Evan Ferguson F Roma (loan from Brighton) b.2004

[Razors left peg]

And yet no other club in Europe would touch him...

I like Brentford and how they do things, but let's not pretend they are some beacon of morality in football. If you tried to have a no d1ckheads policy with footballers you'd end up struggling to field 11 players on the pitch.

Ferguson took a stupid picture with a rapist, but there's never been any suggestions of personality issues with him

[EalingGreen]

And yet no other club in Europe would touch him...Er, other clubs were concerned his addiction - a medical condition - might lead to further bans. While the Saudis offer the highest price, but not the only one.


I like Brentford and how they do things, but let's not pretend they are some beacon of morality in football.It's not a question of "morality" - I mean the player never bet on any games he was playing in and besides, the owner made his wealth from gambling, and a gambling company sponsors their shirts etc.

Rather when assessing whether s.o. is a dic khe ad, they mean s.o. who abuses his talent, doesn't live and train properly, causes problems with other players, won't follow instructions, picks and chooses when he puts in the effort, that sort of thing. In other words, a waster.

And as anyone who's ever watched BFC could tell you, from the moment Toney walked in the door, he quite simply got better and better, game by game. That wasn't the record of a waster, rather it was a reward for being a top professional, who applied himself 100%. Remember, this was a guy who not long before he joined, had been out on loan to Scunthorpe and Shewsbury etc, after Benitez decided he wasn't good enough for Newcastle, even when they were in the Championship! Maybe that earlier period showed a lack of professionalism, but he was still a teenager when he signed for NUFC, and if so, then he clearly learned his lesson and grew up since.


If you tried to have a no d1ckheads policy with footballers you'd end up struggling to field 11 players on the pitch.Hmmm. Can't say I've ever seen BFC suffer that problem, full bench too every game.

Meanwhile, take a look at the players they sell - they generally go on to do ok.


Ferguson took a stupid picture with a rapist, but there's never been any suggestions of personality issues with himAs I said, I've no idea whether that is indicative of anything at all - time will tell.

Just as Toney's gambling addiction had no effect on his application as a professional.

[Razors left peg]

Hmmm. Can't say I've ever seen BFC suffer that problem, full bench too every game.

Meanwhile, take a look at the players they sell - they generally go on to do ok.
.

All football fans are delusional, and should be... but having a holier than thou attitude as a Brentford fan is quite something. You completely missed my point in the above. I said that if a no d1ckheads policy was enforced in football every club would struggle to field a team of 11, including Brentford. Every single club has their fair share of d1ckheads, if you think that Brentford are the only club that can weed them out when dealing with rich, driven, cocky , 20 somethings lads, then fair play! Id love to have that level of dedication and blind support for any club.

As Ive said, I actually like how Brentford do business. They scout extremely well but they are also a massive money making machine for their owner, who made his money in the gambling business.... so maybe a little less of the superiority complex wouldnt go astray.

[Jolly Red Giant]

All football fans are delusional, and should be... but having a holier than thou attitude as a Brentford fan is quite something. You completely missed my point in the above. I said that if a no d1ckheads policy was enforced in football every club would struggle to field a team of 11, including Brentford. Every single club has their fair share of d1ckheads, if you think that Brentford are the only club that can weed them out when dealing with rich, driven, cocky , 20 somethings lads, then fair play! Id love to have that level of dedication and blind support for any club.

As Ive said, I actually like how Brentford do business. They scout extremely well but they are also a massive money making machine for their owner, who made his money in the gambling business.... so maybe a little less of the superiority complex wouldnt go astray.
too true

Brentford and Brighton are very similar in approach and it is noteworthy that both Benham and Bloom have similar backgrounds.

