“He [Parker] is not for sale, but who would have thought Ronaldo would leave Manchester United?” (I think everyone did Mr Gold)
“If Manchester City pay Aston Villa £50m for James Milner then Aston Villa have that £50m and are going to want to replace Milner.”
Are we to read from those from David Gold quotes that Parker actually is available, despite SuGo quite clearly stating that he wasn’t for sale?
That, quite naturally, leads us onto the subject of potatoes and the following story about Frederick the Great of Prussia….
Incidentally this change of tune also comes after the deadline date for season ticket renewals. Strange.
“Frederick the Great of Prussia saw the potato’s potential to help feed his nation and lower the price of bread, but faced the challenge of overcoming the people’s prejudice against the plant. When he issued a 1774 order for his subjects to grow potatoes as protection against famine, the town of Kolberg replied: “The things have neither smell nor taste, not even the dogs will eat them, so what use are they to us?” Trying a less direct approach to encourage his subjects to begin planting potatoes, Frederick used a bit of reverse psychology: he planted a royal field of potato plants and stationed a heavy guard to protect this field from thieves. Nearby peasants naturally assumed that anything worth guarding was worth stealing, and so snuck into the field and snatched the plants for their home gardens. Of course, this was entirely in line with Frederick’s wishes.”
(for all your potato based historical desires, check out this site)
My point is this, by categorically saying that Parker is not for sale you will only serve to increase interest in him. Now some people are actively expressing interest, and money, SuGo are changing their tune a little. Is this exactly what SuGo wanted or would it be silly to suggest so?
Incidentally this change of tune also comes after the deadline date for season ticket renewals. Strange.
The flip side of the potato story is that if we actually wanted to sell the rest of the side (who were “up for sale”) then maybe a more suitable approach would have been to have said we’re “negotiating new contracts with them”…because I don’t know if it’s slipped anyone’s attention but there’s hardly been a wholesale shakeup that we were lead to believe there would be.
There’s every chance that we’re reading too much into this but if Villa want Parker enough then I’m sure we will end up selling him. I can’t imagine this will leave a great impression on us as fans – being lied to again, that is. Tread carefully.
I want to finish positively though. The new kit is quality and if the deals for Barreara and Remy go through then they would both be shrewd bits of business.
It remains to be seen.
COYI
Loving the potato link Mr H.
as silly as the relation is, your very much spot on with whats going on at the club.
if something is declared valueable then deep down you wouldn;t want to get rid of it by anymeans, but if you recieve a substantial offer for a value item… then you’ll get a nice wedge.
as much as i want to see parker stay at west ham if we saw a bid around the £10m mark i think he is very much a goner. we paid £8 for him 3 years ago, he’s touching 30 and to get a bid like that at someone his age it’s fantastic business. i remember viera when he left arsenal they only got £4.5m at the age of 30.
the two davids know what they are doing… the hammers fans have outsmarted the hammers fans!
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I really hope we don’t lose Parker. Maybe I’m a bit unreasonable but I don’t want anything under £20m. It’s not just his skill, but everything he brings to the table – his leadership and all.
I like your link to potatoes.
And the kit is starting to grow on me, thankfully. Looking forward to the home kit too.
COYI!
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Spot on mate. They’re at it. I read that comment as a “make us an offer” plea. For a player that’s they already deemed “not for sale at any price”.
I also note that the links to the likes of Beckham, Cole, Riquelme, Henry etc have ceased since season ticket deadline day.
I genuinely hope they go on to prove my concerns unfounded. But to date they’ve done nothing but follow the spin and lies based modus operandi that the Brum fans warned us of.
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Love the potato post – Perhaps we could take Frederick The Greats idea and put an armed guard around Spector and Dyer to name just a couple of right Jersey Royals we have in our squad!!!!
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To be fair sometimes I think Sullivan looks a bit like Mr Potato Head (and about as tall).
I’d be upset to lose Parker knowing he was the only consistent trying member of the team last year.
I agree with Two Bob, get rid of the dead wood (spector) before you start selling off your quality players.
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