£1 million for Bigi (5 Viewers)

There were 3-4 great teams in the championship last year we were in the poor bracket and the likes of Blackpool, leicester were average.

how were coventry going to stand in the way of a player moving to a top 6 premiership club? they couldn't

Gray said:

how were coventry going to stand in the way of a player moving to a top 6 premiership club? they couldn't

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Of course we couldn't but do you really think a top 6 team would be sniffing around a player If he was only worth 1m?

The football pecking order. We have our place and it's behind Newcastle. We did the same to Walsall a few years ago with Dann and Fox. Imagine how they felt.

Sky said:

Of course we couldn't but do you really think a top 6 team would be sniffing around a player If he was only worth 1m?

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how much is he worth then?

Well considering most clubs in the championship/league1 hold out for at least £3m for their star youngsters..

Gray said:

how much is he worth then?

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Potential to be much higher, but we have to worry about this season. He wouldn't have gained much in League 1 and wouldn't be what we needed. Good move him and us if the.money is genuinely used as Fisher stated...

Your a fool if you think the money will be re-invested..

Why are we the only team who NEVER hold out against a bigger club. Can someone name a time a bigger club come in for one of our players and we rejected a bid? Even Crawley rejected bids of bigger clubs for their players.

I wish Fisher would grow a pair of balls and say we sold him for the money, not blame the kid for having his head turned.

Sky said:

Well considering most clubs in the championship/league1 hold out for at least £3m for their star youngsters..

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i wouldn't class him as a star though from what i saw of him last year he was average, i think a million is a good price, think connor thomas is a much better player

Loads of Newcastle think they have signed the next Essien

Originally Posted by CTID
"All of the money will be reinvested across the entire football side of the business - from youth development to the first team.

Hands up if you believe this?
I do!!!! This transaction has allowed the club's academy to commit to the EPPP as a category 2 club for at least the next 12 months!

sky_blue_up_north said:

Its all down to how the money is used. Get Keogh to sign, bring in 3 more players, job done

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Yep. Don't want to see any young talent go, but how many games would he play for us in League One this season?

1 out and 3 good players in and you'd have to take that wouldn't you?

For me, Connor is and will be a consistent championship player for the rest of his career, we never even saw Gael playing in his comfortable role in an extremely poor team. How can you possibly judge him on that

CCFC said:

Loads of Newcastle think they have signed the next Essien

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they'll find out in the COCup wont they, because they are the only matches he'll be playing for the next 3 years

coundonskyblue said:

Why are we the only team who NEVER hold out against a bigger club. Can someone name a time a bigger club come in for one of our players and we rejected a bid? Even Crawley rejected bids of bigger clubs for their players.

I wish Fisher would grow a pair of balls and say we sold him for the money, not blame the kid for having his head turned.

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They may have offered 250k initially for all we know ?

Sky said:

For me, Connor is and will be a consistent championship player for the rest of his career, we never even saw Gael playing in his comfortable role in an extremely poor team. How can you possibly judge him on that

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exactly how can you judge him? in that case no one knows how good he is. he could be the best player in the world or he could be utter shite

ccfcway said:

They may have offered 250k initially for all we know ?

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So why didnt we reject it?

