Having been to Naples earlier this year when they lifted the trophy I couldn’t disagree more, wonderful city to live and play in with an admittedly marred past.
Don't think he deserves the disrespect, to be honest. Lyanco had his faults, and was a liability for sure, but he also put in a lot of solid performances for us too. I'll be celebrating the departures of Salisu and DCC far more than Lyanco's. Those two literally didn't give a sh*t whether we were relegated or not. One foot out the door as soon as we were in trouble. (And they were each as big a liability as Lyanco too for that matter)
So, apparently Liverpool now want Phillips, and West Ham want Palhinha. We're not gonna be able to get rid of JWP or Lavia at all at this rate.
Absolutely. You cant deny he cares But there are people out there who use his "passion" to convince themselves he's actually a good player.
Ironically I think it's the 'passion' part of his game that makes him a liability. He lets his emotions go to his head, and that's when he finds himself at risk of getting sent off or doing something else daft. If he calmed down, and just focused on his football, I think there's a decent player in there. Certainly one that's good enough for the Championship. Thing is you have to wonder whether its worth the effort of the coaching staff to try and manage him, because he comes across as the type who could also make the dressing room turn sour very quickly if he wanted to. That's why I'm not particularly bothered about him leaving.
Central defence is a place where we need to start shifting players though. I didn’t expect us to sign someone as costly as Charles, but defensive midfield was an area the squad was short in without the anticipated exits We’re awash with central defenders who might do a job in the championship, but have proven themselves distinctly average at best in the PL. we probably need to get rid of a couple before Martin/Wilcox can get in someone they want.
Caleta-Car and Salisu will go. No doubt. 95% sure ABK will go. Bednarek and Stephens we'll be lucky to keep imo, because we won't find replacements as good and as experienced as those two, for the kind of money that we'll recoup from selling them. If we get 6-7 million for Stephens, who on Earth are we going to sign for that, as an upgrade? Not happening.
As the son of a Neapolitan and visited on many occasions, I can confirm. Like all places, there are some crap areas, but also some wonderful areas. Just down the road you have Sorrento and the Amalfi coast, and just beyond the bay of Naples you have Capri. I haven’t even mentioned Massa Lubrense yet.
Well, Shea can play centre half for one. May well have been signed to play there. And you are talking there about combined sales in excess of £50m, so it's less about replacing individuals, for me, and more about making the right choices to get us playing the way RM wants. There's also top PL teams who are totally stacked at centre half and will be looking to loan players out. RM's centre halves at Swansea were garbage (I'm Welsh so saw quite a bit of them) so I'm not concerned providing we see some moves this week to get the squad looking more like the one which will start the season.
I thought Nathan Wood was supposed to be quite highly rated? I don't think we should start playing Shea at CB. Just because he might have covered there before in the U21s, doesn't mean we should treat him as a CB. It's going to be tough enough for him in his actual position. We'd be better off with Simeu than him. Also, I don't think we should rely on loan signings at CB either. Stephens and Bednarek for me is a stronger back pairing than anyone else, bar Leicester, would have in the division.
A bit like Ampadu at Chelsea, Shea has more or less split his game time 50-50 between CB and DCM. I have no idea which position is his favourite. Agree in general on loan signings. But when you see the quality Colwill etc have bought to sides over recent years it's a viable option for the right player.
To be fair if ever there were a season to get loans in, this is it. We will be looking to go straight back up so signing “proven” Champ players on 3/4 year deals who may be deemed not good enough after 1 season should we get promoted seems foolish. Signing players who could play at PL level when in the Championship is hard, signing them on loan is easier.
