According to the Daily Fail at least! There does seem to be alot of tlk about Williams moving on and i beleive it will happen in the summer. Liverpool and Arsenal are apparently intrested but the strange thing is that none of their fans are keen on the idea, in fact this possible signing could be the final nail in the coffin of either manager if it doesnt work out . I will post some of the comments from fans RE ash going to Arsenal but lets just say that the feeling iaint a great one same with the Liverpool fans! would you as a player want to go to a club where the fans dont want you? it seems the general feeling is that he is a mid table player and not quite cut out to play at a top club, i wouldnt go against that view either. His performances for Wales have always been bang on average and there hasnt been a game ive seen where he looked top draw when wearing the National colours,this shows that maybe he would struggle to adapt to a slightly different environment and both the centre halves at Liverpool and Arsenal are not exactly rock solid themselves,making any bedding in process quite difficult. I think Ash beleives he is a top player, im not so sure myself. He does a fantastic job in our team but i beleive that going up to the next Prem level will be a step too far, if they offer us £12m quid for Ash then i think we could find a suitable replacement, he is soon 29 and he isnt going to get any quicker, his combative style will also mean that more serious injuries are just around the corner,it would be good buisness for us but a bad move for him is my take on things. A quick word about his agent, i said weeks ago that his agent coming out in the press saying Ash is happy to stay pretty much meant that they are fishing for a move/more money , it is looking more likely that he is now being touted, the club obviously know this too so i expect that we are already sounding out players,it makes that rumour about that spanish player (botis??) sound more plausible. Anyway, is Ash dull enough to go where he isnt wanted? Is it good buisness for us if we get £12m ? Should we break the bank to keep him at Swansea? Is Ash Williams Ego going to write a check his talent cant cash meaning he ends up an expensive flop at a big club ? Intrsting stuff. Thoughts ? http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/fo...ey-Williams-holds-talks-Arsenal.html#comments
comments from Liverpool and Arsenal fans "Rodgers will be trying to sign the Swansea tea lady next. Didn't he have a gentleman's agreement where he's not supposed to try and nick all his old club's players? The biggest joke is that he paid £15 million for Joe "Xavi" Allen and they went out and spent £2 million on Michu to replace him" "Sign him up quickly brenda,you can't afford to let him slip through your fingers by letting arsenal get him,you need to sign him brenda....please please sign him,even if it costs more than 12million,dont miss out on him...he will be a class signing,almost as good as charlie adam,oh how i miss him at liverpool ))))" "Hope Arsenal do sign him just so that we (Liverpool) can't" "In all honesty, I don't think any true Liverpool supporter would want him at the club, there is much better, younger talent out there that haven't slated one of star players.. But hey if you can use your old Gaffer to bump up your price then you go right ahead son! But please don't ask directions to L4" "He is not good enough for a top English team. Ok, Liverpool are maybe a bit down at the moment but things wont improve if we keep on bringing in players of this calibre. I`d rather use Coates than Williams. Go for some german quality instead. They have dozens of players suited to play in the premier league" "Arsenal can have him we've already brought in rubbish from Swansea " "Support United, but I have many Liverpool and Arsenal fans as friends and, having surveyed them re Williams, found that not a single one of them wants their club to win the "race" for this guy. Not at £12-15 million anyway. A cheeky £6 million maybe, but anything over 10 is pie in the sky for me"
Is 12 million good business for a player who cost us £400,000? - yes. The question is can we get a replacement? I am sure we can, so if Ash wants to go then it is time he left. We only want players who want to be here
I always get the feeling that Ash thinks he can play at a big club, i dont know why i get that impression but i do. If somebody offers what we want then i guess thats fine, the problem for us is that we are getting very thin on the ground of British players. We cant keep bringing in top Spanish talent, for that reason it does add that premium onto the price, im sure the likes of Arsenal and Liverpool are also factoring in this isssue which is why i think the value will be met. Can Laudrup find a British player at resonable money? do we rely on our own scouting network for all of our British targets i wonder? if thats the case then it could be a bit hit and miss . If he wants to go i just want him gone early
Def an early exit if he is going. Personally I think he will find it tough at Arsenal/Liverpool etc - the fans are more critical and you get slaughtered for any mistake. Could be his agent looking for a better swans contract. If it is, we should sell him - we don't want another Bodde chapter.
