It's been so long without buying a player that I feel like a man in a desert. This is like my last drink in the desert was my own piss so now I am having hallucinations of drinking a cold pint of Stella ... or in football terms our last buy was Pissoko and now I am having hallucinations of buying Mahrez !
You're not the only one! There's a lot of fans on social media who have lost the plot and who genuinely don't care who we sign now! That's how desperate they feel about the window so far.
So the obvious battleground for various hacks and bloggers for the remainder of the week/month/window... Camp A report that we want to wrap up signings before we depart for our pre-season tour of the US Camp B report that we want to wrap up signings after we return from our pre-season tour of the US Camp C report that we want to wrap up signings before our friendly against Juventus Camp D report that we want to wrap up signings before our opening league match against Newcastle Camp E reports break down into saying "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
The trouble is we can't afford the players who already at the level of our first teamers and we only signed Lloris and Alderweireld out of all our first 11 at roughly the level they are now. It's a difficult thing to do. I know Pochettino likes bringing Winks in a bit higher up at times but I can see him getting plenty of time deeper with Dembele's injuries. Barkley's a bit rough around the edges but he's got the potential there and he think he's a lot closer to reaching it than it looks, because he's been badly managed at Everton. He's strong, quick, can cross and has a good shot too. Ideal for us. The Walker saga shows how difficult it is for us to rotate with top players. United and City might be able to do it but their players are getting paid a lot more to sit on the bench. Wages are an ever growing problem. Sign a player like Mahrez on £100k+ and it has a knock on effect. I realise this could be a problem with Barkley but there doesn't appear to be any of these concerns at the moment, which is why we should be snatching him up. It's rare to find a player in this situation.
When we signed Dele, how many of us saw what Pochetino saw. Same with Barkley. He has talent but nobody has successfully coached the best from him. I think Poch sees a much better player than he has so far shown. The unknown is suitability as a team player with no ego. If can accept an affordable starting wage and Everton don't ask silly money, I think he could be good for us
I agree with this. If we wanted to sign Eriksen now, we'd have to pay £50million and give him £200,000 a week, Alli would be £80million and £250,000 a week and as for Kane, £150million and £300,000 a week. We are in a bit of trouble this window I fear.
There must be players out there who are at that level of quality that we can afford. There always has been and always will be, it's just a case of getting it right. £30m is the new £15m, and before the crazy TV money we signed plenty of players for approximately that figure. Plenty of good one in fact. Unfortunately our first purchase in the "new retail price" market has left a bit out a sour taste. I know there's a stadium to pay for, but the £50m for Walker (at least) can't have been costed into that, so there's no reason why we pay a decent fee for the right player, and I'm sure there's players out there that can make a big difference for £100k a week or less. I think the issue about players being on the bench too often is a very fine line and agree with what you're saying, so it's just a case of getting the balance in the squad right. This is why I don't understand the Barkley interest. We're well stocked in that area at the moment with at least 4 player fighting for 2 places already, and it is in fact the more attacking "danger" players that we're more in need of more balance in the squad. At the start of last season, Eriksens form was woeful for about 2 months, and Son, after scoring a few early goals was non existent. I mean Christ, the frustration on here regarding Eriksen was insane. But then They both Sorted their form out and were fantastic for the rest of the season. But we had no other quality options to step in when the going was tough and we were out of ideas. I think this is my main beef with Barkley. Although he's a much better player than Sissoko, I can see him being another frustrating singing as I don't think he'll add what we're missing, knowing we've got to get it right as we only get 1 chance due to our financial restraints. If anything, I think he gives us a further headache regarding rotation/players being benched.
I think this is sadly the crux of it. If we have ambitions of winning the PL and remain a top team that contends for trophies year in year out, we either have to unearth incredible young world beating talent by finding gems like Alli (highly unlikely) regularly or pay the big wages other clubs do (also highly unlikely). It's a sobering reality check.
