You mean Ella's red card - but you're right about it being good news
Alessia Russo | leaves United for Arsenal
- Thread starter jojojo
- Start date
Damn,,,, wrong thread..sorry
So has she signed a contract yet or is she likely to leave for free at the end of the season?
The sooner people accept that she’s leaving, the better.
Sad times
Here's hoping we can get owners in who will invest in the women's team and try to plug the gap, otherwise we will lose our best players continually
Indeed. Add Batlle, our player of the season to the mix and it’s not looking good at all.
Yeah after a promising start to our journey (as a women’s team) we’re kind of at a crossroads. In terms of Batlle & Russo I believe it’s already too late but in long term we need to increase our investment. If we want to fight for trophies that is.
Will the players not just sign if we get CL football???
Surely that it is a huge part of the game for them at the moment? Why would they sign for United if they can sign for a CL club for free in the summer?
I think they’ll all renew if we qualify
Surely that it is a huge part of the game for them at the moment? Why would they sign for United if they can sign for a CL club for free in the summer?
I think they’ll all renew if we qualify
They might wait for that but if they can sign for a CL club that pays them 100% more than we do, it’s an easy decision.
I assume the situation is the same as the men's game, where they could have already signed pre-contracts with teams abroad?
Yeah it is.
Yeah, that’s a fair point but is that realistic?
Will another club pay them double what we are offering them? And, if they will, why isn’t the deal signed now. Presuming that it isn’t, and the same rules apply to female players in the last 6 months of their contracts
That’s the unfortunate point in all this. Apparently what we’ve offered them isn’t even half of what other clubs have. It could very well even be that they’ve already signed for someone. Although I’d expect those news to come out from the press if that was the case.
Wow massive ignorance on my part. Didn’t think we’d be that poor at paying a half decent salary.
New owners and CL football might change that though but it might also be too late.
Be a shame. Russo particularly is something else
Yeah it's a big shame. Batlle rejected the latest offer in February after rejecting one in September. Arsenal offered a world record fee of £500,000 for Russo in January with only a few months remaining in her contract.
I think the challenge in this is the timing. We're currently in the process of being sold so why would the Glazers sign off any additional investment? I'm sure Bancroft and Skinner would be willing to pay almost anything to keep them both.
Russo might be harder to replace but in my view Batlle is the best player in our squad. Earps for me is perhaps at the same level as the Spaniard.
Yeah, I agree.
Batile has always stood out for me. She’s another level. But then again, I watch Russo and think she often looks like the best player in the world.
Knowing United, we’ll have a great end to the season and not capitalise
I don't think Russo is gone for sure - she's grown up a United fan, best mates with Toone etc
Batlle maybe has less connection but I think (hope!), They are just waiting to see if we can make the step up to Champions League and winning trophies (FA Cup?)
Batlle maybe has less connection but I think (hope!), They are just waiting to see if we can make the step up to Champions League and winning trophies (FA Cup?)
Man City or Chelsea for the cash is my bet.
Don’t know, I wouldn’t be surprised if she ended up at Lyon or Barca. But neither would I if it was one of the two you mentioned or Arsenal.
Edit: Oh and then there’s the very good chance of going back to the states.
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I don't think the club would be stupid enough to let her go for money reasons - she may choose elsewhere for footballing reasons though
I would still be surprised if she went to City - English players wouldn't do it in the Men's game so I don't see why it should be different in Women's
It’s not about being stupid. We’re working on a budget and it’s far away from the budgets of Chelsea, City and Arsenal. If the owners really cared about the women’s team, I’m sure they would’ve been fine with the relatively small amount of increase to hold on to your best players.
I’d say it is different, it happens more. First of all the average contract is shorter, meaning the players are free to negotiate with any club much more often than in the men’s game.
And above all, I totally understand that when a female player literally has the chance to improve one’s lifestyle or to become able to support one’s family, you do it.
If a top male player makes £75k/week for a duration of a contract, they are more than well off. In the grand scheme of things it doesn’t make a difference if they drop to £50k/w or rise to £100k/w. They are filthy rich. So they can afford some loyalty.
