Transfer Rumours JANUARY TRANSFER THREAD

It seems to be like there is going to be a massive clear out of players this January. It is a bit concerning in some respects because of the high quantity of players in the squad who Ralph clearly does not fancy and who he seems to have no confidence in. On the other hand, maybe we are budgeting for relegation ? So far Gabbiadini and Davis are gone but Hoedt, Gallagher, Forster and maybe Cedric look likely to follow. This also leaves players like Mo Elyanoussi who seems to be putting in performances that are suggestive that they need to be moved on too. I am really surprised that he hasn't been ear marked to be booted out of the club. The only anomaly has been Vestergaard, a player who had been roundly ridiculed by fans previously but who has improved under the new regime.

I think it is quite positive that Ralph has identified the same kind of issues that the fans have been complaining about for the last 18 months and about which nothing seems to have been done previously. With hindsight he should have been brought in during the summer to stamp his vision. I think we need fighters and leaders when we recruit. It has been clear that there have been too many journeymen in this club for a long while. I don't think we are going to recruit anyone dynamic given our current position but I fully expect whoever comes in to be able to do a job. Can't see "fringe" squad players being added and think whoever gets signed is going to be the type of player who will improve the first eleven.

 

Not sure what you mean by journeymen IT? People prepared to use Saints as a step up maybe.....but non I would think of as Journeymen.......Our purchasing trouble surely was in not trying to purchase players of equal quality to the ones leaving. All our purchases became "hope for the best" Not forgetting all needed to hit the ground running.........as we know that just did not happen!!

 

Phil Bardsley as Cedrics replacement?

 

Beddy

Put it like this. I think we could do with a younger Steve Davis.

The players recruited recently are notable as they have tender not to instantly command a first team place. This says a lot for me although I would make an exception for Angus Gunn. Dealing with the players every day, I just wonder if Ralph has discovered that the situation was worse than first thought. It is salutary that so many younger players have been introduced that never got a look in previously. It really makes you think that under the previous regime we not only had issues with recruitment but similarly did not appreciate the talent we already had. Of the signings post-Koeman, it is Redmond (after a slow start), PEH, Lemina and the two new goalies who have impressed most. I like the new lad from Celtic too. As for the others, I don't think any due diligence was carried out.

 

Ok fair enough.........IT ..........You sometimes need a Steve Davis type though to bring youngsters through, an older steading influence. IMO the vast majority we have are what I call "wannabe's" Players who think they've got what it takes to be a premier league player but in reality have a hell of a lot to learn. The youngsters recently introduced are a prime example to give these so called stars a wake up call. I am pleased to say it really seems to be working......They are learning at an enormous rate...............all of them.......!!

 

I totally agree but would add that some questions need to be asked as to why money as squandered on players who are little better than the youngsters languishing in the reserves. I thought Slattery did well last weekend but it is worrying to think that n the recent last we would have splashed out a lot to bring someone in who isn't necessarily much of an improvement. The recent recruitment has generally been appalling and I think it was correct that Reed was pushed out of the door,

 

The turnover of coaches and quality of those coaches has really hindered our recruitment.

Pellegrino & Hughes didn’t really seem to have a firm idea of how they wanted to play. Largely flip flopping between tactics and personnel.
Ralph has a firm idea of how he wants to play and if he doesn’t think they can play that way, he is not hesitating to say Auf Wiedersehen.

It took Klopp & Pep a few windows to get their squads to how they wanted and that’s with huge resources and decent players already.

Ralph said he has deals close this window, so hopefully we’ll hear something soon

 

We don’t need to replace Cedric if he leaves we hVe Valery and Ramsey
Spend the money where it is desperately needed at CB and attacking

 

Ramsey has played one match, and that was at right CB, not at right wing back (or even right back). The two positions are vastly difference.

Even if you put the positional difference to one-side, it's still only one game. To say that we would be fine with him is a big call to make (an impossible call, in my opinion) after such little time. Even more so when the player ahead of him, Valery, is also so new.

Wing-backs are so, so important when playing three CBs. They have to be able to do a job at both ends of the pitch. I'm yet to be persuaded that even Valery can do that - time well tell, it's still so early, but I do have strong hopes for him - let alone Ramsey. Indeed, I wouldn't even be against us selling Targett if it meant recruiting a proper LWB to go with Bertrand. That is how highly I regard the importance of wing-backs. Targett is only a LB in my book, not a LWB.

Sell Cedric, fine. But it would absolutely mean having to add a RWB to a CB and a striker in my book. (In fact, I would put it as being more important than a CB. Still below the importance of a striker though, which is imperative this month.)

In any event, I thought the main reasons for selling players was to cut down the wages and the size of the squad. Not to refill a depleted transfer kitty. In which case we don't need to use money from a Cedric sale to fund transfers in other positions.

 

FB or WB are not our priority surely?
CB and striker/winger must be where we spend what little money we have on

 

This. Valery looks promising but he isn't the finished article and doesn't look great going forward atm. The wing backs are pretty essential at creating in this set up I'd put it as more important than CB even if we didn't sell one.

 

I agree that FB isn't a priority. But we rarely play a flat back four, and thus we rarely play FBs. And, in any event, someone like Stephens has shown that he can fill in at FB if needed.

Whereas WBs in a back three are of immense priority in my book. Less so than a new striker, I agree with that. I'm struggling to see us survive if we don't sign a new striker. But our finances are in seriously bad shape if we need to be selling multiple first team players in order to fund the signing of one striker. So I'm somewhat separating the selling of Cedric from the buying of a new striker.

If you don't have quality WBs, the whole formation suffers in my view. (We'd possibly have to revert back to a back four, and that then leaves us needing a winger - as well as exposing our brittle defence.) Whereas the improvement we could have by signing, for example, a Moses or an Antonio to play WB; suddenly that gives our side a whole different dimension, and vitally important pace out wide.

 

Unless we can sell Forster, Hoedt and Cedric we won't have enough money to buy anyone as we only have the Gabbi money in the war chest at the moment and that won't go far

 

If that is true.

As I said above, my understanding is that wage bill and squad size is/was the issue, not transfer kitty.

 

I was under the illusion it was both, we have sold our top earner (£80k pw) plus Davis (£50k pw) so have freed up the space in wages
Don't forget we already have a £20m bill in June for Ings so RK comment in his last interview clearly indicated the war chest was bare

 

Palace after Batshuayi. Would be very happy if we were too...

 

Guessing Rangers are taking over a fairly small part of Davis' wages...their average wage last year was less than £10k p/w. So we've probably cleared around £100k p/w, but we've got some distance to go if we're to make real additions.

 

I read somewhere that Davis was only on £12k a week here anyway.

 

I doubt that; probably 4x that mark, and even that would be below our average wage.

 

Our top earner is still here