I think Hibs are really starting to highlight why we need to really start investing in our youth setup and scouting at Pittodrie.  No more of these excuses about the Bosman ruling meaning we can't make profit from producing talented youngsters anymore.

 

In the last few seasons Hibs have sold:

Thomson 2million

Brown 4.5million

O'Connor 1.6million

 

Turned down (either by club or player):

Sproule 1million

Riordan 500k

 

That's 8.1million they have raked in and moving nearer 10million had they punted Sproule and Riordan.  This is only gonna go even higher in the summer when they lose Whittaker.

 

Sure they have indeed lost a few decent players on Bosman rulings in the case of Riordan, Murray and Caldwell, but hey, does anybody see the resemblence in the 10million figure they are close to taking in as transfer fees and the amount of debt we have?  I would quite happily become a selling club for a few years if it eradicated our debt and the club started producing the sort of youngsters we used to be famous for even when we were shite a la Booth, Jess etc.

Did we not just hand Chic mclelland his jotters? I assume that, and getting back len taylor to head youth development are meant to try and bring things on a bit. It is a worry though, our best young players all disappear for nowt a la mcnaughton thanks to monsieur bosman. Or ones who do have some promise seem to think they are the absolute business before they have proven anything and slip back.

 

I'd be very glad if we could start to get something for players that leave instead of them just heading off into the wide blue yonder. Hopefully, an improved perception of the club will help to do that. I fail to remember the last player we got any serious money for- hell even a 100k or so would do these days! At least we got 40k(?) for stewart, i'd have probably paid them to take him from us! 

Did we not just hand Chic mclelland his jotters? I assume that, and getting back len taylor to head youth development are meant to try and bring things on a bit. It is a worry though, our best young players all disappear for nowt a la mcnaughton thanks to monsieur bosman. Or ones who do have some promise seem to think they are the absolute business before they have proven anything and slip back.

 

I'd be very glad if we could start to get something for players that leave instead of them just heading off into the wide blue yonder. Hopefully, an improved perception of the club will help to do that. I fail to remember the last player we got any serious money for- hell even a 100k or so would do these days! At least we got 40k(?) for stewart, i'd have probably paid them to take him from us! 

 

Hignett...?

It's sad, but it proabably was. Dean Windass was one of the last i could think of, punted for 350k to oxford utd wasn't it? Who then sold him on for a mill or so to bradford. But hignett was about 700k wasn't he?, and probably more recent too- my memory's not getting any better as i get older- definitely more haze and uncertainty about when things were. Ageing is bad for the brain- definitely too many facts/memories pushing other ones out these days!