Normally I'd say "no news is good news" with regard to Dempsey and Dembele, but Fulham does business differently than most clubs. There was little forwarning, for instance, about the signings of Ruiz and Dembele. One day they were members of their respective clubs, the next day their standing on the hallowed grass of Craven Cottage, smiling and holding up a jersey. The club said little before Zamora was carted off to QPR - all the noise leading up to his departure was from his agent. So, when it comes to Fulham, I've of the opinion that No News doesn't mean little; no news doesn't mean we're safe from losing those guys. It's just speculation on my part, but I suspect Chairman Mo plays a part pulling the strings on our player deals, and as the consumate merchant, he always looks to get the best deal possible when buying and selling. I think that's why our player (and managers) deals often happen at the last minute, and why so many of our purchases are for "an undisclosed fee".
It must be quite an experience for other chairman to deal with 'Big Willy' Mo - I remember reading 'FA Confidentail' by David Davies, he writes about negotiating with Mo for K Keegan, ended up leaving with a gold bar or something ridiculous like that. I wouldn't be surprised if he held most his meetings in Stringfellows.
http://www.caughtoffside.com/2012/07/22/fulham-to-launch-loan-bid-for-arsenal-teenager-ryo-miyaichi/ Now that we've been linked with Lukaku I presume there will be lots of stories involving younger players trying to break into top teams. Not a bad thing maybe. I've not seen much of Ryo.
Now Buttner's deal with Southampton has broken down and I guess because of our early interest we are being linked with him - http://www1.skysports.com/football/news/11681/7928111/Fulham-still-in-for-Buttner I do not believe we are at all interested, well we shouldn't be ...
Ive got a lot of arsenal fans friends and all of them say Ryo is a quality player. He was out on loan for a few season to get his work permit and when it was granted my mates were loving it as now he can go out on loan to premier league clubs to get use to the pace and that.
I'd be a lot less keen on Ryo than Lukaku. We are light on strikers, but Ryo would likely play in exactly the same position as Frei or Kaca. I don't think Ryo is most obviously talented than our own youth players, so why would we do Arsenal a favour at the expense of developing our own?
An encouraging view by an Outsider - http://hepremierleagueowl.com/admiring-fulhams-stance-on-dembele-dempsey/
According to the BBC football gossip page, we're interested in Ryan Babel at £5m. Hmmmm. He had potential at Liverpool, but it was never realised. I'd be worried if we signed him, to be honest. Do any of our German correspondents (that's mainly you, DR) have any insight into how things have gone for him in Germany. The article said he's fallen out with his coach.
Headless chicken sums Babel up pretty well. Sometimes great, sometimes can't control a football. Has to beat a man before he passes, always tried to shoot.
I remember reading someone when Babel was at Liverpool who argued that Babel lost confidence from being constantly picked and dropped, picked and dropped, and that he was the type who would have benefited from a prolonged run in the team and the backing of his manager. Given the opportunities, the argument went, he would have been much much better. I have no idea if that's a fair comment or not. What do you think, NI?
I remember being amazed that Rafa insisted on playing him out of position, he was always a striker, not a winger.
Talk of Babel as a striker has made me think of Walcott- it's very unlikely, but if he wants to play central striker he will have to go down in terms of club size. He's probably available for 10-12m, could get his wish come true at Fulham. More chance of a Zamora comeback though.
More chance of me getting a run-out than either of those! (Well, I suppose it would be plausible for Zamora to come back under different management, but not for the forseeable future).
Yep- it's a shame because he could do very well at a club like Fulham, chances are he will sign on to another top team and stay as a winger or warm the bench. He's a decent player- but he isn't going to get into a top 4 team.
Babel did get chances, but he's one of those players that runs hot and cold. Sometimes great, sometimes couldn't finish his dinner if you cut it up all nice for him. Saying that, play him for 38 games and he'll probably return you 10 goals plus assists. He's also versatile, can play striker or either wing position. He was incredibly frustrating to watch... Albert Riera was better when we had him, as was Yossi Benayoun, or Gerrard when he played on the right. He'd probably cost £5M+ (we sold for £7M) and have 30-50k wages (at least)... worth it? Bolton's Petrov was probably just as good and would be dirt cheap now...
Good summary, NI Revolution In Red. The issue with Babel is the wages more than the fee. £30k-50k puts him right at the top of our wage structure and I'm not sure his track record deserves that.
I agree with Surlyc. Great summary and very helpful, NI. I'd take ten goals per season if it was guarenteed, but his track record suggests it's a best possible scenario rather than the most likely one. That being the case, he wouldn't warrant the wages he'd be likely to demand.
Captain - I haven't been following Babel. Once it became clear my Kaiserslautern Red Devil's were going down, the Bundesliga was too depressing to watch. I'll add, though, that players seem to "fall out" with their managers rather easily over here. The Pog had falling out of favour, for instance, when we scooped him up at Christmas. He seemed like a rather fit and eager player to me ...
