I think trying to sign Slater on loan is counter-intuitive when we need another striker on loan. We've got Smith on loan from Man City and it's reasonable to assume he was our backup to Slater when Sheff Utd were playing hard to get. We're still trying to sign Huddlestone as well. Slater's got one more year left on his deal. If he doesn't join us or anyone else we can sign him next summer on a free. We've got Docherty, Smallwood, Honeyman, Smith, Cannon and Moncur in midfield and only Eaves and Magennis as strikers. There's no point us trying to sign both Huddlestone and Slater when we need to prioritise recruitment in other areas. A striker on loan and Huddlestone OR Slater (not both) should be the priority.
Cant agree more.... then throw into the mix the impressive youngsters in midfield we have coming through and we should have more than enough there... whilst Slater stepped up towards the end of the last campaign, he was far from a stand out and I think we've seen in Moncur, Hudd and to a lesser degree Cannon (not seen much) that we should be looking to back up Magennis and Wilks... Two seasons ago we were collecting goalkeepers who have all been and gone for nothing, now it seems its midfield's turn...
Exactly. Harry Wood and Ollie Green are both promising and I'd like to see them try and break into the first team in the same way KLP did. We really don't need two more central midfielders, especially when there's a limit of how many players we can have in the squad. We need another striker because we've only got Magennis and Eaves. One of them gets injured and we're significantly more ****ed than if one of our midfielders, like Honeyman, is out injured.
i agree we need a striker as i dont like Eaves, but you could argue that KLP, Wilks and Longman can all play the central role if needed so there is cover
OK Oldies, without chasing down the internet, name these three players - italian flavoured but not all Italian
Yep, that's him. Other two - middle one is known for his reaction to scoring for Italy in a World Cup Final; on the right is the non-Italian geopolitically - was a major player for his own country.
It's a bit of a short term approach though, Grant is clearly a huge fan of Slater and there's a player in there we can sell down the line for a large profit. Smith will be gone at the end of the season, Hudd will be a bit-part player (I don't see the point in signing him personally & it feels like the Max Clark signing which was really for the fans), Cannon may/may not make the grade and Smallwood isn't getting any younger. If we don't want Slater, he'll go elsewhere and do very well. Then next summer we'll be in need of a few midfielders and we'll have missed the boat on somebody who fits our style and system perfectly. I hate this reliance we have on loanees we can't keep & we appeared to be moving away from it. It's short-termism and we don't benefit as a club. That being said Man City didn't extend Smith's contract & it runs out in 2023 so we might have an option to buy on him.
Don't get me wrong, I'm in total agreement with this. I don't like relying on loans for key positions. I personally think that were it not for this embargo bollocks, we should've been in for someone like Allan Campbell and I reckon we could've beaten Luton for his signature. Cracking player, he's like the defensive equivalent of Docherty. Great engine and would've been the perfect player in our system. I'm still bitter Luton got him instead of us. I like the look of Smith and I'm fairly happy with our midfield additions but I would like a youngish, ball-winning defensive midfielder at the club permanently. I think signing Huddlestone would be a luxury signing like Okocha. He'd be a great player to have around but do we really need him? I'd argue not.
