Giovinco goal
Check out this tweet at https://twitter.com/SPL/status/1095372190273421312
Well Pozuelo's statement seems pretty strong and I'm inclined to believe the party that's daring the other to produce the written agreement.
The only hang up here seems to be whether whatever sort of gentleman's agreement they had for him to stay has any legal validity. That feels flimsy.
We need to cool it with the talk of his character and whatnot. At the end of the day if a life-changing offer is on the table for you, you change your life to take it. All that matters is if he's committed to playing his best and helping us win while he's here. Same as Seba, same as Bradley and Jozy.
You do have to buy into it if you want to win. Football is a very competitive sport, and it's no less competitive when it comes to the management aspect and signing players. If we sit back and play nice we'll have another season with no playoffs. Besides, it's not like we're doing anything other than offering a player a better salary. I'm sure Genk have done plenty of this in the past. The football world is just as hypocritical as the outside world.
Pozo is welcome with open arms, same as VV and Gio were.
My issue, if any, based on what we know, is with MLS/TFC, not the player.
This isn’t like 99% of transfers, where the selling team is a party to the negotiation, and you seek their permission to enter into final negotiations with the player.
There is a higher degree of difficulty here. You have to understand the existing contract without the involvement of the selling team.
This had really better be Genk being difficult. I dont want to be the league/team that just wanders around Europe wrecking leagues.
Last edited by ensco; 02-12-2019 at 12:44 PM.
"There are some people who might have better technique than me, and some may be fitter than me, but the main thing is tactics. With most players, tactics are missing. You can divide tactics into insight, trust, and daring." - Johan Cruyff
I think after this weekend they will release him. I think they just want to basically ensure victory first. If Poz sues them for breach of contract, which he must feel pretty good about since he made it public and challenged Genk's claims, and he wins that lawsuit then Genk has a massive PR black eye to deal with.
So I have a Q for you since you seem very interested in the business side of this deal and would have better insight into the nuances of these thing.
Since MLS is pretty involved in contract dealings, is this MLS showing a strong arm in World Football? Being the league that gets the players they want when they want and the Belgium league is the first to feel their might? MLS first crack at being dicks on the transfer market vs being pushed around?
or is this just a debacle?
Sam Stejskal seems to think this is going to be part of the league growing up:
As MLS spends more money (and as more money is spent by foreign clubs on MLS players) these wild-ass situations will happen more often. The teams that get savvy to them quickly should put themselves in good positions. The teams that don't... could get left behind.
Stejskal is a good guy, I enjoy his stuff generally by the way, but this is the sort of thing that he is just being a stenographer to the league/team offices on (as virtually all MLS beat reporters do)...
We could have just had the player on January 31 or before - no drama. No "wild ass" situations. The fact that we are trying to do this business in February is 100% a function of how TFC handled Seba, and nothing else, we took Seba to the brink, and he called our bluff. This "it's part of being a player in world football" thing is fantasy.
This is pretty black and white - either the player can move after Feb 1, or he cannot.
If MLS/TFC had a reasonable basis that the player could move, all is good, Genk are just being dicks. This is what Pozo said today.
But to 100% buy that, you have to believe that Genk are willing to cause themselves legal problems/expense in the name of a PR stunt. I somehow doubt that.
It's impossible to really know what is going on. But Genk digging in like this is a very meaningful signal that they really think the player can't move.
I am not captive to MLS/TFC honchos and can debate this question more than Stejskal or whomever.
Last edited by ensco; 02-12-2019 at 02:05 PM.
"There are some people who might have better technique than me, and some may be fitter than me, but the main thing is tactics. With most players, tactics are missing. You can divide tactics into insight, trust, and daring." - Johan Cruyff
When would it be ok for him to move then? When they're not fighting for the league title? Fair enough, that means his team can't really be top 3 or 4 at the time, that's too close. What if they were in a relegation battle? Can't leave your team high and dry then right? So they can't be bottom three. It's only fair to leave when his team is middle of the pack. But wait - the Belgian league, as pointed out to me, uses a playoff system, where playoffs are used not just for the top teams to decide a league winner, but every team 7 through 15 participates to determine Europa League qualifiers, with the 16th team relegated. Those Europa League spots bring in a lot of cash for the club. Can't ditch your team when they're fighting for a spot in Europe!
So now he should really only be leaving in the summer window when the league is in its offseason. Oops, that life-changing offer with 4x your current salary that you had 4 months ago is gone because that team had to go sign someone else. You won a trophy and missed out on an extra ~$10 million over the next 3 years.
My commitment is to this team too, but I realize every player on our team is committed to themselves first, and then the team. So these things happen and the timing is what it is. Players can't control that timing and if they try to at their own expense they are fools. Go ask Ciman how he feels about putting the team first when Montreal traded him despite his family situation.
All we can ask for as fans is that you give a shit while you're here. That you're not a Van der Wiel.
What should really be telling right now is that not a word has been mentioned about any incidents regarding Pozuelo's poor attitude or commitment over his 4 years at the club. If Genk or any supporters had a prior issue with him you can bet it would be coming out now. Not a thing. And he's publicly stated his unhappiness at the situation but also his desire to keep playing until it's resolved. Sounds like a guy who gives a shit to me.
"There are some people who might have better technique than me, and some may be fitter than me, but the main thing is tactics. With most players, tactics are missing. You can divide tactics into insight, trust, and daring." - Johan Cruyff
"You must spread some reputation around..."
Some good discussion in here. Remember when supporting this team was easy? Yah...me neither. I wouldn't have minded a 2nd title last year but I wouldn't trade our situation for the situation of Atlanta with that fan base's attitude.
There is something to be said for having to figure out every little step & seeing failures as just part of what happens.
Last edited by OgtheDim; 02-12-2019 at 02:11 PM.
He did a few things in that post:
1) Didn't attack me as a person.
2) Didn't repeat the same argument in the nth different way (yes I understand players do things for money)
3) Offered some rational arguments to think about.
He made me reconsider, which is what a chat board should do.