Peter Ridsdale exclusive as Preston North End director talks transfers, Tom Cannon, ‘abuse’ and more

Preston North End director Peter Ridsdale has assessed the club’s summer transfer business in an exclusive interview with the Lancashire Post. The Lilywhites brought in eight new players come the end of the transfer window, with Milutin Osmajic and Liam Millar arriving on deadline day after the captures of Will Keane, Mads Frokjaer, Duane Holmes, Calvin Ramsay, Layton Stewart and Jack Whatmough.

How did you feel heading into this summer?

“Well I’ve been doing this a long time and I go into every summer break confident that we’ve planned and we know what we are trying to do,” said Ridsdale. “Obviously it is not as simple as doing what you want to, because everyone else is after the same players and we have a lot of challenges. I was shocked by the abuse I got, to be quite honest - at the start of the window. At Bamber Bridge I was getting abuse, supposedly as the person stopping any transfers coming in, when I do all the transfers. We are sitting here now, with eight players having come in - six permanents and two loans. I think it is probably the best window we’ve had for years.

“So, the abuse shocked me - personal messages to me directly and some of the language, there is one I have kept and the abuse in that message is so disgusting. I have screenshotted it and said for them to not contact me again - this is someone I’ve been in contact with for a number of years and he’s a PNE fan. I just wonder what he is sitting there thinking today, because you don’t just do it all on the first day of the transfer window. The real proof in the pudding is what happens at 11 o’clock last Friday, where we are in the league and if we feel we’re in better shape - starting this season, squad wise - than last season. I think we are.”

Does what you’ve mentioned there make you question your open approach to communication?

“Well look, I think my approach is a bit of a problem,” said Ridsdale. “Because, a number of people have got my phone number. I was just reading a whole series from somebody and if you actually read the email thread, from start to finish, to some extent I would hope they are embarassed. The frustration - which I get - and the anger towards us, is as if we’re not trying. Ultimately, anyone in mine or Craig’s position only wants one thing and that is success. But, we have to do it within prescribed financial limits.

“I am happy for anyone to ask me any questions at any time, but when it gets into some of the language being used and personal abuse, I just don’t get it - unless they just feel better for it, I don’t know. But, it isn’t going to make me do anything differently; we are doing what we believe to be right and time will tell if it’s right. As you’ve seen from this transfer window, there have been a lot of players the same clubs have tried to get. In the main, I think we’ve got the ones we wanted.

“The only one we didn’t was Tom Cannon, and Tom didn’t go to one of those clubs rumoured to be in for him all the time we were. He went to Leicester, who’ve got the parachute payments and came in last Thursday. Our frustration, I suppose with Tom, was that we did a deal very early on - which was an expensive loan. Everton agreed it but said the timing would be down to them, not us. They then changed the goalposts last week, that it had to be a permanent.

“We then decided to make a bid, which was rejected. We then did another bid, which was tinkered with at their request. I have in writing, our bid being accepted by Everton and permission to talk to him. And this would’ve been four times our record transfer deal. Tom then phoned to say Leicester had come in and that he fancies going to them, with them favourites for promotion. To be honest, while it was devastating for us, we hadn’t ignored plan B and C.

“Milutin was the most complicated, which was why Tom was attractive in the sense that it would’ve been easier and we know him, but very expensive. Milutin was always someone we were looking at, but we couldn’t get him in the country to see him - because he is Montenegrin. We couldn’t communicate with the president of Cadiz, because he does not speak English. Milutin’s agent is based in Montenegro; it was a very complicated deal and we worked on it for at least three weeks.

“We got it agreed late on Thursday and it was then whether to take Tom or Milutin. Tom dropped out and we did the last one per cent on Milutin on Friday, but it was the most complicated transfer. We’d also been working on one from the West Coast of America, which we thought we could do, but that fell down because their window had closed and they decided they couldn’t replace. They wanted to wait until January, so all these things were happening but we couldn’t say it publicly because there are 23 other Championship clubs trying to sign the same players.”

Did the Tom Cannon bid surprise you? PNE have never spent that kind of money before... was it a total one off because of what he did last season? It will surprise fans that we were prepared to pay that money.

“Did it surprise me? I was pleasantly surprised and grateful to Craig (Hemmings) and the family for allowing us to do it,” said Ridsdale. “I was nervous; the payment terms were accepted by Everton but it would’ve meant committing funds over the next three to four years, to pay the total transfer fee. That would’ve come out of my budget for the next two or three years.

“But, at the time, because he was a known quantity, young and would’ve been ours - just look what has happened to Cameron Archer’s transfer value. We thought it was worth it because we knew him and we believed that Ryan would make him even more valuable - therefore it was a calculated risk if you like. We were very grateful; Craig was fantastic and the family. It wasn’t all up front, but the payment terms had been agreed - in writing - by Everton.”

How is the club looking FFP wise?

“Bloody tight.”

So would the Cannon deal have worked by spreading it over the years?

“Yeah, that wouldn’t have been the problem this year because it’s the cost to the club as we make the payments - as Chelsea have demonstrated,” said Ridsdale. “We’d have been tight anyway. It was eased, slightly, by making a couple of adjustments. You saw the people who came off the payroll, which was particularly helpful. Jacob Slater going to Brighton with a transfer fee was helpful, but we are aware where we are against it and we’ll stay within it.”

Did you learn anything new yourself this summer? What can be learned from the Cannon situation?

