[Archived] Benni Mccarthy - Gone

[thenodrog]

Some odd attitudes on here. I dont want to see Benni McCarthy leave at all BUT to make 500% plus profit on a player in one season is superb business. We would have done the same with Bellamy but for allowing THAT clause to be written in to his contract. For goodness sake the money made on McCarthy should we sell could virtually equal all last years TV money!

Sparky has done brilliantly and Benni will never be more valuable. What would we do if he picked up a serious injury? Sell and do it again with another misfiring superstar.... it carries risk but they ARE out there. Such a move would enhance our reputation even further as the place to be for out of form players with good potential and the agents will all know it too and be falling over themselves to place their charges with us. The fortunes of the agents of Bellamy and McCarthy will have been noted by other agents thats for sure as will the emergence into top players along the likes of Nelsen, Samba, Bentley, Warnock Ped, Derbyshire etc.

It IS why I've suggested in the past that Sparky and his team should be on big bonus's for performing as they have, and I still stand by my opinion.

Edited June 22, 2007 by thenodrog

[CAPT KAYOS]

He's not going to perform with that attitude.

He hasn't anyway imo!!

Edited June 22, 2007 by CAPT KAYOS

[Silencio]

He hasn't anyway imo!!

Are you serious?

[herbergeehh]

Who cares about his attitude, I want a striker who scores 20+ every season, not a son in law.

[American]

Are you serious?

Kayos wouldn't be happy if Benni scored 50 goals and didn't play the way he likes to see... I wonder if he'd be happy with Ronaldinho. Probably would complain that he wasted energy with all of the stepovers!

[b12_simon]

Who cares about his attitude, I want a striker who scores 20+ every season, not a son in law.

Nice to see a sensible contribution to the Benni Mac debate. Nice one herb!

[tcj_jones]

Sorry tcj but that is risible.

Benni is worth whatever Rovers ask for him- simple as that. Tell me, next season (and given the average Prem Manager lasts about 3 of them in one job) would you chose McCarthy or Bent to spearhead your front line (hint one of them scored about twice as many goals as the other in all competitions)?

So which player would most Managers prefer to see in their side?

On that basis, if Rovers won't lift an eyelid under £20m, what is McCarthy's price? In the same way some people would sell Todd and Jeffers for well under half of Rovers' asking price, I guess Rovers will leave Hughes' speculation that Benni is more valuable than Berbatov as the benchmark in case anyone is even thinking about making a bid in the £12m region. In all these cases, Rovers will get their price or keep their man. They might be a bit more flexible on 31 August if all the club's shopping has been successfully completed.

No doubt Sparky has an appropriate welcome back to Brockhall waiting for Benni.

PS I didn't mention Mido I would have edited out the word risible but on reflection, we were extremely fortunate the Egyptian was such a ditherer with Rovers last summer.

First of all, yes I would rather have Bent spearhead our attack next season in preference to Benni. (Admittedly that has something to do with his desire to leave the club, but that isn't really relevant in this argument, so I will put those feelings to one side for a moment.) Bent has age on his side and, I would argue, has not reached his peak level of performance. He is incredible in the air, has a lot of pace to burn and a great work rate too. None of which McCarthy really has in adundance, especially when it comes to work rate. McCarthy on the other hand has peaked in terms of performance and will only go downhill from here. His value will also start to plummet as he reaches his 30's. Now would be the best time to cash in (remember, I am only going by your hypothetical scenario here.)

Citing goals scored as a reason you would prefer Benni is a little short sighted. Benni scored a lot of goals for us this season, some in extremely important games, some being spectacular. There is no doubt that he has had a great season, and his goals have been vital. But Bent, in his first season in the Premiership, scored 37 goals in 44 appearances compared with Benni's 24 goals in 50 appearances. I would argue that Blackburn this season were far better than Charlton were last season. I'll admit, Benni has scored throughout his career, but if we are to judge on first seasons in the Premiership, then Bent surpassed Benni. Bent actually managed to score 15 goals in 35 appearances this season for a team that was ultimately relegated. That is a very good return IMO. I would suggest that your "goals scored" argument is very much flawed.

OK, so money. Rovers can ask whatever they want for McCarthy, but that doesn't mean that that is his true value. He is only worth £30 million if he moves for £30 million, which he will not. The only reason Chelsea are interested is because they view him as a cheaper option. If that weren't the case, then why not go for Berbatov, Eto'o or Torres? It is clear that even the league champions don't meet your valuation of McCarthy. West Ham appear to think of McCarthy as a lesser player than Bent as well, seeing as he is obviously their second choice. I would argue that, as he is also a second choice, they would also not be prepared to spend anything like £17 million on him. Everything suggests that his market value is less than £15 million. Point me to a club that you think would splash £20 + million on him? I bet you can't. I will bet you a 10er (I am a student afterall) that, if Benni leaves, it will not be for more than £15 million. As for Berbatov, we all know who is the superior player their. berbatov is one of the Premierships very best.

