Thetownend.com

Paul Jewell has told the Club website that Blues have made bids for three players.

Speaking after Town's 2-2 draw against Blackpool at Portman Road, the Blues' boss said: "We have been in contact with two clubs today and offers have been made for three players.

"It's early stages and we will see how things develop. It's a case of waiting for a response but obviously we are looking to strengthen the squad.

"We have got a few injuries but hopefully we will have some additions to the squad before the Leeds game next weekend. As I said, though, we will have to wait and see."



Ipswich town boss Paul jewell comfirmed that ipswich have made offers for 3 players from just 2 different clubs
Said to be swindons-Paul caddis and matt ritchie believed to be a £1.5-£2million and ronan Murray or tamas priskin
And the other player believed to be colchesters Mangus okuangae! :)

Time for the fun to start ?

I can see why any potential suitor would want to buy them as a pair...fuck all chance of Tamas Priskin coming here though, he's probably on more than our squad combined!

I can't wait.

Time to see how big JW's balls are. As big as footballs I suspect. I hope I'm right :hmmm:

If true of course.

Seeing that Ritchie is valued at £2 million on his own. I rate Caddis higher than Ritchie, got more potential and is more consistent. Would want around £3.5 million for the both of them, not £1.5-2 million. Murray is worth max £75k.

We absolutely, positively cannot allow either two leave before the seasons end.

After finding out where your source is im not worried.

http://www.football-rumours.co.uk/swindon-rumours.php

We can't turn down silly money but losing these two would seriously dent our chances of promotion.

Swindon are set to make a bid for Oxford United's Peter Leven after it was leaked that he has a clause in his contract which will allow a club to buy him 100k.

Ah, good, I was hoping someone would start that fire...

Yep just tell em to fuck off, otherwise we will be stuck here for another season

Cancel that after reading Swindon Please Win's post

£1.5 + Murray is why I've heard with Murray valued at £200k by Ipswich.

Wray will tell 'em to jump I have no doubt, I hope.

Money talks and if they have the money they will go. I know we are L2 but Ritchie and Caddis together are easily top championship level, and if PDC says Ritchie 2 mill then Caddis would be the same IMO, so 4 million or go away.

They wont sell them.

If they want to leave, which i doubt, then fuck em

I know from a very good source that leven has a non promotion release clause, hence why he signed

tell Ipswich and any other club to fuck off and die.

The first half is from the official Ipswich website

wont happen

That's alright then.

I don't think we will sell anyone we want to keep, unless the players ask to leave.

Have to say I wouldn't currently go to Ipswich, as there is a realistic chance we could be playing them next season.

Ritchie and caddis names have popped up on radio suffolk tonight on the local radio phone in and a strong rumour on the ipswich forums are saying bids have been made for the two i hope this total bollocks i really do.

What mole do you know at the skip ?

Scouts have been in attendance and bids will come in. Just need to make sure that they're rebuffed (unless they give Swindon serious money).

Do you really think that they would go for that kind of money?!

If we can get Liverpool interested...

Let's just say for argument's sake that they do go for 'serious' money. What amount of money would actually compensate for our team being torn apart - which is what that would amount to - and Di Canio walking away, either now or in the summer, which I think would happen.

Don't worry, Ipswich wouldn't pay what my idea of 'serious money' is.

Of course they arent worth thad in the real world, but if someone wants to get them as a package, and have a shit hot right hand side, then they would have to pay stupid money. I'm not silly most of our threat is from these 2 and we wouldnt be where we are without them. The reason we are where we are is they are both very good players, and will be in big demand, as any sie with those 2 in are sorted on one side of the team. Luckily at the moment it's us.

No, but we'd get more for the 2 of them than you would your entire squad.

What you'd be willing to let them go for, and what anybody is willing to pay for them, are totally different things.

They absolutely cannot leave. Paolo will be saying the same and Wray already knows that himself.

Latest on that rumours site is now reporting that Ipswich want both caddis and scott cuthbert from Swindon town

Jesus. 

Ha.

This cannot happen.

Fuck off to all the vultures.

They can have Cuthbert, I think we can survive without him!

No.

It was inevitable that bids would come in...and like all players, these two have a price.  In Ritchie's case, he'll be well aware that most consider him to be a Championship standard player, so it will come down to whether he

(a) wants to try his luck at that level right now; or
(b) wants to be a part of a promotion winning side at Swindon this year, before deciding his next move (or stay) in the summer.

It's in the players' hands as much as anything else.  Either way, I'm glad we're discussing this on Jan 15th and not on Jan 30th.  If something does happen in the next few days, Paolo will have 10 days/2 weeks to rebuild.  And he will have money to do it.

I ask the question as: Is derailing our promotion bid worth 1.5 m? I hope Wray asks himself the same question

Anyways, this is from that rumour site. This thread isn't worth the bandwidth it's written on... yet.

*

And I've just had a look on the Ipswich site. All they have is from the same source.

And this from Gary Rose's Twitter

If we get through this transfer window with no bids at all I will be surprised, But if there is a shred of truth in this and we ended up losing both players it would be a disaster of epic proportions.
JW & PDC need to be telling the players that the summer we will listen to bids but not in January, getting out this division is priority to this club. my only worry is we get any Austin situations this year which unsettle the team.

Lets be honest, if we were in mid table a "£1.5-£2million" would be a very fair offer worth considering.

But we aren't mid table. Selling these two now probably would see our promotion challenge die. Its OK holding out for some stupid amount of cash (let say £4M). But what if someone did pay it. It is extremely unlikely you will get players of that quality in to replace them. We are division 4 and are extremely lucky to have them here and now (and Ferry too for that matter).

God I hate January. Lets hope our promotion rivals have similar issue. I don't think they do though,

Crawley have Tubbs who may become a transfer target.
Southend I can't think of anyone.
Cheltenham, Shrewsbury don't know enough about their teams.

Sorry, but those figures are ridiculous.

Are they though?

It's not necessarily about what the players are worth, but what it will take to convince us to part with them. Let's say we take 1.5 mil. How much would we have to pay for Rooney, for example, and a RB as good as Caddis? And how many good enough would be willing to play in L2 anyway?

Exactly and even in the extremely, extremely unlikely event that you could, they wouldn't be able to slot straight into the side and have the understanding with each other and the rest of the team which Caddis and Ritchie have. We're talking about two players who are the fulcrum of the side.

