Yeah salah was on the right wing, el neney came on as a sub in the 2nd leg against spurs. Any better than what we have, i doubt it! We need some class in that position now, not a becchio for a morison situation! WE NEED BIGLIA!
Very much like portugal's top league, yet apparently one player from a lowly club will turn you into world beaters
Tell you what Guru, i really hope McNally is true to his word and that he's working on a friendly for us 2 clubs just so we can give you another spanking A player that has been linked to so many top European clubs, yes we do believe he will signifcantly improve our strike force (which isn't difficult) but make us world beaters, seriously come on
I can't actually remember the time Chopra backheeled it into the far corner from the penalty spot. Is there a link you can provide to where he did that?
Do you remember Chopra scoring in the Europa league this season? Do you remember Sporting having to lend RvW money to pay off his gambling debts? Do you remember Chopra ever being linked to Liverpool, Spurs and Fiorentina? I think we've got a new game guys!
Valentin Stocker is the one i would look at from Basle, was linked to the likes of Fulham and Sunderland last summer so wouldn't be out of the realms of possibilty! A player who could play in the whole behind RvW.
Whilst on the topic of cheap DM's, anyone fancy a punt on this guy: http://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/en/kara/profil/spieler_141828.html From what I've seen of him, he looks pretty good. He's more in the Johnson mould than perhaps the passing DM we're after, but he looks fairly cheap and Arsenal and Liverpool have apparently shown interest. He has got 3 years on his contract though.
yes, quite comfortably and with the lowest transfer budget too... also they've made it so Chris Martin never gets good. He used to be absolute class after a few seasons with mental finishing but they seem to believe thats it for him now.
Has anyone found him on Football Manager? Seeing as Everton make use of it for scouting, I trust it more than FIFA. Having said that, RvW is a beast on Fifa.
Whilst the topic is signings, I think a stat on MOTD2 shows how thin our squad is of Prem class players. We've only gained 2 points all season from goals by substitutes. As far as I can make it, that's Bennett yesterday and Kamara against Everton. It either highlights how few decent options we've got on the bench, or how ineffective Hughton is with substitutions, depending on your view-point. Personally I'm more inclined to think the former, but it'll be interesting to see if the number or timing of subs changes next season when Hughton has more players he trusts on the bench. At the moment I feel the likes of Fox, Jackson, Tierney are only ever on the bench to make up the numbers.
You beg the question then, could we be going for quantity instead of quality again this summer? The time has come in my eyes where we need to be signing 4 or 5 top players instead of 7 or 8 hope they come off signings.
thing is, 4 or 5 top signings would relegate 4 or 5 of the current team to the bench... so likely none of the current bench would make the matchday squad. We know these players can do the job, so that would, in theory, be enough. Whether someone like Johnson would be able to make a difference from a cold start is another matter entirely.
I agree with #BHW, 5 players good enough to go right into our first XI is going to have an impact on our bench too. Bringing in RvW means Kamara can be used as an impact sub more frequently, which I think he's well suited to. Equally a new DM frees up Johnson or Tettey to come on fresh when we're holding on. A new CAM means we could bring Wessi on when we're chasing a game and hope that 2 creative midfielders can conjure something up between them.
I know it seems strange because his passing is, at times, questionable, but I seriously doubt Johnson will be the one who Hughton is looking to replace. More likely, I suspect, are one or two new full backs, a new winger or two, perhaps another striker and a passing midfielder. Not only is he absolutely brilliant at the job he does, he is also the player Hughton seems to have had most consistent faith in all season. When in an interview Hughton said he was surprised at the quality of a couple of players already at Norwich, I am pretty sure he was referring to Johnson. If we sign someone like Biglia, who can do both the gritty work and the passing job, I suspect Hughton will still insist on having Johnson next to him. I seriously think Johnson is underrated by many, even from our fans. Yes, his passing isn't great and his shooting from range is questionable, however: (a) he is an aerial goal threat and can, every now and again, strike the ball nicely from range; (b) he is about as hard as nails in the tackle as you get in the modern game; (c) not only that, he also appears to have Scholes' cloak of invisibility in that, while he gets booked occasionally, given the number of fouls he gives away it is suprising that he hasn't received more and I can't remember him ever being sent off; (d) his positioning, and discipline in holding it, is superb; (e) he is no slouch - I won't claim he is exceptionally fast, but he is able to more than keep up with most midfielders and he covers acres of ground every match; (f) he is phenomenally consistent, passing aside; (g) while I am not going to claim his passing or vision is good (it is not), he is one of the few in our team that tries to play balls over the top to wingers, or through on the ground. He played one lovely pass on Saturday that very nearly came off. He was also, for once, nearly faultless with his short game. Admittedly, a better passer would get that all right, far more often, but then a better passer wouldn't be at Norwich. And never underestimate his ability to wind up the more sensitive of the opposition while staying composed himself. I think, if we can get a few more technically adept players, he is the sort of player who should stay in the team. Generally speaking, the technically adept are also less consistent (I'm thinking Hoolahan, or at an extreme, say, Nasri). They tend to be luxury players. Johnson is the ideal player to be the rock, break up the opposition play and be even more disciplined in his positioning to allow others to get forward. For example, if we were to sign Biglia and play him next to Tettey, I suspect either one, or even both, would end up being wasted by not getting forward enough, whereas Johnson next to Biglia would allow Biglia to dictate play from beyond the halfway line. Don't get me wrong, I've no doubt there are many, many players better than Johnson, but I think we should focus on our weak points rather than improve where we are already quite consistent. Of course, if someone comes available for a good price, we should go for it, but I do think this is the equivalent of us discussing how we could replace Bassong with a better player. Of course, we could, but money would be better spent elsewhere... * with sincere apologies to Carrabuh for such a long post and one which, almost inevitably, he will disagree.
Great post Rob! Incidentally, I agree with you about Johnson. I just know a lot of people would prefer Tettey in that situation, and I wonder how much of Johnson's for is down to the confidence gained from being regularly trusted there - if he were to be dropped, could he still do the business from the bench? I personally really like his style of play. If we get a new DM it will likely be a luxury one but probably not so luxury that they can play alone so he will be necessary. Will Tettey or Johnson want to benchwarm? For me, LB, LW, and ST are the most important positions to be looking at (along with AM if Butterfield doesn't show us anything in pre-season). I assume Vaughan, Martin, Jackson, and maybe Kamara are all leaving, giving us RvW, Holt, and Becchio. That needs something more because Holt is fading fast. I hope Garrido stays, but again Tierney appears to have played his last game for us. I don't agree with those who think Martin/Whittaker need replacing, they've both been magnificent at times. We could maybe do with another CB, but that depends on the progress Bennett is making. He looked good at the weekend. Pilkington needs real competition (Surman isnt it and neither is Bennett). I do think it would still be handy to get in a DM though, because playing Howson there just doesn't work.
