I haven't got time to read through Robbies longwinded multi quote essays , but if he's implying that we desperately need to bring in a specialist holding midfielder in the mould of Skipp to give our back line protection and link up play . Then I agree with him , Tettey was not good enough at Prem level and we have tried umpteen square pegs in round holes since. Sorensen didn't get a look in last year as as Skipp made the position his own from day one . At this late stage it's highly unlikely he's coming back on loan so I would hope we are looking for a permanent signature in that position. Skipp is a special talent so it won't be easy
According to a source on Twitter Norwich have made a €9m (£7.7m) offer to PAOK, who are open to selling Tzolis and doing business with Norwich after the recent deal involving Dimi Giannoulis, but they want a higher bid. On Transfermarket.com, they have him as a left winger, who can also play as an attacking midfielder or up front. If we did sign him, would like to see our next signing be a strong central defeneder, as we concededed too many goals last time we were in the prem, and players like Gibbo, Hanley, etc need the back-up
As normal you change your tune and argue both ends against the middle. You also like to misrepresent what people say in order to prove a point. So lets go back to the start & stick to the main topic. I said Which part of this do you disagree with ? It's a rhetorical question. Hence my comment. I'm struggling to see how it would be reasonable to interpret your comments any other way. You replied It's just ridiculous to say the formation a team plays has no impact on whether a team needs a DM or not, however I agree you can NOT say a 6 or 8 needs to be a particular type of player on formation alone (see my original comment). But clearly a teams patterns of play has a massive impact on all the players roles and responsibilities, particularly within the 4-2-3-1 formation due to how adaptable it is. Patterns of play are not fixed and will constantly change during a game based on a wide range of factors and this has an effect on all the players roles / responsibilities. This is one reason why I said, in my original comment, that the club appears to be looking for midfielders that can cover multi positions i.e. so that they can play as a DM for one phase of the game and change to a different role for another phase. What is a specialist DM, a player is either fulfilling a DM role or not, were does specialist come into it, what is a DM if not a midfielder who has specific defensive responsibilities. I made no argument in any of my comments, but initially merely highlighted some basic facts and tried to interpret why the club seemed to be very keen to sign players, midfielders in particular who could play a variety of roles. I then tried to interpret your views, which as usual seem to be built on a foundation of sand. Fill free to reply if you must, but I will not be commenting further.
Glad you agree with me DD. Maybe I should begin my posts with an abstract comprising only the conclusion -- in this case: DD Abstract: "Given the way we play under DF, a specialist DM is essential and should be the first name on the team sheet every damn game."
Two quotes from today's EDP's transfer speculation update: "If an option that represented a step up didn't present itself before August 31, City would be prepared to head into the Premier League season with their current centre-back options of Grant Hanley, Ben Gibson, Christoph Zimmermann and Omobamidele." "City are also in the market for a left-back, a central midfielder, a winger and striker before the deadline next month." Much more reassuring, though, also from the EDP, is that 60% of City fans are confident of EPL survival .............
https://www.edp24.co.uk/sport/norwich-city/canaries-ncfc-jean-charles-castelletto-link-8192728 Also the EDP, dismissing a link to a Nantes CB. Interesting that the club have reacted to tell the EDP that this rumour is wide of the mark, whilst the Tzolis rumour hasn't had the same treatment. The Tzolis rumour also came from the first journalist to say we were interested in Giannoulis.
Part of supporting a self funded club means we need to get used to being disappointed in our transfer ambitions sometimes. With Ajer we had a top price we were willing to pay and refused to get dragged into a bidding war with other clubs . He could keep Brentford up or turn out to be a very expensive flop we'll find out . By our standards we've smashed open the war chest and bought some quality additions. Much like Aarons and Cantwell we don't have to sell but if the price is right then they'll go , we can't expect other clubs to sell us our targets unless we come close which usually puts us at the back of the line .
The previously mentioned PAOK-journo: And a Reach group journo: Sinani to Huddersfield confirmed: Great opportunity to prove he should be in our Championship side next season, although there's an option to buy in the deal, so if he does enough that we'd want him back, I suspect Huddersfield will keep him.
If the Tzolis rumour is true, then we'll be committing most of our remaining budget to that one transfer unless Aarons and/or Cantwell leave. On the other hand, Tzolis could be a very exciting signing if it comes off. Like you, I'm surprised that there hasn't been a kickback denial from the club.
I guess it depends how they're balancing the existing budget. £10m for Billing seems like it was a legit bid, as was £10m for Ajer. But if we want 3-5 signings, there's no way they could all be £10m players, and I think even Billing+Ajer would have left us with some creative work to do elsewhere. If we can sign one £10m player, it might be a case of signing the best possible player at that fee, and looking at lower price points for other players. Equally, I feel like we can push the budget a little more on a 19 year old than we could on a 28 year old like Lees-Melou. Unless something dramatic happens, Lees-Melou won't be a player we make our money back on in terms of transfer fees. Even if Tzolis has a disaster season, he'll still retain decent value. Is a £10m signing costing you £10m if you know that in the worst case scenario you'd still get £5m for him? Perhaps Tzolis frees up Placheta and/or Hernandez and/or Hugill to depart, so his signing effectively costs us even less.
Transfermarkt is now showing a 90% chance of us signing Tzolis. They value him at £10.8m, so even £10m would look to be a very good deal for such a young, promising player. There's also a possibility that the present budget only concerns the initial installments, with later installments being covered by the PL money to come and also parachute payments if we're relegated.
Throwing more names out there, Marc Albrighton? 31, lots of Premier League experience, but probably surplus to requirements at Leicester now. Can cover both wings, CM and right back. Probably on sizeable wages, but perhaps a year long loan might take some of those wages off Leicester's books, and take him to the end of his contract?
In an article by Sportlens about our chase for Tzolis they mention our new manager. Thomas Frank's his name.
If, as reported, negotiations with PAOK for Tzolis have reached an advanced stage, wouldn't that suggest that Cantwell may well be on his way? (I'm trying my best not to reach the conclusion that we are seriously considering going into next season without an upgrade at CB and without a replacement for Skipp.)
No I wasn’t. Don’t twist my words. This is just another dishonest post from you trying to avoid admitting where you have been wrong.
I see him as potential competition for Cantwell's left side or of course cover if a suitably high offer comes in for Cantwell late in the window. Could be an opportunity for Cantwell to go more central and compete with Dowell too if Tzolis is as good as people say. Don't see it as an obvious reason for Cantwell to be off. It may be more of an issue for Hernandez this season. I'm not as fussed about the CB requirement with O'Dele stepping up but I do agree a quality DM is still required.