You can’t complain “he wasn’t funded” if your own definition of funding him requires him to be here for more than a season and a half.
Drico
Player Valuation: £70m
Of course I can. He saw the writing on the wall. He was proven completely and utterly correct as he won two Champions Leagues while we flirted with extinction.
You don't put Alain Prost in a Morris Minor and expect him to stay.
I agree that Real Madrid is waaaay more attractive, especially to Carlo, than we are.
However, the point that he didn't succeed, or make us relevant, because he wasn't "funded" isn't the full story (unless your argument is that he wasn't funded to the extent that he could build a squad of Madrid's quality in one summer).
He didn't succeed, or make us relevant, because we were that Morris Minor - with or without "funding" him.
Madness people are arguing with this. That was the last time we filled our squad with good, proven but late-20s players on big contracts. Said at the time it was a go big or go home strategy - if it didn't immediately work, we were screwed. And we were screwed. Loads of people want us to try the same thing now under TFG and it makes my brain leak out of my ears
Drico
Player Valuation: £70m
The fact that Ancelotti actually suggested himself as Madrid's manager tells you he was desperate to get out. Had he been reasonably satisfied with the backing he was receiving, that desperation probably didn't exist. Madrid didn't ring him to tap him up. He put himself forward on a call about something else. That tells you that he wanted out. Now, he may have gone anyway - we can't say for sure either way - but I have zero doubt that what he was promised was very different to what he received.
In other words, we were playing way out of our league with Carlo, but we did next to nothing to hold on to him. Moshiri simply wasn't set up for that. What a terrible pity, because the best manager in the world was ours...and we couldn't step up to the plate as an organisation to capitalise on that.
I don't think there's much we could have done to hold on to him. We got hit by PSR as it is, so there simply was no room to give any more budget.
I'm assuming he was promised the world by Moshiri, but in hindsight it's a bit naive to not at least understand that we might have some kind of restrictions in place.
davek
Player Valuation: £150m
It was a ridiculous appointment. An expensive mistake.
I know Ancelotti's stock was low at the time after he'd failed at Napoli, but he was still highly likely to be short term here when we needed to find the right fit for a club looking to stay in the PL, essentially, rather than push on.
If he arrived now I wouldn't bat an eyelid. But then it was just another case of Moshiri's eyes being too big for his belly.
He was a dreamer and an adventurer, Moshiri. That got us a stadium - which is his ultimate legacy and fair dos for that - but it also got us into a hell of a mess.
Toffeelover
Player Valuation: £80m
We were just a stepping block to cover his unemployment waiting for RM to be available.
Marius57
Player Valuation: £70m
Fine by me. He kept us up comfortably in that first half season despite us having been in a worse position than when we hired Allardyce. His job initially was to keep us up. He more than did that.
Drico
Player Valuation: £70m
Yes, I don't disagree (when you know that Moshiri wore the emperor's new clothes). He attracted the best manager in the world...and revealed himself as the Wizard of Uz.
BigDuncTributeBand
Player Valuation: £25m
It’s starting to look like he just spent money in the summer because it was available. Of all the signings, only Grealish has definitely improved the starting 11. KDH has been decent better than Doucoure at some things but without his goal threat.
Said himself, we needed players who could come in and improve the starting 11. By his own measure, the transfer window was poor.
Anzou, doesn’t want to play him, even if Mylenko injured so didn’t even sign a back up left back.
Dibling, £35mil and doesn’t want to play him.
Barry, doesn’t seem to want to start him, looked miles off it when he has. Leaving us Beto as a starting centre forward.
Alcaraz - doesn’t seem to want to play him
Rohl, looks like he likes him but hasn’t started a game in the league and has had his injury issues.
Would you let him sign more players if you were the Friedkins? Why would you let a conservative, risk averse manager sign any young/talented players - he’s too much of a [Poor language removed] bag to play them, we’re just pissing money away.
Said himself, we needed players who could come in and improve the starting 11. By his own measure, the transfer window was poor.
Anzou, doesn’t want to play him, even if Mylenko injured so didn’t even sign a back up left back.
Dibling, £35mil and doesn’t want to play him.
Barry, doesn’t seem to want to start him, looked miles off it when he has. Leaving us Beto as a starting centre forward.
Alcaraz - doesn’t seem to want to play him
Rohl, looks like he likes him but hasn’t started a game in the league and has had his injury issues.
Would you let him sign more players if you were the Friedkins? Why would you let a conservative, risk averse manager sign any young/talented players - he’s too much of a [Poor language removed] bag to play them, we’re just pissing money away.
davek
Player Valuation: £150m
I'd be replacing Moyes in the summer 100%.
One way or another he's just carried out a Koeman-lite summer window and pissed our budget top against a wall.
Hopefully the new owners will still be able to hand a transfer chest out to any incoming manager this summer to entice one worthwhile us getting in to replace Moyes.
Very good.
BigDuncTributeBand
Player Valuation: £25m
It’s really disappointing. He referenced many times he couldn’t get his targets/players at a higher level so looks like he just panicked and went for what we could get so there were numbers in the squad.
Now we’ve got a load of players he’s taken a punt on, got them in the building and they’re young, he doesn’t trust and won’t play them.
We’ll end up having to loan them out or struggle to sell without making a loss.
What a mess he’s made of it really and starting 11 still short two starting full backs and a striker.
