Hourihane

A sad state affairs if Barnsley announce that they have signed him and Argyle not telling the fans and press first.

If Hourihane goes...that means we might get a proper captain.

If he does go all I can say is he hasn't set his sights very high.

Shouldn't be hard to replace him......overrated personally.

According to PL2 3DQ over on PASOTI,the rumour is true. PL2 says a conversation with a Barnsley journo confirmed this..

I wonder how easily we've rolled over this time ?   

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zyph wrote:

If Hourihane goes...that means we might get a proper captain.

If he does go all I can say is he hasn't set his sights very high.Shouldn't be hard to replace him......overrated personally.

  Doesn't really say much about us,does it?

If you think that 9 goals from midfield plus numerous assists is going to be easy to replace,then all i can say is i hope you're right and that the finance is available to do so because it won't come cheap.One of the major problems at Argyle for the past 6 years has been the lack of goals from midfield and it's so typical of the club that as soon as someone shows an ability to remedy the situation,then off he goes.We'll get the usual shit now about "he was out of contract next summer,wouldn't have got any money for him" in exactly the same way as we did with Buzsacky and co with a moronic disregard for the on field weakening and the inevitable consequences,only this time two divisions lower.Green shoots of recovery and positive signs eh? We'll see.

Hourihane always struck me as being one of those who would play as well as the players around him: the better they are the better he is; the worse they are the worse he is.

It would have been nice to see whether or not that was true.

I think he's replaceable though so while its a shame that he's off it's not worth getting too upset about.

On the plus side his sale reduces the looming balloon payment by half of what he's been sold for so what has been a very real worry is now a slightly smaller real worry. The club's oft-mentioned devotion to openness and transparency will see an unambiguous statement regarding this in the near future, I'm sure.

Transparency- what's the betting it'll be an undisclosed Transfer fee?

Hartley for captain now I reckon.

Herald are saying that Hourihane is close to signing for Barnsley.......please PAFC if you wanted to keep him make sure that they pay the right money for him.....£250/£300.000 at a minimum.

Sorry to say this, Zyph, but I can't see that for a single moment.

I can't imagine that Barnsley are that flush with cash that the fee is very generous.

Do we have any real numbers to work on here?

What was the initial bid?

If it was £30k I can't see the accepted one being any more than £50k. If £50k then £75k.

And even then we're talking Big Money for a L2 player. I'd guess that talk of even £100k is wishful thinking.

Sorry once again. £300k? That made me laugh.

According to Barnsley fans bids of £50k and £80k have been rejected so like SFD says the fee is likely to be £100k. I think the £200k has been bandied about because of the Saturday Mirror story. Hourihane is out of contract next summer and we will need the funds to cover the summer so I doubt Argyle have held out for £200k.

Sir Francis Drake wrote:

Sorry once again. £300k? That made me laugh.

If they want him that much...what is £300,000......he is still young with years in front of him.....we no longer need to give players away....and if Sheridan values him then make them pay it....he is on contract till next year keep him.

1. "If" being the operative word.
2. A massive chunk of a budget much reduced after being relegated.
3. Granted.
4. I'm not so sure about that - more like we've wised-up a little.
5. See #1 - I very much doubt that he does.
6. Keep an unhappy player for 12 months knowing he'll turn down the next contract and walk away for nought?

Zyph - have a word with yerself.

The 'holding the scarf photo'...http://www.barnsleyfc.co.uk/news/article/conor-hourihane-completes-move-from-plymouth-argyle-to-barnsley-23062014-1660690.aspx

A three year deal on favourable terms would have made this offer very difficult for Hourihane to turn down.

It's annoying, because at our level he's more than decent. But he ain't irreplaceable. Hopefully after at least showing a bit of resolve in rebuffing two approaches, Argyle have secured a sell-on fee in the unlikely event that he goes on to make it as a proper player.

