Max Bird - flew the coop to Bristol City, loaned to us to end of season

[Caerphilly Ram]

1 minute ago, StarterForTen said:

Just had a text from a journo friend north of the border who reckons Rangers were sniffing around Bird as a summer target. A 'cross border' transfer would have seen him go for virtually free (a bit of FIFA compensation would be due I think), which might point to why this deal was done in this window perhaps?

Interesting, Warne mentioned cross border in his pre match chat 

[Carnero]

@Ghost of Clough what would the approximate FIFA compensation have worked out at for Bird if he had gone to a Rangers or a Celtic, I think you might have told me before? Was it around £920k?

[Ghost of Clough]

2 hours ago, Carnero said:

@Ghost of Clough what would the approximate FIFA compensation have worked out at for Bird if he had gone to a Rangers or a Celtic, I think you might have told me before? Was it around £920k?

It's £90k per year between ages 12 and 21 for Cat 1 clubs.

[maxjam]

19 hours ago, CodnorRam said:

Hope he gets boo’d. Why would we want him back on loan. Give fornah , Thompson,sibley or new guy a go.   What a pathetic transfer. 

 

[Carnero]

2 hours ago, Ghost of Clough said:

It's £90k per year between ages 12 and 21 for Cat 1 clubs.

So the fee is definitely in excess of £1m then. Apparently we got what we were asking for, which I assume is the same as the fee we got for Knight at approx £2m 

[Ghost of Clough]

1 hour ago, Carnero said:

So the fee is definitely in excess of £1m then. Apparently we got what we were asking for, which I assume is the same as the fee we got for Knight at approx £2m 

Under a decent contract and still in L1, I think we would have been pushing for £3m. I think a tribunal would have ruled at around £2m with sell-ons, and I reckon that's what we'll have arranged with Bristol.

[Premier ram]

Very good performance from Max yesterday , can’t fault his professionalism, help us to promotion Max as a leaving present COYR

[BatRam]

I take back what i said previously. Thought it would be the classic derby having our pants down in the transfer window and then getting someone back on loan half arsing it. But he didnt. Dont know if it was having adams there to mop up behind him but thought bird looked like his old self again, which is kinda annoying seeing as hes no longer our player 🤣

[Crewton]

My only criticism of Max's decision is going to Bristol City, for the sole reason that it might turn out to be no improvement for him at all. We could easily be in the same division next season and it smacks a little of desperation for a change, any change. Perhaps though, whilst not wanting to tie himself to us for another 3-4 years, he wanted to make sure that DCFC received something for him now rather than have to wait for a tribunal ruling. Whatever, running his contract down would have been the most lucrative option for him personally and I can't help feeling he would have found far less beige clubs than BCFC vying for his signature had he waited.

He certainly put a few minds at rest on Saturday and, if he's still up for the fight, with Adams behind him, we could really see the best of him between now and May.

[AndyinLiverpool]

12 minutes ago, Crewton said:

My only criticism of Max's decision is going to Bristol City, for the sole reason that it might turn out to be no improvement for him at all. We could easily be in the same division next season and it smacks a little of desperation for a change, any change. Perhaps though, whilst not wanting to tie himself to us for another 3-4 years, he wanted to make sure that DCFC received something for him now rather than have to wait for a tribunal ruling. Whatever, running his contract down would have been the most lucrative option for him personally and I can't help feeling he would have found far less beige clubs than BCFC vying for his signature had he waited.

He certainly put a few minds at rest on Saturday and, if he's still up for the fight, with Adams behind him, we could really see the best of him between now and May.

Except that it is an improvement. Bristol City will have Max Bird and we won't. 

See also Jason Knight.

[Rich84]

44 minutes ago, Crewton said:

My only criticism of Max's decision is going to Bristol City, for the sole reason that it might turn out to be no improvement for him at all. We could easily be in the same division next season and it smacks a little of desperation for a change, any change. Perhaps though, whilst not wanting to tie himself to us for another 3-4 years, he wanted to make sure that DCFC received something for him now rather than have to wait for a tribunal ruling. Whatever, running his contract down would have been the most lucrative option for him personally and I can't help feeling he would have found far less beige clubs than BCFC vying for his signature had he waited.

He certainly put a few minds at rest on Saturday and, if he's still up for the fight, with Adams behind him, we could really see the best of him between now and May.

From what Warne has said, he has stated he wants a change and was never going to sign a new contract irrespective of whether we went up, it happens in all walks of life, he's been here since a kid, so longer than most players stay at 1 club.

[Highgate]

19 hours ago, Premier ram said:

Very good performance from Max yesterday , can’t fault his professionalism, help us to promotion Max as a leaving present COYR

Agreed, but it's the least we should expect from a professional footballer really, to keep giving 100% while they are pulling on the jersey.  I've no doubt Max will, he's always seemed like a good sort to me.  

All going well both he and Jason can enjoy getting thumped by the Rams twice next season.. 😁

[Premier ram]

21 minutes ago, Highgate said:

Agreed, but it's the least we should expect from a professional footballer really, to keep giving 100% while they are pulling on the jersey.  I've no doubt Max will, he's always seemed like a good sort to me.  

All going well both he and Jason can enjoy getting thumped by the Rams twice next season.. 😁

Totally agree mate , but there was some on here questioning his effort for the rest of the season after his move was announced 

[Crewton]

53 minutes ago, AndyinLiverpool said:

Except that it is an improvement. Bristol City will have Max Bird and we won't. 