As for Ferguson - with the sale of Pedro, Birghton are a little light in terms of strikers. Apart from the Greek kid (and Ferguson would eat up chances in the Greek SL) - Hurzeler has Encisco who is really an AM or winger and who ended up on loan at Ipswich while Ferguson was at West Ham - Rutter who is more of an AM than a striker (and Ferguson has played more PL games and scored more PL goals that both) - and Welbeck who is 34, who had a bit of a purple patch last season, form and injury free wise (and still missed a month with injuries). Brighton have already spent what they got for Pedro - but unless they are going to go out and spend a similar sum as what they got for Pedro (and I can't see that after spending £35m on the Greek kid) they will have to use Ferguson. I have serious doubts about the rumours of Ferguson being sold for £20m - if that were to happen there would be a stampede of clubs (including in the PL) who would snap that up. The only thing to stop that is some serious off-field issues that haven't surfaced but that the clubs know about (and I highly doubt that because it is not in Ferguson's character as far as we have seen).

Now - whether it works out for Ferguson at Brighton we will hace to wait and see. But I do think that where ever he ends up he will still develop into a top class striker (unless his development is seriously hindered by injury - as happened last year.

[Eirambler]

https://romapress.net/brightons-evan-ferguson-offered-to-roma/

Seems to be currently being offered around the continent.

[Rayzor]

https://romapress.net/brightons-evan-ferguson-offered-to-roma/

Seems to be currently being offered around the continent.

This would be similar to west ham, unless he hits the ground running and bangs in the goals straight away, he'll just spend another season on the bench. He needs to go somewhere where he'll be their no 1, maybe ipswich to replace delap, Celtic, or maybe Holland or Belgium. Stay away from a top 5 league, play plenty of games and hopefully score goals.

[Eirambler]

There should be plenty of teams in Top 5 leagues that he would be a starter in, the depth of the Premier League isn't repeated across the other four. Especially the French League.

Ultimately Brighton won't care anymore if they're committed to selling him, they'll just want to get what they can for him at this point.

[Jolly Red Giant]

Heard today that Ferguson got glandular fever last year and the recovery can take many months to get your energy back and not be exhausted all the time. If he did have glandular fever that is very likely an explanation for his dip in form and why he didn't start many games last season.

[Eirambler]

Wouldn't that then mean that Brighton should want to keep him and rebuild his value, rather than sell him for a fraction of what he was thought to be worth a couple of years ago?

[CraftyToePoke]

& wouldn't Brighton or the player simply have said this rather than allow the various rumours which arose in the vacuum which have damaged his value ?

[Jolly Red Giant]

& wouldn't Brighton or the player simply have said this rather than allow the various rumours which arose in the vacuum which have damaged his value ?
Did a bit of rumaging around. In Sept 2023 Ferguson suffered an injury against Newcastle. A couple of weeks later he was ruled out with 'illness' - a few weeks later the rumours of glandular fever surfaced. He was clearly rushed back too soon and suffered a back injury and thigh injury in November, and then another ankle injury in February and again in April. RDZ played him when he clearly wasn't fit because he had several other strikers also out injured. He then had to have surgery on his ankle over the summer and was unable to train until late August. The kid has had a really difficult time with injuries since he ankle was hacked to bits by Fabinho in a game against Liverpool in Jan 2023. The injuries alone have stunted his development and if he had glandular fever on top of this then it is no wonder that he lost form and and confidence (there were also some rumours last summer that he was drinking too much - which again would not have helped his situation if true).

Ferguson is only 20 and won't be 21 until October. In today's modern game that is very young for a footballer. While young kids can break true and become sensations - often they go off the edge and their form peters out. Ferguson is an exceptionally talented footballer but I would argue that his career has been mismanaged by Brighton - they have not cared for him injury-wise - he was clearly rushed back into the team too early in the second half of the 23-24 season and by doing so his injuries were compounded - something that can have a long-term impact for a young player.

As for why footballers and clubs don't make public comment about glandular fever - that is actually quite common for a variety of reasons - it can be mis-diagnosed, it can impact different people in different ways, it can lead to accusations of mishandling of treatment, and it can certainly undermine the value of a player.

