Ryan Woods Joins Stoke City

[Dave]

@Danny

Quote

Swansea City are in talks with Brentfordover midfielder Ryan Woods, Sky Sports News understands.

The Welsh club see Woods as an ideal replacement for Leon Britton, who announced his retirement from football at the end of last season after more than 500 games for the club.

The 24-year-old was the Supporters’ Player of the Year last season.

[Danny]

I half expected this day to come, Woods is a class midfielder and you'd be hard pushed to find a better player of his ilk in this division.

With that said if he does go it'll be for a decent fee and we'll have a replacement lined up.

Last season I said I'd rather lose someone like Woods than I would Sawyers, we have a lot of quality in that deep midfield area and I'm sure we can bring someone in to add to that, but it's harder to replace the goals and assists someone like Sawyers brings than the paaaing game Woods does.

With that said I'd much rather keep both but Woods I think has 2 years on his contract left and will probably want a decent wedge.

[Bluebird Hewitt]

Looking on the Cardiff forum, a fair few would be happy if we went in for him.

Think he could make the step up?

[Danny]

2 minutes ago, Bluebird Hewitt said:

Looking on the Cardiff forum, a fair few would be happy if we went in for him.

Think he could make the step up?

Probably yeah, doesn't struggle in this division and is of the age where he can.

[Dave]

On 31/07/2018 at 23:11, Danny said:

I half expected this day to come, Woods is a class midfielder and you'd be hard pushed to find a better player of his ilk in this division.

With that said if he does go it'll be for a decent fee and we'll have a replacement lined up.

Last season I said I'd rather lose someone like Woods than I would Sawyers, we have a lot of quality in that deep midfield area and I'm sure we can bring someone in to add to that, but it's harder to replace the goals and assists someone like Sawyers brings than the paaaing game Woods does.

With that said I'd much rather keep both but Woods I think has 2 years on his contract left and will probably want a decent wedge.

It sounds like they've made a second bid closer to your seven million valuation, which I think sounds more than reasonable.

[Danny]

27 minutes ago, The Palace Fan said:

It sounds like they've made a second bid closer to your seven million valuation, which I think sounds more than reasonable.

I expect Woods to go sooner rather than later. We should be OK without him.

[Bluebird Hewitt]

If it's £7m, we should be considering this really.

[Danny]

18 minutes ago, Bluebird Hewitt said:

If it's £7m, we should be considering this really.

If it's £7m a lot of clubs should tbh.

[Dave]

Stoke have agreed a loan deal with an option to buy Ryan Woods for £7m.

[Lucas]

3 hours ago, The Palace Fan said:

Stoke have agreed a loan deal with an option to buy Ryan Woods for £7m.

The new rules on the transfer window losing early are working out well then.

Not the first loan to become permanent in January we've seen in recent weeks.

Not sure what the point in shutting permanent deals early for the Football league actually was.

[Danny]

Yeah absolutely pointless tbh, bunch of idiots voting on it.

Be glad to see Woods go, been a great servant to the club but if his time is up the it's up and I'd like to see the focus be on the midfielders we can rely on.

We signed him for about a million, sold him for 7 times that price. Without gloating It's great being the best run club in the division it really is, £7m in the bank now and we'll forget about him as the likes of McEachran, Macleod, Yennaris and Mokotjo will take over. Also got Josh Dasilva to add to that.

[Dave]

On 25/08/2018 at 03:59, Danny said:

Without gloating It's great being the best run club in the division it really is.

It must be great having nothing to show for it.

[Danny]

1 hour ago, The Palace Fan said:

It must be great having nothing to show for it.

Consistent Championship football after decades of League 1 & 2, consistent top half finishes, no relegation battles, consistently strengthening our squad Summer after Summer, managerial stability, new stadium on it's way and we're bottom 5 in the division for budget. Get out of here you doughnut 

[Dave]

1 hour ago, Danny said:

Consistent Championship football after decades of League 1 & 2, consistent top half finishes, no relegation battles, consistently strengthening our squad Summer after Summer, managerial stability, new stadium on it's way and we're bottom 5 in the division for budget. Get out of here you doughnut 

I would have rather kept Andre Gray, Andy Forshaw, James Tarkowski, Moses Odubajo, Lasse Vibe, Harlee Dean, Diego Jota, Scott Hogan, Maxime Colin, Andreas Bjellend, Ryan Woods and Stewart Dallas to be honest. 

But if you're satisfied with finishing top half and making a profit then we'll done. Im sure the likes of Burnley and Watford hope you never change.