The one thing that we do agree on is that Rovers will get their asking price, or keep their man. However, seeing as £12 million would represent a 400% profit on what we originally paid, I think the asking price will be considerably less than what you believe.

As for Mido, he might well flop spectacularly at Fulham, but I will always have Hughes to hide behind. He spent much of the summer desperately trying to get Mido to the club. He was willing to spend £4.5 million on him. I still think that Mido is a good player. If you look at my recent post on the summer transfer window thread, however, you will see that he is way down on my wish list.

[CAPT KAYOS]

Who cares about his attitude, I want a striker who scores 20+ every season, not a son in law.

Well it would appear most do on here he be geebe, especially the attitude he is showing at the moment if all is to be believed.

Remember a few us are not new 'knee jerkers on this - the warnings where there early doors.

Not saying he is a bad player American, just if he played the way he is probably capable of he might have got nearer that mark.

I just find it funny now people seem so surprised with his actions - I don't want to see him leave for a lowly fee however if we can make on him, I say take the money - Hughesy will replace him.

[BlueMonday]

Who cares about his attitude, I want a striker who scores 20+ every season, not a son in law.

He's not going to score 20+ goals next season if he is set on a move away, more so if he throws a strop.

I'm affraid he's toast!

[John]

People seem to think Hughes will replace McCarthy with ease. Selling Mcarthy will be the last resort for Sparky and you can gauge that from his comments on the matter at the end of last season.

Whilst Hughes is an excellent judge of player, there was quite a bit of luck involved in Benni coming here. We were very close to signing Mido ahead of McCarthy last summer and I doubt Mido would have scored as many goals. Also, the Premiership trail went cold on MCarthy for some reason last summer and he may not have come here at all if other clubs registered their interest.

In addition, we got McCarthy for peanuts because of his situation at Porto. Replacing him would be very hard - decent strikers are usually the most expensive. Plus the fact if they are a decent striker, there will be another 6 Prem league clubs after them.

Continuity and stability are important as well if we are to progress.

Edited June 22, 2007 by John

[thenodrog]

Continuity and stability are important as well if we are to progress.

Wrong John. That was a mistake made in the summer of '95. Probably our biggest of the entire Walker years.

No doubt you would have thought the same last year when Bellamy left, but you must admit that Benni's performance would have meant that you would have been wrong to. If Bellers had stayed I'm sure that we would not have signed Benni.

[John]

What? Keeping your best players, prized assets is wrong?? I don't quite follow what you are saying, are you being sarcastic?

You need to retain your key players and add to them if you are going to progress as a club.

Edited June 22, 2007 by John

[doctorryan]

If Bellers had stayed I'm sure that we would not have signed Benni.

Are you trying to set a new personal record for stupidest comment?

[disgruntled]

Why is that comment stupid? The previous year Hughes targeted McCarthy because he admitted he didn't think he'd get Bellamy. Once one arrived he didn't go for the other.

As soon as Bellamy left the club in June he went for McCarthy

[Jordan]

Are you trying to set a new personal record for stupidest comment?

Nothing stupid about that. I also think that had Bellamy stayed then Rovers would not have signed McCarthy last summer. Also McCarthy was our second choice however the first choice decided that he would be better playing for Spurs.

[thenodrog]

Are you trying to set a new personal record for stupidest comment?

How did you know that? I was actually, but I've got to admit defeat ...... you have just trumped me by miles!

Still never mind Doc you wont be in first place for long ........ Paul Mellelieu is no doubt waiting in the wings with his ultimate weapon, more sightings of a new master race. Thousands of gun toting, coke sniffing, intellectually superior beings that apparently inhabit the suburbs of the City of Manchester!

[thenodrog]

What? Keeping your best players, prized assets is wrong?? I don't quite follow what you are saying, are you being sarcastic?

You need to retain your key players and add to them if you are going to progress as a club.

You advocated continuity and stability within a squad but it's well known that we were in pole position to sign Zidane and Dugarry in the summer of 95, but it was blocked by Jack Walker himself and they ended up at Juve. Apparently JW wanted to display loyalty to the players that won the Prem the season before. If we had bought those two I'd guess Wilcox and Atkins would have been shown the exit door pdq. People would have railed against that decision but we all know that it would have been the way forward big time. Rem also the summer that we were promoted many people criticised KMD for replacing the excellent David Speedie with some raw kid from Soton called Alan Shearer!

If you stand still in football you invariably go backwards.

[Ozz]

Paul Mellelieu is no doubt waiting in the wings with his ultimate weapon, more sightings of a new master race. Thousands of gun toting, coke sniffing, intellectually superior beings that apparently inhabit the suburbs of the City of Manchester!

That's made me laugh, well done.

[Eddie]

You advocated continuity and stability within a squad but it's well known that we were in pole position to sign Zidane and Dugarry in the summer of 95, but it was blocked by Jack Walker himself and they ended up at Juve. Apparently JW wanted to display loyalty to the players that won the Prem the season before. If we had bought those two I'd guess Wilcox and Atkins would have been shown the exit door pdq. People would have railed against that decision but we all know that it would have been the way forward big time. Rem also the summer that we were promoted many people criticised KMD for replacing the excellent David Speedie with some raw kid from Soton called Alan Shearer!

