On 24/10/2023 at 18:12, philpvfc said:

If we are higher up the table than Bristol Rovers is there a chance we can win a deal for Clarke- Harris?

I don’t think it would matter where we were in the league as long as we give Peterborough 800k. They were meant to be in financial peril. Never looked like it to me.

1 hour ago, Vtid said:

we don't play a system that suits him, unless we changed our set up he'd play as a number 10 i'd guess 

He's an intelligent football player. First time I saw him he reminded me of a young Chris Shuker. Outside of centreforward,  pacey winger and centrehalf I suspect he could play most positions pretty well. Tom Pett was a 10, then a winger, Simon Mills was an intelligent footballer who never played fullback prior to Vale. Outside of centrehalf,  centreforward or pacey winger on the left or right of a front 3 I suspect he could play most positions pretty well. Good Vale teams of the past 55 years have always had intelligent footballers in them, probably because we have such a large pitch. 

What do people think on Lewis Grabban ?  Ok he might be 35 but he has always had an eye for goal

1 hour ago, PVP said:

What do people think on Lewis Grabban ?  Ok he might be 35 but he has always had an eye for goal

Are you his agent seeing as this is your debut post ? 

10 minutes ago, darren1810 said:

Are you his agent seeing as this is your debut post ? 

Unfortunately not, so what do you think could he do a job for us up front on a short term contract ?

2 minutes ago, PVP said:

Unfortunately not, so what do you think could he do a job for us up front on a short term contract ?

Yes, Flickers. Stick him in the Matrix.

11 minutes ago, PVP said:

Unfortunately not, so what do you think could he do a job for us up front on a short term contract ?

Absolutely but surely money would be a huge obstacle there. Wasn't he in Saudi Arabia? 

Just now, darren1810 said:

Absolutely but surely money would be a huge obstacle there. Wasn't he in Saudi Arabia? 

Yes I think he was for a short time but currently a free agent.  At 35 you only have a short time left so maybe playing might be more important than a huge pay packet, you never know.

3 hours ago, PVP said:

Yes I think he was for a short time but currently a free agent.  At 35 you only have a short time left so maybe playing might be more important than a huge pay packet, you never know.

Does he want to play or has he effectively retired? It would be a big ask to get up to league fitness for most 35 year olds.

10 hours ago, JRC said:

Does he want to play or has he effectively retired? It would be a big ask to get up to league fitness for most 35 year olds.

No idea, I just want to see at least 1 proven goal scorer whoever it is until the end of the season then hopefully Flitcroft & Co can get it right for next season

Just now, PVP said:

No idea, I just want to see at least 1 proven goal scorer whoever it is until the end of the season then hopefully Flitcroft & Co can get it right for next season

I agree but always personally feel January is a dodgy month . For every Connor Hall there's a Matt Taylor. 

You either pay a fee or end up with someone else's dregs or an out of contract player.

Chris Eagles and Bikey were ok. Others were shocking. 

17 hours ago, darren1810 said:

Absolutely but surely money would be a huge obstacle there. Wasn't he in Saudi Arabia? 

He got something in the region of $1.2m in wages owed and compensation for breech of contract after taking the Saudi club to court, so perhaps he's not desperate for a huge weekly wage right now? Then again, maybe at his age, he'll just retire and invest it in a new business venture...

 

Report details compensation for former Nottingham Forest ace over summer transfer - Nottinghamshire Live

WWW.NOTTINGHAMPOST.COM

 

2 minutes ago, robf said:

He got something in the region of $1.2m in wages owed and compensation for breech of contract after taking the Saudi club to court, so perhaps he's not desperate for a huge weekly wage right now? Then again, maybe at his age, he'll just retire and invest it in a new business venture...

 

Report details compensation for former Nottingham Forest ace over summer transfer - Nottinghamshire Live

WWW.NOTTINGHAMPOST.COM

 

Not desperate for a huge weekly wage? He won’t be coming to Vale for charity and if he is any good will have to compete with other clubs. If he is crap then we might have a chance because no one else will want him. 
 

That’s been the Vale problem for years since the Bosman ruling meant any good players we have had can walk away at the end of a contract. Back under Rudgie, you signed for a club and that was it unless money came calling. It rewarded good scouting and management. 
 

Today? Football is basically glorified EBay. Highest bidder wins. 

14 minutes ago, TJHValiant said:

Not desperate for a huge weekly wage? He won’t be coming to Vale for charity

Never said he was coming for charity - just that with a lot of money in his pocket and not having played for some time, perhaps his wage demands may be closer to our budget than they would have been without a $1m+ windfall. 

42 minutes ago, robf said:

Never said he was coming for charity - just that with a lot of money in his pocket and not having played for some time, perhaps his wage demands may be closer to our budget than they would have been without a $1m+ windfall. 

Possibly Rob. Although increasingly you don’t see many of the old stagers who are any good dropping down the leagues. Unless you are a big name who can be appealed to with money. 
 

He won’t come for a couple of grand or so a week unless he was desperate. The only reason anyone would go to Saudi in the first place is Sun and cash, not the love of the game or the people or the football. 
 

I actually think his windfall will increase his demands, as why carry on? He has the cash. What can we offer him to carry on? Love of the game? Might as well play for Congleton Town without the pressure of thousands of fans. 
 

When you’ve made your money, yes you can do something out of love. I just feel it is hard to love the prospect of playing for a struggling league 1 side up north, for relative peanuts, in the cold, in Burslem, for boring old Crosby.