id keep Rose,Defoe,Niko,Corluka and i like Cudicini as a back up. these are players who can demand first team football elswhere but have stuck around....and as far as squads go they are very good names to have in a squad....a manager who can rotate his squad more would have utilised all these players much more efficently and then they wouldnt be rusty and look rubbish...they have proved that when on form and having a run in the team then they can play. Pienaar is class....he was evertons player of the year when we purchased him...when he came to us he got bit parts and in the wrong position..then he goes back to everton on loan and hes getting man of match awards and goals again. Then people say he has been rubbish or that he doesnt fit into our system....id like to know who purchased him and why? surely whoever purchased him knew his strengths and how and where he played....it is not Pienaar's fault. This is why the worry is for me and maybe some others that we are going to waste probably the best squad we have had in decades if the management does not learn to rotate. very frustrating.
I am hoping that you don't sort it out quickly as we want Verts. He is a quality player. I will maintain that view even if he joins you.
It's Krasic and he turned us down in January because Juventus convinced him that he'd get back into the team, which he hasn't. I doubt we'll be the only club after him in the summer though.
then he said he wanted to join us again about 2 weeks ago...footballers are a bit tik mind they dont know their arse from thier elbow most of the time.
agreed. Re: Cudicini - it doesn't seem to matter how old that guy gets, he's still a top drawer sub keeper. great professional and one we should look to keep to set an example to other younger players.
We should be off loading Jenas, Pienaar, Corluka, Bassong, Gomes, Bentley and GDS..... along with short termers Nelson and Saha in my opinion. I`d keep Defoe, he is still a very good goal scorer if been under used. We should try to add 1 or 2 younger players to our squad next season (Caulker, Townsend, Coulibaly?) and make 3 or 4 quality signings as well as keeping key players. We need quality competition at full back, another quality centre back, better backup on the wings and a top quality striker and maybe a goalkeeper to eventually replace Brad.
Ideal scenario for me: Outs: Jenas, Bentley, Naughton/ Corluka (only one), Bassong, Gio, Gomes, Pienaar. Ins: Hazard/ Hoilett (more realistic buy), Ade on a perm or Llorente if we could afford/ attract either. Don't feel a new CB is needed as Caulker will be back. Kaboul, Caulker, King, Dawson, Gallas, Nelsen SHOULD be enough. Hopeful/ Potential 2012/ 2013 line up: Friedel, Walker, Kaboul, Caulker/ King, Benny Parker, Modric Hazard/ Lennon, Rafa, Bale Ade/ Llorente Bench: Cudicini, Caulker/ King, Dawson, Hoilett (if no Hazard, otherwise Lennon on bench), Thud, Sandro and Defoe. Back up: Gallas, Nelsen (if kept), Saha (if kept), Krancjar, Naughton/ Corluka, Rose, Townsend, Carroll, Kane, Falque.
Players we certainly need to bring in: 1.) A long-term goalkeeper - one (maybe two) of Tim Krul, Jack Butland, Marc-Andre ter Stegen, Ron-Robert Zieler, Fraser Forster, Zeljko Brkic et al 2.) Cover at left back - Naughton is an obvious candidate when he returns, plus we're linked to Christian Ramirez 3.) Somebody in the Ade role - if we can't meet his wage demands, look elsewhere - Llorente, Remy, Vucinic 4.) A centre back for future seasons, as King, Gallas and Nelsen are all nearing the end of their careers - Bruno Uvini and/or Julian Velazquez to join Caulker Something else we need is youngsters who may not be stepping into the first team in August/September, but can come into the team in March/April and contribute. We have a couple of likely candidates in Townsend and Coulibaly, but we could do with a few more options in this regard. Squad rotation would be nice, too...
Vorm, Krul and ter Stegen would be my choices for potential new number 1 to succeed Brad. Naughton would provide good additional cover, though I think Rose is adequate enough to cover Benny when needed, looked really good at the end of last season when he got the chance while Benny was out. I've wanted Llorente for god knows how long now, though Notso posted a link on another thread saying that he's roughly earning £5m a year at Bilbao, if that's true then trying to entice him financially could prove difficult for us... Completely forgot about that Uvini guy, not heard anything of him since his trial was announced, presume if we do sign him he'll go straight on loan for a good season or two before challenging, similar to how we've done with Caulker. Think Carroll and Kane could be added to that youngster list too.
