seems very sound business to me.   We've seen how Hibs manage to convince their players to sign long contracts on the understanding that they can earn a move for a decent fee before the end of it.    It gives them & the player the best of both worlds - I can't see what's wrong with that approach in the modern game for clubs like Hearts & Hibs.    It's exactly why we need to get Souttar tied down for another 2 or 3 years.  

 

Admittedly, the chat on here 4 years ago about Harry Cochrane being worth £5m+  after the 4-0 game was way OTT. 

 

While its all very well making money out of selling your top players, the trick is then using that money wisely to benefit the team in such a way that the fans stay onside with it.

[section s heart]

Agree with OP sentiments. We sign these guys to improve the team ideally long term, and if the fans show the love, and the club look after our employees well they may be more inclined to stay. Less risky than having to go back to the market every window, with the gambles that involves. 

 

Can understand folk speculating about player values, but I'm happier having guys like Beni Devlin and others in the team for a long time than getting too involved in their market value. All you'd ask of the club is to try to protect underlying player values by being as proactive as possible in contract negotiations, so if Beni delivers a strong full season 21/22, and still has 2 years on his contract, try to get the contract extended then, rather than getting to the last 6/12 months. Obviously players and agents don't always come to the table, but the more we look after them, the more chance we've got. Some won't justify an early extension, or any extension at all.

 

We are ultimately a selling club, and probably use the angle of helping players achieve their career ambitions, to get them here in the first place. But players and agents will get to know that, and I prefer the club not to be too public about it, or telling us how lucky we are to have certain players. Sounds too much like the club seeing them as a commodity to make money from, than a valued high performing employee. 

[Maple Leaf]

I get considerable pleasure watching a player do well for us on the park.  I get no pleasure when that player gets sold, regardless of the amount of money we receive.  And that feeling goes back to the days when Dave MacKay and Alex Young were sold.

 

As for the notion that the money we receive will be re-invested in replacement players of equal quality or high potential, does that actually happen?  It didn't happen then.

[Wee Mikey]

22 minutes ago, Lone Striker said:

Its a reasonable question to ask, @Mr Sifter.    If our academy was producing a Callum Paterson every couple of years (the mythical conveyor belt) then we'd be getting the best of both worlds - star youngster does well for us for a few years, then attracts attention from big clubs down south and (hopefully) we get a big fee for him. Meanwhile the next star youngster is waiting in the wings to take his place.

 

However that seldom  happens anywhere.

 

All ambitious talented young players want to keep climbing the football ladder to win things and earn bigger money. It looks like  we've decided to set ourselves up as a "stepping stone" club, with Joe and his crew tasked with identifying young players from anywhere who have that talent and ambition.   We've been hopeless at that since  the early Vlad years (Rudi).  

 

  Getting Beni & Cammy on 3 year contracts seems very sound business to me.   We've seen how Hibs manage to convince their players to sign long contracts on the understanding that they can earn a move for a decent fee before the end of it.    It gives them & the player the best of both worlds - I can't see what's wrong with that approach in the modern game for clubs like Hearts & Hibs.    It's exactly why we need to get Souttar tied down for another 2 or 3 years.  

 

Admittedly, the chat on here 4 years ago about Harry Cochrane being worth £5m+  after the 4-0 game was way OTT. 

 

While its all very well making money out of selling your top players, the trick is then using that money wisely to benefit the team in such a way that the fans stay onside with it.

 

Apologies for going slightly off topic but, whilst in agreement with the thrust of your thoughts, methinks that Broonaldo had quite a big part to play when he totally assaulted Harry Cochrane to his physical detriment. I know this has been done to death, but that was never a legitimate challenge and that thug should've got the Duncan Ferguson treatment for that one.

[davieholt]

Ultimately our ambition should be to win things and do so well in Europe that we can afford to hang on to these players longer than 12 months. We can't compete with clubs offering £100k per week but we should aim to be able to afford to make players think twice before moving to the OF or English League 1 / lower championship outfits.

