Pim Balkenstein

[Brentford 4 Life]

Oh Dear God, yesterday, he was average...at best. Appreciated, he was playing out of position but yet again, tackling was more wrestling moves than skill and then - when that ball that looked like it was going out but then actually wasn't ever going to go out because the pitch was so wet and their player chased after it and got it whilst Pim stood there watching was enough for me. You may be out of position but you're still a defender and have a job to do, so when you're marking someone and they chase a ball - you go with them. You do not stand there and watch and land your defensive team mates in the sh*t because you didn't think it would happen.

Played some nice balls forward to Donaldson and Bidwell and nulified the threat of a dangerous, talented winger for most of the game. The whole defence was solid yesterday and Pim deserves just as much credit as the others, especially as he has barely played this season with his teamates, so it cant have been easy to slot in alongside them against one of the best (or at least one of the form) sides in the division.

 

[sonofabee]

Dont get me wrong would prefer Dean however Pim is contracted till the end of next season and that may well be the deciding factor

Fair do's I assumed it was a two year deal and he was off but obviously not. Amazed that AS saw fit and was allowed to offer a 3 year contract to a player who initially turned us
down and only reconsidered when he returned from Europe having failed to get a deal !

 

[Southern Bee]

Fair do's I assumed it was a two year deal and he was off but obviously not. Amazed that AS saw fit and was allowed to offer a 3 year contract to a player who initially turned us
down and only reconsidered when he returned from Europe having failed to get a deal !

Hindsight is a great thing... but remember how much we all rated him during his first loan spell.. he was a class above the rest back then. Not many would've disagreed with a 3 year deal at the time.

 

[sonofabee]

Hindsight is a great thing... but remember how much we all rated him during his first loan spell.. he was a class above the rest back then. Not many would've disagreed with a 3 year deal at the time.

Sorry but alarm bells should have been ringing when no
other club in league 1 or Benelux where he decided he'd prefer to play over us offered him a deal.
When he came back out of contract, with no offers and re contacted us we held all the aces but somehow the tail ended up wagging the dog and he and his agent must have been laughing as they put pen to paper.

 

[SmiffyBee]

whats he actually on in wages

Not sure what he was on but I believe him + Gary Alexander were our two best paid players this season.
Sorry Big Pim, you need game time + not at Brentford as Left Back.
Poor value overall.

 

[Les Beeavinu]

Not sure what he was on but I believe him + Gary Alexander were our two best paid players this season.
Sorry Big Pim, you need game time + not at Brentford as Left Back.
Poor value overall.

I would imagine Clayton trumps them.

 

[SmiffyBee]

Maybe.

 

[sonofabee]

I would imagine Clayton trumps them.

My money would have been on Clayton and Douglas but suspect Morrison would be the most expensive we've had yet?

 

[SmiffyBee]

Pim is definately on over 3 grand a week.
That's the main reason clubs like Wimbledon can't afford him.

 

[sonofabee]

Pim is definately on over 3 grand a week.
That's the main reason clubs like Wimbledon can't afford him.

Fair play to his agent, he's certainly earned his crust negotiating Pim a 3 year contract on that sort of money when he was out of contract and no one else had offered him a deal!

 

[The Pipe]

Don't we all just love hindsite!!!

 

[SQUELCH]

Pim is definately on over 3 grand a week.

is this a serious post???

 

[Les Beeavinu]

is this a serious post???

I wouldn't know the figure (probably not as much as that imo) but I think that Smiffy may not be that far wrong, if at all.

 

[sonofabee]

Don't we all just love hindsite!!!

Brentford more than most I reckon- how many times have we said if only we hadn't sold ? when we did .....O'Mara, Forster, Deano and DJ for starters. All cost us promotion or got us relegated.
Hindsight, scary glad I didn't know back in 1968 when I first attended I'd only get to see us play one season in the
second division!
Yet 44 years later after losing at home for the umpteenth time this season I'm somehow more optimistic than for years - bizarre

 

[jharvey85]

Would rather have Woodman at left back and Legge at centre back than Pim at either... Hope he can somehow prove himself though; could be a handy squad player.

