BlueOyster
Vital Reserves Team
Dang, if their chairman wants to spend 10000 a week, I think QPR's got a JET to sell 'em...
Konchesky?
- Thread starter daveycrocket
- Start date
Gordon_Road_Mat
Vital Youth Team
Still nothing on the Official Site about it,
BlueOyster
Vital Reserves Team
well clearly it's not as important to Scally as build your own burger, mate. :14:
alphabet_king
Vital 1st Team Regular
Some people just desperate to criticise the club for something, anything. It?s ridiculous its such a minor thing and it might not even be their fault! It?s an interesting move (potentially), but jesus, the way some people go on you?d think it?s life and death whether it?s announced early enough. It?s not really that important in the grand scheme of things and probably not worth criticising the club we are meant to love over.
You?d think people have more interesting things to worry about in their lives than whether Konch's departure is reported early enough. I can get pretty desperate for news at work sometimes but even then i'm not this bad.
A similar thing happened in the summer when people were criticising the club because the Football League press association reported a transfer too early (again not the club's fault). The uproar was ridiculous really. If it happens it happens. If it doesn?t it doesn?t.
No doubt the same people are only desperate to know for sure so they can come on here and complain that this now leaves us light of LBs or shocked that we?ve not heard about any news that we?re signing a new one.
You?d think people have more interesting things to worry about in their lives than whether Konch's departure is reported early enough. I can get pretty desperate for news at work sometimes but even then i'm not this bad.
A similar thing happened in the summer when people were criticising the club because the Football League press association reported a transfer too early (again not the club's fault). The uproar was ridiculous really. If it happens it happens. If it doesn?t it doesn?t.
No doubt the same people are only desperate to know for sure so they can come on here and complain that this now leaves us light of LBs or shocked that we?ve not heard about any news that we?re signing a new one.
Gordon_Road_Mat
Vital Youth Team
Alright Calm Down AK, I was just saying it's a bit weird that the OS hasn't announced anything yet.
alphabet_king
Vital 1st Team Regular
Me calm down? I was telling you to calm down! Lets just all calm down :19: :17:
BlueOyster
Vital Reserves Team
I think I said this on page two already just before I started the BYOB thread, but it's a pretty slow news day when we're all waiting on the official word that Konchesky has gone.
Anyone want to resurrect the Tommy T thread?
It's been a while since we trotted that one out.
Anyone want to resurrect the Tommy T thread?
It's been a while since we trotted that one out.
chris who
Vital Champions League
Cou!d be part of any agreement even.
If Konchesky is totally off the wage bill and we can sign someone then it is a good deal .But if that is the case it is likely that Konchesky would get what he wants comment wise as it seems JET did. If however we are not able to get anyone it is going to be a real struggle.
If Konchesky is totally off the wage bill and we can sign someone then it is a good deal .But if that is the case it is likely that Konchesky would get what he wants comment wise as it seems JET did. If however we are not able to get anyone it is going to be a real struggle.
Right then, now everything is out there, I can comment more on this.
1. When the story broke on Monday - via a fan-run Grays Athletic Twitter account - there was no deal in place. Paul Konchesky was a Gillingham player at that time.
2. When Ady spoke to the press after Tuesday's defeat, he was still a Gillingham player. He could have been selected for that game had AP had wanted to pick him. See point four as to why AP's comments were what they were.
3. By now, the relative high profile of Konch meant that the story was doing the rounds. I suspect contact had already been made before then, maybe even going back a couple of weeks, but that's an unsubstantiated comment. And in the transfer business, word spreads quickly. I'm amazed at how easy it is to find out about transfers/manager appointments around League One when you're on the inside (that's not intended to sound arrogant or cocky). On that note, let's not forget that Konch's move to Gillingham was first reported in The Sun the day before it went through. Ironically, that was the same night we played Billericay away in a friendly. I think everybody knew it was happening - but we didn't tweet/publicise any of those speculation stories. This leads into point four.
4. As a club, our policy is not to comment on transfer/contact gossip and rumours. This is standard across sports teams the world over. For as long as I'm with the club, this will never change, please be clear on that.
I've been on the other side of the fence here in my time as a journalist; if I knew my sources were 100% accurate about a transfer, I'd publish the story even with a "no comment" from the relevant teams. (Pretty sure I published a couple that didn't happen, too, but we'll ignore those!). Obviously, the way journalism works meant that outlets such as the BBC ran this story in advance of it being confirmed. That'll happen. I don't see it as a problem. Look how many big transfer moves are "announced" before they're actually confirmed by the clubs? Pogba, Bale, Zlatan, anybody? This is not an issue exclusive to Gillingham FC. It's the way the news media work, especially in the days of 24-hour sports TV. Of course, where possible I'll defend our output, but please don't think us not commenting until the 6pm release this evening was a sign of us being lazy, useless or "poor communication" from the club etc. This leads into point five...
5. In terms of the deal going through, yes, there was a gap between that happening and the announcement. Why?
Well, standard fare with transfers between PL/EFL clubs is that they agree a publication time. I contacted Billericay and 6pm release time this evening was agreed. This is an unwritten rule and, credit to Billericay's chairman (who I found polite, friendly and easy going), he was happy to agree to this.
Usually, the publication time is set by the club who are gaining the player. (This was also the case with Billy Knott going to Lincoln City recently.)