In short, we'd be fucked.

My view on this is that JW is desperate to get out of this division and desperate to hold on to Di Canio long term. Also, he is far from stupid and must know that neither of those things is going to happen if these players were allowed to leave, regardless of the amount of money involved.

And, unlike in days gone by, we don't have the tax man breaking down the door. We don't have to sell just to pay the bills. If they're worth 'x' million now, they will still be worth 'x' million in the summer if not more. Not that I'd be any keener on selling them in the summer.

Let's say Gillingham, for example, hold out for 500k for Rooney. Something they may well do. Whether or not Rooney is worth that is irrelevant, it's still what we will have to pay for him to get him.

And a RB replacement? I can't even think of one. Let's say another 500k which is by no means a stretch of the imagination.

That leaves us with only 500k left and two replacements that may or may not settle at the club. Or we spend less on replacements, on players that are inferior replacements.

1.5mil may be a reasonable evaluation of the players. But it is not enough for us to be able to confidently replace them.

It comes down to what the players want to do though, and what Di Canio wants.  If Ritchie and Caddis start getting their heads turned by other clubs and don't put in 100% I can see Di Canio cashing in on them as I believe his style of management needs that 100% buy in from all. Which is why bridges with Clarke could never be rebuilt. Just my take on it.

Cheltenham do have Kaid Mohammed!!  Don't laugh, he scored yesterday!

The tractor-boys forum (Ipswich) seem to think that Tubbs, Darcy, Leacock, Skacel, Adomah and Rhodes are all on their radar as potential new signings with no mention of Caddis and Ritchtea at all, but fans don't always know it all despite what some fans may think!

Jewell is obviously interested in Ritchie and maybe Caddis but I can't see them leaving us for anyone unless the bids are ridiculous, far higher than £1 mill each probably nearer £3 mill joint as we have to give both Celtic and Pompey sell on clauses, the figure we can only guess at as they are never published but to be less than 25% would surprise most of us, so we will only get about £2.25 mill if the fee is getting close to £3 mill in total.

PdC has spoke to Ritchie about staying with the club, as he said yesterday before the game, and Ritchie says our club is "going places" and has no desire to leave.......maybe a pinch of salt but still good to hear.

Can't personally see either Caddis or Ritchie leaving in January. Both have fully bought in to Di Canio's methods and there will be the same sort of deals around for them in the summer - irrespective of whether or not we get promoted. They have a potential Wembley final in the JPT, an FA Cup 4th round tie and promotion  to look forward to - compare this to a relegation battle at Ipswich. OK there is the money - but they will still attract similar offers at seasons end. We aren't desperate for the money and the loss of either would be very detrimental to our chance of  achieving our goals of JPT finalists and promotion - not to mention further potential progress in the FA Cup, as both Forest and Leicester are in poor form and I can see us getting a positive result against either. How many assist/goals have they been responsible for? Is there a better right sided combination in either Leagues 1 or 2? Probably not many better in the Championship either. They are both key and just don't see the club selling at this stage of the season. Maybe being optimistic but this is my take on it.

I'm convinced it's all bollocks anyway  JJ

The only source of this is the rumours site. That's it.

Why would they go to Ipswich? They are just above the relegation zone and could still end up in League 1 next season, exactly where they would be with us! At least we can throw in a cup final to the equation.

I always see Ferry as an important part of the success down the right. As many teams try to mark Ritchie and Caddis out of the game, Ferry joins in and confuses them often resulting him in breaking clear. If only he could finish!

An amusing thread.

Some people are clueless if they think Ritchie & Caddis are worth much more than £1.5m combined.

Time to get back to the real world of transfer fees people

If we got 1.5m for them, what do you think we would be able to do with that money?

Who would you buy as replacements and how much would you expect to pay for them?

They are worth whatever another club is prepared to pay and we are prepared to accept. The same as any player. In that respect no one knows what they are worth. No one can say their guess is any better than anyone else's.

They are invaluable to our season. It doesnt matter how much theyre worth, they are absolutely indispensble and should not be for sale at any price.

http://www.twtd.co.uk/news.php?storyid=19962&title=town_target_swindon_pair

Oh shit!

The thread was dead to me as soon as the Transfer Rumours website was mentioned as the source.

they are wothe alot more than £1.5 to us which is the point.

if they can't even get basic facts right then I don't believe a word of it.

Well seeing as our best 6/7 players cost well under £1m you could get 4 or 5 top class players at this level for £1.5m.

However thats irrelevant cos i wouldn't sell them at this stage of the transfer window unless its for stupid money (£2m+)

Thats just a rehash of the rumour

Totally agree but its a lot easier for us as fans to say that.

It would be a lot a harder for the board to turn down that sort of offer.

But our best 6/7 players were more or less unproven youngsters knocking about the reserves at the time we bought them. They had little value to the selling club, therefore they cost less.

To be serious about promotion we would need proven players that we know will do a job for us. They will cost us muchly.

Ipswich are a club that we should really look to emulate, it amazes me that a town with a small population of 128,000 get the following they do. They have such a great history for a little place

Maybe, however if it was fitton and not wray i think we may have a diffrent story, im pritty sure wray and the board have learnt from hte mistakes in the past but as you say every player has a price, and would the player want to leave, i think caddis would stay ritchie would go.

Most of that article has been lifted from wikipedia.

Good stuff :)

This window is likely to be the real test of Wray's ambition to build success at this club.
Taking the money will be a message that we aren't serious about being anything other than a lower league club forever.
I'm sure it would lead to Paolo leaving sooner than he would otherwise and a real risk of us lingering in league 2 for a sustained period and consequently much smaller gates.

Resisting at this stage would give the opportunity to go straight back up.
Then we will need to extend and improve Caddis, Ferry & Ritchie's contracts or sell them in the summer break with an opportunity to replace and rebuild if necessary.

Roll on February 1st.

Gary Rose:

Urgh, those pesky Adver writers on Twitter are pouring fuel into the fire.

... and now BBC Wilts.

curses!

DiCanio would walk if these players were sold without his consent and i can't see him agreeing to it.

Can't see the board agreeing either

Various scenarios to consider. So let's suppose....

1) Ipswich HAVE made an offer.
If so then from a fans perspective the club should come clean. Then hopefully issue a swift rebuttle.
If they say nothing, then they in my minds eye would be considering it.