As for what is happening now - in February Brighton fans were calling for Hurzeler's head. They had a run of 12 games with only 2 wins (against Ipswich and Man U) - before winning 4 in a row and then losing 3 in a 5 game winless streak. They ended up winning 4 of the last 5 to make things respectable. I said before that I don't think Bloom is convinced about Hurzeler - he was hit and miss last season and other teams will have a better understanding of how to play against him this coming season (always happens with second season coaches in the PL). They have sold Pedro - and have replaced him with an 18 year old kid who has played 22 games and scored 7 goals in the Greek superleague. Now this kid could turn out of be really good - and Brighton do have a good reputation with players - but they are not infallable (they spent £25m on Kadioglu last season and he played 6 games - and they sold Gyökeres to Coventry for less than £1m). I have argued before that until Bloom is convinced that Hurzeler can get the job done at Brighton, Ferguson will go nowhere. If Ferguson leaves this summer then if will be because Bloom has made his decision. But here is the problem - Brighton are short of strikers and they are not being linked with any striker of consequence (apart from a couple of kids). At this point in time they need Ferguson - and even if they do sign another striker I suspect that a loan move is more likely than a permanent transfer - Ferguson's contract runs to 2029. I think the rumours of Ferguson being offered to Roma and Atalanta are a smokescreen for O'Riley's transfer to Roma and maybe in part designed to send a message to Ferguson.

Ferguson has been unlucky - injuries (and possible illness) have derailed his development for more than a year. The talent and potential is clearly there - it is just a question of it being fulfilled. Ferguson recently training under coaching supervision with O'Brien in Marbella is a positive sign. He looked in good physical condition and it is clear that O'Brien takes his own development very seriously. I remain optimistic until there is evidence to the contrary.

[pineapple stu]

Did a bit of rumaging around. In Sept 2023 Ferguson suffered an injury against Newcastle. A couple of weeks later he was ruled out with 'illness' - a few weeks later the rumours of glandular fever surfaced. He was clearly rushed back too soon and suffered a back injury and thigh injury in November, and then another ankle injury in February and again in April. RDZ played him when he clearly wasn't fit because he had several other strikers also out injured. He then had to have surgery on his ankle over the summer and was unable to train until late August. The kid has had a really difficult time with injuries since he ankle was hacked to bits by Fabinho in a game against Liverpool in Jan 2023. The injuries alone have stunted his development and if he had glandular fever on top of this then it is no wonder that he lost form and and confidence (there were also some rumours last summer that he was drinking too much - which again would not have helped his situation if true).
Did a bit of rummaging about (by which I mean I googled "Evan Ferguson glandular fever") and the first result is a discussion on his thread on the Brighton forum.

Two posts in particular stand out -


The idea that he had glandular fever was invented on NSC [in October 2023]. (https://www.northstandchat.com/threads/evan-ferguson-loaned-to-west-ham-03-02-2025.410585/page-80)​

However, people like to believe random **** random people say on the Internet so its now some sort of truth in the most suggestive minds.


Lets simply stick to the facts, and see if that can get us a clue or not, huh? Leave the intelligent and rational stuff to me, please. (https://www.northstandchat.com/threads/evan-ferguson-loaned-to-west-ham-03-02-2025.410585/page-82#post-11519297)

September 2023
Sept 2: Evan Ferguson scores a hattrick against Newcastle.
Sept 7: It is revealed that Ferguson has been playing through a sore patellar tendon and felt too sore to answer the call up from Ireland.
Sept 14: Evan Ferguson resumes training
Sept 16: Ferguson makes a five minute substitute appearance against Manchester United
Sept 21: Ferguson is missing against AEK
Sept 23: De Zerbi reveals Ferguson "had a temperature" which was the reason he missed the AEK game
Sept 24: Ferguson starts up front against Bournemouth

Since this (one game against AEK) is the only time Ferguson has been missing through illness and the rumours of this "glandular fever" started a month later, we have to presume that September is supposedly when Fergie had this fever.
NSC Gold content access
So in September, according to intelligent and rational discussion on North Stand Chat, Evan Ferguson suffered from glandular fever AND played four games of professional football.

I don't know any doctors, so lets use the sometimes practical tool that is ChatGPT to ask if this is even possible:

"It would be extremely difficult—if not impossible—for elite footballers to play at a high level while suffering from glandular fever. The virus (Epstein-Barr virus, EBV) causes extreme fatigue, muscle weakness, and an enlarged spleen, which poses a serious risk of rupture if subjected to physical contact."

So according to rational and intelligent discussion on Fergie missing one game through illness, Roberto De Zerbi decided to put Evan Fergusons life in danger (that spleen rupture is no good) through starting him against Bournemouth.