 

[The Pipe]

Brentford more than most I reckon- how many times have we said if only we hadn't sold ? when we did .....O'Mara, Forster, Deano and DJ for starters. All cost us promotion or got us relegated.
Hindsight, scary glad I didn't know back in 1968 when I first attended I'd only get to see us play one season in the
second division!
Yet 44 years later after losing at home for the umpteenth time this season I'm somehow more optimistic than for years - bizarre

Agree completely and can top you with a further 10 years of greif!!

 

[Herbert]

Not sure what he was on but I believe him + Gary Alexander were our two best paid players this season.
Sorry Big Pim, you need game time + not at Brentford as Left Back.
Poor value overall.

going by his early performances for us,i reckon Pim is the best all round defender at our Club.BUT hes been so off the boil,dreadful at times that he simply doesnt justify his wages.I thought he done ok at left back against Sheff Weds,still can play better though.i feel hes had enough time to prove his worth and failed.Having a year left on his contract could be the silver lining for him to prove himself again as we wont be able to off load him

 

[Southern Bee]

Pim is definately on over 3 grand a week.
That's the main reason clubs like Wimbledon can't afford him.

2k a week, max.

 

[Streetboy]

Would rather have Woodman at left back and Legge at centre back than Pim at either... Hope he can somehow prove himself though; could be a handy squad player.

Never mind Pim, I would like to hope neither of the others you mention are first choice next season!

 

[wanderer paul]

2k a week, max.

Er. No. Higher, higher........

 

[Brain-dead Bee]

Played well on Saturday. If his salary is as high as indicated, then if someone would take him off our hands, great. But I wouldn't want us to pay him off or subsidise his wages elsewhere, as he would be a capable squad player

 

[SmiffyBee]

I didn't think he played that well.

 

[Balders Bee]

I didn't think he played that well.

I thought he did ok in the circumstances. Opinion seems divided though.

 

[Orp_Bee]

I thought he did pretty well, he was put in at left back to provide physicality to stop Antonio influencing the game. For the most part he managed this. Just listened to his post-match interview and he is clearly desperate to succeed at Brentford. Not sure if I want him to stay or not but I have to admire his determination.

 

[Low End Bee]

I didn't think he played that well.

Me neither. His distribution was very poor.

 

[Balders Bee]

Me neither. His distribution was very poor.

Sorry can't agree with that, I thought distribution was one of the better parts of his game. He looked comfortable and composed when on the ball but got caught out for pace and position a couple of times which wasn't surprising when you consider who he was up against in a position which isn't familiar and in a back four he hasn't played with before as a unit. Now if you want to talk about poor distribution I would suggest KO would be a bigger culprit.

 

[wanderer paul]

I didn't think he played that well.

Booooo!!! Smiffy OUT!!

No wonder you've been dropped from the GPG FC.

 

[beebopalula]

Decent interview on the OS.Maybe we will see the Pim we knew next season?

 

[Orp_Bee]

Me neither. His distribution was very poor.

It was better than Woodman's.

 

[Low End Bee]

It was better than Woodman's.

He never misplaced a pass all afternoon.....

 

[The Pipe]

I thought his distribution was pretty good and am struggling to recall when I felt it was poor, maybe just me but it seemed a decent part of his game together with composure when on the ball, it certainly was not his back pass that fell short and he was always making himself available to more

Playing his first 90 mins for some time in a position that is not his preferred against a decent Wednesday forward line I felt he performed pretty well and deserves some credit for doing a job for the team despite a broken toe!!!

 

[Orp_Bee]

He never misplaced a pass all afternoon.....

lol fair point. In actual fact hes barely misplaced one this calender year...

 

[Herbert]

Pim is definately on over 3 grand a week.
That's the main reason clubs like Wimbledon can't afford him.

i thought the wage limit was 3 grand

 

[GP200]

i thought the wage limit was 3 grandad

...................harsh...............

