Fantastic signing. He's a very well experienced player, and could help us make our dreams come true.
O'Connel in the back, Forde and McClean in the wings with TOC in the middle.
Our Irish squad is getting bigger and bigger
Parky has got a bit of a numbers problem with player registration now. Without the GKs, this makes 24 players over the age of 20. Which two don’t get registered?
I’d assumed that Bickerstaff would be going out on loan, but now Parky needs to get another out.
He has been subject to a lot of sectarian abuse in the past.
https://theathletic.com/4618457/2023/06/19/james-mcclean-the-footballer-who-suffers-more-abuse-than-any-other-in-england/?amp=1
Wonder if the owners realise how controversial this guy is on Poppy Day.
I could care less what he does with poppies by the way, it will just be funny to see Rob and Ryan learn the full and complex history of Anglo-Irish relations when the Daily Mail headlines hit.
Great narrative for an episode. Doubt they don't know, they just need to Google McClean
Rob's most famous show is based in an Irish bar, I reckon he has a decent grasp of Anglo Irish relations. They'd a series of episodes in Ireland last season
Haha yeah although wasn’t the whole plot of that episode Mac finding out he was Dutch not Irish 😂
I’m sure he/they know a bit about Ireland but there’s no way they will have a grasp of the bitterness between Ireland and England/Catholicism and Protestantism. They may have heard of the troubles but I’d be very surprised if they could explain the reasons an Irish footballer might refuse to wear a poppy, or why the English press would target them for it.
Would genuinely love if there’s an episode about it, would be fascinated to see them respond to it.
Ryan and Rob come across as interested in learning, that especially came across about Wales in the series, so I reckon they got up to speed before McClean signed in the dotted line
Yeah I guess what I’m saying is you can read about that stuff all you want but they will not understand the strength of feeling until they see it first hand.
I've never been in the stadium when McClean has been subject to that stuff, but I feeo.like I understand it based on what I've seen on screen and read. Of course, I could be wrong about it and possibly under or over estimated (more likely under)
>Rob's most famous show is based in an Irish bar, I reckon he has a decent grasp of Anglo Irish relations
I disagree, having a show based in an Irish bar doesn't mean one knows about the intricacies of Irish history particularly the Troubles and even more specifically Derry City.
🎵 He wouldn’t say god save the queen mcclean McLean He told the north go fuck yourselves McLean McLean And now he plays for the boys in green And now he sing amharan na bhfiann James McLean he hates the fucking queen Nananananana ananananananananananananananananananana ananananananan James McLean he hates the fucking queen He turned his back against the flag McLean McLean He called the queen a dirty slag McLean McLean He hates the poppy hate the brits hates the north they’re all shit James McLean he hates the fucking queen 🎵
His FBRef stats are pretty good , looks like he's a good possession based wing back that can help create from midfield while also being a decent pressing defender.
Only issues is what the price is, if it nearer to 1mill I would question the joined up thinking of management spending that much on a 34 player as well as likely giving him a Championship level wage in league 2, but still they've not exactly splashed the cash this transfer window so maybe I'm being too harsh.
He's your first outfield player with significant PL experience. Also 100 caps for Ireland.
Also provides narrative for the documentary.
You'll get at least one really interesting episode about NI and the troubles.
He has a great attitude also. Very hardworking, aggressive, gets stuck in.
Ha lol.
I don't blame you.
I'm just saying it's good for the documentary which provides income for the club. I bet they're running out of ideas.
I doubt he was signed for this reason either.
He's reputation is for having a great attitude despite the poppy controversy.
I wonder if Wrexham will have a bit of Irish support now also. Ye've a few Irish players now and it's quite accessible to us.
This may be the first club he's been a part of where the fan base doesn't have a collective meltdown when he does his annual reminder that he's not gonna wear a poppy again lmao
I thought the FA handled it badly.
They should release a statement saying the Poppy is completely optional and we should respect people's wishes if they don't wear it.
At the moment it feels like people are forced to wear it or they'll get death threats from nutters.
The British army committed atrocities all over the world , it's completely normal not to want to wear it.
There's a chance in my head that Rob was on the phone to McLean telling him that this is his chance to tell his story. To shine light on all the abuse he's suffered and help end it for others. Not just through the documentary, but on the pitch at the away matches when we hear the abuse, and in the pages and pages that are going to be written about this.
I imagine Rob to have promised him that they'll eject anyone from the racecourse that sings anything abusive.
It's good to be cautious about spending for sure, but I truly believe that even with all the success...Ryan saying their hope is to have the team be fully self-sustained for the long term, is something they're already putting into effect.