[RandoEFC+]

41 minutes ago, The Palace Fan said:

Andreas Bjellend

[Dave]

16 minutes ago, RandoEFC said:

It auto corrected from Bjelland to bellend three times.

[Pig on the Wing]

7 hours ago, The Palace Fan said:

I would have rather kept Andre Gray, Andy Forshaw, James Tarkowski, Moses Odubajo, Lasse Vibe, Harlee Dean, Diego Jota, Scott Hogan, Maxime Colin, Andreas Bjellend, Ryan Woods and Stewart Dallas to be honest. 

But if you're satisfied with finishing top half and making a profit then we'll done. Im sure the likes of Burnley and Watford hope you never change.

Why worry? Whoever their Chief Scout is, they're clearly doing an immense job. And of those names you've mentioned, have any really proven themselves to be worth massively more than the price Brentford sold for? (Tarkowski perhaps as I'm guessing he went to Burnley for a song years back)

Every club barring the mega rich is a selling club: Brentford have embraced this and buy low, sell high. Admirable really, and I'm certain it will click for them soon with a playoff push - they're already batting well above what their history would suggest.

[Danny]

8 hours ago, The Palace Fan said:

I would have rather kept Andre Gray, Andy Forshaw, James Tarkowski, Moses Odubajo, Lasse Vibe, Harlee Dean, Diego Jota, Scott Hogan, Maxime Colin, Andreas Bjellend, Ryan Woods and Stewart Dallas to be honest. 

But if you're satisfied with finishing top half and making a profit then we'll done. Im sure the likes of Burnley and Watford hope you never change.

And I'd love a money tree in my back garden but that's not how the real world works.

Small club, tiny budget compared to the rest of the division, have slowly built a squad capable of pushing for the play offs through excellent scouting and selling. Still playing Championship football. If we weren't this well run we'd not be in the position we are.

[Dave]

1 hour ago, StefBWFC said:

Why worry? Whoever their Chief Scout is, they're clearly doing an immense job. And of those names you've mentioned, have any really proven themselves to be worth massively more than the price Brentford sold for? (Tarkowski perhaps as I'm guessing he went to Burnley for a song years back)

Every club barring the mega rich is a selling club: Brentford have embraced this and buy low, sell high. Admirable really, and I'm certain it will click for them soon with a playoff push - they're already batting well above what their history would suggest.

I hope it works for them, it just seems like a bizarre thing to gloat about when they could have kept a squad and been playing at a better level.

[Danny]

36 minutes ago, The Palace Fan said:

I hope it works for them, it just seems like a bizarre thing to gloat about when they could have kept a squad and been playing at a better level.

How do we keep a squad when we can't afford the wages they're going to want? Half the players we sign sign knowing we'll develop them and not stand in their way if the right bid comes in. Look at the embargoes on Brum and Wednesday, look at the state clubs like QPR have got themselves into. Crazy to think it'd be financially viable to keep those players.

[Dave]

35 minutes ago, Danny said:

How do we keep a squad when we can't afford the wages they're going to want? Half the players we sign sign knowing we'll develop them and not stand in their way if the right bid comes in. Look at the embargoes on Brum and Wednesday, look at the state clubs like QPR have got themselves into. Crazy to think it'd be financially viable to keep those players.

Massive over exaggeration to compare those players to the wages of Brum, Wednesday and QPR had they have stayed. Other than about two or three from that lot, I can't remember many of them kicking up a stink about moving on.

Brentford have had several opportunities to build great squads at this level with their recruitment infrastructure, instead they seem content on moving on players for all they can after one good season.

If you're happy attracting players who have no real aspirations to move forward with you as a club, then by all means continue gloating.

[Danny]

16 minutes ago, The Palace Fan said:

Massive over exaggeration to compare those players to the wages of Brum, Wednesday and QPR had they have stayed. Other than about two or three from that lot, I can't remember many of them kicking up a stink about moving on.

Brentford have had several opportunities to build great squads at this level with their recruitment infrastructure, instead they seem content on moving on players for all they can after one good season.

If you're happy attracting players who have no real aspirations to move forward with you as a club, then by all means continue gloating.

You think the likes of Gray, Hogan, Jota etc wouldn't have kicked up a fuss if we said no? Don't be silly. The only way to keep them would be to offer the same wages that clubs like Birmingham or QPR have offered.

What money so we use to improve the squad? We sold Andre Gray to meet FFP and even then that wasn't enough so we sold more. And that was on Brentford wages.