When an average WSL player makes less than £50k a year (less than £1k/w), the possibility to earn 6x more is a must, no matter the club. We’re literally talking about changing one’s life.
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Had hoped getting Champions League would persuade them,if they are off this is probably our only shot at the league
Well deserve to lose them and go downhill then
If we get Champions league as minimum for next season hopefully one if not both will stay. The team is on an upward trajectory, and as a player it must feel good to be a part of it.
If cash is king, then utd near to break their budget to keep them, as Batlle & Russi are standout performers.
If cash is king, then utd near to break their budget to keep them, as Batlle & Russi are standout performers.
She can have the pick of any club, there is no reason for her to goto City - she can get a massive salary at Barca, Bayern, Lyon and I hope Man United too!
Again she's grown up in a United family and supported the club her whole life, that has to count for something
The club may have operated on a smaller budget in the past but they will see the PR value of the women's team and especially the likes of Russo. The club have already shown that they are ready to rip up the past budget by rejecting Arsenal's world record bid when they know she could leave for free - Whatever she wants will be nothing in the grand scheme of Manchester United
I’m sure it does and by all accounts both are really happy at United. But having a club that might be getting to CL for the first time in one hand and a club fighting to win it every season in the other, who would most players choose?
As I said I would not hold any grudge against either if they left, because the situation is so different and incomparable to the men’s game. Then again I can’t stand what Alex Greenwood did and she went to City via Lyon. And for the same exact reasons; livelihood, standard of life & a better future. So that’s my consistency gone out the window.
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What if she and her family want to stay in England? Have a chance to stay in the city they currently live in but double their wages? So I wouldn’t rule it out, although I see Chelsea/Arsenal as more likely destinations than City.
I’m sure her loyalty to United does count for a lot. But whether the money she gets from her career is enough for her to live a good life or for it to be enough to do the same for her family/potential offspring, probably counts for even more. Understandably so.
They probably do see the PR value of the women’s team and players like Russo, but it’s the same challenge everywhere: The women’s game doesn’t generate money, so why would you invest? (I would of course as you can also gain income by investing, not always wait for income to invest)
The club didn’t rip up the budget by rejecting Arsenal’s bid. The £500k would’ve helped with the future financies but they’ve spent according to the budget this season.
Regarding the bolded part - I couldn’t agree more. But we’re currently almost without an owner as the current ones don’t want to spend a penny as they’re looking to sell and the potential new ones naturally can’t make any decisions no matter how much they’d want to double the women’s budget.
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I think the simple answer to why we invest is it's about a bigger picture. It's speculating to accumulate. It's not just about whether womens football finances support a wage, although clearly most of the time that is a major consideration. We want to position Man Utd ahead of the curve, not arriving cynically when the women's game gets more traction. We were late to the party once, let's not make that same mistake by underestimating that there is growth potential. To do that we need to be consistently winning and associated with major superstar talents. There should be a contingency in place to retain our top 3 or 4 talents.
Also I don't think the Glazers should be that worried about investing peanuts in Russo. Frankly it really, really doesn't matter. It's all club revenue, it's not from Joel's American Express. Even if they haven't completed a sale and go out and spend 150 million in the summer on the men's side, it's no odds to them. Lump it on the sale price. It's very much chicken feed within the context of how a sale is going to work and it is also attractive to an investor or prospective purchaser that the team isn't dilapidated. I'm not sure why people think they'll be sat round shitting themselves about transfers. I wouldn't be surprised if they half expected a sale to be on the agenda when they sanctioned last season's spending.
Also I don't think the Glazers should be that worried about investing peanuts in Russo. Frankly it really, really doesn't matter. It's all club revenue, it's not from Joel's American Express. Even if they haven't completed a sale and go out and spend 150 million in the summer on the men's side, it's no odds to them. Lump it on the sale price. It's very much chicken feed within the context of how a sale is going to work and it is also attractive to an investor or prospective purchaser that the team isn't dilapidated. I'm not sure why people think they'll be sat round shitting themselves about transfers. I wouldn't be surprised if they half expected a sale to be on the agenda when they sanctioned last season's spending.
