Foreign Muck

[Moira Stewart]

Although we haven't seen any direct quotes it would seem our new owner is keen on the marketing side to extend our brand abroad, I would guess he would also like to see this extend to the football side with perhaps sister clubs, sharing knowledge etc. What do you think Micks take on this will be, in the past he's seemed very reluctant to use the foreign market and has practically alienated all foreign players at the club.

Personally although I am a big fan of Mick I hope he embraces this opportunity, as there are only so many gems you can find in the U.K and Ireland particularly if we were to find ourselves in the top league.

[Wivey Wolf]

Although we haven't seen any direct quotes it would seem our new owner is keen on the marketing side to extend our brand abroad, I would guess he would also like to see this extend to the football side with perhaps sister clubs, sharing knowledge etc. What do you think Micks take on this will be, in the past he's seemed very reluctant to use the foreign market and has practically alienated all foreign players at the club.

Personally although I am a big fan of Mick I hope he embraces this opportunity, as there are only so many gems you can find in the U.K and Ireland particularly if we were to find ourselves in the top league.

If they're quality, I'm sure Mick will jump at the chance to sign the right foreign player

[RichRalph]

Although we haven't seen any direct quotes it would seem our new owner is keen on the marketing side to extend our brand abroad, I would guess he would also like to see this extend to the football side with perhaps sister clubs, sharing knowledge etc. What do you think Micks take on this will be, in the past he's seemed very reluctant to use the foreign market and has practically alienated all foreign players at the club.

Personally although I am a big fan of Mick I hope he embraces this opportunity, as there are only so many gems you can find in the U.K and Ireland particularly if we were to find ourselves in the top league.

I think you are opening a can of worms that doesn't need to be opened. Your assumptions may be well wide of the mark.

Foreign "branding" is vital if we are ever to compete with the big boys. We should have done this when we had Sami Al Jabir. We could have sold thousands of shirts is Saudi, but I bet we didn't even look at the possibilities. Sami was the David Beckham of Saudi football. The odd appearance from the bench wouldn't have done any harm.

I doubt whether MM will let anyone tell him who to sign.

[Penfold]

I know what you're saying but Saudi doesn't strike me as a huge market for football shirts. Don't the vast majority of Saudis wear more traditional Arab dress?

The far east is a big market.

[It's Mixu Paatelainen]

What do you think Micks take on this will be, in the past he's seemed very reluctant to use the foreign market and has practically alienated all foreign players at the club.

Not sure about what Mick will want to do, I think that Wivey's post is pretty accurate however. And it's not totally accurate that he's alienated all of the foreign guys - IMHO Olofinjana's had his best season yet under Mick. The ones who he did alienate like Frankowski and Rosa had never really performed for Wolves on a regular basis - and the treatment they recieved was no worse than that of English players who McCarthy did not rate.

[markb]

What do you think Micks take on this will be, in the past he's seemed very reluctant to use the foreign market and has practically alienated all foreign players at the club.

He's signed a jock, a couple of paddies and Kightly, the only non-foreign player.
:rolleyes:

[RoffeyWolf]

He's signed a jock, a couple of paddies and Kightly, the only non-foreign player.
:rolleyes:

Clapham?

[paddingtonwolf]

johnson - technically yank
c davies - welsh
breen - oirish
keogh - oirish
ward - oirish
potter - oirish

[Mr Wolf]

But when Mick had got only 3 weeks until the window closed you had better sign who you know. Foriegn transfers I presume would take longer and take the players longer to settle.

Plus with the young and hungry route I don't think a 20 year old spanish lad would settle that well in Wolvo.

[Hatch End Wolf]

I don't think Big Mick has anything against foreigners, but he doesn't seem to favour non-English speakers. He's shipped out Franko, Gypo and poor Rosa is next out the door. Could be a coincidence, but if it isn't we aren't going to make much on shirt sales to other countries ( except Ireland! ).

[Exile Wolf]

Nothing wrong with trying to sell our name abroad. However we have a better chance when we are in the Premier and lifting the European Cup

[Moira Stewart]

It's not just at Wolves, I can't recall (I may be wrong him signing many, if any foreign signings) at Sunderland. I think it's a good opportunity if this guy wants Wolves to go global to tap into some markets not just on the commercial side but also on the playing side and I just hope Mick embraces these opportunities, because especially in the Prem we will need quality which probably won't be found (at the prices we'll be looking to pay) in the U.K.

[5150]

He's signed a jock, a couple of paddies and Kightly, the only non-foreign player.
:rolleyes:

You are forgetting Breen....lord only knows what planet he is from !:);)

[AmericanWolf]

He's played Olofinjana all season, and he's Nigerian. Mick is looking for talent. If a player has it, and Mick can work with him, I don't think there's a problem.

[PREM.L.L]

As said if he was some mad yorkie xenophobe he would have eased Big George out and put Davies in. If your good enough MM will buy you and play you......before you start i know he didn't buy Olo.

[Hatch End Wolf]

Big Olo is from an English speaking African Country, so I don't think he counts.