I wonder if anything is happening with Rasmus Elm - seems the initial reports were a load of bollocks!
The video's of Bruno Uvini do look very promisiing. Would be ideal to loan him to a club that looks to pass well, ie wigan if they stay up, or swansea (especialyy if we take coulker back and put him in the mix). Vorm would be my choice to come in and replace Brad. Maybe get an agreement in place that we will buy him next year, giving Brad one more. Overall in terms of blooding youth, it is getting alot more positive, not all from our youth team, but having Thud, Lennon, King, Walker, Naughton, Rose, Livermore and Coulker around the team from such a young age must be a good thing imo.
It was said in December we'd tied up the deal to bring him in at the end of the season on a three-year deal for about £6.5m, but there's been no follow-up news since. It's similar to our negotiations with Ajax for Vertonghen - we wanted him in January, but they wouldn't sell until the end of the season. If we have the deal(s) sorted out behind closed doors and ready to be announced once the transfer window re-opens, I'll be happy. As for Uvini, the talk is that we're keeping an eye on whether he makes Brazil's squad for the Bollympics - he's in the preliminary squad already - but that begs the question as to what we do if he doesn't make the squad. Do we pass on him and turn our attention to Velazquez instead? Oh, forgot one thing we need to do - SIGN LEANDRO.
is Hazard really the next big thing? i feel as though he is built up so much that hes going to be a slight disapointment...weird how every 2 year around a major championship their is a star in the making etc etc.....yet back in the day maybe we saw one per club at a push and then it was the usual suspects everone said was good. i have a feeling whoever buys him will be wanting a fw quid back...yeh hes good from what i have seen bt he isnt going to live long in my memory.
If we were going to sign a wonderkid, I'd prefer it was one we wouldn't have to spend at least £25m on like Hazard or Gotze, simply because if it turned out they weren't as good as we were told they were we'd make a huge loss on them. For the touted price of Hazard or Gotze, we could probably sign both Milan Badelj and Mateo Kovacic from Dinamo Zagreb. Or we could take a punt on Albin Ekdal (although he's co-woned by Bologna and Cagliari, which may bump up his fee), or Ivan Perisic of Dortmund, and there's the likes of Merko Marin and Xherdan Shaqiri whose values aren;t being trumped up in advance of an expected auction this summer.
To be honest mate, I've seen Hazard play quite a few times and he is extremely talented. Very, very skillful, quick and he's starting to find the net on a more frequent basis for Lille now, to get him would be a major coup for us or any club in fairness. Though I agree with the point that the amount of hype he and the media have built up regarding a possible transfer, he'd have to prove his worth instantly when signing for his new club, otherwise he'd be seen as another expensive flop and someone who talks a bigger game than he walks so to speak.
If we can't go about signing the top stars in the world, we should at least do a utd and take players from the teams around us. So should we get CL we should be looking at Newcastle or Everton or L'pool players. As at least this keeps us above the rest, even if we cannot bridge the gap to those above us. I'm liking: Jelavic Ba cisse Cabaye Jagielka Reina Vorm Pennant (not ideal, but we need a winger for when Bale/Lennon are tired/injured and he has a good cross on him: see crouch's goal this weekend)
i think Guru's philosophy is the best to keep within our pay structure etc.. Jelavic will never happen though..hes having too much of a good time at the tofees..unless we get Bilic as gaffer then alot can happen. id even buy Carroll for 10 million..yeah he is a big flop but that is due to his price tag and with our wingers he could be utilised as a very good back up...however its friday and i have had a long week! id like to keep an eye on Probenyak(sp) at Fulham. put a cheeky bid in for Felliani(Everton) too. Get Al Habsi in(no surprises there) Dirk Kuyt can cross a ball and work his bollocks off instead of Pennant? unsure about age though. Id want Pienaar back but lets not blame him for not fitting into the system..i blame HR for that..more central...rest Modders more often maybe...that is if we keep him. Haangeland maybe from Fulham as a defender? i dont think theyy would cost beyond 35 million combined.