If you stand still in football you invariably go backwards.

You can't stand still, but that doesn't mean you move forward by selling your best players. We need to hang onto the likes of Benni, MGP and Bentley, whilst at the same time improving the other areas of the team. It will probably be quite some time before we are in a position where that type of player should be sold because we have found a much better replacement.

[doctorryan]

Why is that comment stupid? The previous year Hughes targeted McCarthy because he admitted he didn't think he'd get Bellamy. Once one arrived he didn't go for the other.

As soon as Bellamy left the club in June he went for McCarthy

Nothing stupid about that. I also think that had Bellamy stayed then Rovers would not have signed McCarthy last summer. Also McCarthy was our second choice however the first choice decided that he would be better playing for Spurs.

Phew...where to start with you people...........Bellars arrived after an opportunistic meeting at a wedding. Benni's price that summer was more than double what we paid for him in the end, so we said no thanks. Had he been available at that price in August 2005 I believe we would have gone for him as well.

As for 2006; if you believe Sparky wasn't looking to add to Bellars (Mido, Benni, whoever...), then you don't understand his ambitions at all. Unfortunately he also had to plan, of course, for the possible exercising of Bellar's clause. When that happened he did the best he could (Roberts, Nonda late on) to replenish while continuing with his main targets (Mido, Benni). But to say he would not have signed one of them if Bellars had stayed is stupid. And if I exercised the same reasoning now it would mean that we'll only go for Bellars if Benni leaves. Call me crazy or insult my intelligence if you will, but I don't think that's Sparky's plan.

Or in other words: I stand by my statement. Pound sand 'drog.

**After 1 hour I decided to edit out a mean-spirited statement. We're all on the same side in the end.

Edited June 23, 2007 by doctorryan

[brfc fan]

Why is everyone having a go at doctorryan? We might still have signed McCarthy because we had been chasing him for a year or so.

(Btw, how do you put the "footer" at the bottom of every post?)

Edited June 23, 2007 by brfc fan

[92er]

You advocated continuity and stability within a squad but it's well known that we were in pole position to sign Zidane and Dugarry in the summer of 95, but it was blocked by Jack Walker himself and they ended up at Juve. Apparently JW wanted to display loyalty to the players that won the Prem the season before. If we had bought those two I'd guess Wilcox and Atkins would have been shown the exit door pdq. People would have railed against that decision but we all know that it would have been the way forward big time. Rem also the summer that we were promoted many people criticised KMD for replacing the excellent David Speedie with some raw kid from Soton called Alan Shearer!

If you stand still in football you invariably go backwards.

It's not the way I remember it-although that doesn't mean I am correct. What I remember was at the end of 94/5 we were linked with a double signing of Macateer and Stubbs from Bolton, that Liverpool came in for Jason and we only wanted to do the signing as long as we could sign both, so a combination of that and Uncle Jack not wanting to make major signings meant we didn't build on the success.

What I remember about the following season was that Ray Harford started looking at Zidane and ended up being more impressed by Dugarry but by the time he got involved in trying to do anything about it, they had both been signed up by an Italian team. When he became interested in Ronaldo, he found Barcelona had already done a deal to sign him.

[Jordan]

Why is everyone having a go at doctorryan? We might still have signed McCarthy because we had been chasing him for a year or so.

(Btw, how do you put the "footer" at the bottom of every post?)

And when did we have a go at him. All we did was give our opinion as did dorryman.

[booth]

You advocated continuity and stability within a squad but it's well known that we were in pole position to sign Zidane and Dugarry in the summer of 95, but it was blocked by Jack Walker himself and they ended up at Juve. Apparently JW wanted to display loyalty to the players that won the Prem the season before. If we had bought those two I'd guess Wilcox and Atkins would have been shown the exit door pdq. People would have railed against that decision but we all know that it would have been the way forward big time. Rem also the summer that we were promoted many people criticised KMD for replacing the excellent David Speedie with some raw kid from Soton called Alan Shearer!

If you stand still in football you invariably go backwards.

I remember this differently. On the back pages of the Telegraph were IF IT AIN'T BROKE DON'T FIX IT, which was a quote from Ray Harford himself regarding the Rovers squad. However I remember reading in the tabloids before Dalglish left that he wanted Zidane and Dugarry. Then he left under mysterious circumstances.

So am I led to believe it wasn't Harford who put the block on Zidane and Dugarry and it was JW all along?

[Torgeir]

So am I led to believe it wasn't Harford who put the block on Zidane and Dugarry and it was JW all along?

I remember reading that Dugarry had a look at our facilities before opting to sign for AC Milan. Apparantly he was very impressed but the chance to play for AC Milan was too good to turn down.

Edited June 26, 2007 by Torgeir