We can believe that. We can believe all of this nonsense. Or we can just accept the lad had a cold and missed a game. What seems most reasonable to you?

I don't know if he had glandular fever obviously, or why his form has gone to pot. But in the interests of balance, I think those views have to be put out too. Again, the starting point that "Irish player's problems must be the fault of anyone and anything but him" isn't my favourite argument of all time.

[Jolly Red Giant]

Did a bit of rummaging about (by which I mean I googled "Evan Ferguson glandular fever") and the first result is a discussion on his thread on the Brighton forum.

Two posts in particular stand out -

I don't know if he had glandular fever obviously, or why his form has gone to pot. But in the interests of balance, I think those views have to be put out too. Again, the starting point that "Irish player's problems must be the fault of anyone and anything but him" isn't my favourite argument of all time.
There have been significantly more than two posts about this on NSC - including one from a poster who is well known to have connections inside the club stating that glandular fever was an issue. It has also popped up in other places.

I don't know if he has had glandular fever either - or when he might have contracted it (it could have been several months earlier) - but it would explain a lot.

Now - even without it - RDZ persisted in playing Ferguson while he was suffering from an ankle injury (one that was reoccuring and happened four times in a little over a year), never allowing it to heal properly and Ferguson ended up having to have surgery last summer which resulted in him being unable to train until the end of August / early September. He reinjured the ankle again in December and was out for the entire month of January until his loan to West Ham at the beginning of February. The kid has had a rough time with injuries - and he has been targeted for rough treatment by other teams. This was the case when he initially injured his ankle in Jan 2023 when he was victim of a dangerous tackle by Fabinho (and injury that was likely misdiagnosed). He later reinjured the ankle at Newcastle when he was hacked down again - after this injury RDZ said he had been playing in pain since the Liverpool game. He injured the ankle again in early 2024, this time against Chelsea and then again in April 2024 against Liverpool. He eventually got surgery last summer on an injury that has been a problem for more than a year - Brighton have a lot of questions to answer about how they have managed the situation. And, as I indicated above, he injured the ankle again last December and missed another month. He has missed the equivalent of 8 months over the past two years with that ankle. Mentally it must have been tough for the kid. In modern sports these athletes are finely tuned machines and anything can throw the balance out of whack.

What is not in doubt is the talent Ferguson has - and he has time on his side. Brighton fans know this because the one thing they are terrified of is Ferguson being sold and coming back to haunt them in the future and he is the only player that they have consistently spoken about in that fashion.

[Razors left peg]

Whatever has gone on, the good news is that he'll have lots of chances to prove that hes still a good player very soon

[Strongbow10]

Dare I say it, playing senior football at such a young age always gets you noticed. But it can be a false flag in terms of development. It's not a given that making an impact at 18 is going to lead to further impact at 25.

He never passed the eye test for me, his physical attributes (mainly his size) stood to him, but technically I've never seen anything that makes me think he will be a top striker.

I mentioned Brentford before, but in reality he should get himself out of England before he ruins his rep fully. Few seasons at likes of Atalanta and if he does well then his rep will still be that of a young guy who scored goals as a teenager in the EPL.

[Razors left peg]

Dare I say it, playing senior football at such a young age always gets you noticed. But it can be a false flag in terms of development. It's not a given that making an impact at 18 is going to lead to further impact at 25.

He never passed the eye test for me, his physical attributes (mainly his size) stood to him, but technically I've never seen anything that makes me think he will be a top striker.

I mentioned Brentford before, but in reality he should get himself out of England before he ruins his rep fully. Few seasons at likes of Atalanta and if he does well then his rep will still be that of a young guy who scored goals as a teenager in the EPL.

Disagree with you completely. His movement was top class and he created some goals for himself that were brilliant. His touch was also excellent.

[Jolly Red Giant]

Disagree with you completely. His movement was top class and he created some goals for himself that were brilliant. His touch was also excellent.
I agree - Ferguson has some excellent traits. Is he the perfect striker - no - but a player like that is once in a generation.