2) Ipswich have NOT made an offer.
Send out a statement of intent that no offer has not been forth coming and that both Ritchie & Caddis are not for sale at any price.

3) Maintain a dignified silence.
This will lead to rampant speculation and a degree of unrest with the fans, like now only worse.....

The worrying thing for me is if they do sell MR & PC. What does that tell us about the clubs ambitions and more worryingly where would that leave PDC?

Latest from Gary

Ritchie: I am happy here, I am enjoying my football. This is good times at Swindon. I am enjoying my football and long may it continue

Post match comments, not sure if the interest was known then.

They got out of the old football League Division 3 fairly quickly early on in their history. With only the champions promoted it made all the difference in terms of the size of support for the provincial southern clubs. We finally got out in 1962, just as they made it 2 promotion spots. If we had managed to get promoted pre war then STFC would have really enjoyed the 1950s attendance boost.

We also missed the boat in the 1990s. We struck problems with McMahon just as we should have been enjoying the post Euro 96 boost.

 

Caddis and Ritchie are a vital part in our promotion chase this season, and could if we build in the right area's help push us next season to a good finish. Yes Ritchie and Caddis are worth around £1.5 million while in League Two, but if we progress up the leagues there values will increase aswell. Selling both of them would be highly damaging as we would have to look for a completely new right side which I doubt would be as effective.

We need to keep our quality players, the likes of Caddis, Ritchie, Ferry and Flint. We can build with this core, We've already seen this team beat 3 League one sides, a Championship side and a Premier League side, all playing great football. Caddis and Ritchie outplayed Wigan's left side on that day and the delivery was brilliant.

Thats why I was saying unless we get silly money the £3million + there is no way we can sell these players.

Ipswich fan here.

Is Caddis primarily a right back or right midfielder? We have the converted winger Edwards at RB and although technically good and pacy, he is a bit suspect defensively and gets caught out of position so we could do with a proper right back.

Are Caddis & Ritchie fast?

What are their strengths and weaknesses?

(Not that we'll land them anyway given our transfer record!)

Thanks

If we sell them, we can kiss goodbye to promotion in my eyes. So for that reason, the bid needs to be rejected, even if it means missing out on Murray.

You couldnt afford them, even if you could we wont sell them, bye bye

Caddis is an attacking full back.  Small but usually has good positional sense which negates the lack of height.  The two of them act as a unit and do have speed and penetration.

Hate to burst your bubble though, I really cant see it happening.  If we lose them I suspect we will lose the manager, we will definitely lose all momentum and we will stay down.  The board has the sense to know we cant do that (I believe).  It would be suicide and this board dont seem to be one to commit hari kari. 

after the last player you signed from us are you sure you want to bother?

Thanks for the replies.

Like I said, with our record in the transfer market I'm not saying it's a given that we'll get them but who knows.

They work as a unit? Does Ritchie play on the right then? I read he was a left winger?

Di Canio likes his wingers to cut inside so Ritchie has spent all season on the right wing.

I'm not questioning their importance to us at all, I'll be fuming if they leave.

If Fitton was still chairman then i would be more concerned than i am. I don't think Ipswich would offer 1.5m for the pair let alone some of the figures mentioned on here. Hopefully whatever the offer is they are sent packing by Wray.
Would be a disaster to our season if we lost them as both have been key and are in my opinion our best 2 players.

Yep, ridiculously low.


They are worth more to us and the clubs progress than 1.5m combined, easily.

This whole 'roll over and die' as soon as anyone shows any interest in our players is fucking disgusting to be honest.

This time last year Fitton fucked up royally with the transfer, selling top assests for low prices which left us fucked and in L2.

We need to grow some balls and tell teams to fuck off. Who cares how much money they offer. Football is about winning. We are much more likely to win games with Caddis and Ritchie in the team.

Very much so. Linking up down the right hand side, those two plus Ferry are Championship quality IMO. Yes, Ritchie is essentially a left winger but as has been said, Di Canio likes to see him cutting inside from the right, which was seen to great effect at Rotherham yesterday.

I don't think it's any understatement to say that if we were to sell these two it would be a complete and utter unmitigated disaster of Biblical proportions. The season would be over, Di Canio would go and I really can't imagine that it will happen.

...oh and is Paul Jewell even going to last the month anyway?

So would I.

3.5 million ridiculously low. Don't be so stupid.
Their value to the team is not in question and you can't put a price on it. But that figure as a fee for the pair is well ott and would not even get close to that for them.

For two of the best players in this division who are both in their early 20's, as a promotion chasing team in a decent financial position.

Yes, now - wouldnt accept that, shouldnt accept that.

# not to mention both having 18 months to run on their contracts.

Our owner gives managers time and from his comments in the programme yesterday, it looks like he's going to back Jewell rather than sack him.

They are a well-supported club but then they do have the whole of Suffolk and a part of Essex as their catchment area.  They've also had sustained spells in the top flight and have won the FA Cup and UEFA Cup which would have made a big difference to the fanbase even to this day.

Whether we like it or not, a move from Swindon to Ipswich would be seen by all footballers as progression.  So it boils down to whether the board accepts any offers that are made for Ritchie and Caddis.  If we're going for automatic promotion (which we are) we can't afford to lose two of our best players.

One thing in our favour is the very real prospect of a trip to Wembley this season and that's something Ipswich won't have.

It's that time of year again isn't it?  Yes, we all know we were going to sell Austin last January, think he had to go, just wished we had hung on a bit a got a better deal for him.  If Ipswich come up with the cash we could be in a bit of a awkward place I think although I very much doubt they will come up with the readies, probably want to pay it off over the next four seasons (have we received all the Parkin cash yet?) - and I definitely would not be happyt if they are dangling Murray in front of us as a sweetener, he is not good enough in my eyes, technically sound but not man enough for this league (or the one above!).

I wouldnt take 10million. We'll never replace them at this level. They absolutely cannot go, no matter the offer.

£20m + Messi as a makeweight?

Maybe in the summer.

You're right about not selling now at any price
.
The serious point, already made, is that even if we could replace them with players of similar quality, we are mid season and those two have really gelled and we need that to continue as we desperately need to go for auto and we need every point going. 

Really hope they're here next season too and it's in league one.