[wolf of sedgley]

Surely it's preferable to sign english speakers anyway?

[Hatch End Wolf]

I would think it makes life easier WoS.

[Welsh Y'am Y'am]

Okay, I'll allow myself to buy into this ridiculous thread by adding Julio Arca to the list of names that MM has worked with over recent years.

The same used to be said of Dave Jones that he 'couldn't work with foreign players', yet went on to sign many in his first year in the prem, followed by the Olofinjana and Seol signings the following season.

I imagine a player's nationality is irrelevant to Mick. He is clearly trying to build a team spirit based around (all together now) young, hungry players. Players that don't demand high wages and who have something to prove. Scouting the lower leagues for such players isn't going to bring in many foreigners. Now we have some money maybe he'll look to other markets, who knows.

Dismissing Olofinjana because he's 'from an English speaking country' is ridiculous - surely having players who can speak English is kinda handy anyway?

[Hatch End Wolf]

Lets have another go at this for our resident Welsh person.

I think that Big Mick is not rascist but prefers English speakers of whatever colour. Big Olo appears to be black but is an English speaker and therefore no problem to our Mick. How is Big Olo being "dismissed"?

[Welsh Y'am Y'am]

HEW, what you're saying and what Moira Stewart was saying are different things. I wasn't disagreeing with you. I just think people are reading too much into it. If Rosa had been Australian for example (but the same build and same type of player) I don't think he'd still be at the club. I never said anyone was racist and I was actually AGREEING that surely having people being able to speak English is a good thing for team spirit.

[AmericanWolf]

I think it's also worth noting that Mick said repeatedly that he rated finkler, but didn't play him because he had trouble fitting into a 4-4-2.

[Phoenix]

The phrase, "can't see the wood for the trees" springs to mind.

If they're good enough and they fit his criteria as footballers then I doubt he cares if they are from Mars.

MM has had his hands tied this season, whether it be time or money and he has done brilliantly in the transfer market. All things considered he has performed almost impeccably.

The following is hypothesis only (I've never met Mick so haven't had the chance to grill him thoroughly regarding his professional methods)

He has never had large resources in his previous two jobs and therefore maybe has not had the chance to implement an effective foreign scouting team and policy for club football. To his eternal credit, he developed a great knowledge and personal network within the domestic game that we have benefited from.

Now he has resources, I hope for the sake of Wolves and his professional reputation he will make the most of it. i am personally delighted for Mick that he has got this chance. He deserves it.

[Papper]

The last foreign player of any significance we signed was Fernando Gomez and he was so ockered he couldn't run.

[Emperor Wolf]

As a foreigner,all I can say is that Wolverhampton Wanderers FC should have a BIG market abroad.
The Wolves head logo by itself is the COOLEST one around in football.
Pump some of that good ol´english tradition and history of the club together with our Old Gold and Black colours..and we have a BRAND.
Wim a BIG club!!

[Henry Palfrey]

Absolutely. Imagine having an emblem of a common hedge dwelling bird with the same name as a venereal disease.

[Stewarton Wolf]

The last foreign player of any significance we signed was Fernando Gomez and he was so ockered he couldn't run.

Seol?

[Mr Wolf]

Increasing the stadium, building our brand abroad and posters worried about shirt sales abroad because we don't have any foriegn players.

Jesus H the guy hasn't even signed the papers yet.

[John]

Jesus H
Are we signing him?
Is he a lb?

[MK Panther]

Not a venereal disease it is a yeast infection which you can pick up from taking antibiotics and can affect the mouth. Nevertheless not a brand you want on your mug when drinking your morning cup of tea.

Absolutely. Imagine having an emblem of a common hedge dwelling bird with the same name as a venereal disease.

[East Bay Ray]

Increasing the stadium, building our brand abroad and posters worried about shirt sales abroad because we don't have any foriegn players.

Jesus H the guy hasn't even signed the papers yet.

100% agree. Some posters are getting a little ahead of themselves. Just as we seemed to have put the wimabigclub attitude to bed, there is a sense of 'we might lose out on shirt sales to Real Madrid and Juve creeping in'.

What we need is what we've always needed. A mixture of youth and experience. A couple of crowd-pulling players (Billy Sharp/Andy Keogh will do this).

What we don't need is to start signing foreigners to sell shirts - we need to build gradually. Another season like the one just gone will do me fine.

All we need is to play some good football, bring the crowds back and buy a couple more 20 year old prospects, and strengthen some of our 30-somethings.

Failing to secure automatic promotion this coming season will not be a disaster (we all know what disasters feel like don't we Jez?).

We can afford to wait another 3 years, providing we go up with a team full of exciting 25 year olds.

Please don't ruin the most promising position since the late 50's by worrying about signing japanese no-marks to sell shirts in the far east.

It takes a lot of cheap shirts to balance a £30m investment. (If Steve Morgan is planning to limit his investement to such a small proportion of his vast fortune, that is).

ps: David Platt, the man-in-the-spoon.