When was the last time we spent big bucks and the signing slotted in straight away and made a difference? Modric? Our current starting XI cost us slightly more than Paul Pogba. That is incredible. Our success stories throughout the PL era have consistently been the shrewd deals that no one saw coming. There are hundreds if not thousands of excellent players out there. Vitesse Arnhem can only take so many Chelsea loanees. So whilst I agree that finding them becomes harder the higher our standards get and the wealthier smaller teams get, finding them must remain our priority in every window until we have financial parity with our closest rivals. That is why someone like this Foyth lad excites me. A complete unknown who Poch has a personal connection with through Seb Veron, highly rated at home but no one outside of South America and possibly HBIC's house had heard of him 2 weeks ago, and is available for what we see as pittance because a team with probably 1% of our capital is in financial difficulties. Bingo.
We are in that vicious circle at the moment regarding transfer/wage ceilings. Made worse by the "so near yet so far" of the past two PL seasons. New WHL is not an excuse (lest people go down that path) , as : 1. Levy has made it clear that funding of the build is a separate financial activity from the on-pitch operation 2. Any money that was spent by THFC on land acquisition etc over the years would have been quickly burnt thru in trying to match other clubs' transfer/wage levels. And then you are in the Blackburn/Leeds scenario. So other than the breakthrough of a PL/CL title, you have to be better in other areas. 1. Better scouting networks. 2. Better academy. 3. Better at identifying players at current clubs who are believed to be under-performing etc, but can be raised up a level or more by your coaching staff.
They are out there but they're pretty rare beasts. They consist of: Youngsters - Ryan Sessegnon was definitely on our list. Mawson is very expensive for us but still in our price range. So were N'Jie, Janssen and GKN. Players from Non- UEFA leagues. We could take a gamble in the South American market. Foyth would be at least double his asking price in England. Highly risky and unlikely to make a meaningful contribution this coming season as they settle in; Players with outdated sell-on clauses. Chelsea got Kante on the cheap due to this and Pereira's a good deal for this reason. Players in the last year of their contracts. Barkley isn't our major target for no reason. Eventually, Everton will sell him cheap or offload him for nothing in 12 months. Outside of those categories we're struggling to buy anyone who'd be good enough to make a meaningful contribution to our first team, possibly even as a sub. I look at Everton's purchases and for all the fact that they've been busy, are any of their buys likely to get in our team? Pickford - No. Keane - No. Sanchez - No. Klaassen - No. Rooney - No Siggy? - No United have bought two very decent players but Lindelof isn't Toby and Lukaku is definitely below Kane in class. If we could land Foyth, Barkley, Pereira and Josh King then I'd be happy. If we could add Kovacic, then I'd be ecstatic. All should be possible but none will be easy with our budget and tactics.
Because things can't be straightforward, we've hit ANOTHER bump in the road over Foyth: we want him to train with the first team, yet Estudientes want him loaned back for six months. Don't suppose they'd be interested in a straight swap with Sissoko?
Why are people panicking over the fact that we haven't bought anyone. And in the next breath admitting that it is not that easy to find someone to fit. We all know how Poch and his team improved players such as Dembele, Walker, Rose and Lamela; how at one time or another some were saying we should rid ourselves of these players. Well , I for one trust Poch and don't think we necessarily are desperate for a striker as who knows what the coaching staff have done to Janssen. I am even (daring) to say that maybe Sissoko can be a back up to our back up right sided wing back. Moses , is hardly a defender but helped Chelski to the title playing in that position.The only reason we don't/didn't want Sissoko is because he was overpriced and was hardly a success in his first season with us and didn't put in the effort. Maybe Poch and his team can turn that round as he did with those other players. Again I say: In Poch I trust.
Because we are football supporters, and are fickle with it. "Again I say: In Poch I trust." I am not there yet (I am currently a 'in Poch I am pleasantly being proved wrong with increasing regularity' ) .
Probably not the signing that people were waiting for, but fair enough. If Alderweireld is next, then I'll be much happier.
Just a tad hash. Well done KT! You've done well, improved significantly and have committed yourself to a righteous cause. I hope you have a blinding season!