[Mr Sifter]

2 hours ago, Skippy Doodle said:

Wow what a reaction to one comment I made in response to people online not valuing the player correctly IMO. I guess all the positive noises I make about the current team take a back seat to that one comment to allow some to make sweeping generalisations about fans (I’m closer to your age than the 20 somethings 😉)

 

Why don’t you take your own advice and use “cyber space” to rightly credit the club at the moment and refrain from bitching about your own fans 😘

 

Feel free to read my first paragraph again. I’m passing comment on a sentiment that others, alongside yourself, have expressed. It’s not solely about you toots, you’re not that important 😘😊👍🏼
 

Judging by the thread tho, it seems I’ve made a decent point. Quite a few agree with me. And some right good points have been made about it. Of course every player that walks through the door at Tynie should want to eventually reach a higher level than Hearts, but I don’t want to hear them say it from the word go though. And just as the players shouldn’t be talking that way, neither should the fans IMO. I’d argue that a player who talks about us as a stepping stone would be showing a lack of respect towards our club, so where does that leave the fans, who salivate over potential transfer fees literally minutes after players make decent debuts? What does THAT say about where the fans see us in the grand scheme of things? 
 

Between yourself taking umbrage, and someone else up the thread saying I should chill out and get in the real world, I cannie help but think you must’ve missed my point somewhere along the line. I’m perfectly chilled, I’d just prefer it if we focussed on winning things as opposed to balance sheets, that’s aw. After all, that’s what successful clubs (and their fans) do. 👍🏼

[Eldar Hadzimehmedovic]

It's reality. Nothing to do with computer games or young folk v old folk. It's the way football is. We should be buying players with a view to sell them on. It's the only way for clubs our size in leagues our size to survive and maybe thrive. Ajax, probably the best club in the history of the game at nurturing players, decided some time ago that their strategy was to sign and develop young players with a view to selling them to the EPL. They actually look for physique and skills in boys that would suit England, long before they're ever sold on. It's just the way it is now and the way it needs to be. 

[Mr Sifter]

20 minutes ago, Maple Leaf said:

I get considerable pleasure watching a player do well for us on the park.  I get no pleasure when that player gets sold, regardless of the amount of money we receive.  And that feeling goes back to the days when Dave MacKay and Alex Young were sold.

 

As for the notion that the money we receive will be re-invested in replacement players of equal quality or high potential, does that actually happen?  It didn't happen then.

Another good point Maple. Maybe transfer fees WILL now be reinvested in the future? And IF that happens, then perhaps this mentality of “how much can we sell so and so for” could be slightly more justified. But as things stand though you’re right. Traditionally funds have never been reinvested into the playing staff, which kind of illustrates where I’m coming from right now. 
 

[FarmerTweedy]

5 hours ago, Mr Sifter said:

I’ve read it a few times on here, and seen the likes of TIMS and ALIR talk about it on Twitter. “Enjoy them while they’re here, they won’t be here long” and “at the end of the season we should be looking at £3 million for Beni”. 
 

Dunno if it’s a younger mans thinking, but this 45 year old is fed up reading it. When did we become like this? Willing to accept our best players will be off within months of joining? Christ, Devlin and Beni have played ONE game together and there are folk oot there in cyber space discussing how much we can get for them “when” they leave ffs!!

 

I’d rather enjoy watching them, and hope that they could become pivotal in us building a side that can achieve things. WE own the club, we aren’t in serious debt, and we don’t need to create this narritive that our best should be sold off ASAP. 

Maybe it’s just me, but what’s the point of hoping and dreaming of achieving things when many around you only want to talk about how much money we can bring in? It’s not the balance sheets that made me fall in love with Hearts…it’s the thought of having a successful team on the park that pulled me in as a bairn. I hope and pray that I never ever become one of these punters that immediately thinks pound signs when I see a decent player in maroon 🙄 We want to be a successful club…do any other successful clubs automatically think about transferring players out as soon as they’ve arrived? If the club is looking to progress, maybe we as a fan base should too?

I think it's largely a product of the huge financial gulf between the Scottish and English top leagues. Going back to 15 or 20 years ago, selling one of our top players to England would have given us a tidy sum that would be useful to the club but no more than that. These days, when you see the size of fees being paid by English clubs, and the relative poverty of Scottish football, it's easy to imagine the thought of us receiving transfer fees that could be potentially transformative, especially when you look at the quality we've brought in on our current, limited budget. 

[Mr Sifter]

5 minutes ago, Eldar Hadzimehmedovic said:

It's reality. Nothing to do with computer games or young folk v old folk. It's the way football is. We should be buying players with a view to sell them on. It's the only way for clubs our size in leagues our size to survive and maybe thrive. Ajax, probably the best club in the history of the game at nurturing players, decided some time ago that their strategy was to sign and develop young players with a view to selling them to the EPL. They actually look for physique and skills in boys that would suit England, long before they're ever sold on. It's just the way it is now and the way it needs to be. 