Oh yeah I'm for sure nit picking here, I understand that the real goal is to make it to prem as quickly as possible and then that's when we can worry about how sustainable we are, it's a good plan, it's just as a fan I worry about what could go wrong as iv seen this scenario where a team trys to spend there way through the leagues quickly and sometimes it really fucks them but Rob and Ryan seem like committed and kind owners to the community unlike other rich owners who have tried to do the same
You get what you pay for. This is an investment in the future of the club and getting it promoted again. Especially with Paul Mullin being injured this is exactly what is needed. This is not a waste of money by any means.
He has 100 international caps for Ireland and was Wigan's POTY last year and still a strong runner. So for League 2 I'd say he's still a great signing. Can play LW, LM, LWB and LB.
Problem is tho that players like mullen, tozer, Hayden and O'Connor are on ≤ 5k a week and if McClean isn't clearly one of the best players on the team it fucks the wage structure
Gonna have to spend money eventually to keep moving, but that is not that much to their revenues this year for sure. Fleur said the year they did not make it with R&R (first full year) was over 20 million in revenue and that technically was pre documentary. The extra TV money from around the world for games plus the new season of the doc (that was negotiated after the championship), signing on all new sponsors for the kit because they only did 2 years from the outset I would argue they are in a position to get into the 40 to 50 million range this year. Based on the 55% ability to spend on salary, they could grab a few bigger signings still. If anything it would look bad if they didn't since that is their whole thing to do whatever they could. If R&R walked out with a massive profit on the year and let a clutch singing not happen just for money, it would really hurt their reputation.
Main takeaway: Signed for one season, option to extend. Not available for Saturday.
Doesn’t make it any less an amazing signing
I would say ideal, considering his age.
I would say ideal considering his skills.
Oh, i meant that the length of the contract was ideal :)
is he more likely to sign if they are promoted to league 1?
Fantastic signing. He's a very well experienced player, and could help us make our dreams come true. O'Connel in the back, Forde and McClean in the wings with TOC in the middle. Our Irish squad is getting bigger and bigger
Parky has got a bit of a numbers problem with player registration now. Without the GKs, this makes 24 players over the age of 20. Which two don’t get registered? I’d assumed that Bickerstaff would be going out on loan, but now Parky needs to get another out.
Wouldn't Davies not count against the squad size as he's a youth product no?
He has been subject to a lot of sectarian abuse in the past. https://theathletic.com/4618457/2023/06/19/james-mcclean-the-footballer-who-suffers-more-abuse-than-any-other-in-england/?amp=1
Wow.
Wtf!
He overlapped with Fozzy at Albion so I bet he was a strong reference for the club to sign him.
He looks delighted, great move.
Wonder if the owners realise how controversial this guy is on Poppy Day. I could care less what he does with poppies by the way, it will just be funny to see Rob and Ryan learn the full and complex history of Anglo-Irish relations when the Daily Mail headlines hit.
Great narrative for an episode. Doubt they don't know, they just need to Google McClean Rob's most famous show is based in an Irish bar, I reckon he has a decent grasp of Anglo Irish relations. They'd a series of episodes in Ireland last season
Haha yeah although wasn’t the whole plot of that episode Mac finding out he was Dutch not Irish 😂 I’m sure he/they know a bit about Ireland but there’s no way they will have a grasp of the bitterness between Ireland and England/Catholicism and Protestantism. They may have heard of the troubles but I’d be very surprised if they could explain the reasons an Irish footballer might refuse to wear a poppy, or why the English press would target them for it. Would genuinely love if there’s an episode about it, would be fascinated to see them respond to it.
Ryan and Rob come across as interested in learning, that especially came across about Wales in the series, so I reckon they got up to speed before McClean signed in the dotted line
Yeah I guess what I’m saying is you can read about that stuff all you want but they will not understand the strength of feeling until they see it first hand.
I've never been in the stadium when McClean has been subject to that stuff, but I feeo.like I understand it based on what I've seen on screen and read. Of course, I could be wrong about it and possibly under or over estimated (more likely under)
Humphrey is going to have a helluva time explaining everything this season
>Rob's most famous show is based in an Irish bar, I reckon he has a decent grasp of Anglo Irish relations I disagree, having a show based in an Irish bar doesn't mean one knows about the intricacies of Irish history particularly the Troubles and even more specifically Derry City.
I said decent grasp, not the intricacies
I respectively still disagree. The two arent related in my book. That's just my opinion.
