Step back and look at the bigger picture

[AKBapologist]

Do you think Eboue, Denilson, Diaby and Bendy are worth their wages? We don't need them in the squad and if we sell them and we have money for an Augero type signing. This youth project has been a failure and we've wasted time and money on certain players that have no business playing first team football for a top side.

[Boss]

I'm glad you're actually contributing to the forum with your stellar levels of debate, unlike the rest of us who can only whine about the same issues over and over again.

[AKBapologist]

OK, lets do some math.

Eboue (30kpw), Denilson (40kpw), Diaby (50kpw) and Bendy (52kpw) = 172kpw.

The type of wages that would get Augero to choose us over city/chelsea or RM? = 250kpw.

And that's withstanding transfer fee, agent fees and signing on fee.

[Ollie the Optimist]

I'm sick and tired of this debate about money. This is simple. Why can't we afford to give Nasri a new contract when we've just sold Clichy and giving Gibbs a chance in the first team?

maybe because a good three months doesnt justify an extra 20k a week? you considered that?

[Power n Glory]

You any good at maths? You don't even need to be good at maths to work it out. A kid looking to trade in a few old playstation titles for a new one at Game can even understand this principle.

Estimate how much those four players are worth, same goes for the wages and see what figure you come up with. A big name signing should cost us between £30m - £40m and around 100k - £150k in wages.

Our squad is too big and filled with below average players on very decent wages. Trim the size but up the quality and we have a solution to the problem.

[AKBapologist]

Yaya Toure > 250kpw
Tevez > 210kpw
Rooney > 250kpw

Your kidding yourself if you think somehow that Augero will come here for 150kpw when city could offer 100kpw more. BTW, Denilson (Sau Paulo), Bentdner (Everton?) and Eboue (Galatasaray?) have already pretty much left.

[Power n Glory]

maybe because a good three months doesnt justify an extra 20k a week? you considered that?

No I didn't. I think you've got me there Sherlock.

[AKBapologist]

And what? Just one player in exchange for 4, and an additional 5mill to the wage bill that we probably can't sustainably afford until at least 2014 - regardless of the transfer fee, our performance on and off the pitch etc?

Yeah. Ostridges refers to all those fans with heads in the sand.

[Power n Glory]

City can out bid anyone but not every player wants to play for City.

Besides Augero, there are plenty of top class players that we could buy and pay if we trimmed the fat off this club. It's not impossible.

[AKBapologist]

City can out bid anyone but not every player wants to play for City.

Besides Augero, there are plenty of top class players that we could buy and pay if we trimmed the fat off this club. It's not impossible.

It's looking like most of the fat will be trimmed this season, project youth will go on regardless and no massive signings will come. The OP points to the fact that united spend 20mill more than us on wages (city spend 60mill more per year than us btw) and generates 40mill more than us in commercial revenue as being a significant stumbling block on competiting for the best players in the transfer market. Not sure what's wrong with that assessment tbh.