matt Targett, huge mistake by Fulham management.

[jarv]

Matt Targett was critical to Fulham style under Slav and helping Sess become the player he is. (just saying) I have watched Villa a few times on tv and he has been outstanding for them, both defending and attacking.What a huge mistake letting him go and not meeting the asking price.  Hindsight maybe but would any other team get promotion and trash the defence by letting 2 excellent full backs go elsewhere.

[Fulham 442]

I don't think we could agree on a price initially.  They came back to us but by then we'd already signed Bryan. I'm a also a huge fan of Targett. He was great in our promotion season.

[Jim©]

Freddo was gone by Jan, when promotion looked far from secure/possible.
Targett was, for me nowhere near a £15m player. Or a £10m player. Or even £5m.
I'd say that Bryan is as good (though a few lapses lately have almost been costly) and much better in the air than Targett (who got targeted for that weakness when playing for us and we conceded a few goals because of it).
Wish him well, but pretty glad we didn't go for him.

[toshes mate]

Absolutely agree with OP that the senior executives at the Club really messed up on a number of transfers and contract deals involving outstanding fullbacks that have slipped through our fingers.  I suspect they were all a case of the grass is greener over the fence rather than in the field in which you are already standing.  As I have said many times we should have signed both Bryan and Targett, in preference to the detritus that saw big money change hands.  It is, IMO, the situation always encountered when you know the price of everything and the value of nothing which is a common statistician's nightmare because value and quality cannot be digitised.

[Statto]

Targett was, for me nowhere near a £15m player. Or a £10m player. Or even £5m.
I'd say that Bryan is as good (though a few lapses lately have almost been costly) and much better in the air than Targett (who got targeted for that weakness when playing for us and we conceded a few goals because of it).

I have a similar view... although I'm sorry but Bryan is still awful in the air

The way I see it, Bryan was a £5/6m player and the asking price was £6m. Targett was a £5/6m player but the asking price was £20m... or £15m at the last minute. So Bryan was much better value for money.

[charlieFFC]

Just keep the faith in Bryan and dont worry about Targett.

Worry about CB and RB positions - especially if we go up.

[jarv]

I like Bryan too but he will only ever be a decent second division player. Here in usa, football is on tv all the time and having seen villa several times, Targett has been their best player (behind Grealish) by a country mile. He is premier quality, no doubt about it now. When I watch other teams with an ex Fulham player, I tend to pay attention to them. Maybe we all do.

[res]

Matt Targett was critical to Fulham style under Slav and helping Sess become the player he is. (just saying) I have watched Villa a few times on tv and he has been outstanding for them, both defending and attacking.What a huge mistake letting him go and not meeting the asking price.  Hindsight maybe but would any other team get promotion and trash the defence by letting 2 excellent full backs go elsewhere.

 Easy to criticise but missing a couple of reality points. Firstly, Southampton wanted mega £m's for Targett (but I accept we wasted mega £m's on other players at the beginning of last season); Fredericks ran out his contract and would only re-sign if he became the highest paid player at the club which clearly we could not accept. Targett looks good in the Premiership; Fredericks looks OK but still has a disappointing final contribution and is not altogether liked down at West Ham.
 Our current full backs do a decent Championship job but would need upgrading if (when) we go up.

[sarnian]

Targett isn’t perfect as Sky highlighted his weakness last season. At the time Mark Hughes would not sell Targett and kept raisin the price. It was only at the last minute that he became available and by then we moved on to Bryan.

[Facts Not Fiction]

Targett was, for me nowhere near a £15m player. Or a £10m player. Or even £5m.
I'd say that Bryan is as good (though a few lapses lately have almost been costly) and much better in the air than Targett (who got targeted for that weakness when playing for us and we conceded a few goals because of it).

I have a similar view... although I'm sorry but Bryan is still awful in the air

The way I see it, Bryan was a £5/6m player and the asking price was £6m. Targett was a £5/6m player but the asking price was £20m... or £15m at the last minute. So Bryan was much better value for money.

Perfectly put. I'd rather have Targett, but not at over 3 times the cost of Bryan.

[KJS]

Fulham offered good money but their manager at time wouldn't sell to us  a certain Mark Hughes was the man

[Carborundum]

It was a big mistake not signing him.  He’s better than Joe Bryan.  He knew our system.  We went down.  Many reasons for that but not signing a player you absolutely know will work seems an unnecessary risk.

I don’t really care about the price differential. This isn’t Football Manager on the PC.  It’s our chairman’s money, not mine.

Joe Bryan is a good player and shows admirable character.  Just not quite as good as someone who was very good indeed for us.

[Jim©]

Just can't see what everyone raved about. He looked physically weak and provided 2 assists in a FFC team that were absolutely steam-rolling all and sundry during that period (with the full backs given full reign to bomb on).
Bryan has provided 3 assists (also in 18 games) in a team that hasn't quite got going and where the full backs wings have been clipped a bit.

A bloody good saving of £10m if you ask me.

[filham]

Yes, with the full benefit of hindsight we can all see that the loss of Fredericks and Targett were major factors in our poor premiership performance. Most of us would also have at the time said that we needed to keep them. However Southampton were asking the earth for Targett and had we paid their price it would have sent a message to all clubs that we were ripe for a rip off.

Fredericks gave due warning that he wanted a move to West Ham and there was little to be done about it.
All history now and best forgotten, Bryan and Odoi doing well right now, lets give them our full backing.

[Steven Ageroad]

Fredericks gave due warning that he wanted a move to West Ham and there was little to be done about it.
All history now and best forgotten, Bryan and Odoi doing well right now, lets give them our full backing.
[/quote]

Fredericks did give us due warning, that's why we bought Christie in plenty of time to replace him!!

[Statto]

I don’t really care about the price differential. This isn’t Football Manager on the PC.  It’s our chairman’s money, not mine.

No it's not your money but there's a finite amount of it we can spend on players under FFP. So what if it's a choice of (a) £6m on Bryan and £24m on Mitrovic, or (b) £20m on Targett and £10m on Jordan Rhodes / Chris Martin?

[Andy S]

Certainly not a disaster but a shame

[Carborundum]

I don’t really care about the price differential. This isn’t Football Manager on the PC.  It’s our chairman’s money, not mine.

No it's not your money but there's a finite amount of it we can spend on players under FFP. So what if it's a choice of (a) £6m on Bryan and £24m on Mitrovic, or (b) £20m on Targett and £10m on Jordan Rhodes / Chris Martin?

Recent threads on arrangements with Cardiff concerning Bobby Decordova Reid suggest things are perhaps a little less cut-and-dried, a little more flexible. There’s a finite amount of money we can spend for this season, we’re not spending much of it on BDR but somehow he’s out there in a white shirt because the management team wanted him in.  We surely could have got Targett in during a window when we shelled out tens on millions on Seri, Le Marchand and Anguissa. 

But yes, given the choice in your construct I’d rather have Mitrovic and Bryan.  Which is really a commentary about Mitrovic.

[BigbadBillyMcKinley]

Fredericks is a much bigger loss in my opinion. Doing well in a relatively poor west ham team.
I'd rather him back than targett.

[Twig]

It was a big mistake not signing him.  He’s better than Joe Bryan.  He knew our system.  We went down.  Many reasons for that but not signing a player you absolutely know will work seems an unnecessary risk.

I don’t really care about the price differential. This isn’t Football Manager on the PC.  It’s our chairman’s money, not mine.

Joe Bryan is a good player and shows admirable character.  Just not quite as good as someone who was very good indeed for us.

You haven’t heard of FFP then?