[sbgawa]

i think the once in a generation stuff is a bit premature, he last showed a bit of form in terms of actually doing what forwards are supposed to do (score goals) in 22/23

[Razors left peg]

i think the once in a generation stuff is a bit premature, he last showed a bit of form in terms of actually doing what forwards are supposed to do (score goals) in 22/23

Yep he has to show hes basically not a one season wonder. My point was more a disagreement with Strongbow assessment that he was just a big young lad. I definitely think he showed more than that, but he has to do it again and kick on this season

[SkStu]

i think the once in a generation stuff is a bit premature, he last showed a bit of form in terms of actually doing what forwards are supposed to do (score goals) in 22/23

At that point he did seem like the generational talent that we were waiting for up front. An 18/19 year old scoring double digit goals in a year was a lot to get excited about.

[Razors left peg]

There's a lot of similarities between Bazunu and Ferguson at the moment. Both hugely impressive as teenagers, both had big injuries which led to massive loss of form. Bazunu a bit under the radar at moment but both need a big bounce back year if we are going to consider them top class players

[EalingGreen]

All football fans are delusional, and should be... but having a holier than thou attitude as a Brentford fan is quite something.You really don't have a clue about any of this - maybe you should quit while you're behind?

For one thing, I'm a lifelong Spurs fan - Season Ticket holder, was in Bilbao etc. But as it happens, I have an "in" at Brentford (check "Ealing" and "Brentford" on a map of West London) and since they are almost always at home when Spurs are away (and v.v.), I get to see nearly as many of their home games as Tottenham's. Indeed I've been popping down the road since the days when they were slumming it in the 3rd (even 4th) Division Of course, there was no contradiction between the two until a certain Mr. Benham came along, but while I greatly admire what they now do, my good wishes towards them are firmly suspended for two games a season.


You completely missed my point in the above. I said that if a no d1ckheads policy was enforced in football every club would struggle to field a team of 11, including Brentford. Every single club has their fair share of d1ckheads, if you think that Brentford are the only club that can weed them out when dealing with rich, driven, cocky , 20 somethings lads, then fair play! Id love to have that level of dedication and blind support for any club.
Oh dear, if you're going to comment on the All Blacks' "No Di ck heads" policy, you might educate yourself as to what it actually means. That is, it has nothing to do with a person's private life, rather it concerns his professional one. And if the former doesn't intrude on the latter, that's what counts.

To take some current examples, if you believe half the stuff about Kyle Walker (sex parties during Covid, numerous mistresses, prostitutes etc), then he'd fail your test. But in the world of professional football, the guy has had well over a decade at the very top of the game, with several top clubs/managers and with England. Compare that eg with Marcus Rashford, who clearly began to believe his own publicity and went missing on benders to Belfast when he should have been getting his head down on the training ground at Carrington - a 'Poundshop George Best', if you like.

Now of course all clubs look to root out (unprofessional) di ck heads, but some will overlook still their precadillos if they also possess great talent and they persuade themselves that they can still get a tune out of them - see eg Balotelli or Pogba, to name two other Manchester players.

However, if you look at Brentford's record, it is better than the great majority of clubs, if only because they can't afford to get it wrong in the same way as others. Or maybe you can list some of the failures for me?


As Ive said, I actually like how Brentford do business. They scout extremely well but they are also a massive money making machine for their owner, who made his money in the gambling business.... so maybe a little less of the superiority complex wouldnt go astray.Wow! It just gets worse. A "massive money making machine", is it?

A quick check on the club's accounts for 2022/23 (the most recent I have to hand), shows that Benham had invested £104m of his own money in the club, in the form of both equity and interest-free loans (much of the latter non-recourse). And of that sum, £28m went towards the building of the new stadium. The remainder was put up by the site developers, who hope to make a profit from the sale of up to 1,000 flats. However, they have to get their cut first, with Benham getting a share of any profits only after sales have reached a certain level. Meaning there is no guarantee he will get back any, never mind all, of his stadium stake. While on buying the club from the Supporters' Trust, he agreed to grant them a Golden Share, which would allow them to veto any sale by him of the stadium without their say so.

