Evan Ferguson F 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 him

As 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.
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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.