Hourihane

Nobody else wanted him...

The thing that rings loudest out of that is the fact that he clearly views Barnsley as a big step forwards and upwards for his career.

If anything shows us how the club is regarded by professional footballers, and he was our captain too!, then this is it.

Bit of a kick in the teeth, really, as a parting shot and rather similar to what Sean McCarthy said when he went to Bradford years ago.

When even our own players think like this is it any wonder we can't sign anybody?

It's possible to turn this debate around and say that Argyle actually wanted Conor to go. He is a decent lower league player who would be one of the higher paid employees at the club. So therefore deduct the remaining years wage plus the fee received from Barnsley and I reckon Argyle have saved themselves £200,000+.

He said he took a step back to join us- I thought he had been released by Ipswich and was one of the desperados picked up by Peter Reid?

We are smaller than Barnsley in football terms given the crowd capacity and figures mentioned by Tring (as well as them playing in the Premiership), what makes me laugh is quite a number of Argyle fans think Argyle are a bigger club- the same ones championing the cause to reduce our capacity to 16k- maybe reality will start to kick in for some (but I doubt it).

Yeah right.

We could get shot of all of em and save about £2m/yr.

Problem being that given we are a football club we actually need a few footballers to allow us to field a team.

Took Errrm a step back errrm looking foward to next season errrm.How many errm FFS.

Ps ali your right he was a freebie coz he had been released by ipswich.

Another crap " Brent season" coming up, there is no recovery or promotion push and there never will be under Brent, just more of the same.

Sir Francis Drake wrote:

Yeah right.

We could get shot of all of em and save about £2m/yr.

Problem being that given we are a football club we actually need a few footballers to allow us to field a team.

Not sure what that has to do with selling one player?

Think of it in terms of cost-benefit analysis.

Or in simpler terms: pay peanuts get monkeys.

sufferedsince 68 wrote:

Another crap " Brent season" coming up, there is no recovery or promotion push and there never will be under Brent, just more of the same.

Oh my days, it's really gonna grip your shit if we do well this season.

Let's see what Sheridan brings in yet.

We could chuck £75k towards the balloon fund, then have £75k plus Hourihane's wages to find a decent replacement on the out of contract market.

Getting a 8-10 goal a season midfielder who can play a pass, score a free kick and make a tackle shouldn't be beyond us. As I say...Deering, Summerfield are two uncontracted playmakers that come to mind. We could have the budget to sign better.

Punchdrunk wrote:

Barnsley have spent a shed load of seasons in the second tier.... more then any other in the football league, been in the Premiership and been fa Cup runners up and winners respectively.
I do not think you can suggest them not being a big club in a lower league ejh because I dont think you have much of a case.
Its a small town of 80,000 that has shown a bit of ambition over the years,done its best to cast of the backwater hicktown image and built its team a ground that holds 23,000.
Plymouth would do well to emulate imho.

It seems like Hourihane agrees.

I personally thought it would have taken a bigger club to turn his head. The fact it didn't is embarrassing for Argyle. Hourihane's career trajectory will be interesting now for sure.

"dear Plimuff, 20k fer yer captain who scored 9 from midfield last year?"

"we can't accept the first bid you come up with Barnsley old bean."

*toddles off to tell the 'e'enin' 'erole' that we've rejected a bid*

The next day.

"Plimuff, look, my second bid is £20k."

"No way my chap, we're not bending down to a second bid - our fans would be apoplectic with apathy."

*'e'nin' 'erole' on speed dial, we've rejected another bid*

Two day later...

"right Plimiff, you drive a hard bargain. £20k it is."

"Well Errington, they clearly wanted their man. We were DEADLY serious abait keeping him, but when they bid their third bid we just couldn't turn it dain."

X Isle wrote:

sufferedsince 68 wrote:

Another crap " Brent season" coming up, there is no recovery or promotion push and there never will be under Brent, just more of the same.

Oh my days, it's really gonna grip your shit if we do well this season.

Still believing in Brent is like still believing in Father Christmas.in case you had not noticed he left you and the gratefuls back in the trenches, while he took the small Barnsley cheque and let his captain go. Promotion my Arse.

Mock Cuncher wrote:

"dear Plimuff, 20k fer yer captain who scored 9 from midfield last year?"

"we can't accept the first bid you come up with Barnsley old bean."

*toddles off to tell the 'e'enin' 'erole' that we've rejected a bid*

The next day.

"Plimuff, look, my second bid is £20k."

"No way my chap, we're not bending down to a second bid - our fans would be apoplectic with apathy."

*'e'nin' 'erole' on speed dial, we've rejected another bid*

Two day later...

"right Plimiff, you drive a hard bargain. £20k it is."

"Well Errington, they clearly wanted their man. We were DEADLY serious abait keeping him, but when they bid their third bid we just couldn't turn it dain."

Sad thing is, with a minimal adjustment in the £££'s, that's probably not a million miles away from reality.

sufferedsince 68 wrote:

Another crap " Brent season" coming up, there is no recovery or promotion push and there never will be under Brent, just more of the same.

Now that is a ridiculous comment......put your brain into gear..... it would help.

He's gone...bye and don't forget to leave any trophies you have picked up from the club's official forum cos they get a bit upset when they disappear!

zyph wrote:

sufferedsince 68 wrote:

Another crap " Brent season" coming up, there is no recovery or promotion push and there never will be under Brent, just more of the same.

Now that is a ridiculous comment......put your brain into gear..... it would help.

No need for the personal abuse x.

Sir Francis Drake wrote:

I've never understood the gnashing and wailing when a player gets sold.

Certain things always apply:

1. He must be quite good or nobody else would want him;
2. The fee is never enough;
3. Loads of manking about us being a "selling club".

It's the last one that grips my shit. Every club, just about, in the world is a "selling club": Spurs coudn't keep Bale; Liverpool couldn't keep Michael Owen; Arsenal couldn't keep van Persie; Man Utd couldn't keep Ronaldo; Argyle couldn't keep Hourihane... So what?

There is no loyalty in football so don't ever expect a player (or manager) to show any (even Paul "he bleeds green blood" Wotton once flirted with a move to Northampton).

These things happen. What matters is how it is dealt with and what happens next.

Quite agree. There are the odd exceptions though. LeTissier?

The players that have left outnumber those that have been brought in so its not the massive investment in the squad that some will lead you to believe, and even if it is higher calibre players that have been brought in then I highly doubt the extra finance will be coming from JB, more like Wrathall.

Barnsley are not wealthy, i doubt they paid more than fifty grand for Hourihane. no ambition and no hope under this owner. who's next in the Fire sale ?

sufferedsince 68 wrote:

Barnsley are not wealthy, i doubt they paid more than fifty grand for Hourihane. no ambition and no hope under this owner. who's next in the Fire sale ?

There you go again.

Someone has quoted Barnsley as a town of 80,000.

It's actually 231,200 according to the 2011 census. Plymouth has a population of 256,400 according to the same census. Barnsley is only a town the size of Newton Abbot smaller. God knows where a figure of 80,000 materialised from?

This goes and show us how broke Brent is. I was quite happy with the manager with the way he is slowly putting a team together under the finances restrain the owner has put on him. A couple of more signing followed by some loanee and we would have a good squad for the coming season

zyph wrote:

sufferedsince 68 wrote:

Barnsley are not wealthy, i doubt they paid more than fifty grand for Hourihane. no ambition and no hope under this owner. who's next in the Fire sale ?

There you go again.

Just offering an alternative point of view, no need to be unpleasant