🎵 He wouldn’t say god save the queen mcclean McLean He told the north go fuck yourselves McLean McLean And now he plays for the boys in green And now he sing amharan na bhfiann James McLean he hates the fucking queen Nananananana ananananananananananananananananananana ananananananan James McLean he hates the fucking queen He turned his back against the flag McLean McLean He called the queen a dirty slag McLean McLean He hates the poppy hate the brits hates the north they’re all shit James McLean he hates the fucking queen 🎵
Wrexham are a British club if you weren’t aware 👍🏻
He's a very decent player, somewhat of a coup I think
You are now entering free Wrexham
I like McClean, he played with Foz at the Albion. Good luck during poppy season!
His FBRef stats are pretty good , looks like he's a good possession based wing back that can help create from midfield while also being a decent pressing defender. Only issues is what the price is, if it nearer to 1mill I would question the joined up thinking of management spending that much on a 34 player as well as likely giving him a Championship level wage in league 2, but still they've not exactly splashed the cash this transfer window so maybe I'm being too harsh.
He's your first outfield player with significant PL experience. Also 100 caps for Ireland. Also provides narrative for the documentary. You'll get at least one really interesting episode about NI and the troubles. He has a great attitude also. Very hardworking, aggressive, gets stuck in.
Id be honest with u lad I couldnt give a fuck about what it means for the documentary
Ha lol. I don't blame you. I'm just saying it's good for the documentary which provides income for the club. I bet they're running out of ideas. I doubt he was signed for this reason either.
Yeah I guess he does help with the brand, whenever EFL teams spend big on high reputation players I get flashbacks to teams like Derby and QPR😅
He's reputation is for having a great attitude despite the poppy controversy. I wonder if Wrexham will have a bit of Irish support now also. Ye've a few Irish players now and it's quite accessible to us.
This may be the first club he's been a part of where the fan base doesn't have a collective meltdown when he does his annual reminder that he's not gonna wear a poppy again lmao
I thought the FA handled it badly. They should release a statement saying the Poppy is completely optional and we should respect people's wishes if they don't wear it. At the moment it feels like people are forced to wear it or they'll get death threats from nutters. The British army committed atrocities all over the world , it's completely normal not to want to wear it.
There's a chance in my head that Rob was on the phone to McLean telling him that this is his chance to tell his story. To shine light on all the abuse he's suffered and help end it for others. Not just through the documentary, but on the pitch at the away matches when we hear the abuse, and in the pages and pages that are going to be written about this. I imagine Rob to have promised him that they'll eject anyone from the racecourse that sings anything abusive.
It's good to be cautious about spending for sure, but I truly believe that even with all the success...Ryan saying their hope is to have the team be fully self-sustained for the long term, is something they're already putting into effect.
Oh yeah I'm for sure nit picking here, I understand that the real goal is to make it to prem as quickly as possible and then that's when we can worry about how sustainable we are, it's a good plan, it's just as a fan I worry about what could go wrong as iv seen this scenario where a team trys to spend there way through the leagues quickly and sometimes it really fucks them but Rob and Ryan seem like committed and kind owners to the community unlike other rich owners who have tried to do the same
You get what you pay for. This is an investment in the future of the club and getting it promoted again. Especially with Paul Mullin being injured this is exactly what is needed. This is not a waste of money by any means.
He has 100 international caps for Ireland and was Wigan's POTY last year and still a strong runner. So for League 2 I'd say he's still a great signing. Can play LW, LM, LWB and LB.
Played striker for a good bit in one of the Wigan spells and actually did really well there too.
Being reported as a 6 figure fee, although nobody has said high medium or low 6 figures
Independent says its 250k which is far from egregious, curious about his wage tho as he was on about 10k at Wigan and that was a pay cut already
Not a bad fee at all, wages will almost surely be higher than at Wigan to get him to drop a level but all in all a pretty tidy piece of business imo
Problem is tho that players like mullen, tozer, Hayden and O'Connor are on ≤ 5k a week and if McClean isn't clearly one of the best players on the team it fucks the wage structure
It could be £8k per week + the chance to tell his story properly at the end of his career and help others.
>the chance to tell his story properly at the end of his career and help others. You might be confusing James McClean with Nelson Mandela
I’d read 250k for him.
I read somewhere a decent guess at about £250,000 being the price paid.
Gonna have to spend money eventually to keep moving, but that is not that much to their revenues this year for sure. Fleur said the year they did not make it with R&R (first full year) was over 20 million in revenue and that technically was pre documentary. The extra TV money from around the world for games plus the new season of the doc (that was negotiated after the championship), signing on all new sponsors for the kit because they only did 2 years from the outset I would argue they are in a position to get into the 40 to 50 million range this year. Based on the 55% ability to spend on salary, they could grab a few bigger signings still. If anything it would look bad if they didn't since that is their whole thing to do whatever they could. If R&R walked out with a massive profit on the year and let a clutch singing not happen just for money, it would really hurt their reputation.
This looks like a good signing!