He is not an especially wealthy man (by PL club owner standards at least) and all this undoubtedly constitutes a large part of his personal wealth. He does not take a salary or dividends Now he has said he's open to selling a share, even a majority, of the club to outside investors, but that is only to fund a progression to the next level beyond his own means. However, he has to date declined a number of enquiries or firm offers, since he wasn't sure about their motives and competence.

And talking of "motives", none of this should be a surprise, since he is a (genuine) boyhood fan, from his time being brought up in the area. (Yep, 3rd Division days for him, too, though unlike me, he did aways as well). While he is also on the record as pointing to an ambition to pass the club on to his son some day.

Anyhow, you were saying?

[Razors left peg]

Good man, nice essay. If you dont think a club that is regularly in the Premiership, that sells as well as Brentford do, isnt a massive money making machine then Im not sure an economics lesson would even be beneficial to you!

Anyways.... Evan being linked with Roma today according to Sky Italia apparently.


https://x.com/reptracker/status/1942362533353902312

1942362533353902312

[pineapple stu]

Strange for a club to be offering a player to a specific other club, no? Is there a link between Roma and Brighton? Or have Brighton been offering Ferguson to other clubs too? Which really wouldn't be a positive

[Razors left peg]

Who knows at this stage, hopefully he just starts playing football again

[liamoo11]

Who knows at this stage, hopefully he just starts playing football again

Absolutely this. He hopefully worked like a beast on his fitness in the last 2 or 3 weeks with his own personal fitness team and is coming back to preseason ready meet the intensity needed for top level football. For whatever reason he has been nowhere near the athletic ability necessary for the demands of top.level football over the last 18 months.

Ultimately that is his issue and he needs to find the solutions , blaming clubs or managers is just a distraction. In the last 18 months 2 top flight clubs and 3 top flight managers have not felt he has been at the level.required

[Exgrad]

Strange for a club to be offering a player to a specific other club, no? Is there a link between Roma and Brighton? Or have Brighton been offering Ferguson to other clubs too? Which really wouldn't be a positive

yea club wouldnt be, agents no doubt. May not even be fergusons agent but somoene else trying to rustle up a deal.

[sbgawa]

I'd say they are trying to get Roma to signal interest in the hope someone else comes into the picture wit
h a bid

[Jolly Red Giant]

There's a lot of similarities between Bazunu and Ferguson at the moment. Both hugely impressive as teenagers, both had big injuries which led to massive loss of form. Bazunu a bit under the radar at moment but both need a big bounce back year if we are going to consider them top class players
Yes - ans it is unfortunate because we have a limited pool of top quality players.



Anyways.... Evan being linked with Roma today according to Sky Italia apparently.

Now - this make a lot more sense - and fits more into the method of how Bloom operates. A loan move to Roma could be a positive move. It gets Ferguson out of the PL spotlight - it lands him in a team that needs a striker - he will be playing European football. Gasparini, who has just taken over at Roma after leaving Atalanta where he spent the last ten years, is noted for playing a very offensively minded game which would suit Ferguson. Roma have been linked with several strikers but they do have financial issues - so a loan deal might be more attractive to them. The only potential downside of this move for Ferguson is that Italian defenders have a habit of tergetting players with known injury histories.

[EalingGreen]

Good man, nice essay. If you dont think a club that is regularly in the Premiership, that sells as well as Brentford do, isnt a massive money making machine then Im not sure an economics lesson would even be beneficial to you!"Massive money making machine"?

Profit/(Loss) 2023/24
However, last season Brentford swung from a £9m pre-tax profit to an £8m loss, a decline of £17m, as significant investment in the squad led to a £35m (21%) increase in operating expenses from £166m to £201m, while net interest payable quadrupled from £1m to £4m.
This was partially offset by a significant improvement in profit on player sales from £6m to £25m, though revenue was flat at £167m.
https://swissramble.substack.com/p/brentford-finances-202324

If you knew even the first thing about the club's finances - and you clearly don't - you'd know that in order to keep up with genuinely "massive" clubs like Man U and Liverpool, every penny they can find has to go to paying PL-level wages for the PL-level players needed to keep them in the PL. Thereafter, any left over has to be ploughed back into infrastructure and facilities etc. You know, things like their (expensive new) Academy, or the massive, multi-million pound upgrade to their Training Ground, which until recently relied heavily on Portacabins and temporary planning permission from the local authority.