Another good point Eldar. But just like Maples point above, we currently DON’T have a conveyor belt of replacements ready to step into the first team. But imagine if both your post and Maples post ever came to fruition? Imagine if we HAD the conveyor belt, and we DID reinvest transfer fees? That’s utopia for a club like Hearts surely? 

[Wee Mikey]

7 minutes ago, Mr Sifter said:

Feel free to read my first paragraph again. I’m passing comment on a sentiment that others, alongside yourself, have expressed. It’s not solely about you toots, you’re not that important 😘😊👍🏼
 

Judging by the thread tho, it seems I’ve made a decent point. Quite a few agree with me. And some right good points have been made about it. Of course every player that walks through the door at Tynie should want to eventually reach a higher level than Hearts, but I don’t want to hear them say it from the word go though. And just as the players shouldn’t be talking that way, neither should the fans IMO. I’d argue that a player who talks about us as a stepping stone would be showing a lack of respect towards our club, so where does that leave the fans, who salivate over potential transfer fees literally minutes after players make decent debuts? What does THAT say about where the fans see us in the grand scheme of things? 
 

Between yourself taking umbrage, and someone else up the thread saying I should chill out and get in the real world, I cannie help but think you must’ve missed my point somewhere along the line. I’m perfectly chilled, I’d just prefer it if we focussed on winning things as opposed to balance sheets, that’s aw. After all, that’s what successful clubs (and their fans) do. 👍🏼

 

Fair reply; but, @Skippy Doodle is a legend. 😎

[Eldar Hadzimehmedovic]

4 minutes ago, Mr Sifter said:

Another good point Eldar. But just like Maples point above, we currently DON’T have a conveyor belt of replacements ready to step into the first team. But imagine if both your post and Maples post ever came to fruition? Imagine if we HAD the conveyor belt, and we DID reinvest transfer fees? That’s utopia for a club like Hearts surely? 

 

That would be braw. Also why it's so crucial to have a guy like Joe Savage or whoever replaces him thinking about these things strategically. Too much for a manager or coach to do. 

[section s heart]

14 minutes ago, Eldar Hadzimehmedovic said:

It's reality. Nothing to do with computer games or young folk v old folk. It's the way football is. We should be buying players with a view to sell them on. It's the only way for clubs our size in leagues our size to survive and maybe thrive. Ajax, probably the best club in the history of the game at nurturing players, decided some time ago that their strategy was to sign and develop young players with a view to selling them to the EPL. They actually look for physique and skills in boys that would suit England, long before they're ever sold on. It's just the way it is now and the way it needs to be. 

That seems to be Celtic's way of operating. They've brought in huge transfer income in recent years from the likes of Dembele, Édouard, Armstrong, Tierney, Van Dijk, Wanyama, Ajer, Frimpong, Christie, others(?), but during these last few years they've fallen a fair way in European terms, and are no longer a genuine CL outfit. Loadsamoney in the bank, but if I was one of their lot, I wouldn't be happy with the recruitment strategy. One of the reasons for their implosion last season seems to have been so many players wanting their big move to England, that the dressing room fell apart a bit. Rangers seem to be less about selling players on (aside from Morelos, who may not bring in a big fee), and won the league by miles on a much lower budget. 

 

Not the easiest strategy to manage. 

[Mr Sifter]

19 minutes ago, Wee Mikey said:

 

Fair reply; but, @Skippy Doodle is a legend. 😎

I actually agree Mikey, but I’m ****ed if I’m gonnae tell him tho 🤪

[Eldar Hadzimehmedovic]

9 minutes ago, section s heart said:

That seems to be Celtic's way of operating. They've brought in huge transfer income in recent years from the likes of Dembele, Édouard, Armstrong, Tierney, Van Dijk, Wanyama, Ajer, Frimpong, Christie, others(?), but during these last few years they've fallen a fair way in European terms, and are no longer a genuine CL outfit. Loadsamoney in the bank, but if I was one of their lot, I wouldn't be happy with the recruitment strategy. One of the reasons for their implosion last season seems to have been so many players wanting their big move to England, that the dressing room fell apart a bit. Rangers seem to be less about selling players on (aside from Morelos, who may not bring in a big fee), and won the league by miles on a much lower budget. 

 

Not the easiest strategy to manage. 

 

Yeah, I suppose no strategy is guaranteed forever. Celtic did it well though when Rodgers was there. But they've been mismanaged since. I still think it's the best way to go. Buy guys like Beni and Devlin, enjoy for a year or two, and sell them on. It's probably better than academy stuff to be honest. Most truly exceptional players coming through an academy at a club our size will be picked off long before they're in the first team.