It is strange though as it is the same old 'the BBC understands'. They didn't have this over the weekend so is this finally picking up on the rumour from Sky? I'm under no illusions that he is going but we just need to wait for an official statement.
And Danny said on twitter himself as soon as there is something to say he will say it so I'll wait with hope in heart for some good news soon....
One thing i'll say about the article; it says that Rodgers hopes to be reunited with Graham after they worked together... am I wrong in thinking that Graham was signed AFTER he left? I hope it's just a matter of them jumping on the band wagon, so to speak.
I think this is quite likely to be true. It would be a good move for Graham.He would be playing regularly (as opposed to occasionally at a "bigger" Premiership club). The Swansea style of high tempo, possession football would suit him, and he would get good service from the likes of Sinclair--hence likely to score lots of goals. Rodgers is a good coach and will develop his game more than we could at Watford. Bigger wages obviously . Good opportunity for Danny--good luck to him. As for the timing and price of the transfer- to be expected. We need the cash and we need it now, not in August, so waiting on a "bidding war " was never on. Mr B needs the money to pay off the season ticket loan (if it was a loan) and to pay the first installments of the bonds , a condition of the sale. Selling Graham is his way of financing the takeover, not a way of creating funds for reinvestment in ground and players. I get the impression the club is being prepared for life in League One, based on a financial model that sees us with a wage cap of not more than 2k a week (youngsters and loanees) crowds of c8000 and a new manager.
I suppose another thing we need to consider is the length of the contract - if the BBC is to be believed, he has one year left so if we don't agree a fee with anyone, ie if we try and be too greedy, we could end up with nothing next summer! I am disappointed that it is 'only' £3.5m as thought we could get at least £4m for him, but we don't know how the negotiations have gone. Swansea could have said final offer and no more, as may have WBA and QPR, and no bidding war actually emerge. The market isn't that great at the moment, with lots of freebies out there, so would have been easy for these clubs to say no to more and move on to the next target!
The market isn't that great at the moment? Pretty sure Peterborough and Millwall would disagree, given the fees they've negotiated for inferior strikers. And while I'm a realist and know that we're a selling club (more so than ever, given our precarious financial position), businesses shouldn't sell at rock bottom unless forced to, i.e. when in administration or upon liquidation. I regard £3.5m as rock bottom for Danny Graham. Oh well, this season was always going to be a struggle. It's just that, with that pitiful fee, I suspect it'll be more of a struggle than even a pessimist such as myself anticipated.
Rodgers was around when we targeted and prepared the deal but had left before DG signed - so I guess Rodgers must have fancied him even before he left us