Gaels first interview as a Newcastle player if anyone cares

Gael Bigirimana's arrival at Newcastle United was a little different to the circumstances which saw him join his previous club, Coventry City, seven years ago.
As he proudly posed for the camera at the Magpies' training ground and granted exclusive interviews to nufc.co.uk and nufcTV on Friday, it was proof of just how far the African-born teenager has came sincehe turned up unannounced at Coventry's Academy as an 11-year-old and begged for a trial.
The now 18-year-old midfielder became Alan Pardew's second signing of the summer after making 26 appearances in the Championship last season, shining for the Sky Blues despite relegation and winning the league's Apprentice of the Year award.
Bigirimana grew up in war-torn Burundi, where he played barefoot on the streets, and also lived in Uganda before following his mother to England along with his father, two brothers and sister in 2004.
"I moved with my family and we lived in Coventry," explained the hugely likeable youngster who has signed a five-year contract at the Sports Direct Arena.
"One day I was just going with my brother to buy some milk at Asda and then I looked to my right and there was this centre where the Coventry youth team Academy trained. There was something in me - like a voice - just said 'go and ask to train.'
"The next day, I went there and I just asked if I could train and stuff. They were kind of like, 'this is awkward, you can't just come in here and ask to train. We have to come and watch you and scout you if you're good!'
"So I gave them the name of my school and they told me 'if you've got a school match, we'll come and watch you.' I was excited - I was like 'yes, they'll come and watch me and I'll have my chance' - and I just started jogging off because I was excited.
"Then as I was running, they stopped me. They called me back and I thought 'there's no-one around me so it's got to be me that they're calling.' So I went back and they asked me: 'are you good enough?'. I just said: 'well you'll have to wait and see if you give me a chance.'
"They asked me if I had any shin pads and stuff and I said yes - but I didn't! The next day, I went and trained with them and from then it's just been an amazing journey."
While the Sky Blues' fortunes have taken a turn for the worse in recent years as they've plummeted from the top flight to League One, Bigirimana's own trajectory has gone in the opposite direction and it is clear that the player is grateful for everything the West Midlands outfit have done for him.
He said: "They have been like my second family because for the last seven or eight years I've been with them most of the time. They're just like my family and they've changed me so much as a person and as a footballer.
"I used to be a centre-back but (Coventry Academy Manager) Greg Rioch said 'I don't want you to play there, I want you to play somewhere where there'll be bodies around because it's kind of too easy for you at centre-back.
"And now I realise that's where I belong, in the middle. They were great people to have and they were like a great family.
"But you never get too many opportunities like this. It might come once in a lifetime and sometimes you just have to take it and go and learn. It might be hard but life is not promised to be easy so that's why I took the chance."
Hard-working but skilful, Bigirimana is likely to start off with Willie Donachie and Peter Beardsley's Development Squad, rather like Mehdi Abeid did last season before forcing his way into the first-team set-up.
And while his displays as a defensive midfielder won him plenty of praise at Coventry, he also has an eye for a pass and - crucially - he has a burning desire to improve.
"I'm an all-rounder," he said. "If I have to do a job for the team, I do the job for the team; if I have to play as a holding player, I'll hold; if I have to play more as a creator, I love creating and I love the style that Newcastle play.
"I'm a team player and to be around such good players, I will learn every day so hopefully I can break through."
Not so long ago he was knocking on the door of Coventry's Academy, pleading for an opportunity; now the door is ajar for him to play in the Barclays Premier League. Bigirimana is very religious, but even in his deepest prayers he could not seriously have wished for that.
"When I used to look at footballers, I used to think 'they're just different people'," he admitted. "You see them getting interviewed, you see all the profiles before the match and you think they're on another planet.
"So for me to be doing this, it's like somebody's just having a laugh with me or something! But I've just got to enjoy every moment. It's a blessing."

Have you got a crystal ball?

Sky said:

im not laughing over signing fleck... he struggled to get into the reserves of a bang average blackpool squad, should do OK in league 1 will never have as much potential as Gael has

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Gray said:

exactly how can you judge him? in that case no one knows how good he is. he could be the best player in the world or he could be utter shite

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Seeing as some of the best clubs have been buzzing around for years I guess we should assume its the latter then....?

"But you never get too many opportunities like this. It might come once in a lifetime and sometimes you just have to take it and go and learn. It might be hard but life is not promised to be easy so that's why I took the chance."

He now starts training with Peter Beardsley.

Doesnt sound too upset does he,

I thought you said it was paper talk torch?

I'm always wrong. Where's the entertainment in poking fun at me over that. Wish I'd be right for once.

valiant15 said:

I thought you said it was paper talk torch?

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you couldnt even get it right when you said you were leaving :wave:

<sound of cymbal>

ccfcway said:

you couldnt even get it right when you said you were leaving :wave:

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valiant15 said:

I thought you said it was paper talk torch?

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Money talks. That is made of paper.

Otis said:

Yep. Don't want to see any young talent go, but how many games would he play for us in League One this season?

1 out and 3 good players in and you'd have to take that wouldn't you?

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You need to check your calculations on players out or do out of contract players not count ?

torchomatic said:

Have you got a crystal ball?

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Nope... I just know that fleck has played 50+ professional games and only has teams like us wanting him

every team changes its personnel ...... and it is only the start of July so still plenty of time ..... the likes of Clingan, Eastwood and Crainie were never going to stay so there was always going to be a change ..... i think most fans problem with it all is that the squad is as yet not big enough...... we have time to rectify that.

Couple of things to bear in mind ( assuming the money is to be kept for the team)
- Bigis fee wont be paid all in one but the sale value will be accounted for this year - important because it gets counted in the FFP calculation this season, which gives us a financial plus compared to other League 1 teams
- The young lads under 20 coming up from the academy do not count in the FFP calculation
- It looks like we are going for free transfers and out of contract players so their fee wont reduce the FFP calculation
- Waggott seems to have a handle on the FFP and contract negotiations (where we didnt before)
- Even given the cost slashing we will have one of the bigger budgets in League 1
- it is only 6th July we have nearly 2 months to sign players on and the season doesnt start for 5 weeks

Patience I think ........ lets see where it takes us over the next couple of weeks

Back kissing sisu's arse now astute? That didn't take long.

Glad I didnt buy a season ticket. Good luck to those that did

OyJimmy said:

Glad I didnt buy a season ticket. Good luck to those that did

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why? Because we sold someone who wouldn't have seen the first team were we not criminally short on players?

Glad I did buy one looking forward to the new season

Sky Blue Sheepy said:

why? Because we sold someone who wouldn't have seen the first team were we not criminally short on players?

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It's not just this sale it's all of the stuff Sisu are doing. I'd rather they liquidate us and we start 10 leagues down as a club owned by the fans.