In this case, given Konch's stature in the game, he and his agent were also consulted on this one. There was a bit of discussion before we eventually agreed a date and time. (Credit to PK, he didn't just waltz off into the sunset, he visited the club this morning and said his goodbyes to everybody. He's a genuinely nice guy, no ego whatsoever.)
The idea of breaking that agreement isn't one I wanted to entertain, and I wasn't going to. After all, I'd be annoyed if a club released news about one of our signings before us. I think you all would be, too.
6. The slight irony here in the criticised "delay" is this: the transfer we've moved quickest to announce this season (once the contracts were signed and the EFL approved it) was Bondz N'Gala...
As ever, I'm always happy to take any questions, and I'll answer those that I can. But, please, please understand that there are mechanisms and long-standing conventions in place across football when it comes to doing the job I do. On certain things, notably transfers, I can't see them changing anytime soon.
1. When the story broke on Monday - via a fan-run Grays Athletic Twitter account - there was no deal in place. Paul Konchesky was a Gillingham player at that time.
2. When Ady spoke to the press after Tuesday's defeat, he was still a Gillingham player. He could have been selected for that game had AP had wanted to pick him. See point four as to why AP's comments were what they were.
3. By now, the relative high profile of Konch meant that the story was doing the rounds. I suspect contact had already been made before then, maybe even going back a couple of weeks, but that's an unsubstantiated comment. And in the transfer business, word spreads quickly. I'm amazed at how easy it is to find out about transfers/manager appointments around League One when you're on the inside (that's not intended to sound arrogant or cocky). On that note, let's not forget that Konch's move to Gillingham was first reported in The Sun the day before it went through. Ironically, that was the same night we played Billericay away in a friendly. I think everybody knew it was happening - but we didn't tweet/publicise any of those speculation stories. This leads into point four.
4. As a club, our policy is not to comment on transfer/contact gossip and rumours. This is standard across sports teams the world over. For as long as I'm with the club, this will never change, please be clear on that.
I've been on the other side of the fence here in my time as a journalist; if I knew my sources were 100% accurate about a transfer, I'd publish the story even with a "no comment" from the relevant teams. (Pretty sure I published a couple that didn't happen, too, but we'll ignore those!). Obviously, the way journalism works meant that outlets such as the BBC ran this story in advance of it being confirmed. That'll happen. I don't see it as a problem. Look how many big transfer moves are "announced" before they're actually confirmed by the clubs? Pogba, Bale, Zlatan, anybody? This is not an issue exclusive to Gillingham FC. It's the way the news media work, especially in the days of 24-hour sports TV. Of course, where possible I'll defend our output, but please don't think us not commenting until the 6pm release this evening was a sign of us being lazy, useless or "poor communication" from the club etc. This leads into point five...
5. In terms of the deal going through, yes, there was a gap between that happening and the announcement. Why?
Well, standard fare with transfers between PL/EFL clubs is that they agree a publication time. I contacted Billericay and 6pm release time this evening was agreed. This is an unwritten rule and, credit to Billericay's chairman (who I found polite, friendly and easy going), he was happy to agree to this.
Usually, the publication time is set by the club who are gaining the player. (This was also the case with Billy Knott going to Lincoln City recently.)
In this case, given Konch's stature in the game, he and his agent were also consulted on this one. There was a bit of discussion before we eventually agreed a date and time. (Credit to PK, he didn't just waltz off into the sunset, he visited the club this morning and said his goodbyes to everybody. He's a genuinely nice guy, no ego whatsoever.)
The idea of breaking that agreement isn't one I wanted to entertain, and I wasn't going to. After all, I'd be annoyed if a club released news about one of our signings before us. I think you all would be, too.
6. The slight irony here in the criticised "delay" is this: the transfer we've moved quickest to announce this season (once the contracts were signed and the EFL approved it) was Bondz N'Gala...
As ever, I'm always happy to take any questions, and I'll answer those that I can. But, please, please understand that there are mechanisms and long-standing conventions in place across football when it comes to doing the job I do. On certain things, notably transfers, I can't see them changing anytime soon.
DurhamGills
Vital Squad Member
Nick - Thanks for taking the time to put the facts on the table unfortunately some will always be critical of the club regardless.
Even Kent Online ran the story in advance of it being confirmed in this case, which is unusual for them.
Was there any truth in the speculation that if he played 1 more game for Gills it would have triggered a one year contact extension hence he finished on 29 games? Or was that merely a coincidence?
Was there any truth in the speculation that if he played 1 more game for Gills it would have triggered a one year contact extension hence he finished on 29 games? Or was that merely a coincidence?
NathanH_GFC
Vital 1st Team Regular
Sorry Nick, that's not good enough. Unless you tell us about every enquiry made or received you're no used to us. Sort it out Scally, sack Nick and get someone who gives the gossip. Durham always tells us what Scally's thinking, he knows stuff before Scally knows himself, that's the sort of character we need.
OneSirKeefy
Vital Football Hero
But it won't stop someone posting "feckin' useless, lazy club! How come it's not on the GFC website?", next time there's transfer speculation.
I'm pretty sure it's been mentioned on here before (probably by yourself Nick) that GFC stick to timelines agreed with other clubs in all these situation's. Hasn't stopped the flak being dished out again though...