Most teams start the season tinkering and not clicking so if PDC could refashion the squad by re-investing a decent part of the fees received that might have to be acceptable in the real world

You could and in the summer if the players wanted to move on I'd be gutted but accepting.

But right now we don't need that many players. It would destabilise us. Selling these two would destabilise everything we have built to get us where we are. Plus who the heck would we get? To quote Wenger:


I realise you may agree with all this, not trying to argue!

I think Jeremy Wray knows the club made a big mistake selling Greer and won't piss the fans off again.

If Wray is serious about building this club up, we need to hold onto all our players and Paolo.

As long as the players don't force the matter Ralphy...
--
Oh and a couple of other points

Fitton did fuck up selling Greer, but he did sacrifice any sort of fee for Paynter by not selling him in the January before his contract was up.

Unfortunately to a player, playing for Ipswich in league 1 is probably more attractive than playing  for Swindon, financially and potential to go up the leagues with the resources they have (more fans = more cash).

I am quite worried by this, but it was inevitable.

they'll quadruple their salaries by moving to Ipswich (just my opinion) - can we not bribe them by sticking lots of coins onto badgers and throwing them over their garden fences?

Thats random, it could just work! where can we get that many badgers at such short notice?

give them both new contracts that will sort it

If Swindon could get £3 million for the both of them tomorrow, then they should sell them now.

The only circumstance where they shouldnt sell the players is if Di Canio isnt given enough time and adequate funds to replace both players.

We could give Paolo until the next sighting of Halley's Comet but he still couldn't replace Ritchie while we're in League Two.  There's no way we could attract anyone good enough.

No, no, no, you couldn't replace either adequately in this transfer window. If they were to be sold the whole season could come tumbling down around our ears, that would be an absolute disaster

Why did this have to happen on a Sunday?

I want to know what's happening.

Why?

I honestly believe that if we started selling the team from under Di Canio in the middle of the season he would walk.  He could rightly point to a lack of ambition.


I guess the big question is, are Ritchie & Caddis in the Cox & Parkin mould, or are they more like Austin?

Little Fat Ron's Badger Emporium;WWW.BADGERLOVE.COM; bottom of Greywethers Ave, Swindon;Bincknoll Wood, WB - Harry Hill might have some left over
 

Honey Badgers?

Quick couple of points - only a rumour so far and the truth is that Ipswiich would be a step up until you realize that they could very well go down with their current form and end up playing us next season (hopefully).

Who is to say that Jewell will still be in charge in a couple of weeks?

Better off staying here, getting to Wembley and getting us up surely?

Look on the bright side - at least it's not O****d bidding on our best players!  :wink:

J

Because i don't think they are woth £3 million for the both of them.  At best Ritchie is worth £750k-£1 million, and Caddis somewhere around £500,000.

They are good league 2 players who could probably do a job in league 1.  Neither set the world a light last season (all be it they were in a shit side).

Let them move to Ipswich for £3 million, and i bet you in 3-4 years time, they will end up like Billy Painter, Sam Parkin, Rory Fallon etc etc.

And how much would you value promotion and a potential JPT cup win at?

Do you think it would damage our promotion chances Stefpol?

Personally I think it would be devastating, and also I think they are different from Paynter, Fallon (who incidentally went on to play in a world cup) and to a lesser extent Parkin in that they only 22 and 23. They will improve before peaking in their career.

We shouldn't sell anyone(unless they are surplus)until the end of the season. Hopefully the players will respect that and if they want moves, they will get them during the summer.

The whole team has got us to this position at the moment, not just those 2 players.

If Di Canio is given funds to replace the players, then im sure players like Rooney could replace Ritchie

Only a few weeks ago people on this forum were saying Ritchie has been playing crap.  Now all of a sudden he has a good game against Wigan and Rotherham and he is irreplaceable.

The loss of Ritchie/Caddis would no where be near as devastating to Swindon as when we lost Austin.  

* A rumour was started on a site that has less credibility than The Sun.
* The same rumour then got talked about in more than one place, which made it seem more real.
* Gary Rose mentioned it's possible they have bid.

Meanwhile on Teh Interwebz...

* Caddis and Richie are going and for a lot less than the £50m we consider would be fair.
* Town have accepted bid.
* "My mate works at Ipswich and Richie and Caddis are due for medicals this week."
* Paolo hasn't agreed to sale, "very unhappy."
* Paolo is so disgusted with the board by selling his players he's also going to walk - apparently he's heard muttering on his way out that he thinks P*xford's a nice City.
* The board are trying to sell the club and are prepared to fold it if we receive no bids.
* The Council are selling the ground to developers and we have to find somewhere else. "Chippenham looks convenient."
* New consortium comes in to save us "with more money than you can shake a stick it."
* pauld logs on and to sell some orange hats.
* mexico red changes his username to mexico seagull.

I say we just relax a bit. Most of us aren't women, mental patients or children.

they couldnt even afford our worst players :D

And if it is to Ipswich Arriba, then we may well be in the same League as them next season!

Personally, can't see them going as something really special is going on at this club right now and long may it continue!

:D

Isn't that one true?

....and where will we be in 3 or 4 years time if we continually roll over and sell our best players first chance we get?

All of those players you have listed have played alot more Championship football than we have since player & club parted company.

I can't see them being worth any less in the summer, if not more as an integral part of a season as successful as the one we could potentially have.

If we fail to gain promotion, we can cash in. If we get promoted we can still cash in, but will also have the increased revenue from League one and possibly a trip to Wembley in the JPT.

Selling now would piss off the Manager and the fans. Yes, we might be able to replace them, but it would be a gamble. I can't see the board being prepared to take that gamble.

The situation with Austin last year was very different as he was actively agitating for a move which, as far as we know, Caddis and Ritchie aren't.

Probably?? There's no 'probably' about it. You are vastly underestimating their ability and importance to the team.

Jebus Barry, this is even more serious than I thought  ???

[url width=225 height=225]http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PWEhR4dWsGs/ThwioIYenSI/AAAAAAAABjE/oOQW2ABZWJ0/s1600/Dont+panic.jpg[/url]

This season we have beaten three League One teams and a Premier League team.

We should be trying to keep the regulars for as long as possible, if we got promoted this season I honestly think we'd only need one or two players (to the starting line up) to mount a significant challenge in the division above.