That last comment just shows your naivety as a football fan, welcome to the real world. No player joins a club without wanting to use it as a stepping stone unless they're at Barce or Real Madrid. We signed undervalued talent, develop them, offer them a pathway to either success with us via promotion or a big transfer. It works out great for us, hence why we're firmly a Championship side who can operate on a relegation battle budget and challenge for the play offs consistently after decades of League 1 and 2 football. Without this operation we'd be back floating around with Leyton Orient or Wycombe Wanderers, so yes mate it is great 

[Dave]

8 hours ago, Danny said:

You think the likes of Gray, Hogan, Jota etc wouldn't have kicked up a fuss if we said no? Don't be silly. The only way to keep them would be to offer the same wages that clubs like Birmingham or QPR have offered.

What money so we use to improve the squad? We sold Andre Gray to meet FFP and even then that wasn't enough so we sold more. And that was on Brentford wages.

That last comment just shows your naivety as a football fan, welcome to the real world. No player joins a club without wanting to use it as a stepping stone unless they're at Barce or Real Madrid. We signed undervalued talent, develop them, offer them a pathway to either success with us via promotion or a big transfer. It works out great for us, hence why we're firmly a Championship side who can operate on a relegation battle budget and challenge for the play offs consistently after decades of League 1 and 2 football. Without this operation we'd be back floating around with Leyton Orient or Wycombe Wanderers, so yes mate it is great 

Well, it goes without saying there's no need to start talking in an arrogant tone or be condescending just because I said some not very complimentary things about your club.

The whole situation about whether or not a player would kick up a fuss is hypothetical in the context that we wouldn't know if they'd have kicked up a fuss, but given they were under long contracts I would argue you were in the position of power and there's been multiple examples where players have stayed a further season at clubs despite interest elsewhere at this level. I do understand though, given the transfer policy you have attained, that it would be difficult to keep players when everybody else is leaving.

As for the stepping stone argument, there is a massive difference between say Mile Jedinak to us and every player you seem content with joining Brentford. Mile Jedinak joined Crystal Palace with the intention of trying to get us promoted in two seasons, and if we didn't, he would consider his options. Thankfully we got promoted in that second season and he was able to develop with the club. There is a difference between this and player X joining Brentford from abroad to get noticed in 6 to 12 months to move on. If you're happy with that then by all means, continue to gloat.

[Danny]

40 minutes ago, The Palace Fan said:

Well, it goes without saying there's no need to start talking in an arrogant tone or be condescending just because I said some not very complimentary things about your club.

The whole situation about whether or not a player would kick up a fuss is hypothetical in the context that we wouldn't know if they'd have kicked up a fuss, but given they were under long contracts I would argue you were in the position of power and there's been multiple examples where players have stayed a further season at clubs despite interest elsewhere at this level. I do understand though, given the transfer policy you have attained, that it would be difficult to keep players when everybody else is leaving.

As for the stepping stone argument, there is a massive difference between say Mile Jedinak to us and every player you seem content with joining Brentford. Mile Jedinak joined Crystal Palace with the intention of trying to get us promoted in two seasons, and if we didn't, he would consider his options. Thankfully we got promoted in that second season and he was able to develop with the club. There is a difference between this and player X joining Brentford from abroad to get noticed in 6 to 12 months to move on. If you're happy with that then by all means, continue to gloat.

Haha yeah alright, pot meet kettle. Gives it large then cries about it

If players want to leave they force a move, this is modern football.

We sell when a player's valuation is met, or when they're overvalued. There is no difference to you signing Jedinak and him staying depending on promotion, and us signing players who will only stay long term with us if we can get promotion. We also have less money to spend than you did. Toony was a better wind up than you

 

 

[Dave]

Needless to say, just because somebody criticises your clubs methods it doesn't mean they're 'giving it large', and just because they state theres no need for you to be condescending about it, it doesnt mean theyre 'crying'. Im not really sure how you saying it's modern football strengthens your argument at all, or saying how two situations when you've described them as different does either. So we will leave that discussion there.

For the record I like Brentford, and hope at some point they do go up and replace some of the teams that play shit football like Huddersfield, Watford, Cardiff and Bournemouth. I don't get the logic in boasting about being an easy tree to take apples from, but either way I hope it works for the club long term.

Fyi, in terms of budget size, I believe we were of the bottom six / eight at the time we went up. I think our most expensive signing was Johnny Parr at 400k off the top of my head but I may he wrong.