Royal Rother If we HAD increased our bids for the various players mentioned (Ince, Zaha, Rhodes, Davies, Graham and many others we've supposedly entered into discussions about down the years) you can bet your arse that we'd also have ended up paying a lot more for the various players we HAVE signed.
Other clubs KNOW we don't play that game and that is worth a hell of a lot in negotiations.
The strength shown in walking away is a major asset in the club's dealings.
I don't think that's particularly applicable to football when there are many other factors that can inflate or deflate a player's value.
I also don't think that having paid £6m for Zaha would mean Crawley would have held out for £301k for Akpan.