Bollocks.

we all love a big panic

And a championship team. :D

Somehow I thought I'd typed that too, but obviously not! :)

Just shows how well we're performing right now.

The sensible thing to do would be to sell the at the end of the season if they want to move on, if they are really that good then they will generate a lot more attention between now & May in a promotion side.. They get a move & increase their bank balance beyond what STFC could provide.. We get a hefty transfer kitty & paolo finds adequate replacements.
It's a winner all round

I hope Wray puts the 'Not for sale' sign for these two, until the summer at least.

Ipswich are owned by a guy whose business is mostly corporate hospitality at sporting events, and there are a lot of stories of illegal goings on like these :

http://www.sequenceinc.com/fraudfiles/2011/07/marcus-evans-scam-fraud-complaints-about-events-and-sales-pitch/

There was a story that he sold some corporate hospitality for the Rugby World Cup Final, but when the people tried to get in to the match...the tickets were fakes.

Nearly makes Diamond Mike sound legit.

Fuck me we got alot of deluded fans.Yes they would be a massive loss but if people think we can afford as a club to turn down massive bids then think again.

but they do take the occasional Sabin off of us

Do you define £1.5M-£2M for the pair as massive?

Not having a pop, we will all have our own ideas on that.

We will get bids in the summer too, I think people are saying we should wait until then and we can afford to do that imo.

How many players leave the bottom division for proper money?

For league 2 players who were not great in league1 last year i think 2m is massive. Be hard pushed to see many players sell for that at this level

I don't think 1.5 mil is massive.

Bearing in mind the financial loss we could encounter for missing out on promotion. And the fact we could still get around that mark if we sold at the end of the season.

1.5 mil is basically 750k each. Let's not forget it wasn't long ago the board rejected 600k for Ritchie

Well I would certainly have thought that we could afford to hold off until the summer until we sell (if we sell.) I think selling them now would be far more damaging and would far out-weigh the financial benefits we would get from such a transaction.

Such as....not getting promoted...Di Canio walking away. The Club's got itself into a fantastic position and to sell these players now would be just sticking a fork in all of that. As has been said, if there's interest from other clubs now, it will still be there in the summer.

They weren't great because they were playing in a struggling side, they have blossomed this season. If they stay and we get promoted then we will see their true worth

The highest fees paid for players at this level from what I can make out are...

Jon Stead from Huddersfield to Blackburn £1.2mill in 2004.
Joe Hart from Shrewsbury to Man City £900,000 (after app fees) in 2006 as a 19 year old in 2006.
Luke Steele from Peterborough to Man Utd for £500k in 2002.

I personally think £1.5 million for our 2 best players is nowhere near enough, and considering a rumoured £800k from Boremuff has already been rejected it would be a fee of in excess of £1 million to get Ritchie and I feel a similar amount for Caddis (who would be more of a loss)

JW must realise that a sale of these 2 could be a catalyst to the end of his dreams of building something big at Swindon.

They would certainly be irreplaceable for a League 2 club in the time available in the January window.

If PdC doesn't sanction the sales he would be likely to walk.  There would be discontent in the rest of the squad.

Most likely outcome then would be that promotion isn't achieved.  The remaining decent players would want out.
A good number of fans would probably not renew season tickets, gates would fall and generally a decline would set in that would kill any chance of the ambitions being realised.

I don't think this is an over-pessimistic scenario.  We all know how vital automatic promotion is to this club and I can't believe that JW would take such a gamble on making a few quick bucks when he knows that the players value won't decline dramatically before the end of season window.

I don't think it's going to happen anyway. Wray has his head screwed on and will realise the possible consequences

I was just trying to establish what you thought a massive bid was.

My opinion is if it was summer I'd agree that that would be a massive amount of money and it would be understandable to sell. However in the context of where we are now I'd say selling has the potential to massively backfire. I think as a club we have real momentum now on the pitch and off it, but this could all be undermined by this sale if it were to stop our run or if we failed to go up.

I guess it all depends on the players, manager and most importantly how desperate we are to balance the books.

If the rumour is even true.

edit: Looks like cheltred69 made the point I was trying to. Thow shall refresh before posting.

Yes, not an over-pessimistic scenario at all, a very realistic view.

If they both go then we can definitely kiss goodbye to any chance of promotion this season, and then who knows? I'd hate to think of us drifting aimlessly about in this division for the foreseeable future.

What do you lot think a realistic price for each player if they were sold today?
Not what their loss to the team would be,their current value in the transfer market.

By this time tomorow we will all know whats happening,  i would expect a statement by the club lunchtimeish.....
I would think the price that has bee said 1.5 1.8 is about right....

Caddis 800k
Ritchie 1mill

not saying id be happy with that mind

Ritchie 1m tops. Caddis 750k. 1.75m would be too good to turn down in the Summer, but (as others have said) you can't put a price on the damage caused if we lost them both now.

spot on gnasher

Their value can only be determined by what we are prepared to sell for and what some one is prepared to pay. Because, to my mind, selling is not an option, there can be no value. They are quite literally priceless at this point in time.

Ritchie 750k - 1M

Caddis 500k - 750k.

I'd have less complaints in the summer - but we're at a pivotal point in the season, we are serious, serious contenders now and those 2 as individuals, as a pair and as a trio linking with Ferry are far too important to our team to lose.

Difficult one to answer Arriba. Not many £1M division 4 players as already pointed out. I reckon £1.5M + add ons would be "fair market value" in the current climate for the pair, but this is without taking into account our league  position, their part in it or the desperation of the other club.

The real bugger is these things are rarely all cash up front, plus god knows what sell ons Celtic and Pompey have. Imagine if it was a massive 40%. Suddenly that figure becomes 840K. Not so tidy.

Sounds good to me

To throw a spanner in the works, Ritchie and Caddis both hand in transfer requests. Then what?

Then we're fucked.

This is why i'm interested in what people think they are worth. I don't think it will happen but you never know?
I agree with Benzel's valuations.

Game over. Try and get as much money as we can.

Tell them they are still contracted for another 18 months; they can't leave now but if they still want to in the summer then they can leave then subject to us receiving acceptable bids.  possibly give them an additional promotion bonus to sweeten if for them if this wouldn't be too divisive for the rest of the squad.

we tell them to fuck off and point out they have contracts till July 2013 and there is fuck all they can do about it without harming their own careers.