As I said before, the best thing you could do is to "Quit while you're behind"... :eek:

[Razors left peg]

Ok cool, you support the only charitable organization in the Premiership run by an owner who's a mix between the Pope and Gandhi.... next you'll be telling us that The Premiership as a whole makes less money that the Lithuanian 3rd division

[EalingGreen]

Ok cool, you support the only charitable organization in the Premiership run by an owner who's a mix between the Pope and Gandhi...Any chance you could lay off the ridiculous hyperbole and respond to some of the facts which I have quoted. You know, real facts, not the "alternative" kind, dreamt up in your imagination?


... next you'll be telling us that The Premiership as a whole makes less money that the Lithuanian 3rd divisionNo, I won't. I prefer to leave that to others. Though tbf, there aren't many others on this board who subscribe to this sort of BS besides you.

[Razors left peg]

Ok this is the last thing Im going to say on this because its beyond stupid. You have the opinion that Brentford are there simply for the good of the community and their Owner, who made his money in the world of gambling, is just running the club for philanthropic reasons.

Meanwhile there are investors from all over the world trying to purchase pieces of Premiership clubs as they are amongst the safest bets for a huge return on investment. We are at the point where people like Tom Brady are buying parts of Championship clubs with the aim of earning Premiership money. The TV revenues alone are astronomical.

Just last year Everton were bought out for $500 million approx, by another American Billionaire. That makes 10 clubs in the Premiership that are majority owned by American Billionaires. These type of people are draw to English football, and Premiership clubs in particular, because of the vast money making machine the Premiership is.

As for me not understanding finances, well ... dont tell anyone, somehow I work in finance and have been bluffing for years

[EalingGreen]

Ok this is the last thing Im going to say on this because its beyond stupid. You have the opinion that Brentford are there simply for the good of the community and their Owner, who made his money in the world of gambling, is just running the club for philanthropic reasons.You claimed that BFC were making "massive" amounts of money, which the owner was siphoning off for his own benefit. This is complete and utter BS.

I pointed out that the club is NOT making "massive" profits, or anything like it, in fact some years they don't make money at all - as was clearly demonstrated by the 2024/25 Accounts which I provided for you. Beyond which, even in seasons when they do make a profit, ALL of it is reinvested in the club, for operating purposes and/or infrastructure, in an affort to "keep up with the Jones's". Or didn't you notice eg that they're playing in a brand new, £82m stadium? (I don't expect someone so clearly uninformed as you to know about eg the sparkling new Training Ground, or the Academy, both of which have eaten up many extra millions.)

As for Benham himself, he is known to be a boyhood fan. Which is why he stepped in when the club was up to its eyes in debt in 2012, with the Supporters Trust which owned the club openly admitting it was was going to go bust. Initially he provided a loan, then subsequently bought out the club and cleared the (substantial) debt. And what was he getting for his investment? A struggling League One club which had spent 49 of the previous 50 seasons in the 3rd or 4th tiers and was playing before crowds of 5k in a dilapidated 12k stadium, while losing money hand over fist. (The supporters had been doing sponsored walks and bucket collections just to keep the lights on)

Since when he has plunged over £100m of his own money into the club, without seeking a penny in return. Which for someone who's not very wealthy by PL owners' standards, represents a large propoartion of his personal wealth. And now that he's transformed the club to solid PL membership, he could have sold out at any time in the last 2 or 3 years for £400m (give or take?) and trousered a 300% profit.

Instead, his ambition is to see the club to the next level - Europe perhaps? Yet being realistic, even humble, enough to know that he cannot bankroll the club for that personally, he has said he's open to outside investors, ideally for a minority stake. Yet despite having been approached by, and even having held talks with, several interested parties, he has declined to take any of these further, since he didn't feel they were right for the club, over the long term at least.

All of which completely contradicts your utterly ignorant claims that he's only in it for the money, like all these other carpet-baggers and fly-by-nights you refer to.


Meanwhile there are investors from all over the world trying to purchase pieces of Premiership clubs as they are amongst the safest bets for a huge return on investment. We are at the point where people like Tom Brady are buying parts of Championship clubs with the aim of earning Premiership money. The TV revenues alone are astronomical.

