[The Earl of Chesterfield]

dim view, on 26 November 2014 - 08:41 AM, said:

....in the real world though, it gets complicated. If we turn down a bid, the minimum reaction from Doyle's agent will be to demand a pay rise on the scale of the wages that the bidding club would pay. That either creates unrest or gives DA the jitters. Hoping that the agent does not get to know about a failed bid is not realistic. It is very difficult, as probably happened in the Cooper situation, to expect the player to discard the interest without a care in the world.

I think Doyle's relationship with Cook negates much of this.

The situation is simple: if a club offers enough the player will leave. If not, he won't.