I think we would be able to replace Caddis quite easily defensively, but he offers us so much going forward that no other full back in League 2 would give us. Ritchie is a huge threat and to lose both of them would be a real kick in the bollocks. Their value? £450k Caddis and £650k Ritchie, but as said throughout this thread we cannot lose them.

It is vital we keep them at least untill the summer, I think we would have to settle for play offs if they go. My main worry would be the reaction from Di Canio.

That's the thing, Paolo loves them both. He's already said that he now realises he would rather a 70% efficient Caddis over most other RBs going at this level. (or something to that effect).

I would love to think that the players feel the same way as Paolo and that by sticking together and getting promotion, we could have  a proper crack at L1 next season.

Not sure the players would want to leave. Not to Ipswich, not yet.

Stay and they get a (probable) Wembley cup final and get to be part of a (likely) successful promotion push.

Leave, and they find themselves in a relegation battle with a team whose manager is under pressure.

The summer will be a different matter however.

The Di Canio factor could work in our favour. Players either love him or hate him and I'm guessing most of the current (playing) squad love him. Who would want to play for that scouse twat Jewell!

I'd want at least 1m for Ritchie and 900k for Caddis 'take home'

Not 500k + future add ons that will probably not happen. Or 700k + a sell on %. Or 1.9m take off the sell on clause % Celtc and/or Portsmouth have.

Then - once you take that 1.9m factor in how much winning games, increased attendances, winning the paint pot and getting promoted is worth to us - and whack that on top for good measure.

I think that the current squad maybe with a few additions could genuinely challenge for promotion from league 1.

Obviously we have to get out of this league first, but I reckons it's do able.

As a player, I'd think playing under Paolo Di Canio who's arguably the lower league manager most in the "spotlight" at the moment, a very good chance of getting to Wembley followed by possibly multiple promotions. HAS to be seen as a better option than fucking off to Ipswich for an extra grand a week? or is that just me?

Exactly the point I was going to make and that Sir Sug just made. Surely staying at Swindon for another 5 months cannot be, under the circumstances, that unattractive a proposition :hmmm:

But it's not an extra grand a week is it, Championship sides could easily offer double or triple what we pay- and however great an upside we think we might have, there isn't a club in the Championship which isn't a 'good move' on paper (except perhaps Portsmouth if AA is still hanging around).

Worth noting that Wray has said all along that ritchie said he will stay until january then see what happens.What happens then if dicanio accepts they can go if he believes he can bring in decent replacements?

If Di Canio sanctions it then it will happen. Personally I think it will be a mistake but you can't blame the club. The board must back their managers wishes. IF it did turn iout to be a mistake then it would be PDC's and his alone.

if Di Canio sees that either of the players have had their head(s) turned by this speculation, they'll be out of the team regardless.

IF PdC believes he can get suitable replacements in and he's happy with that AND Ritchie wants to go then that's a different matter.  The big issue to me would be attracting suitable players to a League 2 club at this stage of the season.

Exactly its all very good to say that they have contracts etc, but if they want to leave we ain't going to pay them for 18 months to play in the stiffs (which we havent got anyway) we are not Man City.

Anyway sadly as its modern football.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TecR_5-rQ4U

£1.5m-1.8m is good money for those players but you can't put a price on getting out of this league and maintaining the momentum we're on, it's priceless, simple as that.

The scariest consequence of them both going I can see is a combined RHS of Thompson and Easyjet, no thanks!!

But it wouldn't be. No way would we let them go without replacement.

This.  he's not exactly a fan's favourite there is he.  Paolo as your manager or Paul Jewell as your manager.  I'd like to think Paolo would win hands down.

As others have already said, selling them would be nothing short of disastrous.  I genuinely believe we would struggle to get promotion and Paolo could walk over it.  The backlash from the supporters would be unprecedented and I honestly think Jeremy Wray is too committed to getting us out of League 2 to risk it.  I'd be more concerned if Fitton was still chairman, but the next couple of weeks are going to be nervy to say the least.

Nope, and if PdC thinks there MAY be a chance of them going he will have players lined up already I am certain of that.

On the  Ritchie saying he was staying till january subject.....I am sure I didn't dream it yesterday, but didn't Ritchie come on the radio saying hes very happy at Swindon and thinks the club is going places with PdC in charge and that he doesnt want to move?

He did and that's also what PDC in the interview after the game.

The Adver reported late September that it would be hard to keep him if we weren't challenging for promotion come January:

http://www.swindonadvertiser.co.uk/sport/9272662.Wray_will_fight_to_keep_hold_of_Ritchie/?action=complain&cid=9697174

I guess we'll have to see if that still holds.

But where would we find replacements who are anywhere near adequate? As far as I am aware, players are not exactly queuing up to play in L2. Certainly none that are anywhere near as good as Caddis and Ritchie.

I was wondering if the Ipswich scouts at the matches weren't scouting Ritchie and Caddis but were reporting back to Paul Jewell on the progress in a first team match of Ronan Murray?

Could have been as simple as that and people putting 2 + 2 together and getting £1.5 million.

But last time I looked we were challenging for promotion

I'm pretty sure that was the point being made.

No idea. You won't get anywhere near equivalent quality. You might get an adequate defender and someone like a Luke Rooney.

Yes that was the point. The Adver portrayed it as he might leave if we weren't challenging. But we are.

We all know words are meaningless though.

Of course we wouldnt pay them to play in the stiffs (if we even had a stiffs team) we pay them for a further 18 months to do their job and play for Swindon....

...and if they decide to sulk, moan and play shit - well its their own career they are hurting in the long run anyway...

sorry didn't really read the article properly.
It does suggest that Ritchie would be staying if we were doing well rather than just saying we'd consider letting him go if we were doing poorly

Was it 800k?

If so, the board have already rejected a bid very similar to Ipswich's

The last one was rumoured to be 760k, but that was just from a B'mth forum

The thing is Bournemouth are a step down in club even if they are a step up in leagues. Ipswich aren't.
So lets hope the players would see our promotion/Wembley prospects in the same way us fans do (wishful thinking probably).

I guess not much more to say, we'll just have to cross everything until Feb 1st.