“I think the Cannon situation - we got out of it in great shape, but it could’ve cost us,” said Ridsdale. “A bit like with Cameron Archer, with Tom he told us - and this is not a criticism of him - right up to five o’clock last Thursday he would only come to us. Cameron wasn’t quite as open as that; I think his family had been saying that to our supporters rather than Cameron. I kept on saying to James Wallace, all the way through the summer - and I don’t want this to sound critical of anyone - not to trust anybody.

“Until it is signed it’s not signed. We were never in control, because he was Everton’s player. Whether I have learned that, or it’s just reminded me, I don’t know. But, we came out in good shape when we might not have done. I kept on saying to James and Ryan that I hear what they say - and I spoke to Tom myself, his agent and Everton almost every day. But, I kept on saying that until the paperwork is signed, not to believe anything.

“I was always nervous of it not happening until it was done it was not going to happen, even when we had the bid accepted by Everton. The only good thing was that plan B and C were ongoing and worked. I think, to set your stall out on one player is dangerous, but I understand why we did. That is down to me as much as anybody, but we’ve ended up with players we’re happy with and players who were on our radar as targets - at the same time.”

How do you balance working on the Osmajic deal with all of that going on?

“It is not hard in the sense we’ve always got three or four on the go,” said Ridsdale. “We had Liam Millar on the go for at least a week or two as well. The hardest is guessing which is going to drop into place and when, to make sure you don’t lose all of them. What you don’t want to do is wake up and find that Tom has gone somewhere else and so has everybody else. To be honest, the Leicester thing was a shock to us, but that is why we needed to keep it quiet. Milutin, had we been able to get that done earlier in the week, with Tom still an unknown quantity, we would’ve done. We would’ve taken the one that was doable.”

And the club’s transfer record has been broken has it, with Milutin?

“It has.”

You mentioned the West Coast of America, was that a different player all together?

“Yes, a different one all together,” said Ridsdale. “I was in contact with them for two-and-a-half weeks. The player wanted to come and the agent wanted him to come. Personal terms had been agreed, but in the end the club said that they’d thought about it and - with nine games to go - just said no to the deal because they couldn’t replace him, with the window closed. That was another player and would’ve probably meant we didn’t sign Liam - because it would’ve been a permanent deal.”

What has pleased you the most about this summer’s recruitment? You mentioned viewing it as one of the best for several years

“I think there are a number of things,” said Ridsdale. “I think seven left and we’ve brought eight in, but last year we had four very good loans and this year, we’ve got six permanents out of eight. I think that is very important. I think some very good cost effective business has been done. Some people who’ve left were earning a lot of money, therefore we’ve used that money in different ways. Last January I was being berated about the fact a lot of our players were out of contract; DJ was one of them.

“He was a great lad and great player, but he was earning a lot of money. We have replaced him and time will tell, but I think we have replaced him well. It has been a very cost effective replacement, which has freed up funds for other players to come in. What has pleased me is that Will Keane is proven already; he was a great value signing in the circumstances. Jack Whatmough was an even greater value signing, because we got him on a free.

“Mads (Frokjaer) I am really delighted about, because we tracked him for a long time. To get him out of Denmark, that was a very interesting trip when everyone thought I was sunning myself in Spain after the pre-season friendly. I went to that for 24 hours, then flew back to Manchester and went to Copenhagen. Again, these things aren’t simple, but I think that is going to be a very good signing. Layton Stewart is one for the future; some youth into the squad. Duane Holmes is proving a great signing and I think we’ve got a really well balanced squad, while recognising that it’s an evolution.

“I think Craig was quoted as saying it might take three or four transfer windows to evolve, because when you’ve got a contracted squad you can’t just say goodbye. You have to wait until the contract has expired, to free up the cash so it does take two or three windows - which is why we give managers time. I was lucky with Jack coming in, because we didn’t have the money but I could get Bambo (Diaby) out. Bambo was a lovely lad, but I got a small transfer fee for him, off the payroll and Jack in without a transfer fee. So, that was a great ‘swap’ and I am really pleased with the transfer window.”

How does recruitment at the club work now? Has your role changed with MRKT Insights and James Wallace here?

“My role hasn’t really changed at all,” said Ridsdale. “I think everybody misunderstood it in the first place. Managers have always identified the types of players or specific players they want. I used to go to games a lot more with Alex (Neil) because he asked me if I fancied going and wanted somebody to go with him. Ryan has asked me a number of times and for various reasons I haven’t gone yet, but I will. The process - we are using MRKT Insights now but we had other data driven companies in the past. Each manager has their chosen data company and MRKT Insights is Ryan’s, so James gets out to games and we’ve got a whole scouting team.

“MRKT do the data driven work on it and present to us the players who are available. We agree between us which ones we are going to try and target, then my job is to take it on from there - to see if they’re available, what the price is and personal terms. So, the minute a player has been identified - if you take Milutin, Tom and the lad for America as an example, I’d been doing all that work once they’d been identified. But, what we don’t do is impose on the manager players we should be looking at. That comes from the football people, upwards.”

At what point did a left wing-back get taken off the list? Was it as soon as Kian Best played at Bristol City?

“Kian came in and did very, very well,” said Ridsdale. “We have got Robbie back next week and we’ve only got so much money, so it’s not as straightforward as getting two of this, three of that and four of this. It’s about how much money we’ve got and where we want to spend that money. If we’d have brought a left wing-back in, it would’ve cramped Kian’s development and it would’ve probably meant we didn’t have the money to bring Milutin in.”