See also Jason Knight.

I was thinking more about it not necessarily being an improvement for his career prospects than what he might bring to them. Judging by the comments about Manning on their forum in the last few days, they both might find themselves playing for a new manager next season if results don't start picking up and the Lansdowns don't seem to show much consistency in the kind of managers they appoint. But, yes, he should improve them if they use him properly.

[i-Ram]

3 hours ago, Crewton said:

My only criticism of Max's decision is going to Bristol City, for the sole reason that it might turn out to be no improvement for him at all. We could easily be in the same division next season and it smacks a little of desperation for a change, any change. Perhaps though, whilst not wanting to tie himself to us for another 3-4 years, he wanted to make sure that DCFC received something for him now rather than have to wait for a tribunal ruling. Whatever, running his contract down would have been the most lucrative option for him personally and I can't help feeling he would have found far less beige clubs than BCFC vying for his signature had he waited.

He certainly put a few minds at rest on Saturday and, if he's still up for the fight, with Adams behind him, we could really see the best of him between now and May.

I think the change he wanted was to play football that better suited his skills. It could have been Bristol, Blackpool, Birmingham or Brentford.  One way or another he almost certainly wanted to kick on personally, and sorry everyone but Warne was not making him a better player, in fact he was making him look very average. We have lost our best player in my opinion.

[Crewton]

11 hours ago, i-Ram said:

I think the change he wanted was to play football that better suited his skills. It could have been Bristol, Blackpool, Birmingham or Brentford.  One way or another he almost certainly wanted to kick on personally, and sorry everyone but Warne was not making him a better player, in fact he was making him look very average. We have lost our best player in my opinion.

You could well be right, and I rate Max highly, but it wasn't Warne who was coaching him to miss the target so often when a player of his ability should be hitting it almost every time he shoots. That criticism aside, I don't think Bird has been playing badly at all, but you may be right that he doesn't enjoy the way Warne wants the team to play.

I hope for his sake only, I hope that Manning survives long enough for Max to benefit from his methods, though the natives are already getting restless about "tippy-tappy football that doesn't get results" and, unlike Swansea for example, BCFC don't have an established football philosophy and they could easily revert to a more direct style under a new manager fairly soon.

Whatever, I doubt that he'll find a manager who has professed his "love" for him as regularly as Warne has, even if he finds a manager who's style suits him more.

[kevinhectoring]

On 05/02/2024 at 19:19, i-Ram said:

I think the change he wanted was to play football that better suited his skills. It could have been Bristol, Blackpool, Birmingham or Brentford.  One way or another he almost certainly wanted to kick on personally, and sorry everyone but Warne was not making him a better player, in fact he was making him look very average. We have lost our best player in my opinion.

A careful listen to Warne’s pre Exeter presser sort of supports this, tho’ whether the move was Warne’s or Max’s decision is not made clear    
Great shame he’s going 

[Ghost of Clough]

3 hours ago, kevinhectoring said:

A careful listen to Warne’s pre Exeter presser sort of supports this, tho’ whether the move was Warne’s or Max’s decision is not made clear    
Great shame he’s going 

Bird wanted to move on, Warne was happy with it being a sale with loan back

[YorkshireRam]

On 05/02/2024 at 19:19, i-Ram said:

One way or another he almost certainly wanted to kick on personally, and sorry everyone but Warne was not making him a better player, in fact he was making him look very average. We have lost our best player in my opinion.

You're going to have to explain that last bit to me as I'm genuinely struggling. Warne makes him look average, yet he's our best player... eh?

My take is that he's not our best player, but he probably has the highest ceiling due to his technical ability. I'd go so far as to say he's not even in our top 3 players- NML, Cashin, Nelson all rank above this season. My only criticism of Max ties into this actually, and that is that he very rarely EVER looks the best player on the pitch. Northampton (H) this season I would argue was one of the only games I can remember with this being the case.

However under Warne, he's currently having his most productive season in front of goal to date, whilst also demonstrating he has the capacity to be versatile and play a multitude of central midfield positions- his ability as an #8/10 had been untested prior to this season. He's shown improved dribbling ability and developed a more effective final ball, reflected in his stats. With 4 goals, 6 assists, I'm struggling to see how it could be argued Warne hasn't improved his attacking prowess? 

[Archied]

2 hours ago, YorkshireRam said:

You're going to have to explain that last bit to me as I'm genuinely struggling. Warne makes him look average, yet he's our best player... eh?

My take is that he's not our best player, but he probably has the highest ceiling due to his technical ability. I'd go so far as to say he's not even in our top 3 players- NML, Cashin, Nelson all rank above this season. My only criticism of Max ties into this actually, and that is that he very rarely EVER looks the best player on the pitch. Northampton (H) this season I would argue was one of the only games I can remember with this being the case.

However under Warne, he's currently having his most productive season in front of goal to date, whilst also demonstrating he has the capacity to be versatile and play a multitude of central midfield positions- his ability as an #8/10 had been untested prior to this season. He's shown improved dribbling ability and developed a more effective final ball, reflected in his stats. With 4 goals, 6 assists, I'm struggling to see how it could be argued Warne hasn't improved his attacking prowess? 

The league is poorer😂