If they want to go we'll know that it's just about cash for them and not for any sort of personal achievement

You have to remember both players will have sell on clauses to their previous clubs so that will bump up their value slightly, we also have to remember we are a L2 club at the moment and theoretically still a selling club, most clubs are selling clubs at the right price though,  if a club - I suspect not Ipswich - offered decent money for Caddis probably around £1.2m plus add ons and sell on and Ritchie £1.75m plus add ons and sell on then that would have to be considered.

I would be extremely shocked though if we sold 1 and or both in this window though, we are building a promotion side and if either went it would de-rail it I suspect that the extra money we are getting in this season from sponsorship etc though helps mean we do not HAVE to sell anyone to cover our losses for the season.

The other to worry about is Ferry he is also intergral to what we are doing at the moment

Every club in Britain is a selling club if the price is right or the player wants out, even Man U.

I reckon there are only two clubs in the world who are not selling clubs - Real Madrid and Barcelona.

I'm sure there's no one on here who does not accept that they will go at some point. It's just that now is not the right time and there's no need for them to go now.

Both players came here for first team football...and that is what they are getting. Would they be playing regularly at Ipswich or another side?

I personally do not think they'll be sold this month, whatever the offer. Wray wants promotion back to L1 as soon as possible, and is more likely to spend money in the window to make us stronger than weaken us by selling Richie and Caddis.

Surely it makes for both the players and the club to bide their time and see what the situation is in the summer. We could be L1 and if we are then there will be Championship clubs sniffing around these 2. That would be the most ideal time for both to move on. If we don't go up then obviously they will move on regardless. Maybe if we do go up though they may even decide to stay if they feel we can mount a challenge for the Championship.

If they were to go now it wouldn't make a lot of sense. Not guaranteed football wherever they go and you just never know where the club they go to will end up (e.g. Ipswich would be a massive gamble as they could end up in L1 next season anyway). I just think it makes much more sense for them to see out the season with us and enjoy what will hopefully be a brilliant season and then look to move on in the summer.

They'll go if the right offer comes in, which it won't.

We're going to end up this transfer window stronger than we started it unless stupid stupid offers come in.  This has broken on a Saturday when the board arent going to comment until at least monday so a lot of people are commenting on these boards.

If offers are accepted we risk losing our highly emotional manager and all the progress that has been made.

I dont think its going to happen.

If another employer told you they would double your monthly wages, bearing in mind you would have to retire before you were 40 it would be hard to turn down so if it came down to Caddis and Ritchie I wouldn't hold it against them.

I am sure PDC will not leave if the players leave for the right reasons / £. He understands the way footballers think

Shit me, busy topic. Not read it all but isn't this all a rumor that's come about because we want Murray?! Sure there is nothing in it, selling now wont happen. If we dont get promoted then i'm sure both will be off in the summer

The money on offer and move to Ipswich may not be availalbe in the Summer particularly if they get relegated. Go to Ipswich on treble the money, keep them up and become heroes in front of 20k plus a week.

I agree more about the effect it would have on Paolo if the board did sell a player against his wishes. Seems a no brainer to me, Keep the best players and stand a really good chance of going up or sell and take a big gamble.

To sum up my view on this, which I'm pretty sure is similar to a lot of people's is that we shouldn't sell Ritchie and Caddis at this point in time. It makes no sense to sell them and it would be pretty disastrous if we did. The way Jeremy Wray has gone about his role as (interim) Chairman has suggested that it won't happen. We're being run by decent people now with a bit of money behind them which means the players don't have to be sold to pay the tax man.

My one nagging irrational doubt is this is Swindon and this sort of shit just seems to happen to us. We've shot ourselves in the foot so many times throughout our history. The thought of it happening again is sickening. I can't believe it will.

I'm going to stop looking at this thread now.

15 pages on a rumour from that shit website.

Tells you what well all think of these 2 though doesn't it.

Losing them now really doesn't bare thinking about.

You are talking shit. Austin wanted to leave at the first opportunity.

My take on this is they will stay, at least until the summer. If they want to go in the summer, cash in..They were offered the chance to be offloaded last summer and wanted to stay - so now I guess we will find out what they're loyalty is really like

IMHO the Austin situation was at least as disastrous, but mainly because we didn't replace him when I'm sure we could have done adequately enough to stay in League 1.  We were left with no real striker that I will always maintain was the key reason we were relegated.  We COULD have signed someone good enough but for whatever reason didn't.

This time around, I really don't believe that we're in the position to sign adequate replacements that would see us win automatic promotion.

Selling Caddis and Ritchie this window will have exactly the same consequences as selling Austin did this time last season.

League Two football at the County Ground.

Word.

We could possibly get away with losing one but not both. It would take away our biggest asset which is our strength down the right side and of course Our top scorer.

Money talks, but I am clinging to one hope on this.

Many players get through their careers without winning anything - no promotions and no trophies. Caddis and Ritchie have a chance to put both on their c.v. this season.

They might, just might, also see a chance to go up through the leagues with PdC.

Confident we wouldn't sell behind the manager's back. Wray has backed Paolo massively every time he's asked to make a signing. He wouldn't undo it all by saying 'Sorry but we have to sell whether you like it or not'.

I only see them going if they hand in transfer requests and Di Canio decides he doesn't want them here.

So many of attacks come from down the right-hand side. A better version of Manky and JPM. I'd hate to imagine us without them, it'd fuck us up massively.

This thread needs a song

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XsAYDjo-R5I

Depends if both want to live in Holland.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FQt-h753jHI

I'll be very suprised if both players are to leave

I can't believe we have spent the whole day worrying about something that very probably won't happen

Even so a statement tomorrow morning wouldn't go amiss  :sherlock:

They're getting so excited about it.

One of their lot said two of their 3 bids have been accepted. Another of their lot then replied with an example of how the first chappy was posting rumours directly from that rumour site. Regardless, they are still excited.

16 pages in 24 hours and this isn't a sacking or a matchday thread.

Good work.

Statements are made on Fridays - or they used to be. Making a statement is just like buying a house and the plans for the stadium are in my head.

Hi guys, Ipswich fan here....

Just thought I'd add this. The rumour has not come from football-rumours website, it's come from out forum - www.twtd.co.uk

the guy who runs this site is involved in our local press and has a lot of contacts within the press and never has any story's on the website unless they have credibility.

In fact, the daily mirror tends to knick his story's, like they have done with this one...http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/transfer-news/Ipswich-interested-in-Swindon-Matt-Ritchie-and-Paul-Caddis-article854359.html

Guess we will have to wait to see if the buds are accepted or not...

