Michael Jacobs

[St Edmundsbury Cobbler]

Good luck to him, derby would be good for him, blessing in disguise we won't be a one man team any more

For that to happen, we'd need to get rid of Bayo.

[JollyCobbler]

I know something you don't know.

The most interesting thing was from Jeff Lake who says the club expect MJ to go for more than Mark Bunn did (£525k).

He also says the guideline from a tribunal for this sort of situation is £750k, as MJ has been at NTFC since 11 and good contracts etc. Says equally it could be £200k either way though!

If I were you I'd take everything Jeff Lake says with a very large pinch of salt. He seems to make it up as he goes along.

[wrigleys]

According to Wikipedia he now plays for Braintree Town. Bizarre

[MK_Cobbler]

DC has stated that we are looking for £400k for him.

[barnabas]

Radio bloke on BBC Northampton "If you were offered £400k for Jacobs would you take it?"

DC "Cash?.....that's probably not too far off the mark of what we'd accept"

[GrangeParkCobbler]

400k?? Is/was Powell 10 times better than Jacobs?
That would be a poor bit of business IMO!!

[ClaretAndWhite]

Oh dear weren't we offered 500k and got rejected? So he's gotta go for more than that surely?

[memyhead]

Just want this saga to be sorted to be honest. We all knew he was off at the end of the season. Looks like it could drag on and on as I believe he has now just left for a holiday in "Nappa"  

[The 12th Marquis of Sixfields]

If I was selling something & wanted the most I could get, I would DEFINITELY go public with the price I'd accept

[Vintage Cobbler]

Comparisons with Powell are valid so with Powell going to Man U for £4million with £2m paid now £400K for Jacobs seems to me to be poor business.  We have a history of selling low and, as they say, history repeats itself.  Very disappointed with DC on this.

[NTFC Nut]

Comparisons with Powell are valid so with Powell going to Man U for £4million with £2m paid now £400K for Jacobs seems to me to be poor business.  We have a history of selling low and, as they say, history repeats itself.  Very disappointed with DC on this.

I'd have said Powell is a significantly better player actually. A couple of years younger than Jacobs and not only does he have at least as much raw ability as Jacobs, but he makes the right decisions with the ball at his feet as well, and has a good footballing brain. How many times have we seen Jacobs try to take on one man too many and lose the ball, or hit a Steven Gerrard style 'Hollywood pass' when the simple ball was all that was needed? Jacobs still has a lot to learn and would be a real gamble for a Premier League side. Powell is less of a gamble I think.

[MikeElderton]

£4m against £400k is he really 10 x a better player though? 

[Blackadder]

Manchester United wanted Powell, Derby County want Jacobs, no disrespect to Derby but that probably tells you all you need to know about any comparison between the two.

Even if we dont like it 400 - 500k with a sell on fee is probable what we should be expecting.

[lodgeadam]

Am I the only person hoping that Jacobs moves on and doesn't go on to better things? I'm fed up of players leaving for minimal fees, as a Northamptonshire lad he should sign on for two years and have a £1mill release clause then agree he can be sold next summer. If these players believed they had what it takes surely another year in the first team would do him the world of good. If there is no sell on clause for the cobblers I can genuinely say I couldn't give a sh!t if he goes on to be succesful or not. No-one is bigger than the club ... other than Bayo. 

[FezNTFC]

Am I the only person hoping that Jacobs moves on and doesn't go on to better things? I'm fed up of players leaving for minimal fees, as a Northamptonshire lad he should sign on for two years and have a £1mill release clause then agree he can be sold next summer. If these players believed they had what it takes surely another year in the first team would do him the world of good. If there is no sell on clause for the cobblers I can genuinely say I couldn't give a sh!t if he goes on to be succesful or not. No-one is bigger than the club ... other than Bayo. 

This might not be the most popular post you've ever done.

[Insider]

Crackers to be gone by the end of next week.  Medical set for Thursday next week on his return from Ayia Napa. 

[The 12th Marquis of Sixfields]

he'll fail that then

[Raz]

Let's not forget that a tribunal isn't just a g.amble for the buying club, it's also a g.amble for us.

For all we know we might get £200k if it went to a tribunal and then we'd all be furious. For DC to be stating publicly that 400k isn't far off the mark, he's probably had some advice.

I think there are lessons to be learnt here. It was clear to see as soon as Jacobs broke into the first team two years ago that he was going to be a good player. Someone should have slapped a 4-year-deal under his nose there and then and he'd surely have signed it. Had that happened we'd be in a far better position to ignite a bidding war, and we might have ended up getting some silly money for him.

I can't understand for the life of me why people think he should stay. What has he got to gain by staying? Absolutely nothing.

As for Powell, he'll be a future England international without doubt if he stays injury free. I'd be surprised if Jacobs makes a Premier League appearence. That's the difference.

[MKMal]

£4m against £400k is he really 10 x a better player though? 

Yes, Powell is only eighteen and already has played at England under 16, 17 and 18 level. Thats what top prem sides are looking for these days. Afraid Michael is over 20 and has played for Northampton Town which shows the difference in calibre.

[Carlo Corazzins Corduroy]

Yes, Powell is only eighteen and already has played at England under 16, 17 and 18 level. Thats what top prem sides are looking for these days. Afraid Michael is over 20 and has played for Northampton Town which shows the difference in calibre.

While I concede Powell is in a different class, I don't think England youth internationals are a decent barometer. I suspect if Jacobs was developed at Crewe he'd have featured in a few of the squads. Don't forget that the likes of Carruthers and Marcus Benson played for England while they were here, one is non-league and other has disappeared of the radar entirely.

Begrudgingly I think £450k is about fair to be honest. I suspect Michael will develop into a decent Championship player, and they rarely go for over £500k. As I said initially, Matt Phillips is probably the most direct parallel, and he went for £350k + add-ons.