Transfer funds question?

24 May 2001

No sooner has a report appeared saying that we are going to sign X players, others follow saying that it's actually Y. Firstly, the Birmingham Post quoted Paul Thompson as saying:

"We have already spent £5.8 million on 13 new faces and it will be our policy to bring in 4 or 5 players each year, plus another signing every 3 months or so. We are talking about substantial funds."

A day later, The Express & Star published a very downbeat article with a headline of "Megson transfer setback". This article included a rather contradictory quote from Paul Thompson to the one above:

"We're looking at bringing two or three players in over the close season that may or may not involve transfer fees."

Changing it's tune this morning (May 24th), the Birmingham Post, as if it never published the first piece just 2 days earlier, contains an article along similar lines to that in the E&S. This time, there's also a hint of a rift over the issue between the Manager and the Chairman. The latest headline is "Megson forced to bear it as Albion tighten purse strings". The article quotes Gary Megson as saying:

"I don't really want to talk about it. I have given the club a list of names I'd like to bring in, but it's not my place to be talking about finance... we have to make signings becuse we weren't good enough. We finished sixth because of how hard we worked but, to improve, you need better players. We have let 5 players go and I've provided a list of people we want - some of them Bosman players, others who require a transfer fee - but I will work with whatever money I'm given."

As was the case in the E&S report, the latest Birmingham Post offering plays on the possibility of Albion having one of the smallest squads in the division next season. Apparently settling the question of whether the £500,000 recently mentioned as being given to the manager following the £938,000 share purchase by Hamilton Trustees was the whole amount currently available, or just the proportion from the share purchase which was being allocated to the transfer kitty, Paul Thompson said:

"There is £500,000 in the transfer fund and we will be looking at the situation progressively throughout the summer. We have just finished sixth and we are not in a position where we need wholesale chnages. Any money generated from the sale of players will be added to what the Manager has to spend."

Some Albion fans are likely to feel a bit disappointed at this news when it's being loudly trumpeted that Dave Jones has been given £15 million to spend at Molineux. However, we'll just have to wait and see who arrives at The Hawthorns during the close season and who else, if anyone, leaves.

Previous Stories:

  22 May 2001:  Thompson promises summer signings

  18 May 2001:  Can the Baggies beat Big Business?

  17 May 2001:  WBA shares sold out too!

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