Me too, welcome BTW danary OT there's quite a few new canary posters on here, the recruitment drive seems to be working. Puts the Binners board to shame !
Me too, welcome BTW danary OT - there appears to be quite a few new canary posters on here. The recruitment drive seems to be working, puts the binners board to shame !
Thanks, buddy! I've been lurking these boards for a while and thought it was about time I started contributing too!
I personally think the SPL is more League One level to be honest, the Championship is a pretty high standard nowadays and most of the SPL is crap, especially now Rangers aren't even in it.
One thing's for sure, if we do (if) buy Hooper or Graham our club record fee for Ashton is sure to be broken. I still think the price for Graham and Hooper may be beyond our means and we'll get someone else - I still think Mackail-Smith is simmering away somewhere and would be the more likely acquisition as he is slightly below the radar at the moment. With Lapps gone today (thanks Simon for all your contributions and your sherr professionalism) do we think any other fringe players will get released as well to free up wages ?
Twitter rumours (or bullshit, I think the phrases are generally interchangeable) is that we've had an £8.5m bid for Hooper accepted. Also, found this online, it's a map of who passed to who in the Liverpool game: please log in to view this image It's pretty damning really. Our most common passing was between Tettey and Johnson, with Garrido and Hoolahan doing their best to get involved. The most service Holt got was from goal kicks, and Bennett appears to have made about 1 pass all game. The contrast with Liverpool's map is horrifying.
i hope we go back in for curtis davies - brum are in dire straits, and everytime seb bassong is out our defence goes pete tong. maybe a swap deal with Barney?
I think Reading were reported to have bid £1.5m? For someone we were interested in last summer, I'd hope we're interested for that kind of money. Barney going the other way would be nice, although the 'no swap deals' probably rules it out.
This spurs link is starting to seriously hot up now. Celtic are playing tonight, interesting to see if hooper starts!
Whether we manage to land Hooper or not, we definitely need to bring in somebody IMO. Just seen another rumour of Steve Morison + £6.5M although McNally has already poo-pooed any deal like that. I'd certainly go for that though, Morison might actually look quite good in the SPL If Spudz genuinely want him though we hadd better start looking elswhere if we already haven't that is
I was going to suggest swapping Moro rather than Holt, but McNally's already ruled it out and I can't see Celtic being too keen to have our second choice striker.
With Spurs looking as though they are in on the race too, I would honestly rather Danny Graham. Gary Hooper is a good player, but us spending 10 million on him is not good business, I don't think we are that desperate for a striker personally.
I wouldn't risk 10 million on a striker who has only done it at SPL, plus the wages. His wages will probably rise with Spurs sniffing, we are not desperate enough to spend that sort of cash on a relatively unproven Premier League striker. Danny Graham is more suitable for us at the moment.
On hooper I think we're likely to get him. I wouldn't believe the Spurs and Liverpool bids. For one he'd be a bit part player and two I think they are searching in different circles to us for their next striker. It's more than likely agent talk/celtic BS to increase bid. Celtic will take what they can get from us, and more power to them. I don't think we'll get Graham, I'll be amazed if anyone gets Graham. Swansea act as if butter wouldn't melt in their mouths but they are the dodgiest of dodgey second hand car salesmen. They don't want Graham, Graham doesn't want to be there but I think they want stupid money for him or they are happy to see him rot at the club. Sad, but a reality of the game. I'll be amazed if we aren't in for Curtis Davies, I think he certainly could be a very useful player. Look out for that one in coming days. Apart from that I think we're good to go. there are other areas we need to look at but this isn't the time for surgery, just tweaks. A striker and a CB to prevent the Absent-Bassong-Meltdownitis we have (and a partner for him) and I think we are good to go and will grow into the second half of the season. We're on pretty much the same points we were on last season if I'm not mistaken so no panic from me at all.
BBC now reporting on Hooper, that he's turned down the final offer of a contract extension, which can surely only mean he wants a move, and that Celtic have to really sell in this window? Now is by far Celtic's best chance of making proper money for him. Prices are lower in the summer, and by next January, he'll have 6 months left on his contract, and they'll be lucky to get £3m for a player in that situation. When are Celtic's CL fixtures with Juventus? Why not buy him, but say we'll loan him back to them until they've been knocked out? That'd save us a couple of million, surely?
i thought hooper was under contract until summer 2014, i may be wrong. so the extension is beyond that.
He is max, 18 months remaining. Celtic would get no more than 4 or 5 mil for him in the summer, thats why i think £8mil will be enough and if several reports are to be believed thats how much were going in with next!
