The Debate: Buying and Selling

On a cold January morning, as Argyle were playing Cardiff,
the transfer window opened, and they lost nil-one.
A deal, already finished, the eve before, bore witness,
to that which would follow - Ian had bought Hayles.

So even before true time began, the board accepted his offer.
Sold off striker number one.
What more was to come?
A couple youth were sold off, and Jutkiewicz then joined us,
Times were looking gloomy, it was not much fun.

Now people weren't too worried, for Hayles near to retirin'
and come the next summer, he would surely be gone.
And a couple of young players - for whom that we'd got more,
than what we'd paid for them.
Surely the deal s were right?

You gotta know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em,
Know when to walk away, know when to run.
You never count your money when you're sitting at the table.
There'll be time enough for counting, when the dealing's done.

Every fan knows that the secret to survin'
Is to knowing what to throw away, knowing what to keep.
Some dead wood did go wandrin' for prices we could not foresee.
Is the best that you could hope for is to sign players who are cheap?

As the window wore on, there came the biggest shock,
The bestest strike we had got - we went and lost.
Because we could not hold him, on the wages we were offerin'
For 1.5 million pounds, he became a Wolf.

You gotta know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em
Know when to walk away, know when to run.
You never count your money when you're sitting at the table.
There'll be time enough for counting, when the dealing's done.

You gotta know when to hold 'em, know when to sell 'em
Know how to deal away, know the good one.
You'll never know what's coming, when you're sitting on the outside.
There'll be time enough for counting, when the window's done.

This song is a blatant rip off Kenny Roger's "The Gambler" (c) 1987