Reproduced (with no kind permission from PTV...)

CITY CHIEF EXEC ON THE TRANSFER WINDOW

CITY chief executive Neil Doncaster today lifted the lid on Club's activities during the January transfer window.

With the Canaries keen to do their business privately during what is a busy time for Club officials, Doncaster said he also wanted to be as open and transparent as possible after the window slammed shut.

And today on First News he explained how the Club was quoted astronomical sums of money for potential targets following the sale of Dean Ashton to West Ham United.

He also revealed secrecy had been the key to ensuring Norwich received the best possible price for Ashton after the England U21 had made it blatantly clear he wanted out of Carrow Road.

"By keeping West Ham guessing as to whether they were bidding against other clubs, or were in fact bidding against themselves, we were able to achieve the best possible price for Dean - in circumstances where the player had made it totally clear that he wished to go," Doncaster said.

City also kept their cards close to their chests when it came to bringing players into the club, with three arriving on the final day of the window in the form of Jonatan Johansson, Zesh Rehman and Robert Earnshaw.

And Doncaster said he hoped supporters understood why the Club had been unable to go public with transfer targets until moments before the deals were sealed.

"I understand fully how much it means to fans to be kept up to speed with who their club is bidding for and what enquiries have been made," he said.

"But to do so is problematic on a number of fronts. Chief among them is that knowledge is power. An announcement that your offer for a particular player has fallen through will inevitably put other clubs on notice that they can be more robust on prices they quote you.

"If such clubs believe they are just one of a number of clubs you are currently dealing with, your bargaining position is much improved."

The Canaries were linked with a number of high profile names following Ashton's sale, with the likes of Cardiff's Cameron Jerome, Coventry's Gary McSheffrey and Colchester's Greg Halford all in the frame according to media reports.

Doncaster confirmed a huge number of enquiries had been made for players, but on a number of occasions the prices being quoted put many out of reach, with the Canaries only willing to pay what they believe a player is worth.

"Over the course of January, both before and after Dean's departure, we made a huge number of enquiries about players," he said.

"Some led to offers being made, others didn't. We made a number of offers for certain Championship players. But all of these came to nothing, as we were told they would each cost between ?3.5m and ?4m!"

Earnshaw's transfer to City was only completed two hours before the window slammed shut, with Norwich officials busy at Reading's Madejski Stadium to ensure all the relevant paperwork was completed on time.

But Doncaster said this should not be perceived as Norwich leaving everything until the last minute.

"In an ideal world of course, that is not what we would have wanted to happen," he said. "But we don't live in an ideal world. If we did, we wouldn't have been negotiating with the player's agent and West Brom in the early hours of Tuesday morning.

"Deadlines create pressure - and that pressure can be used to negotiate a deal to our advantage.

"As we perhaps found with Dean Ashton, the short January transfer window pushes prices higher than the more drawn out summer window. But by going to the wire, we were able to get a proven international striker for less than might have been the case.

"And what if we had been entirely candid about the progress of our other bids as the transfer window unfolded? I doubt very much we would now have Robert Earnshaw on our books."

Posted By: Arganth on February 2nd 2006 at 10:39:52

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