Just last year Everton were bought out for $500 million approx, by another American Billionaire. That makes 10 clubs in the Premiership that are majority owned by American Billionaires. These type of people are draw to English football, and Premiership clubs in particular, because of the vast money making machine the Premiership is.And which part of that applies Brentford or Benham? (Or eg Tony Bloom at Brighton for that matter, Bloom having invested £300m of his own, larger fortune into his boyhood club, for zero financial return to date)


As for me not understanding finances, well ... dont tell anyone, somehow I work in finance and have been bluffing for years
Then it's probably time you cleaned up around you in whatever finance firm you work for and loaded up the tea trolley in time for tomorrow, when the Accountants will be expecting you to bring them their mid morning cuppa.

[tetsujin1979]

I know it's the off season in the UK, and the rules on going off topic are relaxed, but it you want to continue the Brentford finance discussion, can you take it to the inboxes?

[Razors left peg]

Awwww Tets, come on I was enjoying hearing all about how Brentford are going solve world hunger next

[seanfhear]

I know it's the off season in the UK, and the rules on going off topic are relaxed, but it you want to continue the Brentford finance discussion, can you take it to the inboxes?
It was getting some-what niche alright !

[rebelmusic]

It was getting some-what niche alright !

I'd nothing else, you have to admire the passion :)

The Ferguson debate is like a merry-go round at the moment. I'd second Razors line that he just needs to get regular gametime in one of the top 5-8 leagues

[Razors left peg]

For what is worth Fabrizio Romano has the Evan link with Roma now

[SkStu]

"Here we go!"

[Eirambler]

Strange for a club to be offering a player to a specific other club, no? Is there a link between Roma and Brighton? Or have Brighton been offering Ferguson to other clubs too? Which really wouldn't be a positive

Yes - it seems Brighton have been touting him around. He was apparently offered to Udinese also.

But Matt O'Riley is now being linked with the same move to Roma, so there must be some specific club or agent link behind all this.

The Romano tweet isn't really saying much new. Just that they've been offered the player and are considering their options.

[elatedscum]

It’s also very possible that Roma went asking agents for available strikers across Europe’s top five leagues and in the context Ferguson was offered at 32m or whatever it was

[liamoo11]

It’s also very possible that Roma went asking agents for available strikers across Europe’s top five leagues and in the context Ferguson was offered at 32m or whatever it was

I wonder if zefi been there is an influence

[Eirambler]

I wonder if zefi been there is an influence

I'd say none whatsoever to be honest. He's so far down the list there that I can't imagine he'd have any say or even be asked for his thoughts on a transfer target.

[Razors left peg]

Im not even sure Roma know Zefi is there at this stage.

Word today seems to be that it would be a loan to Roma.

[seanfhear]

When in Rome

[Jolly Red Giant]

Word today seems to be that it would be a loan to Roma.
On the BBC site its saying the loan is awaiting Ferguson's agreement.

[tetsujin1979]

It's a little less dramatic than the BBC are suggesting. They link to this article on calciomercato.com - https://www.calciomercato.com/notizie/roma-passi-avanti-per-ferguson-del-brighton-gli-inglesi-aprono-al-prestito-manca-l-ok-del-giocatore/blt8d4d0dfb5d65b2d0
Specifically, this sentence

C'è, quindi, attesa per la risposta del giocatore, che qualora dovesse dare il via libera al prestito, si unirebbe alla Roma per una stagione, andando a colmare il vuoto lasciato da Abraham.
passing it through google translate

There is, therefore, anticipation for the player's response, who, should he give the green light to the loan, would join Roma for a season, filling the void left by Abraham.

[Razors left peg]

https://sportwitness.co.uk/brighton-have-reached-agreement-for-exit-terms-of-deal-becoming-clear/

Says in this one that the player is "analyzing" offers.

[Eirambler]

Roma seems to be the preferred offloading point for Premier League teams trying to get rid of their underperforming squad players just now.

https://romapress.net/rasmus-hojlund-proposed-to-roma-on-loan/

Would they want both Ferguson and Hojlund?