No way do i want them to leave but the whole if they leave we have no chance of going up drama seems well ott.3 Teams are above us at the moment and they don't have these 2 players do they.What i am saying is that if they do go we have the budget to replace them.

We'll have the budget yes, but will we find two players as good? Will we find two players who work as well together? And if your answer is somehow yes to those, will said players be likely to join a League Two side?

Yeah - it reminds me of the we wont stay up without Charlie Austin drama of last year. Well ott

...and I'm not even going to mention Greer.

No they wont be as good but could we get players good enough to help us get promotion? Yes i think we could

I'm scared

Constable Thursday and now Caddis & Ritchie Sunday.

It's only the 15th, what the hell else will January bring?!

Messi Monday? ;)

i think £1.5 mill would be a very fair price for the pair in the summer, but in january you can force teams to pay over the odds (particularly as jewell is treading ice) so if they went (and hopefully they don't) we should be looking for £2mill-2.25mill

Oh, well if the Mirror says it, it must be true!

Think I would literally cry if we sold these two, cant see us going up without them

Warnock being linked to taking over Ipswich.

I would be much more worried if there were no offers from bigger clubs forthcoming.  That would mean that we were grossly over-rating them.  What we have in Caddis and Ritchie, and Ferry too is a huge asset both financially and in ability.  What we also have is a management set-up - both team and board - which has a set of values, which so far as we can tell (and it has been commented on in lots of places) these players have bought fully into, which includes at its heart, an unfashionable word - loyalty. Di Canio has talked about it a lot.  Caddis is team captain, at a young age, and Ritchie has indicated he is happy here, annd would be as long as we are promotion contenders in January - and we are not only that, but still in the FA Cup and JPT with Wembley just a match away.  And they are both now probably the best-known and most sought after players in League 2.  Let's just trust their good sense - and if perchance the trust turns out to be misplaced, then neither PdiC nor we would want them to stay,

Done

http://www.thisisswindontownfc.co.uk/news/9472979.Swindon_chairman_dismisses_Ritchie_and_Caddis_rumours/

Time to move on

:). Until next time!

Out turn now

Who shall we not bid for?

Lets not bid for James Constable again.

It seems to ruffle the feathers of our good friends down the road.

Some Ipswich fans are still convinced it is not a rumour.

They seem to think Wray is lying.

Good news if true .lets now have some transfer gossip for swindon instead of everyone else.

I think what is likely is that Ipswich have made an inquiry about them (ie how much, or even would you sell for £x) and Wray has said they are not for sale.

Hence, no official bid has been made & everyone is telling the truth.

Have to say if I were in Ipswich's position I wouldn't release the names of players I had bid for, before it had been agreed.

Remember they got gazumped when bidding for Austin.

I think it's more likely that there was never any kind of approach made whatsoever and it is all just complete and utter nonsense.

I had a thought about this last night, in particular re Paul Caddis and his future with the Scotland International team.

Now obviously at the moment, he is nowhere near being an International RB (I think at the moment Phil Bardsley and Hutton are their first choices). As the ex Captain of the Scotland Under 21s, Caddis may feel that a move to a Championship club (should we receive a good bid) sooner rather than later may help his International career.

Of course, I hope that he feels that his club career (as club captain) is of equal importance but I do have a nagging feeling that if he gets the chance, he might take it. 

17 pages on this thread, caused by some idiot (an agent?) putting another rumour on the rumours site.  Somebody, somewhere, must be pissing themselves.

May come down to the legal definition of a bid !

There has been no bid. None

It is all a rumour. We even know the source of the rumour. The rumour originated from the rumour site that is known to be complete and utter bollocks. We should take reassurance from the source of the rumour.

People have heard the same rumour and the rumour has been perpetuated as 'insider info' elsewhere. People have agreed they have heard the same rumour, which to many 'confirms' there is some truth in the rumour. But, it is the same rumour from the same source.

Gary Rose then suggests there 'might' be something in the rumour because an Ipswich scout was at Rotherham. With Ipswich's Ronan Murray playing, a player we are bidding for, there is every reason for an Ipswich scout to be there.

It is all complete and utter bullshit. There is not an ounce of truth in the rumour

Now, when are we signing Cody MacDonald then?

Rumour has it.....

No smoke without fire and all that....
And if it aint true about Ipswich you can bet Richie is being watched by numerous clubs, and his recent performances will have even more taking note.

Ritchie will be being watched by many clubs I would imagine, but do you not think that our scouts - and PDC - are out watching players from other clubs?  It happens all the time.

What stirred this one up into such a frenzy is that losing the entire right side of the team and arguably the side that most of our play comes down doesn't bare thinking about.

Time to draw a line under it and wait for the next rumour

Of course they are.

Good news this morning...especially the Ritchie quote saying he's focussed on winning the L2 title!

Hopefully this one has now been put to bed!

Saw on the Ipswich forum that someone has inside info (heard that before) the bid for two players is with Crewe.

One of the Sundays said that Palace & Sheff Weds arei nterested in Ritchie - as none have that much money that has to be bollox also

They have a young kid (Nick Powell I think it is) who is highly rated. Possible that he could be one.

Wednesday have plenty of money with Mandaric their chairman. They have just signed a right winger in Mike Jones (Bury) though and have been linked to Huddersfield's Gary Roberts and Stoke's Ben Marshall, so can't see them making a move for Ritchie.

Ipswich fans are fuckwits. Remember them booing Sam Parkin even when he was their top scorer.

Nick Powell played very intelligently as a wide left midfielder/attacker for Alex, in a Dougie Freedman type way, at the CG on the opening day...inconruously for L2 acted like the ball was his friend.  Probably not hard enough working for PDC and possibly too good for Tractor Boys

One thing I did always like about Fitton was he always said a bid was only ever a fax with a figure and a signature. Anything else was not a bid. Since the takeover, STFC have always been brutally honest about what bids they have received, or bid themselves. Some clubs cant handle that, they need the smoke and mirrors to try and keep their own fans happy.

Sorry, but which ipswich forums are people looking at?

http://www.twtd.co.uk/mb.php

Nothing about those 2 on the tractor boys forum.

quote from Paul Jewell....

They finally seem to be accepting it was all BS rumours.

Even last night some wouldn't let go.