by Hoop Blah »
28 Jan 2016 16:20
Vision I'd take what he's saying in front of fans who've paid a tenner a pop to hear him with a pinch of salt tbh. Especially when it contradicts everything he said at the time.
The Pog signing actually went on for a while as other clubs were involved. Mcd at the time claimed he'd had a number of conversations with him before he signed. No doubt he was Anton's man but this notion that he was introduced to him at the training ground one day as his new signing with no prior knowledge is completely at odds with everything that was said at the time.
Brian's take at the time was that Anton mentioned Pog and said to him "how would you feel if I said I could get him for you?"
Whether he'd have wanted him if he knew how much it cost in wages is another matter but he definitely knew all about him.
Agreed, I'd take anything anyone in football says, but especially managers.
At the time he was trying to save face and not rock the boat for the good of the club, and himself and his reputation.
At the time of the Q&A he was trying to save face and rebuild his dented reputation and probably put a slightly different spin on it. Our memory for these kind of things can change over time as well.
It's pretty certain that he wasn't a player that McDermott went out and wanted to sign though. That's the world these managers live in now and they're paid handsomely to put up with their paymasters giving them players they may or may not really want from time to time.