You’re probably right about investment and Glazers to be fair. We did tie down Toone & Turner to new contracts after all. But then again their wage increase probably was within the budget, where as the requested hike in the wages of the mentioned players is breaking it so we’re not allowed to just do it.
But I think your correct, it’s not like the teams can’t do any business until the new owners are in place.
And again, I agree with more or less everything you say. And I am in no way defending the club or why we’re not getting the deals done. Just trying to rationalise it and find reasons why we are in this situation.
I’d be very disappointed if we lose either one, let alone both. We should be looking to build on the good team we have, not starting the summer by trying to replace our best players.
I simply don't believe that City would offer double the wages that we would (this kind of idea seems to have come from 1 random media article) - yes the club is for sale but there is still plenty of money available
And they'd invest for the PR value - when the club set up shop in Davos it was Russo's face in the window. From every player at the club, Men or Women, they chose her.
Of course it's not just Russo either, Batlle and Earps too - I guess the club is at a bit of a crossroads with the Women's team where they need to now decide if they are ready to compete with the traditional big hitters.
AFAIK her family are based in Kent so no family reason to stay in Manchester if she wants a move, I suppose London is possible but there has been the trend of Lionesses heading abroad recently for the best chance of winning trophies
I hope once CL is secured the players who are out of contract will stay Russo particularly, she's mint.
The half the money thing really comes from what we offered her last season, before she started scoring for England and before the lionesses won the Euros. Earps and Russo are in much stronger negotiating positions now and hopefully United won't let wages decide where they go next season.
The PR hit alone should stop them making a stupid mistake.
Batlle is different, she isn't a lioness. In fact she's currently one of Spain's "rebels" who aren't in the national team. From a footballing perspective though, she's exceptional. She's a key player for us. If we want to be a team on the up, she's exactly the kind of player we want and it looks like she's interested in staying.
Again, if she wants to leave to join another team to win the CL next season, or to get back to Spain - then I can accept that. If it's just about wages, then I'll be annoyed. Mind you, it's not the first time I'll have been annoyed with the Glazers.
Yea, I think too there is no excuse at this point not to be competitive on wages with the other top clubs in the world. We are close to level with Arsenal, Chelsea and City, who are sniffing around the quality of Barca, PSG, Lyon, Wolfsburg. If our best players leave us because of wages, it’s once again the Glazers being backward.
Oh yeah these leeches couldn't care less about pissing up the momentum gained
Has Russo underperformed this season?
She's actually behind Leah Galton on G+A and when you look at the crazy numbers Rachel Daly has delivered at Villa then I can help but think Alessia has the talent to be doing more for the team
She's still scored some vital goals but I wonder if the uncertainty over her future has impacted her form
She's actually behind Leah Galton on G+A and when you look at the crazy numbers Rachel Daly has delivered at Villa then I can help but think Alessia has the talent to be doing more for the team
She's still scored some vital goals but I wonder if the uncertainty over her future has impacted her form
I'd say number wise she has underperformed. The way she holds up the ball and links up the play is very important to us and it'll be very hard to find a similar player to replace her. 10 goals in the league its not bad, one assist is. You'd expect a player of her calibre to get around 25 goal involvements in a league season. She's also missed quite a few sitters.
Still, without her and Galton our attack has been very inefficient this year.
García 6 (5th in the league for goals per 90 mins - player who have played more than 500 minutes)
Parris 4
Williams 4 (1.74 goals per 90 minutes)
Ladd 3
Toone 3
Zelem 3
Le Tissier 2
Turner 2
Yes returns from Parris and Toone should have been higher
Garcia and Williams probably deserved to play more minutes than they have
Where is the best source for Women's stats ?
At least Parris & Bøe Risa got another five goals in the cups, Russo another three. Williams & Galton two. Toone zero
Then again Tooney & Zelem both have eight assists each in the league.I'm using soccerway, they're decent. Hopefully one day we'll have women on transfermarkt too.
It seems worldfootball dot net have some as well. BBC too with some in-depth stats but limited to top goalscorers I think.
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