Does a transfer fee determine the expectations of a player?

[... 3,420]

I thought about this when reading the negative comments surrounding Paul Pogba. He's had a pretty rough start to life in Manchester for various reasons but one of them I'm sure is because it took around £89,000,000 to get him to leave Italy - a world record fee. Now, when you look at other ''flops'' past and present it becomes quite clear that some of them have moved for astronomical sums (John Stones and Fernando Torres I'm looking at you). 

So my question is this; Does a transfer fee directly affect the expectation of the fans? Paul Pogba, John Stones and Fernando Torres didn't ask to be sold for that much but whenever they make a mistake their fees are brought up. Had Pogba been signed for £10,000,000 would he get an easier ride or even praised and should we forget market value when judging footballers? 

[Spike 1,725]

Yes, it does. It reflects how badly the purchasing club want the player, what it doesn't reflect is how much the current club values the player. If player X is worth ~ £10,000,00 to club Y but club Z is a money bags club, then it would make sense for Y to sell for more than than X is worth.

Of course this doesn't apply to Bosman transfers.

[Cure 193]

Yes. Simple as that.

[Cicero 2,853]

Stones and Torres were what clubs valued them for. Both of which didn't have anything to do with how much they are worth and shouldn't be criticised for it. 

Pogba is a different matter. When you are the worlds most expensive footballer and you believe in your own hype with constant media advertisements, cringeworthy dancing videos and celebrations which is all followed by consistent shit performances as well as winning fuck all and remaining 6th in the league, then yes. With what he has been doing off the pitch, you would expect him to be dominating the game. 

[Spike 1,725]

Whether or not we value Pogba is irrelevant. The only relevancy is that ManUtd were so impressed by Pogba they thought spending the entire GDP of a small developing African country was a shrewd business decision.

[The Palace Fan 1,498]

Not nessecarily, especially if they're on huge wages. 

I think the fee should only reflect the expectancy if a club have gone against their normal transfer structure to sign them. So in the cases of Pogba, Torres, Veron and Kuqi you can see why fans have been frustrated.

[Storts 1,316]

Sissoko  

[Harvsky 2,363]

Paid for our promotion challenge. Thanks. 

[Panna King 744]

As I said in another thread, the transfer fee for some players doesn't always involve the football side, it also takes into count them as a marketing asset which adds value. 

[SirBalon 2,458]

We're talking "expectations" then for me the price tag does have a lot to do with how a fan of that team even a neutral (fan of another side) sees the player.  What he or she expects.  A price tag usually means the player is in high demand which is what determines the price.  Although then you have "which club" is signing him and like we see in the Premier League "which league".  If they know you have money, then they want it.

[Harry 677]

High profile transfers at a young age have had mostly negative effects on the careers of footballers.

I feel sorry for all players who've been sold far beyond their market value because the fans expectations are based on the transfer fee... at least in the case of high value transfers that arrive with a lot of hoo ha. So you can either meet expectations or fall short of them but you sure as hell aren't going to exceed them. Even Neymar or Bale haven't exceeded the expectations from their initial big money moves despite both being excellent at their new clubs. Its not a sure very that they won't succeed (to a world beating level) but the odds aren't in their favor. 

[Smiley Culture 1,003]

Surely the expectation of a player is based upon things like their career, their previous clubs, their achievements in the game and their potential rather than a couple of numbers and a load of zeros behind it? 

Take Pogba for example, he's played regularly for Juventus through a period of dominance in their history which has seen them and him win Serie A titles, probably a couple of Italian Cup's and an appearance in a Champions League Final and been capped by France whilst still having a lot of potential according to pundits and 'experts' of the game. 

 

 

[... 3,420]

55 minutes ago, Storts said:

Sissoko  

The term "dodging a bullet" in a nut-shell.

[Dan 993]

It does but at the same time I don't necessarily blame the player if it doesn't work out.

I do hate how accepting people are of chucking millions down the drain. There should be some serious talks about what happened here last summer. Yet some people think it should be brushed under the carpet.

[Danny 816]

You can't blame the players for the fees they go for but with that said, the failure is more with the clubs. It's not Pogba's fault for example that he was worth so much, but should United be at fault for spending so much and not getting an instant return of sorts? 

[Inverted 1,022]

It reflects the desire of the buyer weighed against the pressure on the seller. 

I'd expect far more of Mats Hummels going for 30-something million euros than if  player like Jonathan Tah (random example) went for 40 million euros. Because Hummels is a player in his prime with just a year on his contract, whereas if Tah was sold, his price would be inflated well beyond his immediate value because of his perceived potential, his youth, and the fact I presume he's on a pretty secure contract and Leverkusen have a strong bargaining position. 

Transfer fees tell you a lot, of which expected immediate performance is only one part.

[DarthBlaug 42]

Of course it does. For example, the reason why Paul Pogba is under the microscope as much as he is and there's so much high expectations of him is precisely because he cost a world record fee. 

It could be really unfair on players, sometimes.