 

[blunstone]

i thought the wage limit was 3 grand

Scott Roderick Marshall, ex Arsenal, was on £3k a week all those years ago.

 

[Herbert]

Scott Roderick Marshall, ex Arsenal, was on £3k a week all those years ago.

yeah under Noades,and we all know the outcome on the Club from players earning that amount then.

I mean doent the Club have a 3 grand limit now ?

 

[sonofabee]

yeah under Noades,and we all know the outcome on the Club from players earning that amount then.

I mean doent the Club have a 3 grand limit now ?

I know not but given both were in demand and out of contract that both Douglas and Donaldson would be earning
more.

 

[Herbert]

I know not but given both were in demand and out of contract that both Douglas and Donaldson would be earning
more.

really ? 100 % ? i thought it was 3 grand with no-one quite touching it

 

[sonofabee]

really ? 100 % ? i thought it was 3 grand with no-one quite touching it

No not 100% at all, purely my opinion.

 

[alexcavell]

really ? 100 % ? i thought it was 3 grand with no-one quite touching it

Although contracts aren't always as simple as £ x per week, I'd say this is quite likely (though I'm not ITK). Before 2010/11 it's likely no-one was on any more than £2k (O'Connor and Bennett perhaps around that figure), but then the signings of Alexander and Balkestein probably increased that limit to more like £3k a week, which Douglas and Donaldson are probably earning now too.

 

[Orp_Bee]

This entire thread has descended into conjecture now.

 

[jlove]

IF our attributable staff costs of "Playing, training and ground staff" are £4M and we have 69 as a headcount, then the average cost (not salary) is £58,000. "3,000 a week" costs £175,000 per year minimum, so we can't afford many at that level. IF 20% are on a minimum wage and 25% on an average wage (to take out the youth team and ground staff), then £3.35M is left between 40, an average of £83k; not many are going to be over twice the average.

It's still wild speculation, though!

 

[The Pipe]

Can't beat some goof old wild speculation!!!

Personally have absolutely no idea o wages for our players, like everywhere else in football it's far to much!!!

Where are the players on thirty bob a week?? ( £1.50. ) for you youngsters!!!

 

[SmiffyBee]

i thought the wage limit was 3 grand

Some of the players are on over £3k per week. So no, that is not the limit, if there is one.
I think the only limit is the total playing budget amount set by the BFC board

 

[Ambrose_1889]

There's a time a few months ago when I thought there's no way back at GP for Pim.

Now I'm not so sure. Rosler selected him ahead of Eger, Woodman and even Legge in the latter stages of the season. He offers cover at CB and LB - positions where we are short in numbers.

I don't rate him anywhere near as highly as I did during his loan spell with us and would still be looking to move him on but it would not surprise me if he were still here in August.

 

[Orp_Bee]

Agreed, can't believe he's managed it but he's really forced him way back in to the reckoning through sheer hard work and determination. Would still be happier if he agreed a new contract to lower his supposedly high wages. But if he plays to his potential next year I'll get over it.

 

[Brentford 4 Life]

A fair run in the team and Pim will be back to his best, just like we saw when he was on loan and also in the first few months when we signed him permanently. Funny how he has gone from about 5th choice to currently 3rd, but i would expect that to change before now and August.

 

[condorman]

A fair run in the team and Pim will be back to his best, just like we saw when he was on loan and also in the first few months when we signed him permanently. Funny how he has gone from about 5th choice to currently 3rd, but i would expect that to change before now and August.

I would be surprised to see him here in August unless we are saddled with his high wages and can't offload him

 

[horshambees]

Think he will be in Uwes plans come August.Going to be up to the coaching staff to get the best out of him and that can only benefit Pim and BFC.

 

[Paulo Bee]

Some of the players are on over £3k per week. So no, that is not the limit, if there is one.
I think the only limit is the total playing budget amount set by the BFC board

Really? Who told you this?