Have we really offered 3m for Mackail-Smith? My first thought is that, if true, this smacks of desperation.
Clearly you've not seen him play - I have, and I rate him. If the fee isn't exorbitant he'd be a good gain for us.
Have we really offered 3m for Mackail-Smith? My first thought is that, if true, this smacks of desperation.
I hope you're right and I'm wrong, Thai. I don't want to say anything more because I will be accused of being negative.

I hope I am right too but I am not always. I say give the guy a chance, at worst he is on a par with Chris Martin so while it could be argued we have not strengthened the squad (if he does not deliver) we certainly have not made it any worse![]()
Point taken, although at a cost of 3m that might have been used elsewhere.


Strongly disagree. It makes a lot of sense to me. CMS is a goal scorer but like any other striker he needs to play in the right position (which he didn't at Brighton) and needs service.
Before his move to the south coast he was prolific and I really do believe if used to his strengths and gets the service all strikers need he can do the business.
I would ask you what the alternatives are, given our small transfer budget and wage structure?
i think i'm right in saying that CMS scored almost as many in league one as jordan rhodes, so why are the people who were so desperate to get their hands on young rhodes so against CMS?
but for whatever reason Brighton didn't use him the same way - a real waste in my opinion although they are going to make a bit of money on the deal.
Just glad this is all over soon and we can start rooting for our team to win rather than argue over imponderables.

BBC and/or SSN are saying Brighton have enquired about Jay Bothroyd. I guess that would add fuel to this particular rumour. And on twitter Michael Owen is expecting to make news today.

some interesting points being raised about CMS. must admit when i first heard the news i thought 'meh' but its one of those possible deals where thinking about it more clearly, it makes total sense. i would describe him as 'a typical norwich player', so for that reason, if we get him, i'll be happy. he's hard working, tenacious, positive and hungry. what's not to like?
ok, so he's hardly messi but people need to be realistic. and i think he's better than martin. and better than morison too![]()
Yeah, he is going to run 100m later![]()
He should qualify for the Paralympics shouldn't he?

i would say we have around £13m to spend this season. we've spent about £9m already, so you do the maths!
people got overly excited when bowkett said 'its our biggest ever transfer kitty' but he never put a figure on it - it could be £1 more than last year! we know we have to pay our debts off and the payments are twice what they were last year so with added income and doing some basic sums we can work out that the budget will be anywhere between £12m and £15m. i'm afraid as premier league clubs go we are paupers and that isn't going to change for the foreseeable future.
and carrabuh's point about hard working players is typical of him. how did those hard working players get on last season? that's right - 12th place. now i'll happily admit we need more guile to get better but to maintain premier league football for the time being, its the best route to go down. nobody knows how the hell swansea got michu so cheap but apart from him, who are these other gems that are being spotted from abroad who are dead cheap? there is value out there but we haven't got the infrastructure to source them.
i mentioned on this thread or another that we are still lagging behind in our scouting network, hence why our targets tend to come from this country, so be patient and we'll soon start seeing a difference.
The point I'm making is we've got all the hard working players we need, so why get more of the same, how does it give us more options?
I'd rather we spend 3 million pound looking for players abroad instead? I'm sure with the savings in transfer fees we would easily get it back next year.
The point I'm making is we've got all the hard working players we need, so why get more of the same, how does it give us more options?
I'd rather we spend 3 million pound looking for players abroad instead? I'm sure with the savings in transfer fees we would easily get it back next year.