Agree with that. I beleive Ash is one of the top earners at the club anyway, what i didnt know is that he still keeps his house in Brum and spends alot of time there,understandable of course if thats where he is from, but it also tells you that he see's himself (and correctly so) as just a Professional footballer who is only intrested in bettering himself. Players use the loyalty card when it suits them but of course its just a job to them so he will do what is best for Ash Williams and nobody else.
Personally I wouldn't blame him if he tries to make the step up the ladder. He doesn't want to reach the end of his career and say. "If only I had moved to Arsenal.....". He has been good for the Swans (and vice versa). It could be a good move for all parties. NB I would also prefer to see our captain being a driving midfield player rather than a centre half.
If he goes for £12 million we can buy Alberto Botia and get £7 million change. Great business! Thing is, only a few weeks ago Ash was waxing lyrical about how great it was for the Swans when ML signed an extension, giving us stability etc. Ironic therefore that he's thinking of leaving himself.
What you have to remember about these Scousers and Cockneys is that they will always whinge about any Welsh player, it's in the nature of the English beast, but at the end of the day whether he stays or goes, who cares, we'll always find his replacement. He has had a cracking season again, and forgetting these bellend fans of Arsenal and Liverpool, who the hell have they got who is better?.........................
Vorm to Barcelona. Williams to goodness knows where. Townsend to Swans' from Spurs. Tate to Cardiff. Clearly,the silly season has started early.
What tickles me is again the big time charlie attitude of the supporters of liverpool and Arsenal. Ash is as good as anything both clubs have at the back. But, no as he is only at Swansea cant possibly good enough for either club. **** mine, they go on about age and they are still trying to pursuade carragher to sign an new contract. If he wants to go let him go. No one at our club is not replacable as has been proved in the past.
It is a bizarre attitude from Pool and Arsenal fans - they have no interest in bringing a player up from a smaller club. Think where some of their best players came from - Ian Rush? Don't he play for Chester? Can't have him. Who's this Alan Hansen fella from Partick Thistle? He can get lost if he thinks he's good enough for us... The problem is, that attitude leads only to signing players that have dropped down to their club, wither having been found wanting, been too greedy or had a bit of an attitude problem. Sign players on the up and they're still keen to learn and put themselves on the line. Anyway, if Ash goes to Arsenal, at least he won something before he went there, eh? Still, chance to play Champs league for Arsenal - I can understand that. Live in London, one last big pay day and playing infront of huge (quiet) crowds. I can see why he'd do that and, at 29, it sounds like good money for him. We need to then find 1 more Chico (easier said that done) and a Gary Cahill - I'm thinking how Bolton fished him out of Villa and then turned him into an England player. Any thoughts on players that could "do a Cahill" for us?
I know they've hardly been playing well, but I was impressed with Blackburn's Grant Hanley. He's a very strong young lad that might be able to play a bit. If Blackburn get relegated they would probably need to offload some players and we might be able to get him on the cheap, he would also add to our home-grown quota! Although he may well be a step down from Bartley - but I'm not sure what the issue is there...
Plenty of good comments above.. It is a great point RE LIverpool and Arsenal fans thinking ash isnt capable of making the step up/sideways. Indeed Liverpool were always FAmous for taking lesser known players like craig Johnson,Ronny rosenthal,mark wright, etc the list is a very Long one. It couldbe that There is a culture shift withfans ofthese clubs and many of them Arnt as informed as they like to Think. If we Get the money for ash then he Will be gone IMO . Ivor makes a cracking point about ash talking loyalty though, from the outside it surely would point to our foreign importsshowing far more loyalty to the club then the player we took from tears to glory! You would Think it would be the other way around wouldnt you! Early days but i Think There is legs in this story.
If Arsenal or Liverpool offer anything over £12 million for him I'd be happy to personally drive him to either club, and as Norway says, he isn't good enough to take us to the next level in terms of defensive ability and leadership. We need a defender or two of the quality of a Lescott or Caulker to take is to the next level and a £12 million bid might be enough to persuade Spurs to let Caulker go.
Dirty player!? Not at all, could do with actually having a bit more needle imo. Chico makes up for him though Anything less than £7m isn't worth us the bother of trying to replace him I reckon. We have cash anyway and can just bring in another centre back to supplement the squad, Ash doesn't need to leave and I think we'll keep him unless he actually WANTS to leave, and it's not as if he's being made to feel welcome elsewhere.... What price, Ash, Chico AND Caulker? Tasty!!
So, how many times have you seen him play, that qualifies you to make a judgement and i suppose you know a little more than the scouting system at Aresnal and his ex manager.
