I take your point but I look at is an overall business decision. We had a choice. Will WFC be better placed to stay up by retaining Richie or converting him to £40m cash ? The cash sitting in a bank account doesn't benefit us, it's only worth what we use it for. I'd prefer to keep Richie than buy 7 Okakas/Oulares. But a couple of decent signings and some cash sitting in the bank would make it a great summer.
Hopefully he will become so but so far he has played a promising 8 games or so for us ? We don't know yet that he will consistently perform at the level Doucs has, esp after his injury and time out.
As it goes, when I typed it out the one other player that sprung to mind was Chalobah. I guess it’s the fact he hardly played and there’s always that worry of will he be the same after a long injury. But yes, he’d be the next one on that list. Hughes would be the next. Then maybe Pereyra and Deulofeu. But Doucoure is the one I’m not sure we’d be able to replace with someone as good. I love watching him play and I’m praying he’s still with us this season.
It's near enough to peak value for what he'll achieve with us in all likelihood, and a quick turn around in terms of profit. If it benefits the Pozzos then that turns around into benefiting us. If he achieves his potential then hopefully one day he'll be the type of player we can keep, we aren't there yet but selling him helps us move that way.
Who are you trying to convince? I feel no shame in being disappointed to have lost one of our best players to another club. Yes, Gino could have said no to Everton just as he did with Troy and Ighalo but I suspect he will have been well aware that, when trying to attract young talent to our club, it helps if you can demonstrate that ambitious young players are given an opportunity to develop and then move onto better things. The next Richarlison won't feel particularly inclined to join if he sees the current Richarlison in dispute with the club because they wouldn't let him move when a perfectly good offer is made. The difference with Troy and Ighalo is that they weren't itching to leave. It is wonderful to be in the position where we don't need to sell for financial reasons but that doesn't mean we shouldn't sell our best players if it means we continue to progress. Accepting that as our model doesn't mean we are little Watford anymore - that plainly isn't the case. But it does mean we recognise where we are in our development and understand what it takes to keep progressing. But really, let's not all start pretending he was one of the most expendable players in our squad!! Lets not be the guy who desperately tries through his tears to claim he's better off without the hot girl who just dumped him. I'll forgive you the patronising elements of your post because I can see you're still hurting/emotional about the whole thing!!
Upon reading this (of which all of it I agree with), I immediately got the feeling...: Can you imagine how good our squad would would be if we invested as well in our defence and attack as we do in midfield? Every single one of our key players is a midfielder.
There's certainly an argument that we have other good players as well. But I don't think its possible to credibly argue that he wasn't a good player (or that he was "one of the most expendable players in the squad"). Or that he didn't have the potential to become an absolutely top drawer player. So I am disappointed he's gone. I'm nervous about what we do with the cash - if indeed we do anything with it. I'm also hopeful that we improve the overall quality of the squad but I think we'll be hard pushed to replace him easily.
But you are in the minority in what you’re saying? I think most people here are being realistic about his departure and largely saying the same things. You also claim Richarlison was ‘itching to leave’? Evidence of this? You say he was one of our best players? There is far more evidence from last season to suggest he was expendable given he barely got a sniff in the last few month. He may go on to be a great player. But he wasn’t one of Top 5 midfielders. Maybe it’s the word ‘expendable’ you are taking exception to because it sounds quite harsh. I can kind of understand that. But it’s also true - £45m for a midfielder that at present, wouldn’t have got in our strongest team and looks like he wasn’t trusted by the manager - that makes him expenadable at that price. If they’d bid £10m then I’d agree with you. Richarlison didn’t show nearly enough in the last 6 months of last season to make it even worth considerable to turn the bid down.
If its the post I think you're referring to, I did (see above) although our posts may have crossed. I've got no evidence that he was itching to leave other than the various (admittedly hearsay) articles/posts around the time Silva left suggesting that Richarlison was disappointed Silva was gone, that he'd joined because of Silva and would have chosen Ajax but for Silva. Also the fact that he did ultimately move suggests that he wasn't itching to stay. Whether a left sided forward is a better midfielder than our other midfielders isn't relevant. I suspect Doucoure wouldn't be in our top 3 forwards. Actually, having said that I'm now not so sure...
What none of us know is: Was he great in the first 3 months because we were and the carp afterwards because we were - or was it the other way round? Time will tell, but if we bank 45m then i won't be thinking we did a bad deal when Everton sell him for 3x that - right now it feels like a good decision based on what we know and frankly that is all you can go on
My guess is like his mentor he was excited to be joining everton and then sulked when that was taken away from him. He didn't look happy to be here from that moment on. Was a real livewire up to that point.
True...many moons ago though and not at Prem level. If we include that we can also confirm that Vydra (remember him ?) would absolutely be a key player for us this season.
HB1 Alert!! 90% in agreement and you have to make it look like you have some ludicrous insight that is lost on everyone else.
The problem the lad now has is that the weight of expectation is through the roof. I don't think he'll be given a six month pass like we gave him here. Unless he hits the ground running, then he'll be under massive pressure.
A number of posters seem to be refering to him as a midfielder but he has been bought to play up front. Everton are likely to play him in any 3 positions across the front and I personaly think his best position eventualy will be centre forward.
a) no idea what HB1 alert means b) we're not 90% in agreement since you think he was one of the most expendable players in our squad and I don't c) what is this ludicrous insight I'm claiming to have that is lost on everyone else?
HB1 alert because when something walks like a duck and quacks like a duck it often ends up being a duck. "Who are you trying to convince", "I have no shame", "I'll forgive" and "because you are still hurting" are deflectors and anti discussion phrases very similar to those used by HB1. 90% agreement because it looks like we'd agree on most points regarding the club, but I fear you will be scandalised by that remaining 10%. Again, a very similar situation to those I found myself in with HB1. And ludicrous insight because, like HB1, you think you know other people better than I know myself. Like HB1, you appear to be taking your anxiety out on this forum, and that usually ends up being a bigger drag than the current list of punny cheeses. Fear not. I'll put you back on ignore.
Member since August 2017 though 424 so you may be barking up the wrong tree ? Unless we have another Moog on our hands
Make your mind up...can't be £18m euros I heard it was reported in the HB1 Echo as £2m plus £3m add-ons and included settlement in the "Forum vs HB1" defamation case.
Bored of this Richarlison transfer now. It's done. He's gone. Need some more Watford team inbound transfer news.....
If Doucoure joins you, I will be gutted. He is 5x the player that Richarlison is and is completely non-replaceable.