Errington has tweeted part of a board statement-

"The Argyle statement reveals that Conor Hourihane wanted to play at a higher level and was unwilling to sign a contract extension at #pafc"

Herald story-


PLYMOUTH Argyle captain Conor Hourihane has completed a move to League One outfit Barnsley on a three-year contract.

The 23-year-old Irish midfielder put pen to paper at Oakwell today after passing a medical.

Argyle finally agreed to sell Hourihane after accepting a third bid from Barnsley, which has not been disclosed by either club.

The Pilgrims’ board have issued a statement in which they made it clear they only allowed Hourihane to leave reluctantly.

Hourihane had 12 months remaining on his contract at Argyle and was unwilling to sign an extension, so could have moved on next summer for no transfer fee at all.

Herald Sport understands talks with a possible replacement for Hourihane are already at an advanced stage.

The Argyle board’s statement read: “It is with disappointment that we have to announce the transfer of Conor Hourihane to Barnsley.

“Conor has become an important member of the squad in the three years he has been with Argyle and he played a pivotal role in the club's improved performances last season.

“It was hoped and intended that Conor would continue as club captain next season and lead the team towards a successful promotion push.

“However, when the interest from Barnsley became apparent, the player expressed his wish to achieve his ambition to play at a higher level and make the move to Yorkshire.

“We rejected two previous approaches from Barnsley before they came forward with an offer that represented a considerable improvement on their previous bids and one which we could accept, albeit with some reluctance.

“Our decision was made on the basis that Conor only had 12 months remaining on his contract and he was unwilling to sign an extension.

“Given his age, that would have enabled him to leave the club without compensation in a year's time.

“The agreement with Barnsley provides for a comprehensive series of add-ons which should produce additional revenue in the future as well as a basic transfer fee which is to be paid on the player's registration with Barnsley.

“The Board at Argyle will provide John Sheridan with the necessary support to recruit a suitable replacement.

“Everyone at Argyle would like to thank Conor for his services and wish him well for his future career. He will always be a welcome visitor to Home Park.”


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An inconsistent midfielder named Connor,
Played for us when all else didn't wanna
He was shit at the start
but began to show some heart
Then Barnsley knocked and our boy is a gonna.

Fair enough I think. An early club statement lays our position very clearly, a reasonable fee plus add on's now....... or nothing next year. No brainer really.

Good luck to the lad, if he does well we'll get a wedge later too. It's early enough in the summer to source a replacement too, shame it had to happen but the club has made the right decision.

The add-ons introduce the very real prospect that they won't kick in until after the balloon payment is due.

So less cash in the coffers now and the balloon payment reduced by less than it might have been.

But more cash, eventually - maybe, in Argyle's pocket.

Same old faces spouting the same shite as they did in 2007.

Brilliant Mockers

I've never understood the gnashing and wailing when a player gets sold.

Certain things always apply:

1. He must be quite good or nobody else would want him;
2. The fee is never enough;
3. Loads of manking about us being a "selling club".

It's the last one that grips my shit. Every club, just about, in the world is a "selling club": Spurs coudn't keep Bale; Liverpool couldn't keep Michael Owen; Arsenal couldn't keep van Persie; Man Utd couldn't keep Ronaldo; Argyle couldn't keep Hourihane... So what?

There is no loyalty in football so don't ever expect a player (or manager) to show any (even Paul "he bleeds green blood" Wotton once flirted with a move to Northampton).

These things happen. What matters is how it is dealt with and what happens next.

We wondered where the money for confident signings on two year deals was coming from.

Sheridan already in advanced talks with a replacement.

Conspiracy theory is this deal has been in place for a while, and Sheridan has been signing players in knowledge of the extra budget coming in.

Seems stupid to have let Young go now. Talk of Banton playing centre mid now, the laziest player in the team replacing the most energetic? These guys serious?

Would be happy if Deering came in. Or Summerfield. Plenty of reasonable centre mids about.

Another observation: We were already a bit short of left-footers and this makes it worse.